Everything in Wolf's body hurt. Terrible aching plagued every joint and muscle. He kept his eye closed, breathing softly through his nostrils.
He wiggled his numb fingers slowly and flexed his hands to get the blood flowing again. Then he gently moved his arms away from his sides and brought them to his face, running his fingers through the fur on his muzzle. So far, he felt like he was still in one piece, and his arms felt uninjured despite the aching.
It was when Wolf attempted to lean forward that a sharp burn in his abdomen caused him to grimace and choke back a cry of pain, opening his eye and looking down anxiously at his torso. A chunk of glass was lodged in the flesh just below his right ribcage, caked with coagulated blood around the entry point.
The sight made him feel dizzier then he already was. How big was the shard? How deep did it go into him? He considered himself lucky that it hadn't pierced through somewhere in his face; otherwise he likely wouldn't have ever woken up. He was already extremely lucky to have survived such a sloppy crash landing.
It was only now that Wolf noticed the intense orange sunlight being cast over his body. He raised his head and rubbed his eye to squint through the broken window of his ship. A brilliant tangerine sunset sat on the horizon overlooking the endless sea of sand dunes. He must have been unconscious for hours; it seemed like it was only noon when he passed through the atmosphere.
Wolf laid his head back and breathed through his mouth. Now that he'd seen the wound in his belly, the pain was building up fast. The irrational thoughts in his mind told him to expunge the object causing him pain as soon as possible, but he knew that the glass chunk may very well be the only thing keeping him from fatal blood loss. He shifted his sore legs and bit his bottom lip, trying to think of what to do next.
The sand outside shifted noticeably.
Wolf froze up and held his breath, waiting for something else to happen.
Then he heard what sounded like some hidden insectoid rattling their mandibles threateningly. A primal fear of danger caused Wolf to start panting as he unbuckled himself from his seat. An airy groan of anguish escaped his mouth as he felt around his hip for his blaster, causing his stomach wound to burn.
Right as Wolf got a grip on his weapon, he heard the noise again and looked up, feeling his heart jump when he saw a light brown arthropod with a singular green eye staring straight at him, clacking its sharp mandibles together in visible interest. It had to be almost half his size and was welcoming itself inside through the broken glass.
Immediately, Wolf flicked his gun up and pulled the trigger, sending a laser bolt straight into its eye. Its face blew up and spewed a messy red and green mixture of its blood as the rest of its long body was sent flying back into the sand.
Right after, Wolf heard even more of the same rattling and realized he was dinner in a steel carry-out box if he stayed in the ship any longer. Wincing, he lifted his legs up and effortlessly pushed the rest of the shattered glass out with his boots. Preparing himself for the pain, he took a few rapid breaths before heaving himself forward.
Wolf screamed out as the merciless pain in his abdomen flared up with intensity. He stumbled out of his ship and grit his teeth, almost falling to his knees but maintaining his footing. Black splotches hampered his vision as he tried to power through his agony. Knowing the stress and pain might soon knock him out and leave him as food for bugs, he brought his blaster out again and blindly fired off four shots at the ground around him, yelling in desperation, "COME GET ME YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!".
The rattling subsided unexpectedly. Wolf panted and clutched his wound, feeling fresh blood flowing around it. He'd torn it open and caused the bleeding to resume. As he felt his strength leave, he witnessed the sand in front of him bulge upward as a more bloated specimen of the creature from before revealed itself, and it was at least three times Wolf's own size. It bore two pairs of serrated mandibles and gave him the same hungry look with a pair of four green eyes.
Not ready to go down without a fight, Wolf glared straight at the beast and raised his weapon once more. As he toom aim, his hand trembled weakly as he found himself unable to pull the trigger. The black spots in his vision worsened as everything began to grow muffled around him. He no longer heard the sound of the creature's rattling; just the sound of his heartbeat slowing down booming within.
Wolf watched with a half-closed eye as his fingers loosened and dropped his blaster. He wavered in place for a moment before shuffling back a few steps, falling on his backside and breathing slowly. All he could feel was the pain in his stomach and a lingering cold sensation spreading throughout his body. There had been a slight breeze already, but now he felt even colder.
Everything his body had been subjected to up to that point was truly taking a toll on him now, and there was nothing Wolf could do to stop any of it.
