Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox or any of the characters, they are owned by Nintendo. However, Tex Hempioro and other characters belong to me.

Imperial carrier Leviathan, neutral space zone, 6:08 a.m. Imperial standard time

The flashing colors dissipated as light speed was disabled. A violent surge caused many of the staff on the bridge to lean forward, clasping guard rails or any solid object that was close at paw. Kaiser however stood firm with his arms crossed, not even flinching as the ship came to an abrupt halt. He tapped his metal foot against the floor, clicking whenever the steel sole slapped against the glossy surface.

"Sir,"

The coyote turned to see a brown skinned lizard offering him a holographic display of numbers and stats.

"The ship's operational status, the captain wished that you hold onto it and monitor it while his second in command is on the patrols of the outer ring planets."

Kaiser quickly swiped the board from the lizard's claws with his metal appendage and looked it over, his artificial eye hissing as the iris shifted and zoomed in on the status reports. His content blue iris shifted to a neutral green as he deactivated the holo-display and folded up the board, shoving the device into his back pocket of his coal black armored leggings. He flicked his wrist at the lizard, gesturing him to leave as Kaiser stepped out to the many metallic hallways of the carrier. He headed down towards the hanger, the one place he found peace on the ship. The hanger was dark as the lights were disabled, leaving Kaiser alone in the darkness with a few fighter ships that sat docked and unused.

"Hanger shield open,"

He commanded. A loud clonk sounded off as the hanger's outer walls unlocked and began to retract up into the ceiling. The wide expanses of space opened up to the coyote, the holographic shield that allowed for fighters to enter and exit the hanger in space without the pressure sucking out any dock workers or equipment out into the vacuum of space gave off a subtle almost invisible blue glow. The coyote sighed, his iris shifting back into a deep blue as he blinked at the majestic beauty of deep space. He placed his natural paw against the holographic wall and watched as a blue glow traced around his fingers and halted his paw from passing through to the outside.

His paw slid off the transparent barrier and hung at his side, resting on the handle of one of his blaster pistols that were strapped to his thighs. The tips of his fur held an electric tingle whenever he felt at ease; star gazing had that affect on him throughout his life. Ever since he was a pup, he loved to watch the stars...with his mother.

"Mother..."

His voice echoed through the walls of the deserted hanger, flowing back towards him as his ears twitched to catch the sound of his own voice. His eyes grew large as he thought he glimpsed something in the stars. He saw a large group of them, shining very bright despite the digital readout of his artificial eye calculating that the stars were quite far away from his current position. The stars seemed to move on their own as they connected together and formed a shape in the black background of space.

"What, what is...?"

He trailed off as he continued to watch the stars, zooming in with his bionic eye implant to see the bright balls of light more clearly. They began forming now, much more clearly the image came into focus. There was a pair of eyes, curved lips drawn up in a loving smile, and a long narrow nose much like his. He saw the image clearly as a sun rise now, there was no mistaking it. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to be sure.

There it was the face of his mother, her face sketched from the shining stars as it stared at him with glowing irises. He had always heard that space was linked to the realm of the afterlife and the heavens, but not until now did he ever actually think it was true. He watched stunned, the stars shifted as his mother's face moved and curled up her lips in a smile, her cheeks rising up with the wide smile as her eyes gleamed and slightly squinted as her cheeks pushed up against them. Her eyes moved lower slightly, causing the coyote to stare in puzzlement and glance down to see what his mother was staring at. He slightly gasped as he saw that he was staring at the symbol of the fist clutching the hammer, the insignia of Imperial rule.

He looked back up to see his mother's gleaming and twinkling face staring back at him, the smile still on her lips. She bent down in a slight nod as Kaiser understood. He curled his lips into a frown as his right eye began to fill with moisture. His glowing blue iris clouded over to a pitch black void as he shook with rage.

"I understand. There is still something I can do for you. I love you, mother."

The stars scattered like shattered glass as they reverted to their original position, the glowing outline of his mother's smiling face still burned into the dark sky for a moment. He looked at his metallic paw, seeing his reflection in the polished metal surface. His iris began to burn a bright red as he drew his brows into a savage glare, curling his lips back to expose his newly formed white fangs. He glanced back at the stars and then turned away as he violently tore out one of his blasters from its holster and pulled out his knife from the sheath strapped to his lower back. Clicking a button on the side, the ammunition clip fell from the handle's bottom and plopped into Kaiser's paw.

