Chapter 6: Unpolished
The high-pitched whine of alarms rang above the Cadets' heads. Confusion turned to terror, with shards and sparks flying overhead, and screams erupting from the dark inkwell of the unlit hallway.
"Everyone, stay calm and keep together!" The Officer called blindly. "I'm going to try to find the emergency lights—"
Hushed and anxious raised voices erupted from the crowd of students stumbling blindly in the pitch-black smoky haze. More rumblings came from outside.
"Where's that sound coming from?! Is someone bombing the school?!"
"Argh—there's too many people—I can't b-breathe—"
"Falco! Falco, where are you?!"
"Katt? Stay there, I'm coming…just keep talking—"
"Steph, I'm scared—what's going on—?"
"Let GO of me! Stop clinging to my arm like a toddler, you spineless cretin, I'm not your mother—!"
Never in a million years did Wolf think it would be harder to sift through the dark confines of a room this small, over any of the nightmarish caverns of his youth. At least back on Venom, it was just a small matter of finding a wall to hug and shimmy against until he found the exit; here, everything was made ten times harder and more aggravating, thanks to all of these stupid, panicking kids.
He felt random people trample over and ramming into him in the dark, their anxious shouts filling his ears, and making him grit his teeth. I can't even smell them to avoid them, He mentally seethed. This smoke's cloaking every unique scent like a blanket—
Wolf felt someone's boot trample over his, painfully bending his toenail inward and making him shout something profane, before a new tremor shook the floor and cut him off.
The panic ceased immediately, and the room went silent. Everyone blindly tilted their heads about, hearing each other's shaky breath in the dark.
When the explosion finally hit the hallway door, a sudden plume of heat snaked through Wolf's fur, hot enough to make him instinctively drop to the ground onto his stomach.
A flash of light flooded the room as the door burst open. Smoke and the sound of metal plates poured in, as personnel from Academy Security ran in clad in their armored hazard suits, a strobing flurry of laserfire behind them. The terrifying noise made Wolf scramble back to his feet, just as a breathless guard took his spot on the ground. He watched him limp to his feet, wincing in pain behind his cracked visor.
"Keep holding them back! Don't let them get near the children!" The man shouted behind him, clambering to his feet. His eyes fell on the terrified Cadets. "You all, stand clear of the door! The Academy's under attack, this is not a drill!"
The declaration made everyone's hushed breathing stop, feeling themselves grow weak in the knees as they heard more laserfire and groans from down the scorched hallway outside the door. Even the Dalmation Hall Officer found himself stammering.
"A-Attack—? By who?"
"Don't just stand there! Get over there and hold the line!" He shoved a blaster into the confused Dalmatian's hand. "The rest of you, GET BACK!"
As the Guard hurried them back, Wolf could see the other personnel failing to keep their staggering phalanx around the door. Their silhouettes buckled under a barrage of laserfire, their armor plates flying apart in steaming chunks as muffled screams filled their visors.
Wolf was transfixed by the sight, with him and the others rendered practically numb, the only thing shaking them out of their fearful stupor being a stray laserbolt streaking overhead and showering them in sparks, sending them into screams. The Guard silenced them with his harsh voice. "Listen to me! All other routes are closed off—Head to the hangar and escape with the docked ships. Repelling the enemy's your only shot at escaping! GO!"
The students just stood there, wild-eyed and frozen in fear.
"Are you all DEAF? I gave you an order!"
Laserfire erupted, and another soldier behind him screamed. "They've breaking through!"
He'd only just blurted the last syllable when a blaster bolt collided with his throat and sent him crumpling. Wolf just blinked, insides turning nauseous and empty. Everything was unfolding too quickly for him to react fast enough.
"GET THROUGH THE DOOR, NOW!" The first soldier shoved the front row of kids through the rear doorway with the butt of his rifle, slamming the wall-switch to hastily bring down the door. Just as it came down, there were panicked shouts in the distance before a blinding light engulfed the hallway of soldiers.
BOOM.
The steel plating turned a molten orange, rattled by the explosion on the other side. Curling flames shot out from underneath the door and singed the air at a terrifying height, making the terrified children jump back. The screams on the other side died down, until only continuous rumbling overhead remained.
Wolf just stood there, stunned, the lump lodged in his throat barring even a stutter out of him. He heard a whimper behind him.
"Did they just—? A-Are they—?" He heard Fox say in a frail voice. He couldn't say the word "dead". None of them could.
Their surroundings wouldn't allow for the shock to settle in. The flames towered quickly, quickly eating away at the duracrete ceiling, burying the door under debris.
Wolf darted his eyes about the hallway, searching the thick smoke for an escape route that wasn't there, feeling his breath quicken and his fur tingle from the heavy wafts of heat. Everyone around him was slipping into the same panic, too afraid to even scream over each other. Closed off from any adults to shield them, they began huddling together like frightened livestock, coughing and squinting as they felt their way blindly.
It was when they fumbled into the open hangar that they could see again…and their whimpering and shuddering stopped.
Rows of empty ships were docked in the room, the lift-lock arms miraculously keeping a tight hold amidst the fiery quake of whatever bombardment was raining down outside. The metal arms groaned, the steel railings lining the walkways crumpled.
Katt and Falco sobered from the panic quickest. Instinctively, without exchanging a word, they both dove in. Seeing them sprint ahead was all it took to rattle everyone else into movement, including Wolf. In a mad scramble, they all raced to get to their craft, trampling over each other to secure their own means of escape. Getting to the ships quickly became a brutal contest of strength, clumps of fur and feathers falling as everyone clawed their way through.
