Chapter 18: Canine Emperor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope is a funny thing, thought Elena as she watched Falco put on his pilot's jacket.
Almost humorous considering we're all still trying to hope for the impossible now. A
hope that maybe we can somehow stop what is probably lying in destiny. I'm sure
we'll eventually be captured, imprisoned, probably executed as well. Funny how Bill
would probably just brush off that thought with a laugh. He's so damn passive
sometimes. But yet when I look at him...I see hope...this simple hope. Elena
continued to think to herself, watching her friend as he stood next to her intently
listening to Falco.
"Listen, it's too dangerous, for all of us to go down to Macbeth." Falco continued.
"You and Elena should leave here, gather up any of your fighters that were left and
scattered and go to Fortuna. You'll be safe there, I don't think Pepper knows about
your base yet if you've been keeping a low profile."
"That's a risk," stabbed Elena.
Falco huffed in response. "Well, you're not gonna get yourself anything but trouble
just drifting around in open space."
"What about Prole?" started Bill. "Where is he? We need to orga..."
"Prole is dead," Falco sneered, cutting him off. "That should've been a given by
now."
He looked to the floor, Katt put his arm around him, trying to sooth him. A feeble
attempt, but it still felt comforting to know that he still had someone to cherish,
someone to protect, someone to love him. She nuzzled his arm, purring softly. She
was in just as much pain.
"What about Fox and Wolf?" Elena held a concerned tone.
Bill looked just as anxious, "We cannot assume they're dead. We just can't."
Blue feathers ruffled, he looked absently at the wall. A navy colored emblem of a
running fox was painted in one of the bulkheads, the letters "SF" printed inside the
shape. He remembered spray painting it a few years ago, when they finally paid off
their debts and got that refit everyone so desperately wanted done. But he was
simply thinking of someone who he would probably never see again. He was
probably gone by now.
"I cannot let myself think that."
"Think what?" Katt glanced at him confused.
He walked past her, "Rob, have you been keeping track of Pepper's fleet?"
The robot nodded as he brought up a map on the main view screen. There were
several indicators displayed near Corneria. They were just about to reach the planet
he assumed as he looked up at the map.
"After we rescue Slippy, how fast can you get us to Corneria?"
"2 hours."
Peppy and Katt both stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Falco that
would be suicide," she started. "Corneria is surrounded by a vast number of ships
and defense stations, it would just be......well it would be suicide!"
"I'm sorry guys, but there isn't time to debate this. If you and Katt are going to
rescue Slippy, you better do it now." Peppy, shut off the map on the view screen and
crossed his arms.
"He's right, we gotta go." Falco started towards the hyperlift, Katt trailing behind,
"Elena, Bill, contact us when you get to Fortuna..."
"...Keep a lookout for any messages or hints from Fox and Wolf. I'm deciding to keep
a hopeful attitude about them."
*******************************************************
Fox didn't know how long he had been asleep, he awoke in sitting position. He was
in a chair, the room dimly lit with humming controls and consoles surrounding him.
"Where am I?" He found himself cuffed by the wrists to the seat he was in.
"You're on the command deck." Pepper folded his arms, and paced slowly around
him, curling his lip, sharp white canines showing. "I guess I just wanted to have
some personal time with you Fox."
"Um...ok." He looked around the bridge, it was empty. He must have ushered out
the main crew before he awakened.
"You see Fox, now that all of Lylat is in my possession, you belong to me. I decide
everything you do from this point forward. You---are essentially mine."
He blinked and ignored him. "I have a quick question General."
"My correct title is Emperor."
"Right...Emperor, here's a thought for you. Why have you captured me? Why don't
you just kill me right now? That would seem to make more sense."
He laughed curtly before calming himself. "Oh Fox, you don't think I'd let you get
off that easy."
"But you have been pursuing me for days, killing everything that gets in your way,
massacring thousands..."
The red uniformed canine smiled a vicious grin, "Well I was taking control of Lylat
in the process, no one said gaining domination over a star system was a peaceful
task."
"Then what are your plans now?"
"You shall see when the time comes." He leered malevolently. "However, something
interesting has occurred. We found one of your friends trapped on Macbeth, right
where that awful weapon of yours was...what was it called?...the Corodus? Hmm,
miracle that he survived. Too bad we found him before your friends did...most
unfortunate."
"Who was it?!" belted Fox.