The insectoid slowly approached, seeming to have some awareness of what was happening to its prey. Wolf's vision began to blur as several other identical creatures emerged from the sand around him, all with the same intent as the "alpha" bug.
Suddenly, Wolf felt a massive vibration from behind. Just above his head, he watched as narrow shockwaves rippled through the air and towards the towering bugs. Though he couldn't hear the noise, it must have been deafening. The arthropods all raised their bodies and wiggled their countless sharp legs wildly before either scurrying away or burrowing back into the sand from where they came.
Wolf lacked the mental capacity to fully process what was going on at the time. Exhaustion wore him down too fast for him to care. He let his back fall onto the sand beneath him, weakly staring straight up into the sky. Before the edges of his vision were completely blacked out, he noticed the front bumper of some wheeled vehicle sticking out at the top of his line of sight.
And as the world around him collapsed into uncanny darkness, Wolf saw a figure with feline ears appear and look down at him, though he was unable to make out any facial details. It was the last image in his mind before completely blacking out.
Wolf woke up with a faint headache, opening his eye weakly and blinking several times as his sight returned. He coughed a few times and gently raise the back of his head off of what felt like a linen pillow. A thin brown sheet covered his body, which felt unusually bare.
He lifted his right arm out from beneath the sheet and looked down inside to see that he'd been stripped of most of his clothing, left with just his undergarments. A tan bandage wrap hugged around his midriff and lower back with a subtle splotch of dark red where his laceration was. Only now did he notice that his left wrist was wrapped with the same type of bandage as well. Perhaps there was some sort of cut there he hadn't even felt.
Wolf brought his other arm out from under the sheet and slowly sat up. The pain in his abdomen was substantially weaker now that his wound had been treated by whoever—or whatever—took him and aided his injuries. He rubbed his eye drowsily and looked around to survey his surroundings.
He was in a cozy little room with walls made of an odd mix of various metals and faded white cement that all seemed to battle each other to be the dominant style. A shelf with dingy little homemade models of space ships sprawled on top sat to the right of Wolf. What appeared to be a closet ingrained in the wall with sliding doors of sheet metal stood to his left. And straight ahead of him was a medium-size square window with cotton curtains pulled halfway over it. Pale yellowish sun rays bled through and were cast over the bed.
Now Wolf noticed that the doorway to the room was open, but he couldn't see what else lay beyond the entrance due to the angle in which the bed was positioned in. He could faintly hear what sounded like old-school music being transmitted over a radio; it seemed to be an old tune from a Lylatian band that was popular generations ago.
Perhaps that meant Wolf was still somewhere in Lylat. But that wasn't a solid piece of evidence to back that possibility up; for all he knew, the wormhole could have thrown him anywhere in the known universe.
Footsteps approached. Seconds later, a figure appeared in the doorway before Wolf had any time to think about what he was going to do.
It was a girl; a young woman for that matter. She was a light brown lynx with interesting patterns of black around her face and a single gold earring on her left ear, giving her a unique look that also made her azure blue eyes stand out. Her outfit consisted of a gray jacket that stopped around her waist, thin purple tights, and a turquoise silk scarf. She was carrying a black cup in on hand and a small plate with what looked like bread in the other hand. The moment she saw Wolf awake, she stopped in her tracks and stared with a mildly surprised expression.
Wolf felt an immediate sense of familiarity with her face. He'd definitely seen her before, though no names came to mind at the moment. He blinked once and stared back; the two of them speechless in this prolonged and awkward moment.
The lynx walked at a noticeably slower pace, coming up to the bedside. Wolf felt somewhat disrespectful to keep staring, and he broke his gaze and looked down at his lap. She seemed cautious of him, so he figured this would show that he had no intention of trying anything.
She set the cup and plate on the wooden nightstand beside the bed, glancing at the mercenary with an expression that was hard to read, bearing the likes of something akin to suspicion and interest...suspicious interest.
The longer Wolf thought about her, the more names came to his mind. And suddenly, just like that, everything clicked. He was the first to speak, asking with a quiet voice, "...Miyu, right?"
The lynx was taken off guard and turned her full attention to him now. Interestingly, she didn't seem very shocked. It was as if she had somewhat expected him to know her name. Miyu nodded slowly and stood up straight. "Yeah...didn't think you'd remember, to be honest."