Grunting between the muddle of shoulders blocking his path, Wolf spotted some of the lucky kids that forced their way to the front and were already scurrying to whatever ships remained.
His mind raced, knowing that he'd get left behind if he didn't act just as quickly or as harshly.
He dropped to his knees and rammed through, pulling himself free of the crowd, and spotting an open cockpit. Wolf felt a rush of blood to his head as he raced to the mounting ladder—
All of a sudden, he felt a pair of hands shove him out of the way, sending him onto the floor belly-first.
"HEY!"
He swung his head up, snarling lividly to find the Dingo Cadet that had pushed him over, who didn't even look back as he dove into the cockpit he'd stolen and shut the canopy.
Cowardly little shit, Wolf fumed as he massaged his stomach. Part of him was tempted wrench open the canopy and yank the Cadet out, but there wasn't time. Scrambling to his feet, he barreled towards another empty one, racing to grab ahold of the boarding ladder, so quickly he almost didn't see another hand seize it mere seconds ahead of him.
He turned to find the person who beat him, Fox McCloud, looking wide-eyed and startled.
An awkward, frantic second of silence passed between them. Fox surprisingly didn't seize the chance to race up the ladder. In the heat of the moment, Wolf contemplated shoving the kid aside and saving himself, but a leaden weight in his stomach stopped him.
Clamping his mouth reluctantly, he resigned his hold. "Take it. You were here first, take it!"
Fox didn't move. His lips moved marginally, but he was seemingly frozen solid where he was.
The hell? What's wrong with him? Wolf's eyebrows locked together in exasperated confusion. "Hello?! GET IN, YOU FOOL! If you stay here, you'll die!"
His harsh voice made the shorter boy flinch, but didn't coax him into climbing in. Nothing did. For whatever reason, he didn't look afraid for his own life…he just stood there, seemingly more petrified at the sight of the open cockpit than the inferno shredding his surroundings apart. Something was holding him back from climbing in, sending a panic-stricken glint in his eyes…like insect cowering at the shadow of a boot heel.
Wolf had no idea what the idiot was doing. He snatched at the ladder. "I'll take it if you won't. Last chance."
Fox's voice was blocked, swept up in feverish hyperventilation. He released the ladder, shrinking back and shaking his head. Wolf's only response was to impatiently roll his eyes.
"Whatever. Move."He turned and climbed in, closing his canopy on the other boy's uncomfortable expression.
Once he was inside, his singed and sweaty fur greeted by the cool leather of the pilot's seat. Without wasting a second, his fingers flew towards the tactical computer. The closed canopy barely muffled the ear-numbing sound of explosions outside, violently rocking his cockpit as he raced to press all the right buttons to initiate launch. Fuel tank, plasma dump accelerator, gravigen cores, G-Diffusor rotation—he paused constantly as he struggled to remember the steps, fingers shaking and throat dry, cursing as the buttons lit up at an agonizingly slow pace.
His index finger slipped and opened his comm line, flooding the cockpit with the voices of neighboring pilots.
"—I am pressing the green button, nothing's happening!"
"Shit…SHIT! My engines aren't doing anything—these controls aren't anything like the simulator pods!"
Falco's voice blared on. "Katt, turn on your shields! You're going to go up in flames—"
"I'm trying, I'M TRYING!" Her voice crackled. "Which button did you press to get yours on?!"
"It's the one with the numbers! Hit it, quick!"
"There's, like, fifty buttons with numbers on them! That doesn't fucking tell me anything!"
Their shrill mewling burrowed into Wolf's ears, making him grit his teeth. When his engines roared awake, he felt himself breathe again, until he saw the steel door blocking the hangar exit.
Falco wasted little time, shouting into his comm. "We've gotta get outta here, quick. Someone get that airlock open!"
"Wait!" Stephanie practically screamed. "There's hundreds of enemies all over the radar—we'll all get destroyed the second we fly out!"
"Look around! No one's coming to help us!" Falco barked. "And I ain't dying in here!"
"W-We could call for reinforcements!" Fox evidently must have found the nerve to climb into the last remaining ship, because Wolf heard him pipe up as well. "The Cornerian Fleet must be nearby—if one of us opened up a comm. channel…"
Stephanie's breathing became easier on her comm. "Okay…okay, I can do that—" Her voice crackled, her shields fluctuating under a downpour of debris. "SHIT! If we're getting open those doors, we need to do it now!"
A Possum Cadet audibly struggled. "I'm hitting every button, nothing's happening!"
"You can't do it from a ship!" Fox yelped "The only way is to use the door controls, on the platform."
"Wha—are you crazy? This whole place is falling apart!"
There was a grim silence, as the air outside began to bubble and distort from the intense heat.
"Well, someone better go out there and do it," Stephanie demanded. "Either one of us stays behind to get the door open, or we all die."
Katt cut over her. "What is this 'one of us' nonsense? Stop skirting around and do it yourself."
Suddenly cornered, the Hyena's voice became dry. "No way. Screw that…I'm not about to die for the rest of you!"
"What was your game plan, then?" Katt asked in disgust. "Just announce your hopes that someone would be noble enough to sacrifice themselves while you saved your own skin?"
"Don't make me sound like the selfish one here! We all want to get out alive!"
"But you seem to be the only one willing to sacrifice someone to do it," Katt said coldly.
"Both of you, shut up!" Falco shouted exasperatedly. "No one's sacrificing anyone, we just have to find another way—"
"There is no other way!" Fox yelped.
"Oh God, it's over," wailed a Parakeet Cadet, slipping into hysterics. "We might as well have stayed with those soldiers…we're not gonna make it out. We're all going to die!"
