Chapter 13: Revival
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Fox paced around his room, placing one foot in front of the other periodically. Each step
he took had a moment of thought entrusted into it, each movement of his boot was out of
contemplation of all that was going on around him. He had seen so much destruction fall
before his eyes that a sickening emptiness filled his stomach, however he saw hope in it
all. He saw that there was one miracle that had occurred today, and as he thought of Katt
he knew that she was the symbol of hope, the shining light, the phoenix from the ashes...
"Fox," came Slippy's voice. "Wolf is awake now, I think you should come see him."
"Of course, I'll be right there."
With anticipation Fox entered the sickbay to see Wolf still lying flatly, looking up into
the soft overhead florescent light as Slippy paced around slowly.
"You can speak to him if you wish, he's just somewhat dazed right now, I'm pretty sure
he's back to his normal self though."
Fox approached the bed looking down at Wolf with a soft smile, not saying a word to his
friend, knowing he was probably confused as hell by what was going on in the first place.
"Hey you," mumbled Wolf looking back at him with a weak smile.
"You had me scared Wolf, I thought I had lost you for a while."
"A fox once told me after nearly facing death that he would never be lost, and now I must
say the same for myself."
As Fox smirked, the doors slid open to the sickbay with Katt, Falco and Peppy entering
through cramped against each other.
"How is he?" "Is he okay?" they asked, their words jumbling together in concerned
curiosity.
Slippy approached the three waving his hands down with a shooing motion, "Alright
alright, now everyone give Wolf his breathing space, it's going to be a while until he's
fully re-cooperated."
"Thank you Dr. Toad," grumbled Falco as he took Katt by the arm and moved out the
door with Peppy.
Wolf placed his paw on Fox's arm drawing his attention, "I need to talk to you alone," he
said.
"Of course...Slippy, if you don't mind."
The amphibian waddled towards the door with a smirk, "Certainly guys, call me if you
need any help."
The door closed as Wolf sat up on the bed, still holding the concerned face that he had
painted over before,
"You saw him too didn't you, I can feel it when you look at me."
Fox narrowed his eyes, "...Andross," he said coolly without changing his face.
"Yes..."
Fox sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the floor in thought, "I don't know what
it means, I mean I know he's not alive, but..."
"No," snapped Wolf as his one visible eye squinted in pain, "He's alive."
"...How do you know this?" responded Fox turning to look at him in doubt, "What does
it all mean?"
He stared at Fox for a moment in silence, until lowering his head down, his eyes drifting
off, "I...I don't know, I just know he's alive...," he muttered.
"Could he be planning on taking advantage of Pepper's current irrationality?"
"I don't know," responded Wolf louder, but still with an air of exhaustion, "...maybe, but
I don't see how you can take advantage of Pepper in his current state, he's powerful,
tyrannical, more dangerous then before and will put up much more of a fight."
"I see one way," added Fox. "Think about it, Pepper is so focused on gobbling up planets
in Lylat that Andross could simply sneak in the backdoor as Pepper smears his forces
over the system."
Wolf did not nod nor shake his head, but only looked at Fox for a brief moment in silence.
"What happened to your chest?" he asked, leaning forward, putting a paw on Fox's
bandages.
"When I saw Andross in my thoughts, it was accompanied by some sort of...well Slippy
said 'psychic attack', but when this happened it was as though I had no control over my
body or mind, I just...I clawed myself until I bled. It's all a blur..."
Wolf ran his hand softly down Fox's arm, "...it's as though even our minds aren't even
safe anymore."
"I don't know who to be more afraid of anymore, Pepper or Andross, the latter who I
haven't even seen alive in a long while," whispered Fox aimlessly at the floor.
As the two continued to sit in silence, merely thinking, Falco entered stomping across the
room towards the bed,
"You know we're supposed to be rendezvousing with Bill at Macbeth right now?" he
groaned, clearly showing his impatience. "Hi Wolf...sorry if I'm interrupting your
bedside chat, but we need to get our tails in gear now."
Fox got up straitening out, stretching his paws while smirking at Falco, almost mocking
his impatience, "You think you're ready to get up Wolf?"
With a grumble Wolf poured himself off the medibed, placing both his boots on the floor
with a clang as he stood up, "Good God what am I wearing?" he cried as he looked down
at his highly formal black uniform.
"I think that was one of your gifts from Pepper," replied Falco flatly crossing his arms,
"And the eye patch too."
Wolf felt the fabric of the uniform with one paw while exploring his new eye patch with
the other. With a slight tug he removed the shiny leather accessory off his face and tossed
it to the floor, exposing his foggy white scarred eye. Pausing for a second to look at the
eye patch he returned with even more aggression as he plucked off the pins fervently one
by one, tearing off the gloves on his hands, ripping out the medallions on his arm cuffs.
They all fell to the floor with a clang as Fox and Falco smiled at each other.
"Let's go to Macbeth," he said as he walked out the door, Fox and Falco following close
behind.
The three entered the bridge drawing attention from Slippy, Katt, and Peppy as they
stepped further in.