He brought the tip of his knife to the metal of the ammo clip and carved into its broad side. He carved in the words "mother's love" as he slapped the clip back into the blaster and pulled out his other pistol, unloading the clip and bringing the blade tip to its side as well. He violently cursed under his breath and shook as he dug the blade deeper and deeper into the metal, leaving a deep scar on the metal's face as he scratched in the words "mother's fury" and slapped it back into the gun's handle. He pulled out both blasters now and held them with the barrels pointing up to the ceiling, both hovering to the left and right of his head. He brought the cold metal to the sides of his head and felt the cooling touch as he sighed.

He then straitened them, pointing them forward and twirling them around in his fingers as he himself spun around. He tossed them into the air and caught them from behind his back as he flipped one over his shoulder and clutched it all the while continuing to spin them around like wild erratic tops. He sucked in a breath and threw them up into the air once more; watching them sail upward as the beautiful background of the stars and space glistened off the polished metal of the weapons. They came falling back down as Kaiser clutched both in his paws and brought the bridges to rest against his forehead. He kept his eyes closed as he gave a silent prayer to his departed mother and allowed the tear that was trapped within his eye to roll down his cheek.

He slowly opened his eyes and brought each gun to his lips one after the other, kissing the weapons and bringing them back to rest against his forehead.

"May you watch over me from the heavens and know that I will make you proud. May you guide me when I'm lost in darkness, may you be the light to ward off shadow, may you give my paws the stability they need to deliver judgment to the devils and demons that have wronged me and you,"

He whispered these words to his guns, feeling the cold from the metal work its way into the skin under his fur.

"And may you know that those who have caused us grief will be dealt with by the fury and sorrow of those wrongly taken from this world."

Kaiser kissed his guns one last time and re-holstered his weapons. He then took his knife and retracted his wrist blade, etching another saying into the blade of his curved knife. He wiped off the small scraps of steel that scratched off as he etched in the words "for you" into the gleaming silvery blade. He looked up at the stars one last time before curling his lips up in a slow and subtle smile, and then he turned away to leave.

Cornerian medical freighter, Lylat's boarders, 8:40 p.m. Cornerian standard time

"Yes, he's been out for about half an hour now,"

Victoria spoke into the microphone as the projection of her sister gave a sigh and shook her head.

"So what are you waiting for?"

"Elli, he just got out, I bet his fur isn't even dried yet. He's going to probably have motion sickness for awhile; he doesn't want me to bother him."

She lowered the tone of her voice as a doctor walked by, changing her expression to a more subtle and carefree one as she gave a nervous wave and a smile. She then reverted back to her normal expression and resumed the tone of her voice.

"I should at least give him a day to recuperate."

"Scared, sis?"

Elli chuckled on the screen as she readjusted the camera a bit, her image shifting slightly until the picture came in clear again. Vicky flattened her ears and pointed into the screen, placing the tip of her finger of Elli's nose even though she wasn't physically shoving her finger against the coal black tip.

"I don't get scared, if you took even one day in my shoes and had to deal with what I deal with, you'd have to change your underwear every five minutes. Victoria McCoy does not get 'scared'."

"Then,"

Elli chided.

"Go in and tell him, he won't care either way. From what you've told me about him, he would probably be ecstatic the moment he lays eyes on you."

Vicky placed a finger to her chin as she tapped it against her lower jaw. She was about to speak until her sister interrupted her.

"He's a wolf, right?"

"Yes,"

Vicky nodded.

"He's a timber wolf."

"Good, you know how daddy is with mixed species relationships."

"I really don't give a damn if he was green with three eyes and spoke a different language. Thank the goddess he doesn't, but daddy can just blow it out his ear for all I care."

"You're still angry at him, aren't you?"

Elli's expression became more somber as she glanced over her shoulder.

"He disowned me, sis. I don't have a father as far as I'm concerned...let's talk about something else right now, k?"

"Right, like you getting your tail in that hospital room and staking your claim!"

"He's not a prize, Elli. Besides, it's not like he's searching for anybody, he doesn't like other people."