Then, all of their voices were drowned out by the thunderous eruption of green laserfire blowing open the airlock door, as Wolf—fed up with all the voices buzzing around his cockpit—finally just leveled his high-yield laser cannons and fired. The sheet of metal flew off its hinges and just barely missed the nose of Falco's ship.
"JESUS!" The Avian's angry voice catapulted onto the speakers. "Are you outta your damn mind?!"
Wolf's ears flattened impatiently. "Did you have a better idea to get out of here?"
Daylight and high-altitude winds seeped in from the skyscape outside, before pulling on the noses of all docked craft. Wolf wrestled with the flight stick, his ship involuntarily lurching forward. His comm erupted with voices:
"It's sucking us out! Falco, start priming your G-Diffusers—!"
"I know, I know!"
Suddenly, there was a loud metallic creak, prompting Wolf to spin his head to one ship struggling behind the others, wobbling in an immobile rut. A frantic Feline Cadet's voice sounded off.
"W-Wait…I can't move! think there's something wrong with my flaps! My wings won't open!
Stephanie snapped callously. "I don't give a shit right now. No one's helping me get this distress signal online—"
The other girl's voice trembled. "No, seriously, there's—I don't know what's going on with my rotation conduits, I-I think there's something lodged—"
Her voice suddenly cut off, her boosters overloading and causing one of the wings to blow off and a surge of electricity to engulf the nose. Without even a scream, her comm channel went silent.
"Are you alright? Respond!" Fox could be heard tapping on the comm frantically. "Guys, I think she's stuck!"
Stephanie arched her craft forward, calling back impatiently. "Forget her, there's nothing we can do. We need to get outta here!"
No one else cared to stick around either. As the other ships raced out, there was a torn silence on Fox's end, before his ship flew out to follow the others. Wolf felt his stomach drop as he passed the girl's struggling ship, unsure whether it was worth risking his own life to get out and help her.
But in seconds, any lingering second thoughts about leaving her behind vanished.
There was no transitioning to the battle outside: it just enveloped the Cadets, laserfire and swarming ships raging above and below them. Before Wolf could even think, heavy fire was already hammering his shields, his face alight from flashes of red from his system UI. Instinctively, he banked to the side, the clumsy roll rattling his cockpit and ramming his shoulder to the side of his seat. He wasn't even fighting. He was just gritting his teeth and trying to stay one step ahead of the pursuing ships…the glowing targeting reticle of his UI wobbling uselessly as his hands shook, coating the flight stick in sweat.
The cockpit was clogged with the odor, haggard breath, and screams ringing from the open comm.
"SOMEBODY! Anyone, help me!"
"T-There's bogies everywhere—!"
"I've got two on my tail—I can't shake 'em! Someone get them off—"
"I can't! They're too fast…I can barely see them…!"
Calling it a battlefield was laughable; it was a mess of Cadets careening aimlessly, catching fire and hitting virtually everything but the enemy with their own cannons. Most weren't even bothering to fight, trying to flee the combat zone to save their own skins only to be obstructed by buzzing ships…with Falco mounting more desertion attempts than anyone.
"Argh, there's too many. I can't break through!"
"Where's that distress signal?" Katt cursed through clenched teeth. "Hey you, hyena girl…did you fucking fall asleep?"
Stephanie's voice rang back hotly. "Shut up, I'm TRYING. If you can't do it faster, just keep your mouth shut!"
"Yeah, well, while you're taking your time to configure every signal node, we're getting destroyed out here," Katt shouted, having seemingly abandoned the bubbly, girlish persona she'd adopted in class and hardened her voice impatiently. "Those reinforcements aren't gonna be worth a damn if they turn after we've been reduced to ash!"
A scream knifed onto the comm from one of the other cadets, as she was dogpiled by enemy craft.
Katt snarled her down. "Whoever's screaming, shut it! Keep the comm clear so I can think!"
"Why don't you stop ordering everyone about? No one put you in charge!" snapped Stephanie.
Wolf was about to tell them both to shut up, when a second scream drowned out their bickering voces. There was a splash of orange ahead from the explosion of a friendly craft—the black smoke cleaved aside by a flurry of silver objects, hurtling at them in a serpentine formation.
"MISSILES!" Fox shouted. "Everyone break off, repeat—!"
His voice cut off as he dove, chased every foot of the way down by the missile stream. Everyone tried wrenching their craft to safety, chased by their own stream of missiles.
"Crap—I can't shake 'em off!" Katt yelped.
The first slivers of fear cracked Falco's voice. "Neither can I—they're too close—!"
FWOOM!
Wolf's ship rattled from a nearby explosion, sending his heart to his throat. He tried to jerk his craft around, ignoring pleas for help springing from his comm. Just barely evading his own set of missiles, he felt his ship buck under the shockwave of an even closer explosion just overhead. Swerving his head up at the noise, he saw a flaming wreckage hurtling towards him, kicking him to instinctively wrench his craft in a frantic, last-second bank.
He wasn't successful. The passing wreckage scraped against him with a loud metal groan, gobbling away at the last of his shields and tearing off his wing. Down Wolf went, the blood in his head rushing as the sky outside his cockpit swirled into a dizzying blur. The ship's nose shook his cockpit so hard that it made his teeth rattle, the rapid drop in altitude fogging up his windshield. Wolf pulled back on his steering, having only a frugal sway over the direction of his one-winged ship.
