Peppy and Wolf arrived at the West Hill Hospital emergency bay about ten minutes after getting Fox out of the Luna Stone Hotel. The entire trip from the hotel to the hospital was filled with Fox's labored stridor, thanks to his jaw. If nothing else, it told Peppy Fox was still breathing, although it sounded absolutely terrifying having to listen to him wheeze with every breath. He was listening for any stoppage in Fox's breathing, which would signal very little chance of survival for his most trusted teammate and pilot.

Peppy nearly jumped out of his SUV before bringing it to a stop. He rushed out of his vehicle and tore the back driver's side door open. Fox was still lying on the floorboard under the second row of seats, still oozing blood from his midsection, and still breathing laboriously.

About a minute after stopping, Wolf noticed a bear with dark brown fur garbed in a white lab coat walk out of the main building. He slowly opened his door and stepped out, holding eye contact with the doctor. He noticed the bear was very similar in appearance to Ben, so he figured it was Theo Kaspar.

Dr. Kaspar glanced at Wolf and immediately shifted his line of approach slightly away from him. Wolf simply reached toward the rear door and pulled it open without saying a word. He knew Fox would get the doctor's attention without the doctor wasting time trying to avoid Wolf.

As soon as the door was opened, Theo stopped in his tracks. Fox's feet were pointing toward him, so he noticed the gaping hole in his abdomen first. He stood rooted to his spot for a second or two, then pulled out a small gadget from one of his pockets. It was a miniature communicator connected to several of his assistants and nurses. Unlike the ones the Star Fox team had, these communicators were audio only. "Stretcher, packing and dressing, stat. Open abdominal wound," he said, his training taking over. "I need at least two of you here ready for transport into the main building," he continued into his communicator.

Theo glanced at Wolf uneasily one more time. Wolf simply nodded at him in silence. The doctor was visibly intimidated, but continued in his initial assessment of what he'd need for Fox. He walked around the rear of the SUV and found Peppy had opened the other rear door.

Fox's midsection was still clearly visible to Theo as he approached. He groaned in frustration as he noticed Fox's lower jaw didn't line up with his upper jaw. It had to be broken. Moving in closer, he heard Fox's labored breathing and grimaced.

"Fractured jaw causing stridor. Oxygen line needed. Stand by for emergency surgery on both abdomen and lower jaw." He paused. Theo turned toward Peppy and asked, "How long has his jaw been like this?"

Peppy shrugged, his eyes showing worry. "Probably fifteen minutes or so." He turned away from the doctor and opened the driver's door again, pulling out his datapad. "He's had the open wound for about twenty five minutes."

Theo's jaw clenched. He grabbed the communicator in his coat for a third time and said, "Vulpinoid blood units needed in OR, stat. Be ready for resuscitation." His eyes met Peppy's again. "Sir, we're going to do everything we can to help Fox recover. But he's going to be inactive for several weeks, even if everything goes perfectly."

"Make sure he lives through tonight. That's the most important thing right now," Peppy replied. He said it with a sense of calm, making sure the doctor focused on the goal he could achieve. If Fox didn't live through the night, nothing else would matter.

The emergency bay doors opened again as two technicians walked out with a stretcher. One of them was a female snow leopard, probably in her late twenties. The other was a stocky male owl, also about the same age.

Both of them saw Fox at about the same time. The snow leopard left the owl with the stretcher and ran over to the other side of the SUV. Both Peppy and Theo moved out of the way so they could work uninterrupted.

"Fractured jaw and abdominal wound!" the leopard called. Without saying a word, the owl nodded and edged a foam mat under Fox's legs. The stretcher was hovering gently, just like Peppy's SUV, waiting for its passenger.

The owl paused for a beat, then found Wolf standing quietly on the other side of the open door. "Sir," he said, not realizing he was addressing one of the Lylat System's most wanted criminals. Wolf looked at him with a sideways glance. "I need you to slide the mat under Fox's back once we lift him."

Without a word of protest, Wolf walked to the other side of the stretcher as the owl climbed into the SUV and knelt on the seat above Fox.

"Ready to lift?" he asked. The snow leopard nodded. "One. Two. Three." The owl grabbed at Fox's pockets, while the leopard lifted him at the shoulders, trying to keep his neck steady. "Push the mat in!" the owl called to Wolf.

Wolf did as he was told and slid the mat underneath Fox's body. The two technicians set Fox back down and pushed Fox toward the stretcher. As they got him situated, the owl began fastening straps around Fox's shoulders and knees, paying attention to the stridor from Fox's breathing.

And without warning, the stridor disappeared.