Wolf looked up at her and scoffed, nodding as well. "Hm...guess you already know me too then, huh?"
Miyu said nothing and stood back, crossing her arms and watching him with observant eyes. Her silence was enough to tell Wolf he was correct in his assumption. He scratched his arm sheepishly and sat up against the bed frame, letting the sheet fall down to his waist. "You didn't have to do what you did back there for me..."
"Look..." Miyu began as she closed her eyes and held up her hand to stop him right there. "I know, I just...consider yourself lucky I happened to be there." She shook her head and turned around, walking back to the door at a brisk pace.
"Wait, Miyu?" Wolf called out to her with a soft sigh. She stopped at the door frame and turned her head over her shoulder with her back to him. Wolf seemed lost for a moment, shrugging to himself before finally saying with a gentle voice, "Thank you...thanks for saving my life.".
Miyu watched him for a short while longer, lingering at the entrance. Just barely, a tiny smirk formed on the edge of her muzzle as she gave him a short nod. Not wishing to enter another prolonged gaze with the mercenary, she gestured towards the nightstand with her finger. "Just some water and a snack, for now at least." She exited the room right after finishing.
Wolf leaned his head back against the bed frame, quietly snickering to himself. What were the odds? Miyu Lynx out on whatever the hell this planet was, separated from the Star Fox team he knew she was associated with. A million questions flooded his mind now that he knew who had rescued him, all of which he wanted answers to.
He reached over to the cup and plate and set the bread down on his lap. His better instincts as a professional told him to check if there was anything in the water, but he disregarded them. If she wanted him dead, she wouldn't have rescued him in the first place. He drank a few sips of water before moving on to the bread, taking a modest bite at first.
The moment it touched his tongue, an almost ravenous hunger came over him. It was just plain simple bread, but it tasted wonderful after all he'd been through recently. He scarfed down the bread and washed it all down with the water, chugging it all without pause.
Wolf wiped a droplet of water from his bottom lip with the back of his hand, taking short breaths after his miniature feast. Normally, he would have felt embarrassed to have eaten like that without any manners, but he simply didn't care in that moment. Besides, nobody was around to see him do so anyways.
Or so he thought; Wolf glanced up to see Miyu standing speechlessly at the door with a tight expression that conveyed the awkwardness of the moment perfectly. Both of them locked eyes for a solid five seconds before Miyu held up a tiny white pill and murmured, "Uh...p-painkiller, for the injury.".
"Right...okay." Wolf lowered his ears and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.
Eventually, Wolf felt well enough to get out of bed and stand upright. His arms and legs were still sore, but it was manageable discomfort. He stretched out his legs and held his arms up, taking a long soothing breath of air as he destressed his body. Once more, the realization of how lucky he was to have survived without anything broken or missing dawned on him.
The pill he had taken about two hours ago definitely helped alleviate the pain in his abdomen too. Without it, he probably wouldn't have felt so great. Aside from a minor headache, Wolf felt good to go.
He took a few steps around the sides of the bed, regaining his sense of balance before stopping in front of the window and basking in the light that poured through the curtains. Curious, Wolf extended his arm out and pulled one of the curtains aside to look through the glass. As he'd expected, the landscape was primarily sandy and beige, though wherever he was seemed to be situated in an area without the tall dunes he'd seen when he arrived. There were no other houses that Wolf could see from the window; just a few short lumps of sandy rocks in the distance with sparse patches of shrubbery and thin trees.
Wolf stepped away from the window and walked to the door, which had been left slightly ajar. He looked around the room aimlessly for one last time before pulling the door open and leaving.
Right outside the room was a narrow hallway that led to a more open section of whatever type of home he was in. Still able to hear the music from earlier coming from somewhere, Wolf wandered down the hallway and through what appeared to be a parlour with a ragged couch and television screen on the wall across from it.
Nobody there either. Wolf glanced around and saw a compact kitchen to his left while a metallic door left half-open on the right led to some other backroom, where the music had more presence. Guessing that was the source, Wolf strode through the messy living room and walked through the door into a spacious garage with the roller door wide open, allowing for a view of the sunny desert heat outside.