A high-pitched hum from behind made him freeze. Three missiles flashed on his radar, blaring red. He tried banking, spinning, altering his speed…failing each time to shake them off. His heartbeat hammered against his ribs, just as static erupted from his comm going offline. His dry lips barely moved, unable to croak for help. He felt just as helpless as that girl he'd left behind, the one he'd consigned to death without a second thought…
This isn't happening… Wolf pleaded in silence, heart racing as the humming grew louder. This can't be how…
A blast rocked his seat. A surge of white engulfing his canopy and vision. He scrunched his eyes tightly, heart practically stopping—
And then…
…there was nothing.
The searing flames and wave of shattered glass never arrived. All noise came to an abrupt halt, leaving only a still, lingering silence.
Fear still gripping his body, Wolf popped an eye open to find himself alive, and unscathed. His cockpit had disappeared, and his shaking boots were planted firmly on some form of ground: looking around made him realize that he was standing on the grass of the Academy grounds, with all of his faculties intact. Stuck somewhere between relief and confusion, he glanced upwards.
What he saw defied plausibility: The battle taking place in the Academy skies was in locked in a physically-impossible stand still around him. Clashing ships, curling explosions, streams of glowing laserfire—each visual artifact inexplicably suspended in animation across the sky at odd angles and transitions, like rainfall suspended mid-descent. If Wolf wasn't moving around himself, he would've been convinced that time had been frozen around him. But he could move. Blinking in utter bafflement, he craned his neck around each frozen column of laser-bolts or frozen starship exploding apart…trying to muster a single comprehensive thought.
The stir of movement around him made him realize that he wasn't alone; other Cadets emerged amidst the frozen apparition, unharmed without so much as a scorch on their uniforms, and looking just as bewildered as Wolf. They were all still frenzied from the battle, fur and feathers on end as they gulped feverish breaths.
The Hyena, Stephanie, swayed dangerously on her feet. "W-What just happened? Where…How did we…?"
Fox examined his hands. "I don't know...Last thing I remember was the explosion, and a white light…"
"So, it wasn't just me," She breathed. "You felt it, too."
"KATT!"
Everyone leapt aside to avoid being trampled by Falco as he rushed over to the groggy-looking Feline on the ground.
"I saw you go down, I-I thought you..." He sounded weak with relief. "Are you alright?"
Katt allowed herself to be helped up, her bangs fretted and her tail in a spiky plume. Her mouth opened, presumably to explosively demand what was going on, until one look at the collage of battle overhead caused any words in her mouth to trail off. Everyone followed her gaze upwards.
"Y-You're seeing this too, right, Falco? I'm not just hallucinating, am I?" Katt's whisper quickly became less awestruck, fringing on alarm. "...O-Or are we all dead?"
"Neither, Cadet. This is the battlefield of the mind…your proving ground for the next four years."
The stern, all-too-familiar voice perked Wolf's ears up, yanking his gaze around. On the other side of the field was James McCloud, strolling towards them. His composure was completely calm, gloved hands clasped behind him.
Under normal circumstances, Wolf would've grimaced at seeing him, but right now he was just as frozen in bewilderment as everyone else. They all watched, both awestruck and terrified, as James walked past a ship exploding in half just above his head, his fur making dancing orange hues against the perpetually-hanging glass shards of the shattered cockpit.
"Now, everyone, stay calm…you're all perfectly safe." He spoke gingerly, like he was gently nudging them out of a sleepwalk. "It's alright if you're feeling confused…"
"'Confused' is a Goddamn understatement!" Falco, characteristically the first to march forward. "Look, I don't really trust my eyes right now, but you really are James McCloud, you mind tellin' me what the hell is going on?"
James opened his mouth, but stopped himself. "You know, it'll be easier just to show you." He turned his gaze upward, seemingly addressing the sky. "Simulation: Terminate."
The frozen battle around them shimmered into transparency; every plume of smoke and unfurling explosion, every frozen stream of metal fragments and laserfire in the air…it all just vanished. Like a mirage fading into obscurity, their surroundings bled away, and the baffled Cadets found themselves in a huge, empty, domed arena. It was made up entirely of a wireframe grid of image projecting panels, covering the floor and walls and changing color repeatedly. One minute, the room was doused in moody blue, then to hot pink the next, alternating with a hypnotic hum and a passing ripple of light, refreshing like an OS cycle in the absence of any commands.
Everyone stood mystified, craning their necks to soak in every inch of the massive room. The Parakeet Cadet asked breathlessly. "What is all this?"
"Get a good look, 'cause you and your comrades are probably the only people in the galaxy who will ever set foot in here," said James. "This is the Simple Map, the single most precious and advanced piece of technology in the Lylat System, and the most closely-guarded secret of the Cornerian Military. This place is the breeding ground of our would-be pilots, where they train against scenarios sent directly to their minds…very much like the one you all just witnessed."
"Hold on…that entire battle just now…" A Bluejay Cadet murmured, struggling to believe it himself. "…this room created all that? None of it was…?"
"Convincing as it might've seemed, no." James glanced above, to where the battle had been raging. "It wasn't real. It was all simulated."
"But it felt so real! We ran through multiple rooms, saw the whole place fall apart...smelled the smoke and ash, heard the screams—"
"Wait a sec." Stephanie's hands suddenly rummaged her face and sleeves. "All the ash and soot that got in our fur...it's all gone. Even all the sweat—" When the other girls recoiled in a unison of ewww's, the Hyena flattened her ears. "Don't give me 'eww' crap, you were all sweating buckets, too!"
One of them paused. "She's right, though. The blisters and burns I got during the fire are gone. My chest doesn't even hurt from running anymore. It's like..."
"Like you never started moving to begin with."
They all fell into mystified silence at the sound of James' voice.