"Oh, fuck," the owl stated without regard to who was around.

Peppy sprinted around his SUV with Theo Kaspar not far behind. Fox wasn't responding to the sudden lack of oxygen reaching his brain. Peppy froze on the spot in horror, his mind unable to deliver a suitable command to the rest of his body.

Theo brushed past Peppy, reaching toward Fox's jaw and grasped it by hooking his index finger behind Fox's lower teeth. He pulled upward slightly in an effort to open Fox's throat. Peppy, finally shaken out of his trance, immediately looked away. He was obviously sickened by watching Fox's lower jaw slide unnaturally as it was lifted and could almost imagine the sound it must have created. The stridor returned, thankfully, but they didn't have much time.

"Operating room, steady pace," Theo said to his cohorts. They left Peppy and Wolf at the emergency receiving bay without another word. Peppy watched fearfully as the three hospital workers disappeared into the building and turned left, Theo still holding onto Fox's teeth. He took a deep breath, knowing what happened to Fox was completely out of his control now. He had done everything he could, and there was a good chance it still wasn't enough to save him.

Peppy couldn't fathom what the response would be if Fox died. The hero of the Lylat System all of a sudden no longer. It would have been a perfect opportunity for both Janus and Wolf. Janus would have almost no interruptions to carry out what he wanted. And Wolf would be able to return to his old life as a criminal with no way to keep him in check. The only individual Wolf truly respected was Fox, and Peppy was almost certain Wolf was secretly hoping for his death soon. That had to be the reason he was so calm.

After a moment, Peppy said quietly to Wolf, "I'm gonna park and wait for Fox to stabilize." He climbed into the SUV, followed by Wolf in the passenger seat. Peppy guided his vehicle out of the emergency bay and into the parking lot, where he killed the power. Four broad pegs located on the underside of the SUV extended downward and gently made contact with the pavement. On the instrument panel, a word appeared in red letters: "CHARGING."

Both Peppy and Wolf walked into the lobby and sat quietly. Neither of them said a word. Peppy was constantly fidgeting in his seat, unable to remain still. His eyes darted from place to place, looking at everything and seeing nothing. Wolf's attention, however, was attuned to every small detail of what was happening. It had been seemingly forever since he was in a hospital, and all the soft colors and sterilized smells seemed foreign to him.

Maybe ten minutes after they had sat down, Wolf's attention was snagged by the door leading into the rest of the building opening. Two law enforcement officials walked out, making Wolf scowl slightly. Both of them were dogs, not unlike the military. He still had a disdain for any authority from Corneria, as they were constantly trying to incarcerate him. He knew they could see him at any moment, and it would have been nigh impossible for Peppy to call them off. His heart rate quickened as he expected them to apprehend him right there.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the door was held open, and a dark-furred rabbit walked out from behind them. The rabbit had an anxious expression on his face. The dogs began walking the rabbit out of the lobby, one in front and one behind him. As they turned the corner, Wolf made brief eye contact with the rabbit, who presumably worked here, judging by his getup. The glance they exchanged was more than just seeing someone sitting there. The eye contact was intense, like the rabbit was trying to send a message to Wolf about something. He mouthed the words help me in Wolf's direction. The dog bringing up the rear nudged the rabbit forward, trying to get him to keep pace.

As they walked out of the lobby, Wolf realized something wasn't quite right. Why did two law enforcement officials just walk a hospital employee out of the hospital? They never paid him any attention, even though he was sitting not five meters away from them as they had rounded the corner. Perhaps what the rabbit had done was more worthy of their attention.

Wolf didn't announce his intentions to Peppy when he stood. Peppy looked up at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"You have any idea why two law enforcement officers just escorted a doctor from here?" he asked, beginning to walk toward the entrance.

"No, you're not," Peppy stated preemptively. "I can't let you just walk free around here." He stood and hurried toward Wolf, who had already reached the sliding doors. They opened automatically for him, and he walked through, Peppy close behind.

As Wolf exited the waiting area, he looked around, trying to find any trace of those officers or the rabbit. His eyes found a patrol vehicle silently hovering away. Wolf stared at the vehicle, wondering what had just happened.

"A-four-nine-four," Wolf mumbled to himself. Not a second later, Peppy grabbed him by the arm and led him back into the lobby. Wolf didn't protest. He walked back to the seating area, but after Peppy had returned to his seat, he walked away again. He heard Peppy groan in irritation as he got up for the second time.