"Sounds like quite the romantic type, tall and bulging with muscle, covered in scars, drinks heavily, doesn't smile or talk for that matter, and he doesn't like anyone, oo la la . What's that you're holding there, anyway?"

"Oh this,"

Vicky glanced down at her free paw, clutched in her fingers was a brown paper bag with a price sign etched onto its face with a black marker.

"I went down to the diner before I left and ordered a hamburger for Tex. He's been inside that fish bowl for so long with nothing but a feeding tube keeping him alive in there. I thought he could use some real food after two whole months of having that sludge running through his arm from a plastic tube."

Vicky glanced behind her as she heard someone clearing their throat. A security guard leaned up against the wall and pointed to his wrist watch, gesturing for the wolf to wrap things up on the public communication terminal.

"Alright, Elli, I have to go, this guys being a real tight ass."

"I heard that, miss."

The armored dog grumbled. Vicky stifled a giggle and waved goodbye to her sister's image. Elli gave a wink and stuck out her tongue at the guard that was still standing behind Vicky.

"Go get your man, sis. I'll see you later, love ya."

"I love you too, sis."

The screen went dark and Vicky's ears flattened as she heard a loud "Ah hum" from behind her. The dog cleared this throat a little louder this time and Vicky slowly tuned around and flashed her identification to the guard. His eyes grew large as he realized who exactly stood before him.

"Oh agent McCoy, I-I didn't realize it was you, please forgive me for my disrespect. D-do you need some change to make another call?"

Vicky let the dog sweat for a little while longer before she smiled and patted the dog's shoulder.

"There, that's the correct way to speak to a woman, make sure you remember that and you'll get more tail that way."

"Uh, of course, ahem, carry on, miss."

She curtsied playfully as she stifled another giggle, walking down the hall and glancing at all the numbers that were displayed on the automatic sliding doors. She looked at the number she had written down on her palm with a marker. She came to a halt in front of the door labeled number seven zero six, slowly taking a deep breath and straitening the wrinkles from her jacket. She was about to knock against the metallic surface until the door sensors automatically caused the door to open itself. Funny, his door was unlocked, though doctors usually advised their patients to lock them incase the sensors accidentally caused the door to swing ajar from someone passing by in the hallway.

She peered into the room, it was dim and unlit, the light from the outside poured into the room, revealing the edge of a white mattress and a limp arm hanging off the end. She quietly stepped in, the door sliding close behind her as she hung up her jacket on a coat hook. She reached back to activate the lock on the door so that it wouldn't interrupt Tex's sleep.

"Tex...?"

She whispered as she moved towards the grey furred and scar covered arm that hung off the edge of the bed. Vicky placed the paper bag on the table next to the mattress and gently lifted the large arm back onto the bed, it moved around like a snake as it wormed under the folds of the white sheets and disappeared. She looked over to the other side, trying to get a glimpse of the wolf's face but found that it was concealed by the white sheets pulled over his entire body. The she wolf delicately plucked the sheets on both corners and began sliding it off the male wolf's face. She jumped back slightly and dropped the blanket as Tex erupted in a loud snore, his chest rising and falling as the air hissed out of his mouth.

She was quite excited. She had never seen Tex asleep before, he would always wake up at such early hours of the morning that it was nearly impossible to catch him sleeping. Slowly Vicky pulled the blankets from his face and looked at him, a smile slowly forming on her lips. Tex looked content, cut off from the rest of the world and simply at peace within his subconscious of slumber. This was probably the happiest she would ever see him, his frown was gone as well as his glare and it was replaced with a relaxed and peaceful look of passiveness.

Vicky almost didn't recognize him at first. His harsh face was softened and actually became bearable to look at without feeling uncomfortable. He somehow looked...younger. When she had first met the wolf, she would have mistaken him for being in his late thirties or early forties.

His hair had changed as well; two months of not getting a trim had caused the small spiky tufts that flayed forward in a rough flattop to grow longer and brush back against his skull as the longer spiked locks flayed out the back of his head and curved down to cover the back of his neck. The longest of the spiked locks could be seen touching all the way down to his shoulders. Vicky thought the new look suited him, he looked more friendly and youthful. The ragged scar that ringed around his neck was mostly covered by the hair that covered the back of his neck as well, something even he would find pleasing. She surprised herself as she caught herself lightly stroking the side of his muzzle with her paw, brushing her knuckles along the length of his muzzle and chin.