"You haven't moved from this spot for the last twenty minutes. I mean, if you want to get technical, none of you have budged since my student officer was good enough to lead you in here. From there, the simulation ran its course."
That's when Wolf's heart skipped a beat, his eyes immediately combing the room. If what he's saying is true, then the sim must have started when the lights went out. The officer must have just been playing along with it, and then all hell broke loose—
Wait…no. Did it start when I started smelling the smoke…? Or even before that? His head was hurting just thinking about it.
"You were all standing upright where you are now, engaging with the scenario being projected to your minds." James knelt down, planting his fingers on the grid. "All of your senses were being tapped into, allowing you to see, smell, and hear everything it wanted you to. Just like it can for any place or any event."
Falco shook his head. "Come off it! You can't expect me to believe that a simulator cooked up everything I just saw."
The fox's ear pricked sharply. "You think it isn't possible?"
"It isn't possible! There's—" Falco stopped, reeling in his confrontational voice reverently. "Er, sorry, sir. But there isn't a projection pod or a dose of Zonetian Ice powerful enough to trick a mind into seeing something that realistic. Holo-imaging like that shouldn't even exist!"
"You could be more right than you know," James said. "Because this isn't a hologram. Sim pods, high-end projectors, the usual coin-operated affair you're used to? all that? You won't find that here. Everything is 100% pure synaptic data, scenarios fed to you on a purely sensory level, all while you're still standing upright in this room."
The room of students gradually began to calm down long enough to piece together what he was saying. As they recovered from their confusion, they couldn't help but gawk at James, relishing his tall stride and the deep voice they'd grown up hearing from interviews and holo-casts. They were completely spellbound by just being around him…all except Wolf, of course.
"Corneria has the pilots it does all thanks to this place," James continued. "By giving them the got the most risk-free way of experiencing every potential battle, down to touch, distance, depth perception, everything. You can swim the depths of an ocean or traverse a minefield…all completely simulated."
Steph sucked in a breath, staring around the room a new sense of awe "So, this is where we're going to be doing training?"
James nodded. "You'll be practicing every dogfight here, under my supervision. But don't worry, we've installed some content protocols to dial down some of the more realistic elements of battle. Don't want to expose you to something you aren't ready for."
"Oh, you mean like that chaos you just tossed us into?" Falco demanded, still breathing heavy and sweating. "You still haven't told us why you had us runnin' around like gerbils in a warzone!"
Wolf turned sharply. He'd been wondering the same thing, surprised someone else was willing to call James out on it, given how enamored everyone was with him.
"A regrettable part of Academy policy, I'm afraid," James said, looking sympathetic. "CDF demands that new students be put through the Simple Map unprepared, to test their resilience against…well, its realistic nature. We need to know from the first day if you can handle its extremities or not."
"And throwing us in completely blind, without any warning?" Falco snapped. "That part of 'academy policy', too?" His scowl tightened."
"Believe me, I've long given up arguing with Command about it. But me warning you all about it would be considered interfering with your conditioning." He straightened. "But I would be lying if I said that was the only reason that I kept you all in the dark."
Falco's blue eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Much as I loathe seeing new cadets get rattled on the first day, there's one invaluable thing to be gained by sending you in unprepared; I get to see how you carry yourselves in a battle you think is real. How you respond to the pressure of combat, to hazards posed to you and your comrades. The qualities you possess and lack."
A sudden halt interrupted his walk, causing his bushy tail to slightly sway past his boots.
"And I must say, this time I was more disappointing than usual." An icy prick of disapproval emerged from his quiet voice. "Even from first-timers, that was an appalling showcase back there."
The room suddenly fell uncomfortably silent, as everyone's gazes fell to the ground to avoid the fox's reflective glasses. The knowledge that he'd been watching the whole time now caused them to shrink in embarrassment.
Katt, however, didn't fall in. "Now, hold on just a minute," She said, speaking for the first time. "We didn't have an ounce of preparation, or even a fair warning about anyof this. How is that a valid way to test us?"
Everyone winced, knowing full well that she should've held her tongue, but James nonetheless acknowledged her. "Cadet, in an actual battle, do you expect the enemy to give you any more of a 'fair warning' than I have?"
Her mouth popped open to fire back a retort that never came. She lowered her gaze, uttering a small: "…No."
"Make no mistake: I can overlook first-time blunders like childish handling of craft, or probably the worst aim I've ever seen from someone with a working pair of eyes..." Rather than isolate any cadet with a glance, he mercifully kept walking. "That's expected and easily fixable. But your absolute disregard for each other would kill a squadron in a real battle. I'm not expecting full-on camaraderie, but leaving each other to die? Sabotaging each other to escape? You've all shown me that your character is in desperate need of polish, not your piloting…and that's not so easily fixed."
It was a hard thing for all of them to hear, indicting with how blunt it was but far more disheartening from James' mouth. He was the hero that they'd spent childhood idolizing, the one person they'd dreamed of meeting. Having him cut them down to size was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, one that knotted their stomachs.
"I'm sure that you're all capable fliers," conceded James. "Getting into this school is no easy task…but as I'm sure you know by now, flying's not the only thing you're being tested on. It's also thinking like a pilot: tactically as Professor Dunaway will teach you, and cooperatively as I will teach you. And it'll be up to you to convince us that you can handle yourselves in combat, level-headed and harmonized."
Katt rose her head again, somewhat heatedly. "Even if we're unprepared?"
Coming to a sudden halt, James turned to acknowledge her.
"Cadet 121, by the time I'm finished, you'll be able to be dropped into a scenario like this one without a word of warning...and not only survive, but win every time."