Pressing a few buttons on his control panel Peppy glanced at the three, "Fox we're
getting messages from a couple of island states from all over Zoness, they're requesting
help. I'm ready to send down su..."
"No," snapped Fox.
Wolf tensed his face up as he looked at him confused, "You're not going to help them?
They're asking for..."
"I said no!" he yelled, cutting Wolf off abruptly. "Look, 80% of Zoness' population was
on the capital island, it's already fallen to Pepper there is no point..."
"You don't give a damn do you?" shouted Falco with anger in his voice. "We can still
help save a lot of people. If we don't do anything, so many will die. Can't you see that?!"
"And many more will die if Macbeth falls," shot Fox sternly not taking his eyes of Falco.
An icy silence blanketed the room before Fox took a seat in his command chair. With an
affirmative nod to Peppy, the Great Fox shot off towards Macbeth, prepared to face the
arduous task ahead of them in protecting the one last populated planet of the Lylat
System that had not fallen under Pepper's wrath. However, as he gazed out into the star
field ahead of them, Fox thought of the nagging sensation that tugged at his mind, the
dark anticipation of whether or not Andross would rear his ugly face at any second or
moment in time.
He hoped to God that he really was dead, that Wolf was wrong, that Slippy's analyses
were wrong, that everything was getting misinterpreted in some bizarre way. Andross
was the past, dead, gone. There was a new danger the future had to look toward and it
was in Pepper. Must focus on Pepper, he thought. Accept the enemies as they come, we
are in the now. This is the present, and the present had an already concrete peril. It is time
to face it.
He glanced at Wolf who was staring at him back from behind one of the consoles as he
sat there, as though he knew what he was thinking of, what he was contemplating, what
he was anticipating. There was a look of acceptance and terror at the same time, the
universe was so mixed up. They were friends, Pepper was the enemy, but there was one
constant in all this, the will to survive, and right now they needed each other above all.
He was glad they had each other. The present was so dark, the only light in the tunnel
being the friendships he held close to him. They were all a team, struggling together, but
Fox felt doubt in his heart. He felt that good might not prevail in all this, that reality was
already distorted enough, that truth and justice had turned to malice and tyranny so easily
in Pepper while hate and anger turned to trust and friendship in Wolf. Another glance at
him, he was still staring back with one eye adding a dim smile to his face that made Fox
feel a spurt of warmth inside him. The thoughts of hope rushed into his mind again, there
must be a chance in Macbeth...there has to be, this is our final card to play.
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Nice to have Wolf back in the mix, Chapter 14 should be around soon.
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Fox paced around his room, placing one foot in front of the other periodically. Each step
he took had a moment of thought entrusted into it, each movement of his boot was out of
contemplation of all that was going on around him. He had seen so much destruction fall
before his eyes that a sickening emptiness filled his stomach, however he saw hope in it
all. He saw that there was one miracle that had occurred today, and as he thought of Katt
he knew that she was the symbol of hope, the shining light, the phoenix from the ashes...
"Fox," came Slippy's voice. "Wolf is awake now, I think you should come see him."
"Of course, I'll be right there."
With anticipation Fox entered the sickbay to see Wolf still lying flatly, looking up into
the soft overhead florescent light as Slippy paced around slowly.
"You can speak to him if you wish, he's just somewhat dazed right now, I'm pretty sure
he's back to his normal self though."
Fox approached the bed looking down at Wolf with a soft smile, not saying a word to his
friend, knowing he was probably confused as hell by what was going on in the first place.
"Hey you," mumbled Wolf looking back at him with a weak smile.
"You had me scared Wolf, I thought I had lost you for a while."
"A fox once told me after nearly facing death that he would never be lost, and now I must
say the same for myself."
As Fox smirked, the doors slid open to the sickbay with Katt, Falco and Peppy entering
through cramped against each other.
"How is he?" "Is he okay?" they asked, their words jumbling together in concerned
curiosity.
Slippy approached the three waving his hands down with a shooing motion, "Alright
alright, now everyone give Wolf his breathing space, it's going to be a while until he's
fully re-cooperated."
"Thank you Dr. Toad," grumbled Falco as he took Katt by the arm and moved out the
door with Peppy.
Wolf placed his paw on Fox's arm drawing his attention, "I need to talk to you alone," he
said.
"Of course...Slippy, if you don't mind."
The amphibian waddled towards the door with a smirk, "Certainly guys, call me if you
need any help."
The door closed as Wolf sat up on the bed, still holding the concerned face that he had
painted over before,
"You saw him too didn't you, I can feel it when you look at me."
Fox narrowed his eyes, "...Andross," he said coolly without changing his face.
"Yes..."
Fox sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the floor in thought, "I don't know what
it means, I mean I know he's not alive, but..."
"No," snapped Wolf as his one visible eye squinted in pain, "He's alive."
"...How do you know this?" responded Fox turning to look at him in doubt, "What does
it all mean?"
He stared at Fox for a moment in silence, until lowering his head down, his eyes drifting
off, "I...I don't know, I just know he's alive...," he muttered.