A small beeping sound emitted from a nearby console drawing their attention.
Distracted from the moment, Pepper walked over to it and pressed several buttons
quickly. The large screen at the front of the bridge came to life showing the planet of
Corneria below. The beautiful swirling bleach colored clouds, mixing with rich hues
of blue and vibrant green. It was home, and it was beautiful. It was also...Pepper's.
"Oh my look at this." he pressed another button. The main screen switched to a
blockade of several small civilian ships, they were speeding away from Corneria,
fleeing from the planet.
"It's sad, after all that I do for them, and this is the thanks I get, ungrateful citizens
running away from their home."
"Maybe that should tell you something," spat Fox.
"Silence! He barked. "Computer, could you be so kind as to tell me how many
brave little souls there are on board those ships in total?"
"Three hundred---and---thirty five"
Pepper sighed in discontent, "Thank you, bring main weapons online, full target
spread please." The lights dimmed, a crimson colored hue bathed his face, the light
emanating from the weapons panel on the console.
"No!" shouted Fox. "They didn't do anything! At least contact them! Tell them to go
back!"
"I'm afraid I have no choice Fox."
"But you do! Don't do this General! I mean Emperor! Spare them! They don't
deserve this!" Fox struggled under his restraints hopelessly as he watched the ships
ignorantly drift farther from the planet.
Pepper frowned at him in pity. Without warning he slammed his hand against the
fire button.
The ship vibrated as dozens of laser beams shot out from the cannons, impacting the
blockade of small fleeing ships randomly with cascading explosions. Metal and
debris shattered outward from the plumes of fiery orange and red, filling the space
above the planet with an expanding cloud of twisted matter.
Fox stared in awe at the horror that unfolded on screen. It was sickening, to know
that so many people had just died in front of him without reason, without logic.
Their lives, tossed away because of corrupted apathy. The General, who Fox refused
to think of as Emperor, was truly a monster.
*******************************************************
Falco and Katt's respective Arwings blasted across the terrain of Macbeth, zooming
towards their destination at a considerable pace. Katt who had never had the
pleasure of flying an Arwing was enjoying it immensely.
"Not quite the Katt's paw eh?" Falco smirked into the comm window.
"Not exactly, but still a joy to handle." She tilted the stick back, bobbing over a
rocky gray hill with grace.
"Whatever happened to that old heap of metal anyway?"
"Sold it on the market a few years back, and if I remember correctly, that 'heap of
metal' saved your feathered ass a few times. Why it was so amazing, they practically
wrote about it in history books!"
Falco chuckled lightly, "Naw I don't think so, I wouldn't want my kids to read
'Katt's paw saves loser avian from danger!' if I ever pop out a few little runts in the
future."
"That is...if they have a future to live in."
The sullen tone pulled Falco away from the light humor, focusing him on the
mission at hand. The thought hadn't occurred to him. Fathering wasn't something
that usually crossed his mind, it wasn't something he planned anyway, but the idea
of anyone not having a safe sound future was a detrimental thought enough.
"Ok, we're coming in on the Corodus station. Keep an eye out for Pepper's police
squads. They should be scouring the planet in droves by now."
Their Arwings peaked over another hill which was actually the edge to a massive
crater. Falco looked at his PDA and control display, it was where the distress signal
had come from. This was the right place.
"Dear God...Katt, do you know how deep the Corodus control station was
underground?"
"Eh...I think I remember hearing that it was a good 300 feet, but I don't see how
anyone could survive this Falco. Just look at the destruction."
They banked around coming back over the smoking crater for another pass.
"Trust me, I know Slippy. That guy can do anything, he's gotta be alive. I mean who
else coulda sent that distress signal?"
Falco banked around again, flying over the rim of the crater, looking out his canopy
down onto the scarred terrain.
"Alright, I'm going to land down there and get a closer look, see if there's still a way
to access the underground station."
"Wait!" shouted Katt. "I...I don't believe it!"
"What?! What is it?!" Falco stammered as he banked wildly to the left, sensing
trouble.
"Look closer at the crater! Next to those big rocks on the eastern edge!"
Falco flew down low, slowing his Arwing as much as he could. He frantically eyed
the area Katt was talking about when something caught his eye. A green figure,
standing on the ground, hopping up and down, waving his arms in the air
hysterically.