She playfully twiddled her fingers in the long hairs at the end of his chin that hung down in a goatee. Vicky pulled her paw away from his face as he opened his mouth and let a long and relaxing sigh roll off his tongue. He inhaled a deep breath and let it hiss out of his nostrils as his eyes slowly fluttered open. He tilted his head and his irises dilated as they focused. A look of slight surprise came on his face as he saw Vicky standing above him, her paw resting on his chest just under his neck.

She smiled and slowly blinked, parting her lips to whisper ever so softly.

"Hey."

Tex swallowed the lump in his throat and gave off a slight stammer in his deep voice.

"H-hey...what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were finally coming out of the ARC, I had to come and see you."

She glanced down at her paw as she moved it, roaming her palm over his broad, scar covered chest. As she reached lower, Tex's body began to stiffen up as he grew nervous. He quickly but gently clutched her wrist as he feared that she neared the damaged area of his chest.

"Vicky, wait,"

He hurriedly spoke. Vicky grew puzzled as she glanced at his chest again.

"Everything alright, I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No, no, I'm fine, just some muscle aches. But my chest...it's..."

"What?"

She slid her paw free from his grasp and pulled the sheets down to reveal his damaged chest. She lightly gasped and brought a paw to her mouth as she stared wide eyes at the large gash in the middle of his broad chest.

"I didn't make it out scot-free. Sorry you had to see this."

He pulled the sheets back over his chest to cover the diamond shaped slash mark that pointed diagonally from the upper left to the lower right. Vicky didn't care; she pushed the sheets off and placed her comforting paw back on his chest, slowly drifting towards the gash. When she neared it, she glanced up at him as if asking permission. He nodded and she lightly touched the rough furless patch of scar tissue. It sunk a bit, much like a large dent in his chest.

She was surprised; it wasn't what she expected it to feel like. It was rough and harsh like most scars were, but from what she heard, his sternum was completely blown away and his ribs were bent back from the heat of the blaster shot that blew the hole through him. The spot felt solid though, very solid, solid as carved stone or steel.

"Strange."

"What, what is it?"

"It's not how I imagined it,"

She lifted her paw from the gash in his chest and came to rest it against the side of his head.

"Its rough yes, but I thought your ribcage was obliterated. It feels...solid, almost like you didn't even have the hole in your chest to begin with."

"Well, it was obliterated; the doctors made me a new one though."

"Made you a new one?"

Vicky quirked a brow and glanced down at his chest again, poking the spot and feeling the solid wall on the inside.

"Solid titanium,"

He knocked against his chest. A deep thumping noise came as he rapped his knuckles against his chest, much like the sound of someone knocking on a door.

"There wasn't enough left of my ribcage to salvage it, so they took out the bent back ribs and replaced the whole front of my ribcage with this. Quite amazing, they showed me X-rays and it looked as if I never lost my ribcage, they molded the metal perfectly to match the shape."

Vicky playfully punched him in the chest and rubbed her knuckles as the wall of metal felt harsh against her fingers. She giggled and patted his chest.

"Guess it's true, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

"I suppose,"

He grunted as he slowly pushed off the mattress to sit up straighter.

"But nothing can beat having some extra 'insurance' to back you up."

He knocked against his chest again as he grunted from his muscle aches, trying to sit up and hang his legs off the side of the mattress. Tex glanced up and his eyes became locked with the small brown paper bag on the counter across from him. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air and shot out his paw to point at the bag.

"What's in the bag?"

His statement came so fast it almost sounded like one big word. Vicky looked to the bag and lightly smiled. She got up, clutched the bag and opened it, pulling out what appeared like a wad of paper in her paw. Tex knew what it was at the very beginning as the scent of meat wafted into his nostrils.

"For you,"

She chided as she teased him and waved the hamburger around in her paw. Vicky leaned her arm out to offer the food to Tex, but quickly withdrew it as he neared the offered gift.

"But, there's something I want you to do for me."

Tex quirked a brow as he lifted off the mattress and stood tall over Vicky's small form, the tips of her ears only coming up to his shoulders. He sighed and waited as she spoke her demands. They weren't exactly what he expected.

