Fox stood at the edge of a balcony, overlooking the bright Cornerian City lights as hover cars flew by below. Each building stood tall and proud, the lights from apartments, offices, clubs, everything was lit. The 11th annual remembrance day since the Lylat Wars ended, everyone was celebrating as they saw fireworks flying, a parade going downtown with an Arwing on one of the floats. Some older model bottlenose fighters flew by as they let out a cloud of smoke in the colors of the CDF fleet, and four Arwings modeled after the Starfox make with their colors as well.

All of this he fought to protect, for more, for a brighter day. And as he stared out at it all; he couldn't help but think he did make it brighter, but it wasn't day…

His chest felt contorted, knotted up in places and free in others like his ribs had melted and fused together. Breathing had slackened, a near faint feeling as he dizzily stood, then his knees buckled, sending him to the floor while he gripped his chest, grunting and groaning from pain and frustration.

Images of scenes shot through his mind, each of them painfully tearing through like a knife in the hands of a butcher, until it settled on a blazing bus with Venomian soldiers surrounding it in a ruined intersection of Corneria City, watching the inferno closely as the warmth charred hair, flesh, and bone. None of the soldiers spoke or even moved, just watching in what Fox couldn't distinguish between shock or awe as the fiery vehicle continued to light the area with red.

The bodies inside were of civilians, one of them was of a child and as the fire claimed its body he saw its chest moving still, however, a hole created from flames allowed it to lick out of their chest cavity. Each of the bodies was moving in some way or were exposed with bone and the like showing, the viscera was branded to his mind, melded in like it was natural to him.

Looking back at the child, he knew the muscle reflex was going haywire, he knew it! But he couldn't help but think about the thought that they could be alive, a child suffering from flames burning them as they couldn't scream or move...

His breathing crescendoed, becoming quicker, harsh, even hoarse as a low growl escaped his throat. The adrenaline flowing through his veins as he soon felt his hands gripping around the controls of his Arwing, the thrill entering his system as soon as he felt the thrust kick in and the sounds of shots hitting the asphalt below him.

Fox shot at the Venomians with prejudice from his Arwing before ending his pass and pulling up, cutting the engines, and dropping before firing at Venomian fighters from below before cutting the engines online again and finishing the u-turn and looking at the wreckage left behind from his strafe.

At least, that was the plan before he saw more, locking onto them as well as he began picking them off, even collapsing a large building into the street on top of them as his rage boiled, spewing over the rim and onto the burner as he no longer felt the controls of the Arwing, however, the feeling of a blaster rifle in his arms with a bayonet attached, muscle memory driving him forward as he shoved the weapon forward with a quick thrust.

Blood fell from where he stabbed as he saw the thick leathery skin of a Sharpclaw flay around the sharpened fixture. He squeezed the trigger as well, watching as the blaster shot plasma bolts through the body and behind him into more of the creatures who charged at him. He continued to fire as the warmth from the barrel overheating scorched his hand, focusing only on the task at hand while the bodies began to pile underneath his feet.

In only seconds, it felt like hours had passed to him as Sharpclaw fell to him. He was angry, extremely angry, using any pain he felt to push himself forward. Soon he couldn't fire further, kicking the body from the bayonet as he rushed towards more with it and stabbed forward, pulling back and slicing across the lizard's neck. He continued moving, slicing through them like butter as blood coated his arms and face, lathered into his vest and suit.

He got hit in the back by a club and he turned around, pulling his pistol-blaster and shooting only to no longer see the Saurian Thorntail Hollow, but instead that of the Sargasso Station as he saw the bolt fly at Wolf who managed to deflect it with a sheet of metal he'd ripped from the walls, turning it over and throwing it like a stick at Fox who hit it from the side with his arm, knocking it away. He sprinted towards Wolf before he slung a fist at Wolf's maw letting instincts take over and ducking out the way of a claw, using the inertia to roll out of another swipe downward which sliced through the metal paneling of the station's floor.

Fox landed on his back as he raised his blaster again, this time scoring a clean hit into Wolf's chest who was pushed back by the blow, but McCloud kept up the pressure as he began to rapidly fire at him, at least until his current charge pack ran dead, a small beep notifying him of the setback while Wolf stood up and pulled the charred metal chest plate off, throwing it to the ground with a thud while Fox stood up the two preparing to fight again.

Then, the scenery changed again, and this time he saw himself above Corneria, at the orbital gate, as thousands of Aparoids began to fly towards them from all directions. He felt his anger again, but this time, it was alongside fear, looking around for his teammates as he saw all of his team around him in a diamond formation, along with around a hundred Cornerian fighters.

"This is suicide…" His thoughts were cut short as he saw the thickening wave of enemies begin to circle around them.

But before he could engage, it all changed back to the Cornerian City lights as he began to feel himself slip off the edge, air flowing past his face as he felt fear coarse through his body, only to be caught by a blue hand that grabbed his shoulder-

Fox shot up from his bed on the Great Fox as he heaved, then gasped for breath, holding his head and chest as he looked for anything wrong with him before he soon slowed down, sighing as he pulled the weighted blanket off his body and stood up, walking out the small room towards the lounge for something to drink.

However, from the end of the hallway, two cerulean eyes peered at him, both from a curiosity of the estranged vulpine and an urge to assist him…