"I don't believe it either!" In a quick moment he promptly landed as Katt did the
same. They rushed out of their Arwings, clamoring over the smoldering charcoal
like terrain towards Slippy. He looked perfectly ok, in absolutely normal condition,
not a scar on him.
"You guys found me!" cried the amphibian, overwhelmed with joy.
"Slippy you've got to have been touched by an angel, I still don't believe it! You're
ok!"
Katt watched Falco hug Slippy as they both laughed and shouted in happiness.
Something was very wrong with this picture and it wasn't the giddy excitement that
was filling Falco in that moment. No, something was definitely wrong. How could he
have survived without any harm done to him? Even if he did survive, how did he get
to the surface? His appearance was immaculately clean as well. None of it was
adding up properly.
"Falco we better get back to the Great Fox, we don't know when those death police
will come to this area."
"Of course! Let's get out of here!" Falco ran towards his Arwing with Slippy
following close behind.
"Uh, Falco wait, can I talk to you real quick." Katt stepped off to the side next to
her Arwing.
"Yeah sure, Slippy get inside, and wait for me."
He walked over towards Katt, who was still standing next to her Arwing, she had a
concerned look planted in her eyes.
"Not sure if we have time to talk in a situation like this Katt, but ok..."
"Falco, I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't right."
He strained his eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
She lowered her voice to a strained whisper, "Doesn't it seem a little odd that he's
perfectly fine?"
Falco turned around and looked at Slippy who was sitting in his Arwing, fiddling
with his red cap aimlessly. "Look, I already said that he's a resourceful guy, what
are you getting at anyway?"
"Falco I just have a bad feeling..."
A laser beam flew past them piercing the ground nearby with a large cracking
sound. They both dove away, recoiling behind their Arwings.
"No time to discuss, looks like those death police have found us!"
Several hovercars with blaring sirens flew over head, accompanying another shower
of laser blasts. Falco leaped into his Arwing, cramming in with Slippy as the canopy
closed. Katt did the same, laser blasts burning into her hull with a flurry of sparks.
Without word, their ships blasted off, inciting a chase from the military hovercars.
They all banked wildly around rocky hills and shell-shocked buildings, the
hovercars weaving in and out of each other in a lunatic dance as Katt and Falco
frantically tried to out run them.
Falco's Arwing swiftly jerked upward, shooting towards the sky as he jammed his
boosters to full power.
"Katt get into orbit! Those hovercars can't go in space!"
The sky began to turn from a grayish blue to the blackness of space as they rose
higher, sparkling stars becoming visible. The hovercars were no longer hunting
them, instead circling each other above the ground like rabid dogs in search of food.
*******************************************************
Peppy's face lit up as Slippy stepped onto the bridge, his glasses nearly coming off
his face in shock.
"I'll be damned, it's about time one of us came back alive!"
"You can thank Falco and Katt for saving me!" Slippy grinned wildly, plopping his
red cap on his head.
The two entered, following Slippy. "Yeah, we made it just by a hair," mewed Katt
with exasperation. She leaned her head into Falco's arm, smelling his feathers.
Never again did she want to go back to that damn planet, and she was relieved to be
alive.
"I'm so glad to be back!" Slippy quickly walked off the bridge, the doors to the
hyperlift closing behind him.
"...That was a bit odd." Peppy looked miffed as he sat there. "I wanted to chat with
the kid so he could tell us what happened with him."
"Ah, he's probably exhausted, let him rest a bit. We can all talk about it later."
Falco took off his jacket and leaned into the chair in the center of the bridge.
*******************************************************
Wolf sat in his cell, staring at the plain gray wall in front of him. His cuts were
healing slowly as he noticed the little red scars slashed across his arms and chest. He
felt almost guilty for getting off so easy compared to the other victims Leon had
marred in the past. Perhaps he still felt restrained by their old camaraderie,
reluctant to maim him too much. He enjoys making bodies decay and fester into
dead emotionless corpses, the process of killing them being his favorite treat. He
must have been confined by his requirement to keep me alive thought Wolf. But he
still seemed to enjoy me...immensely...
He rubbed his forehead in pain before looking up as Fox entered the cell, someone
shoving him in brutally. He looked away, miserable, with a grim scowl on his face.
"I thought maybe he was going to kill you." he murmured as Fox sat down next to
him. "I'm trying to be hopeful though..."
"He says that we'll see his 'plans' soon when the time comes."
Wolf glared at him in anger, "What does that mean?"
