Chapter 7 – Fox vs. Bruno

"Sir, we're taking heavy losses! The Cornerians have us outnum…"

The pilot's transmission was cut off by static. Bruno pounded his fist into the arm of his chair.

"I don't believe this!" he said, "They knew of our attack! But how?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" a voice behind him said.

It was Fox, and he had his blaster pointed at Bruno's head. Bruno chuckled as he turned his chair around.

"Well, Fox McCloud, it seems I've underestimated you." he said, "You are indeed a worthy opponent."

"You should've killed us when you had the chance." said Fox, "It wasn't very bright of you to try to have us killed in an invasion. Especially since I warned them of your attack. Did I also forget to mention that your assassin did NOT kill General Pepper?"

"What?!"

"That's right. He's alive and well, thanks to my wingman. I just had him force your assassin to report a successful hit, so that we could watch the expressions on your pilots' faces when they got blown away."

"You are quite clever." Bruno said, standing up, "Now, why don't we settle this like gentlemen?"

"You want to play it that way?" Fox said, tossing his blaster aside, "Fine by me."

Bruno threw a punch at Fox, but Fox ducked and punched Bruno's chest. He then realized his mistake as pain shot through his hand. Bruno just laughed and punched Fox in the stomach. Fox fell to the floor, struggling to breathe.

"Come on, get up!" Bruno taunted, "Show me what you've got!"

Fox slowly got up. After dodging a few more punches, Fox attempted to kick Bruno, but he caught Fox's leg and threw him into a wall! As Fox struggled to get up, Bruno walked over to him and picked him up by his throat. Fox started coughing and gasping for air, as Bruno's grip tightened.

"You know," Bruno said, "for the guy who killed my brother twice, you don't seem so tough."

"Yeah?" Fox said, still struggling to breathe, "Well, appearances can be deceiving!"

Fox kicked Bruno across the face as hard as he could. Bruno let go of Fox's throat and started holding his face in pain as Fox caught his breath. Despite having his boots back on, his toes were hurting from the kick. That was the least of his concerns, however. He dropped down and punched Bruno, as hard as he could, right between the legs! Then, as Bruno screamed and held his crotch in pain, Fox grabbed him and threw him into the wall!

"Not bad." Bruno said, "I must say, I'm impressed."

He reached into his coat.

"But I bet you weren't expecting this!"

Bruno pulled out a Beretta and pointed the weapon at Fox, who dove for his blaster just as Bruno fired. He picked up the blaster and pointed it at Bruno, but unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and Bruno's second shot hit Fox in the chest. Fox dropped his blaster and fell to the floor holding his wound. Bruno then pointed the gun at Fox's head.

"And now, you shall join your dear father." he said.

Bruno was then hit by several bullets and fell to the ground. He looked up to see Wolf standing there, dressed as the Captain, and pointing a smoking gun in his direction. Wolf took off the Captain's sunglasses, revealing his eye patch.

"You!" Bruno said, "Wolf O'Donnell!"

"Hello, there." Wolf said, "I've got something to tell you, Bruno. Remember your son, Andrew?"

"What does he have to do with this?"

"He's dead. And I killed him!"

"WHAT?!"

As they were talking, Fox reached for his blaster. He kept one hand over his wound, trying his best to slow the bleeding.

"That's right. I shot down his Wolfen and then shot him in the head!"

To Wolf's surprise, Bruno stood back up and took a few steps toward him. Wolf pulled the trigger again, but the gun was out of ammo.

"You shouldn't have wasted all those bullets." Bruno said.

He lifted his shirt, revealing a Kevlar vest underneath. As Bruno pointed his gun at Wolf, Fox grabbed his blaster and slowly pointed it at Bruno's head. Wolf dropped his empty weapon and put his hands up.

"So, you killed my son, did you? Well, now it's your turn to die."

"Don't… be so sure!" Fox said.

Bruno turned around, only to find himself staring down the barrel of Fox's blaster. Without wasting another second, Fox fired, hitting Bruno right between the eyes! Wolf quickly got out of the way, as Bruno's huge body fell forward and hit the floor hard. Bruno was dead before he even hit the floor. Wolf ran to Fox.