Wolf strode over to the receptionist's counter, and without looking at her, grabbed a pen and a small piece of scrap paper. He wrote down what he saw of the patrol vehicle's ID. A494. There were other characters he couldn't make out, but he wasn't sure how many. He replaced the pen and handed the paper to Peppy, who was conveniently standing there. Finally, he returned to his seat and stayed there.

"Is…is this from the patrol car?" Peppy asked, showing Wolf the scrap of paper from the receptionist's counter.

"It's what I could get of the ID," Wolf said without really making eye contact. "You should check it out."

Peppy didn't reply. There was nothing he could do in terms of investigating that particular lead, even if it was one. He simply pocketed the scrap and sat down for the third time in about as many minutes.

"You're not going to do anything about it?" Wolf asked.

"I…I can't. I'm a general in the Cornerian military in the spaceflight division. Why would you think I could trace a patrol vehicle?"

"That doctor asked me to help him," Wolf countered. "I wonder why…" he trailed off, leaving it as a pointed question for Peppy to consider.

"Probably because he knows who you are," Peppy said quietly without making eye contact with Wolf. It didn't take him long to resume his nervous fidgeting.

Wolf decided to leave it at that. There probably wasn't much of anything he or Peppy could do without risking their lives anyway. He resumed to waiting, somewhat irritated that Peppy was so consumed with something he had no control over. And it wasn't long before he was struck by the irony of what had just happened a few seconds earlier.

To Peppy, seconds passed like hours. He had heard a smattering of footsteps make their way around the waiting area, a few hushed conversations, and several sounds of realization. After a few times of hearing gasps or someone utter "oh…", he figured out they had recognized Wolf O'Donnell.

It was an awkward position to be in, to say the least. Peppy was obviously nervous about something, while Wolf was as calm as ever. Calculating, even. Someone who wasn't familiar with the situation would have guessed Wolf was waiting for just the right time to kill Peppy.

The doors leading further into the main building opened for the umpteenth time, and Wolf noticed Theo Kaspar walking out with Falco Lombardi not far behind him. Falco's right wrist was immobilized in a black brace. Wolf groaned on the inside, wondering how long it would take for either him or Peppy to explain what had happened while he was recovering. And just as he predicted, Falco stopped in his tracks, locking eyes and exchanging seething glares with Wolf.

Wolf's attention was quickly broken by Dr. Kaspar, who approached both of them. The doctor sighed.

"We think he's going to live," the bear said to both of them. "Somehow, Fox's internal organs avoided serious damage, but his peritoneum was burst." Upon seeing both Peppy's and Wolf's vacant looks, the doctor realized neither of them knew a lot about anatomy. He traced a circle with a finger from the middle of his ribcage down to his lower abs. "It's the sac that holds most everything in your midsection. Anyway, the front side of it is blown open, but it seems that it had absorbed almost all of the blast. That's what we're worried about the most, is putting it back together." Theo paused in thought and asked, "What caused it?"

Peppy looked up, finally concentrating. "It had to be a blaster shot," he said quietly. "Energy-based weapon."

"Are they usually deadly?" Theo asked.

Wolf nodded his head and continued for Peppy. "Every time, except for now. The fixer must not have been able to charge his shot." Wolf paused for a moment, his eyes clouded over in thought. "No. Because even a basic shot is enough to kill someone."

"Maybe the gun malfunctioned?" Peppy conjectured. Wolf nodded, not looking at anyone.

"What fixer?" Theo asked, sitting down next to Peppy.

Wolf grinned, hoping the doctor would love to hear this. "Your son's Ben, right?" Theo nodded. "There's a hawk who is a fixer for some…warlord…and Ben pulled him into a fight just before he could kill Fox. And lemme tell you one thing," Wolf said, his tone becoming more intense. He fixed his eyes on Theo. "That fixer didn't stand a chance against your son. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone fight that brutally."

Falco had edged his way over to where the three of them were sitting. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He almost asked Wolf to repeat himself, as he knew Wolf wasn't the kind of individual to say things like that.

"Is he okay?" Theo immediately asked.

"Don't know," Wolf said. "We got Fox away as quickly as we could and left him and Leon to check out the hotel."

"The Luna Stone?" Theo asked. Wolf and Peppy nodded.

Peppy had his datapad with him and allowed himself a small reprieve from worrying about Fox. He activated it and pulled up a screen that showed where the rest of the Star Fox team members were. He showed it to Theo and said, "These four dots are Fox, Falco, Wolf and me." He pointed with the stylus in his right hand. Peppy pressed on Ben's name, and the display immediately switched to a diagram view of the Luna Stone Hotel. "Ben's on the sixteenth floor of the hotel with Leon. If anything happens to him, a warning message will appear telling me some of his vitals. That's how we got to Fox before that hawk could kill him."