The response made Katt blink in awe, and ignited a flood of whispering behind her. Their whispering stopped when his gaze passed over them, including the corner where Wolf was, who felt himself squirm uncomfortably. His height kept him from being buried, so he was certain James was consciously ignoring him…
Then, James lowered his head, and the tone of his voice changed.
"I know that you're all probably standing there, feeling overwhelmed by all this," he said quietly. "And that's okay. Everything that's being asked of you would be tremendous for anyone. I know it was for me. Believe me, before all the fame and sponsors, or ridiculous statue outside, or these…" He laughed, removing his sunglasses so he could look at them earnestly. "…I was the same as every one of you. Buckling under what was expected of me, ready to keel over."
Everyone was already disarmed by how normal and approachable he looked with his glasses off. The mental image of him as a bumbling and frightened as they were was even harder to wrap their heads around.
"If you're feeling some kind of nonsensical pressure to live up to me, or any of those dusty statues outside, let me be the first to tell you: don't." He grinned encouragingly. "Because I won't be the gold standard for long, believe me. The day's fast approaching where a student will blow past everything I've ever done and become a better pilot than I could ever hope to be. They might even be in this very room."
His gaze lingered over the huddle of students, before briefly falling on Fox. Everyone looked at him, waiting for the Ace Pilot to address him specifically, and even the round-faced tod half-smiled expectantly. When James cleared his throat impartially and kept walking, Fox's his ears drooped somewhat.
"Work hard and push yourselves to be the exceptional people I know you can be. Consider that your mission from me…starting tomorrow." Back to them all, he folded his glasses and slid them into his jacket. "Right now, your last order of the day to get some rest."
He whipped around to them, heightening his voice commandingly.
"So, then...CADETS!"
A wave of tall ears and crest feathers straightened as they all clicked their heels together.
James rose his hand to a stiff salute. "Dis-missed!"
A Hall Officer scurried over to escort them to their dormitories, as they all began chatting excitedly, all of their anxiety and fear from the simulation seemingly forgotten, washed away by the starstruck thrill if meeting James McCloud.
"Nice performance back there, Falco," said Katt, at the front. "I'm sure you really blew James away with those skills of yours."
The Avian's face twisted into a scowl. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, sweet heart, but you didn't fare any better.
Katt mewed boredly. "That's funny, because I don't remember spending the whole walk here puffing my chest about being 'the next great pilot'. That distinctly sounds like you." The echo of her dismissive drawl and his irritated barking trailed after them, the other students pouring into the hall after them.
Fox, still discouraged, trudged behind to tentatively look back at his father. Glancing around warily, James finally decided to sneak a small wave at him, which lit a relieved smile on Fox's face before he scampered off.
Wolf shifted his weight as he stayed behind, seeing James from afar and finding it surprisingly hard to work the nerve to approach him. It should have been easy; just go over and say "hello", or clear his throat, anything to make his presence known. And yet, something kept his legs leaden and locked in place. Something incredibly awkward that nettled his fur with discomfort at the thought of that warm, good-natured face turning his way…
Stop skirting around and just talk to him, he ordered himself. We don't have to be all sappy…we can just make things work. For all you know, he might've changed…
Finally, he kicked himself into blurting something, in a wobbly voice attempting cordiality that he immediately winced at. "Hey, James."
It caused James to flinch like something had been flung at him. He looked disarmed, like he'd completely forgotten Wolf was in the same room. "Oh, it's you." His expression flattened. "Peppy said you would be arriving today."
Wolf nodded, offering a small half-smile. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
The dead air between them just made things more uncomfortable. The silence seemed to ring with the distant echo of their last heated argument from years ago; the air vibrating with their raised voices, with every vile thing Wolf had called him, every cruel and belittling thing James had said. Neither of them spoke, but both of them could hear it, lingering faintly in the preloaded silence.
Deciding to do as Peppy suggested, Wolf decided to be the one to put a diplomatic foot forward. He opened his mouth, but James immediately silenced him.
"Not here. Someone might overhear us." He glanced at the students shuffling into the hall, and lowered his voice. "C'mon. Your dorm's this way."
He briskly walked past him before he could say or do anything. Wolf couldn't detect anything brittle or stiff in the man's voice, but the way he was acting made him nervous. Was he mad at him for something?
No way… Wolf thought as he followed him. I just got here. Even I don't mess up THAT fast…
After a laborious elevator ride down to the Dormitory Hall, silent except for the hum of floors whizzing by, they finally arrived at one of the numbered rooms, and the slide door to Wolf's room.
Like everything else in the Academy, his quarters had a remarkably luxurious flare to it, elegantly furnished and more resembling a suite aboard a starliner than army barracks. Everything was spaced out and spotless, from aquamarine sofa, to the rosewood desk, to the generous closet lined with space uniforms. The naval-style wall bunk was adorned with star-pattern curtains and fluffy white sheets. The lush painting of the Cornerian oceanfront added a dreamy feel to the room, as did the porthole window letting in the rosy hues of the artificial dusk outside.
James strolled in immediately, his imposing height at odds with the tiny room.
"Room inspection's twice a month, so try not to trash it. And don't just toss your clothes about—there's a chute down the hall, the laundrobot will deliver everything back to your room. Just go easy with heavy loads." He glanced around. "I know this place probably isn't as comfy as Peppy's place…"
Wolf stood tentatively next to him, trying to sound genuinely appreciative. "It'll do just fine…Thanks."
Seemingly pretending to inspect the cleanliness of the room, James looked past him. Implausible as it seemed, he was even harder to read without his sunglasses. At least when he still donned them, he would lower his guard while the black lenses shielded his eyes, betraying the odd emotion through his eyebrows or lips. Unmasked, he seemed to guard his emotions more than ever, refusing to betray even the slightest honest reaction out of his rigid, static expression.