Miyu sat on a stool in the center of the garage, humming softly to the music coming from a radio sitting on a metal shelf nearby. In front of the lynx was what seemed like an aged hoverbike propped up by a few rods of steel. She leaned close and tightened a bolt on the vehicle as Wolf watched with silent interest. Figuring he should make his presence known, he raised his hand to his chin and cleared his throat audibly.
The lynx jerked her body back upright and gasped as she accidentally tossed her tool, looking back at the bare-chested Wolf watching her and shaking her head with an embarrassed frown. "Geez! You scared the hell out of me dude!"
Wolf shrugged apologetically as he knelt down to the floor, picking up her screwdriver and walking over to Miyu. He held it back out to her as he looked out at the desert outside. "Sorry, heheh...say, Miyu? Where are we exactly?"
Miyu took the screwdriver from his hand and finished securing the bolt in place, wiping her brow with the back of her hand shortly after and looking up at Wolf. "You don't know? How'd you crash here of all places then?"
"Wormhole." Wolf told her without any detail as he stepped closer to the entrance of the garage and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and squinting at the bright sun.
Miyu cocked her head and blinked several times. Well, that wasn't the response she had expected. Knowing who Wolf was and the kind of business he did, she thought his explanation would have been somewhere along the lines of being chased either by the law, an angry employer, or a rival gang. "So, what were you doing flying into a wormhole?"
"Escaping." Wolf casually answered her with another single-word reply. Miyu nodded as though she understood. Now that was more like what she'd initially expected.
Miyu paused her work on the hoverbike and stood up, popping her knuckles and walking over to the shelf to put her screwdriver away. "Must've been some crazy wormhole then, because you're pretty far from Lylat."
Wolf turned his head over at Miyu in disbelief. Even his tail stopped swaying around. "...Uh...how far are we talking, Miyu?"
"Pretty damn far, Wolf. You're on one of the frontier planets in the space between Lylat and Centum. Specifically?" Miyu paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes, searching in her memory for the information. "...AP-0181, at least I think that's all the numbers on the end. It doesn't really matter though, everybody here just calls it Dastin's Planet."
Wolf leaned back off of the wall and ran his hand over the top of his head with a puzzled look. "Dastin's Planet?"
Miyu shrugged. "Or just Dastin. Named after some guy from Centum that documented this place wayyy long ago."
Wolf looked back out to the land outside. On one hand, he was glad that he'd been thrown to somewhere that was at least somewhat inhabited by other people. On the other hand, well...what was he supposed to do now?
Miyu seemed to catch on to his silent thinking and walked over to him. She put her hands on her hips and stood beside Wolf, glancing over at him with a smug lopsided smile. "Hey, cheer up a little though. Whatever authority you pissed off can't legally storm the planet looking for you, so you're butt's safe for now."
Wolf looked at Miyu with a curious expression, examining the female. "Hmph...what's a Cornerian like you doing here in the first place anyhow?"
Miyu's smile faded when Wolf asked her. She turned her head away and rubbed her forehead, seeming a little uncomfortable with sharing things so soon. "Look Wolf, you have your own reasons to be here, and so do I...y-yes yours' are a lot more obvious than my own, but still…"
Wolf held up his hand and lowered his head respectfully. "Huh, say no more then. Forget that I asked." He continued to eye the distant horizon like he was searching for something. "My ship. I need to get something from my ship."
Miyu scoffed and looked down at her black nails. "For what? That thing's totaled beyond any repair, Wolf. It'll make for some pretty good scrap though…"
"I don't need the whole thing, just something on the inside." Wolf explained while keeping exactly what he wanted quite ambiguous. He turned to face Miyu with one hand on his waist, looking her in the eyes. "Can you take me back? I promise it'll be worth the effort, you have my word Miyu."
The lynx looked doubtful, staring back at Wolf's deceptive red eye. He was a lawless mercenary with quite a reputation; why should she trust a word he said? Then again, he owed him her life. Something about the way he spoke to her sounded genuine. While he may not have seemed like the most trustworthy of people, Wolf had no reason to harm her.
Hesitantly, Miyu nodded and brushed her hands over her feline ears, which flicked right back up afterwards. "Uh huh, guess we'll see if it'll really be worth my time."
Wolf grinned and slowly stepped towards the doorway back into the living room. Miyu waited a few moments before calling back out to Wolf. "And uh...you're clothes are on the couch, Wolf. Please don't go out there wearing, well...nothing."