"Could he be planning on taking advantage of Pepper's current irrationality?"
"I don't know," responded Wolf louder, but still with an air of exhaustion, "...maybe, but
I don't see how you can take advantage of Pepper in his current state, he's powerful,
tyrannical, more dangerous then before and will put up much more of a fight."
"I see one way," added Fox. "Think about it, Pepper is so focused on gobbling up planets
in Lylat that Andross could simply sneak in the backdoor as Pepper smears his forces
over the system."
Wolf did not nod nor shake his head, but only looked at Fox for a brief moment in silence.
"What happened to your chest?" he asked, leaning forward, putting a paw on Fox's
bandages.
"When I saw Andross in my thoughts, it was accompanied by some sort of...well Slippy
said 'psychic attack', but when this happened it was as though I had no control over my
body or mind, I just...I clawed myself until I bled. It's all a blur..."
Wolf ran his hand softly down Fox's arm, "...it's as though even our minds aren't even
safe anymore."
"I don't know who to be more afraid of anymore, Pepper or Andross, the latter who I
haven't even seen alive in a long while," whispered Fox aimlessly at the floor.
As the two continued to sit in silence, merely thinking, Falco entered stomping across the
room towards the bed,
"You know we're supposed to be rendezvousing with Bill at Macbeth right now?" he
groaned, clearly showing his impatience. "Hi Wolf...sorry if I'm interrupting your
bedside chat, but we need to get our tails in gear now."
Fox got up straitening out, stretching his paws while smirking at Falco, almost mocking
his impatience, "You think you're ready to get up Wolf?"
With a grumble Wolf poured himself off the medibed, placing both his boots on the floor
with a clang as he stood up, "Good God what am I wearing?" he cried as he looked down
at his highly formal black uniform.
"I think that was one of your gifts from Pepper," replied Falco flatly crossing his arms,
"And the eye patch too."
Wolf felt the fabric of the uniform with one paw while exploring his new eye patch with
the other. With a slight tug he removed the shiny leather accessory off his face and tossed
it to the floor, exposing his foggy white scarred eye. Pausing for a second to look at the
eye patch he returned with even more aggression as he plucked off the pins fervently one
by one, tearing off the gloves on his hands, ripping out the medallions on his arm cuffs.
They all fell to the floor with a clang as Fox and Falco smiled at each other.
"Let's go to Macbeth," he said as he walked out the door, Fox and Falco following close
behind.
The three entered the bridge drawing attention from Slippy, Katt, and Peppy as they
stepped further in.
Pressing a few buttons on his control panel Peppy glanced at the three, "Fox we're
getting messages from a couple of island states from all over Zoness, they're requesting
help. I'm ready to send down su..."
"No," snapped Fox.
Wolf tensed his face up as he looked at him confused, "You're not going to help them?
They're asking for..."
"I said no!" he yelled, cutting Wolf off abruptly. "Look, 80% of Zoness' population was
on the capital island, it's already fallen to Pepper there is no point..."
"You don't give a damn do you?" shouted Falco with anger in his voice. "We can still
help save a lot of people. If we don't do anything, so many will die. Can't you see that?!"
"And many more will die if Macbeth falls," shot Fox sternly not taking his eyes of Falco.
An icy silence blanketed the room before Fox took a seat in his command chair. With an
affirmative nod to Peppy, the Great Fox shot off towards Macbeth, prepared to face the
arduous task ahead of them in protecting the one last populated planet of the Lylat
System that had not fallen under Pepper's wrath. However, as he gazed out into the star
field ahead of them, Fox thought of the nagging sensation that tugged at his mind, the
dark anticipation of whether or not Andross would rear his ugly face at any second or
moment in time.
He hoped to God that he really was dead, that Wolf was wrong, that Slippy's analyses
were wrong, that everything was getting misinterpreted in some bizarre way. Andross
was the past, dead, gone. There was a new danger the future had to look toward and it
was in Pepper. Must focus on Pepper, he thought. Accept the enemies as they come, we
are in the now. This is the present, and the present had an already concrete peril. It is time
to face it.
He glanced at Wolf who was staring at him back from behind one of the consoles as he
sat there, as though he knew what he was thinking of, what he was contemplating, what
he was anticipating. There was a look of acceptance and terror at the same time, the
universe was so mixed up. They were friends, Pepper was the enemy, but there was one
constant in all this, the will to survive, and right now they needed each other above all.
He was glad they had each other. The present was so dark, the only light in the tunnel
being the friendships he held close to him. They were all a team, struggling together, but
Fox felt doubt in his heart. He felt that good might not prevail in all this, that reality was
already distorted enough, that truth and justice had turned to malice and tyranny so easily
in Pepper while hate and anger turned to trust and friendship in Wolf. Another glance at
him, he was still staring back with one eye adding a dim smile to his face that made Fox
feel a spurt of warmth inside him. The thoughts of hope rushed into his mind again, there
must be a chance in Macbeth...there has to be, this is our final card to play.
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Nice to have Wolf back in the mix, Chapter 14 should be around soon.