Even around his enemies, he was never this tense or on-guard. Only around Wolf did he ever seem to closet so much of himself…with only the occasional spurt of disapproval seeping through.
Then he turned unexpectedly, glancing from the boy's boots to his face, as if this was his first real look at him. "You're definitely taller since I last saw you."
Wolf didn't detect any hostility in his voice. He relaxed his shoulders, somewhat surprised. "...Thanks. Growth spurt must've happened back in juvie. I, uh…didn't see much of you while I was in there…" He looked up instantly. "B-But it's okay, I get it. You were busy…I'm sure plenty of stuff kept you from stopping by more often."
"Hmm."
It was an extremely noncommittal grunt. His eyes were already on the slide-door, seemingly counting the seconds to when he could leave, which Wolf couldn't make sense of. Was he making James that uncomfortable, or was it that he could barely stand to look at him?
"I believe Peppy has informed you on the situation? How things are going to go here?"
Nodding somewhat absentmindedly, Wolf watched him withdraw towards the door.
"Good. Then…" His was voice decidedly formal, devoid of any easy-going warmth or approachability. "I'm sure you're just as tired as everyone else, so I won't hover. Be on time for class tomorrow."
All the cordiality seeped out of Wolf, his tail sinking in a deflated manner. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"
James jerked his head, as if trying to recall if he'd forgotten something. "…Oh. Good night, I guess."
There was no keeping the awkward charade anymore. Wolf blurted exasperatedly: "James, it's been a year since we last saw each other."
The fox looked over his broad shoulder, seeming genuinely puzzled. "…And?"
"And you're treating me like a stranger. Even though you've known me longer than most of the kids you were just talking to." Wolf searched him desperately. "James, are you still mad at me? For all those things I said, last time? Because if you are, I'm—"
"I'm not mad about anything," said James, turning instantly. "I barely even remember what we were arguing about back then, and it wouldn't matter if I did." He aimed a dismissive glance at the window. "I behaved…badly. And without the excuse of age that you have. I think it's best if we put the past behind us, and move on."
It took a moment for Wolf to process it before he beamed, practically glowing with relief. The dread tightening his stomach came loose, and allowed him to breathe.
"Yes! I mean—yeah, I think so, too." Maybe he's working just as hard to make peace…maybe he has changed. "Y'know, me coming here…it might be a chance for me to turn things around. Not just with my record and all, but between the two of us."
He seized the opportunity to step forward and meet the man's height. He hadn't opened up like this to James in years, doing everything he could to sound earnest and non-confrontational.
"James, we've been fighting since I can remember, and I know that most of the time…" There was a pause, as Wolf swallowed back his pride. "…I know that most of the time it was my fault. But I swear, I won't be a headache this time around—you'll see for yourself. I'm more in control now, and I'm not the unruly kid I used to be; coming here might be the chance I need to show you…Lucy even said so." He said it all in the same eager breath, barely stopping to gulp for air.
James' only response was a placid, "Did she now?"
Wolf quickly nodded. "We figured that—well, mostly she figured—that being a stranger to all these kids, it would be the perfect way to start over, y'know? But it'd be a way for us to start over, too." His gaze lowered tentatively, before finding the courage to meet James' grey eyes.. "I wanna change for the better, James. For Peppy…and for you. And I want to make things right between us when I do."
His excited voice trailed into silence, one that James didn't break as chose to remain at arm's length, gaze as still as water. He exhibited no anger, but it was clear that the enthusiasm Wolf was imbuing the air with wasn't mutual.
"A lofty idea," James said quietly. "Even nicer if I believed it could actually happen."
All the hope seeped out of Wolf's smile. It wasn't even a matter of James not being receptive to his politeness; his tone was sharp and accusatory, like he didn't trust a word that came out of his mouth.
"I'm sure that flowery act of yours worked wonders on Peppy's naïve little heart," James said coldly. "But all that pretty talk about getting a fresh start, changing for the better…it won't work on me. We both know you have no intention of changing anything about yourself. That spectacle you pulled yesterday at the Facility is proof of that."
Wolf froze.
"Oh, you think I didn't hear about that?" He glanced at the bandage on Wolf's nose, voice dripping with a knowing scorn. "Tell me, what were the injuries inflicted on the other boy this time? Broken jaw or shattered teeth?"
"That wasn't my fault," Wolf said instantly. "There was—"
"Spare me, pup. I've heard it all before," James cut him off impatiently. "It's always 'it wasn't my fault', or 'this time I'm really going to change'. You're awfully good at telling the adults around you what they want to hear, to make sure you can keep getting away with every stupid mess that you're counting on someone else to clean up."
"That's not—"
"Don't insult me by lying." He fixed his grey eyes on him, like he was seeing through his disguise. "It won't work—none of it will."
Wolf stared at him helplessly. There it was, like clockwork—the biting disapproval, the callous persona that James would assume exclusively for Wolf, that he wouldn't adopt around the other children even at his harshest. He lacked even a smidgeon of Peppy's lenience or understanding, cold and unforgiving as the airless void of space; that was James, the harsher of his "two fathers."
It was just the way he behaved around Wolf, since the beginning. For whatever reason, he was a permanently soiled child in James' eyes, guilty unless proven innocent. The same benefit of the doubt that existed for other children didn't exist for Wolf, as far as he was concerned; James always, always suspected an ulterior motive, an undercurrent of malice or troublemaking in everything Wolf did…no matter what he did to redeem himself in James' eyes.