"A kiss, please?"

Tex's eyebrows rose slightly as he glanced at the floor for a moment before shifting his gaze back to Vicky. He hesitatingly took a few steps forward until his body was almost flush against hers, her head craning up to stare up at his face. He noticed his heart beginning to beat faster as that warm tingly feeling in his chest came back whenever Vicky was near. He licked his lips and gulped as he knelt down so that his tall form came face to face with the female's delicate and beautiful visage. His paws shook as he lifted them up to cup both sides of her face, Vicky stood still and leaned forward without any resistance as Tex pulled her face closer to his.

Her eyes remaining only half open as she gazed into his hallow irises. Tex nervously sucked in another breath of air until he finally closed the agonizingly small gap between their lips. He tiled his head to push deeper, causing Vicky's eyes to open fully and then slowly close as she coiled her arms around his neck. Goose bumps rose on her skin as she felt his paws slide off her face and rest on her lower back right above her rump. She rubbed her paws against his massive shoulders and ran her claws through his back as she raked them through his fur up and down.

Slowly pulling their lips apart, Tex placed his forehead to rest against hers as she lightly huffed to regain her breath. She looked up at him as he looked down at her, their arms still wrapped around one another. Her mouth hung open slightly, her pink tongue to come out as she licked her lips of the lingering taste that clung to them. She reached out and stroked under his chin as they brought the tips of their noses to touch, leaning forward to share another kiss. It wasn't even about getting the hamburger anymore; there was no hamburger as far as they knew.

As far as they knew, they were alone together, in each others arms, and there just so happened to be a bed conveniently placed behind them. The thought came to both their minds as he slowly laid her down on the mattress, but it was far too early for such things, they didn't wish to rush into this more then they already were. His massive embrace nearly enveloped her tiny form in comparison to his body. They locked lips again as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. As far as things were leading to, they made sure not to take things too far, not just yet.

They separated once more, drinking in each other's eyes and features as precious as liquid oxygen. She went limp, her limbs slid off his body weakly as she was overwhelmed with emotion, her chest heaving with every breath as she looked up at him. He placed a paw to cup the left side of her face as he sifted his fingers through the fur of her blushing cheek. Her tail thumped against the mattress as it wagged uncontrollably along with his. She melted into his palm, nuzzling it with her nose as he slowly pulled it away and brushed his muzzle against hers, running it along the length of her muzzle as he inhaled her intoxicating and amazing natural scent.

His muscles burned, his body ached, yet he didn't care, he felt as comfortable as could be. She pressed her body against his, feeling the incredible warmth that radiated from him. Tex lay on his side as he kept his arms curled around her and she pulled the sheets over their bodies as she kicked off her shoes and pants to get more comfortable. There they lay together, he was only clad in a pair of hospital boxer shorts and her in nothing but a t-shirt and undergarments, yet they simply closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep as Tex moved his paw under her shirt to rub the fur and flesh of her bare back. He slightly grimaced as he felt the scars on her back where the whip had cut into her skin.

It made him sick that someone would do such things to a woman. He quickly brushed away the thoughts and refocused on the situation at paw. He didn't need to make himself angry, not now; this was a time of peace and joy. He felt things he had not felt for quite a long time, his heart never beat this hard or this fast in his entire life. His ears twitched as he heard a soft whisper spoken into his chest.

"I love you."

Vicky buried her face into his chest as the comforting warmth from Tex's body caused her to drift off into sleep. It was just three words, three simple words, they these three words caused his eyes to fill up with moisture as a tear trailed down his cheek. He leaned his head down and kissed the side of Vicky's muzzle as she rhythmically breathed into his chest while she slept. He buried his face into the side of hers as she sighed in comfort to his proximity.

"I love you too."

The last words she heard as she fell into the grips of slumber. Tex soon followed as his head lazily fell onto the pillow and he coiled his arms around her form firmly yet gently. With the last bit of consciousness left, Tex brushed his nose against her ear and whispered into it.

"I love you...Victoria..."

The name rolled off his tongue and hissed out of his mouth along with a blast of warm breath that made her coo to the sensation and his breathing soon came in tune with hers.