The doctor nodded after a while, realizing there wasn't much he could do about the situation, other than hope for the best.

Peppy turned to Falco and asked, "And how are you?"

Falco was a little disconcerted that Peppy didn't seem worried about Wolf O'Donnell nearby. "Uh, I'm fine, I guess," he said slowly. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked Wolf bluntly.

"I just thought you'd like to know I want to save Corneria City," Wolf said in his best effort to sound sweet. His gruff voice contrasted sharply with his nearly-sarcastic tone of voice he used toward Falco.

Falco rolled his eyes. "Really, what are you doing here, O'Donnell?"

"He just told you," Peppy said before Wolf could reply. He turned to Dr. Kaspar and asked, "Do you have a small room nearby where we can talk away from everyone else?"

Theo was taken aback by Peppy's sudden request and eyed Wolf nervously. Over the years, he had to listen to Ben spout off everything he had learned about Star Fox, and there seemed to be no shortage of information about Wolf. The same Wolf who was sitting in front of him. But as he looked closer, he noticed a small red splotch in Wolf's right eye. Maybe he could use that as leverage to keep Wolf from attacking him. He took a deep breath and stood. "Follow me," he said, beckoning with his hand.

They walked through the doors leading into the main building and turned right. A small, mostly bare room was open. All four of them filed in.

Before anyone could speak, Dr. Kaspar asked, "Wolf, how long have you had that subconjuctival hemorrhage?" He pointed to his own right eye to show Wolf.

Wolf's gaze immediately settled on the doctor. "Three months, I think."

"Anything else that's strange during that time?"

"Yeah," Wolf said definitively. The doctor had snagged his interest. "Headaches so bad I can't breathe. The last time, I could taste blood in my mouth."

"When?"

"Two days ago."

"Tell you what," Theo said, addressing the group. "I'll talk as long as you want if you'll submit for a blood sample." He pointed at Wolf, making his intentions clear.

Wolf turned the proposition over in his head. He just knew that was going to lead to his own arrest, but Ben had promised a way to get rid of the nanorobotics in his system earlier today. Maybe this was his ticket. "Deal," Wolf said succinctly.

"I need you to wait until after we've explained what's happening," Peppy told the doctor. Theo stayed in his seat and simply looked at Peppy. It was his turn to uphold his end of the bargain. "Dr. Kaspar," he began. "That fixer Wolf mentioned earlier is connected to someone we know as Janus. Does that name sound familiar at all to you?"

Peppy knew what Theo's answer would be. He didn't care what the doctor told him. Instead, he cared more about how the doctor acted upon hearing that question.

It didn't take long for Theo to say, "No." His expression didn't change, and there was no sign of recognition.

"As of last night," Peppy continued, "Janus was able to get a hold of several bombs that he probably plans on using soon. They're called 'CM bombs.'"

"What does 'CM' stand for?" Theo asked.

"Critical mass," Peppy responded. "We're doing everything we can to make sure none of those bombs detonate. That is, until Fox was injured." Peppy watched the doctor closely, searching for any hints of recognition, but it seemed Dr. Kaspar wasn't at all connected to Janus. "Anyway, if we don't stop the detonation, a lot of Cornerians are going to die."

"So what does this have to do with me?" Theo asked pointedly.

Peppy sighed. "When these bombs detonate, there's not much of an explosion. It's just to force several pieces of a radioactive block together. If anyone is exposed to the radiation, they won't know it until later. They'll begin to show burns on their skin, and they'll feel like they're getting sick."

"So you're saying radiation sickness, right?" Theo asked for clarification.

"Exactly. This is neutron radiation, so if these bombs do go off, and anyone is exposed, there's a 'walking corpse' phase that lasts about a day. After that…um…it's…well, there's probably not a worse way to die."

"Well, thank you for scaring me," Theo said. He recoiled slightly in his seat. "I still don't understand why you're telling…" He paused. "Oh," he said quietly in realization. "You're joking, right?"

Both Peppy and Wolf shook their heads.

Peppy continued. "Although I hope it doesn't come to this, I need you to be prepared for an influx of patients for radiation sickness. If they're close enough to a core while it's active, there won't be anything anyone can do to help. There will probably be some kind of news about bombs going off in the city at the same time."

Dr. Kaspar and Falco sat there in shock. Neither of them was familiar with extreme radiation poisoning, and Peppy hoped it would stay that way. But he wanted Dr. Kaspar prepared, just in case.

After a few moments, Theo made to stand. Nobody said a word of protest. He looked at Wolf and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes for a blood sample."