Nothing was ever good enough. No apology or earnest attempts at bettering himself. Wolf had spent years trying and failing to make James see him differently, to no avail.
And now, when he was trying harder than ever to make peace, James was slapping him away. Again. The sinking feeling turned to anger in Wolf's stomach, tightening it. He almost felt stupid for thinking anything would be different…that James had actually changed.
He lowered his gaze back to the ground, but the fox's scalding voice hung right over him.
"Don't give me that look. You think I haven't caught on to your little antics? I've spent seven years watching you cook up drama, pick fights, stagger between one shameful incident after another, only to have someone like Peppy will step in to coddle you." James moved away from the door, strutting past the boy over to the window. "And that's precisely why you keep doing it…it's what delinquents like you do. Deep down, you know you'll never have to improve, not when there's someone like Peppy whose affection you can exploit with empty promises."
Wolf kept his mouth shut. He wanted so badly to fire something back, to retort James like he used to. But the distant pleas Peppy had made to him held him back. He wouldn't be the cause for incident, not this time.
Don't snap back…don't give him that satisfaction. Lash out once, and you'll prove everything he's saying about you…
James shook his head near the window. "This is all Peppy's doing. Not once in seven years has he ever listened to me, and look at the result: he's spoiled you. Enabling your habits, showering you with sentimentality you don't deserve instead of the discipline you need. The only reason you're even standing here is because you've managed to trick him, yet again, into believing that this'llbe the year you finally shake off those violent impulses and start being normal." His reflection glowered back at him. "It'll be a rude awakening for him, but not for me. I know you too well to expect you to develop an ounce of self-control."
The points of Wolf's claws dug into his palms as he clenched his fists, staring daggers into the man's back. You don't know a thing about me. Seven years, and you still don't.
I'm sick of it. You're always ready to assume the worst about me, always the quickest to write me off as a lost cause—
James suddenly turned to face him. "But none of that is my concern. I'm just here to give you a warning, pup. This place isn't another juvie hall…it's a military facility. No one's going to tolerate any of your antics around here, understand?" He leveled a black-gloved finger at him. "If the staff around here smell insubordination on a student, even the smallest whiff of trouble, they'll crack down on you worse than I ever could—"
"…unless I don't give them that excuse," Wolf said, finally raising his head. "Or give you that satisfaction."
James locked gazes with him. "Don't flatter yourself. I have more students to handle besides you. If you mess up or get dragged to the school gates, it'll likely be at the hands of some other professors. They've all been warned about your 'special situation'."
Wolf whistled. "Eyes everywhere, huh? You're putting a lot of heat on my shoulders, considering I'm not the only Black Record walking these halls. I wonder if you're giving anyone else this kind of scrutiny."
"They aren't as in need of discipline as you are," said James, in a voice that was every bit as quiet as it was barbed. "It's a miracle you managed to even land through the gates of this place. I don't know what possessed CDF to think that you have any place in the fleet."
Instantly, Wolf felt his face burn. He was regretting his promise to Peppy every second, as the fox continued to look down at him like he was a stain on the pristine blue carpet.
"You being sent here to train is a mistake. Peppy and Pigma are reaching by even having the gall to encourage you." His snout twitched in disapproval. "This isn't the right profession for you. You can have whatever aspirations you want, but you don't have the patience needed to become a pilot…" Subtly, his eyes drifted to his bandaged nose. "…or the restraint."
"I'm not here to debate what you believe," Wolf interrupted. "The results will speak for themselves."
James raised a dubious brow. "That would take some hard convincing."
"Oh, I already know there's no convincing you." He rose to meet the man's height, barely coming up to his chin. "But there's a chance the Fleet might take me in, if I work hard enough. They don't have a moon-sized chip on their shoulder."
"Try and fail as you please. Just don't make any messes for me." The fox's eyes drifted past him disinterestedly as he walked past him. "Stay in line while you're here...and don't do anything stupid."
Wolf bottled the anger in his stomach, refusing to bite back and replying casually, "Sure, that's what I promised Peppy I would do…within reason." Then, his voice pinned James at the door. "But if you don't mind me asking, who's gonna be monitoring you?"
James glanced back. "You aren't funny, pup."
"I wasn't trying to be." His purple eyes challenged him. "I'll behave myself, James, but will you? How do I know that our little feud will stay in this room, that you won't abuse your position to do petty things under the guise of teaching?" He narrowed his eyes. "Who's gonna put a tracking anklet on you?"
All the fox gave was a wry smile. "I've got better things to do than fight a private war with you. If you think I'm mistreating you out there, by all means, report it. But let me assure you…" His expression hardened. "Outside of this room, I won't be one of your guardians…I'll be your instructor. And while I'm managing the other children, you can be sure I'll be putting all personal relations aside to teach and reprimand everyone equally, even my own son. Once I walk out this door, you and I will be strangers. And if you make a fool out of yourself, swagger out of line, try and make another ruckus to start one of our old arguments, I won't be sending you to your room like when you were a child...I'll simply do my job." The grey of his eyes froze over. "And Academy policy is far harsher than I could ever hope to be. Am I clear, pup?"
Wolf shrugged. "Dunno what you're talking about. I'm just another student, here to learn like everyone else. I barely even know you." He smirked playfully. "Isn't that right, Commander?"
James didn't bother humoring him. "Try to get some sleep. You've got your first dose of training in the morning." He turned as the door hissed open. "Tomorrow's your first day to show some proper change, if you can."
As his tall frame disappeared down the hall, Wolf's rebellious smile faded into a glower.
Hmph. And four more years where you won't change in the slightest.