"Fox! Are you alright?" he said.

Fox had already passed out from the pain. Wolf pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, lifted Fox's hand, and held the handkerchief to Fox's wound.

"Hang in there, Fox. I'll get you out of here."

He pulled the ring off Fox's finger and put it on. Then, holding Fox close, he teleported with him to the Great Fox. Kyle was still watching the battle from the command post until he noticed Fox and Wolf.

"Fox has been shot!" Wolf said, "You've got to help him!"

Kyle quickly grabbed his bag of medical supplies and rushed to help Fox.

"Give me some room!" he said.

Wolf got out of the way, pulled out a remote, and activated the detonators. Bruno's ship exploded in a ball of fire, but Kyle paid no attention to it. Fox's life was in danger, and Kyle had a job to do.

"Laser or bullet?" he asked.

"Bullet."

Kyle nodded. After removing Fox's jacket and shirt, he pulled a set of tweezers out of his bag and dug them into the wound until he found the bullet. After pulling it out, he set them aside, checked Fox's pulse, and listened for a heartbeat. His heart was still beating normally and his pulse was still steady. Kyle sighed with relief.

"Fox's going to be okay." he said, pulling out a roll of bandage.

* * *

"I think he's waking up!"

When Fox opened his eyes, he was lying in his bed on the Great Fox. His wound was tightly bandaged. ROB, Wolf, and Kyle were looking down at him and Wolf was back in his normal clothes.

"Are you feeling okay, sir?" asked ROB.

"Yeah." Fox said, "How did I get here?"

"Wolf used that ring of yours to get you here." said Kyle.

"That reminds me…" Wolf said, reaching into his pocket. "I forgot to give it back to you."

He pulled out the ring and tossed it to Fox, who caught it.

"What about Bruno's ship?" Fox asked.

"Destroyed." said Wolf, "I set off the detonators after we got off. Sorry you had to miss the fireworks, though."

"You sure are lucky, Fox." said Kyle, "That bullet just barely missed your heart, but I managed to remove it. Having all things considered, you should be just fine."

Smiling, Fox said, "Well, I guess I should be thankful to have such a good doctor on my crew."

Kyle smiled back.

"Just doing my job. Now, lets let Fox get some rest."

ROB, Kyle, and Wolf started to leave the room.

"Wolf," said Fox.

Wolf turned around.

"Thanks for saving me."

"No," Wolf said, "thank you for trusting me. You were the only one who believed me, when I said that I'd given up my evil ways."

Wolf started to leave.

"Wolf,"

"Yes?"

"How would you like to join the team?"

Wolf started to think about it.

"I'm going to need more time to think about that." he said.

Wolf walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Fox looked at the ring in his hand for a few seconds, remembering when Krystal gave it to him.

* * *

"Before I go, I want you to have this in return for saving my life."

Krystal pulled out a ring and handed it to Fox.

"It will allow you to teleport to any place that you've been before. You need only to picture that place in your mind and you will instantly be brought there."

* * *

Fox never realized how much it would come in handy until now.

"Thank you, Krystal." he said. "You've saved my life."

* * *

"It's alright, Wolf." said Kyle, "Fox has explained everything to them and now they want to thank you."

Nervously, Wolf walked into Fox's room, where Peppy, Slippy, and Falco were waiting.

"Wolf," Slippy said, holding out his hand, "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Thanks for saving Fox."

Wolf smiled and shook Slippy's hand.

"And I have to thank you for killing Pigma for me." said Peppy. "I had my doubts about you too, but I'm glad I was wrong."

"Alright, I'll admit it." Falco said, "I was wrong about you too."

Wolf's former wingmen were nothing like the Star Fox team. They didn't care about him or his well being. All they cared about was the rewards for carrying out Andross' orders. The Star Fox team was caring and respected each other. It seemed like just the right place for Wolf now.

"So, what do you say, Wolf?" asked Fox.

Looking Fox in the eye, Wolf said, "I'd be proud to join the team."

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End of Chapter 7