"It means we're alive because he wants us to see what his next twisted stunt will be."
Fox stared at the floor, "I don't know, but we're landing on Corneria within the
hour. He spoke of showing us some 'new' research he's been doing. I don't like the
sound of it at all."
Wolf raised his eyebrow, acknowledging the threat.
"So I guess we're his pets now?"
"To put it mildly...yes. I have to warn Falco, there has to be some way to contact
him or get his attention. He has to know we're alive."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope is a funny thing, thought Elena as she watched Falco put on his pilot's jacket.
Almost humorous considering we're all still trying to hope for the impossible now. A
hope that maybe we can somehow stop what is probably lying in destiny. I'm sure
we'll eventually be captured, imprisoned, probably executed as well. Funny how Bill
would probably just brush off that thought with a laugh. He's so damn passive
sometimes. But yet when I look at him...I see hope...this simple hope. Elena
continued to think to herself, watching her friend as he stood next to her intently
listening to Falco.
"Listen, it's too dangerous, for all of us to go down to Macbeth." Falco continued.
"You and Elena should leave here, gather up any of your fighters that were left and
scattered and go to Fortuna. You'll be safe there, I don't think Pepper knows about
your base yet if you've been keeping a low profile."
"That's a risk," stabbed Elena.
Falco huffed in response. "Well, you're not gonna get yourself anything but trouble
just drifting around in open space."
"What about Prole?" started Bill. "Where is he? We need to orga..."
"Prole is dead," Falco sneered, cutting him off. "That should've been a given by
now."
He looked to the floor, Katt put his arm around him, trying to sooth him. A feeble
attempt, but it still felt comforting to know that he still had someone to cherish,
someone to protect, someone to love him. She nuzzled his arm, purring softly. She
was in just as much pain.
"What about Fox and Wolf?" Elena held a concerned tone.
Bill looked just as anxious, "We cannot assume they're dead. We just can't."
Blue feathers ruffled, he looked absently at the wall. A navy colored emblem of a
running fox was painted in one of the bulkheads, the letters "SF" printed inside the
shape. He remembered spray painting it a few years ago, when they finally paid off
their debts and got that refit everyone so desperately wanted done. But he was
simply thinking of someone who he would probably never see again. He was
probably gone by now.
"I cannot let myself think that."
"Think what?" Katt glanced at him confused.
He walked past her, "Rob, have you been keeping track of Pepper's fleet?"
The robot nodded as he brought up a map on the main view screen. There were
several indicators displayed near Corneria. They were just about to reach the planet
he assumed as he looked up at the map.
"After we rescue Slippy, how fast can you get us to Corneria?"
"2 hours."
Peppy and Katt both stared at him as though he had lost his mind. "Falco that
would be suicide," she started. "Corneria is surrounded by a vast number of ships
and defense stations, it would just be......well it would be suicide!"
"I'm sorry guys, but there isn't time to debate this. If you and Katt are going to
rescue Slippy, you better do it now." Peppy, shut off the map on the view screen and
crossed his arms.
"He's right, we gotta go." Falco started towards the hyperlift, Katt trailing behind,
"Elena, Bill, contact us when you get to Fortuna..."
"...Keep a lookout for any messages or hints from Fox and Wolf. I'm deciding to keep
a hopeful attitude about them."
*******************************************************
Fox didn't know how long he had been asleep, he awoke in sitting position. He was
in a chair, the room dimly lit with humming controls and consoles surrounding him.
"Where am I?" He found himself cuffed by the wrists to the seat he was in.
"You're on the command deck." Pepper folded his arms, and paced slowly around
him, curling his lip, sharp white canines showing. "I guess I just wanted to have
some personal time with you Fox."
"Um...ok." He looked around the bridge, it was empty. He must have ushered out
the main crew before he awakened.
"You see Fox, now that all of Lylat is in my possession, you belong to me. I decide
everything you do from this point forward. You---are essentially mine."
He blinked and ignored him. "I have a quick question General."
"My correct title is Emperor."
"Right...Emperor, here's a thought for you. Why have you captured me? Why don't
you just kill me right now? That would seem to make more sense."
He laughed curtly before calming himself. "Oh Fox, you don't think I'd let you get
off that easy."
"But you have been pursuing me for days, killing everything that gets in your way,
massacring thousands..."
The red uniformed canine smiled a vicious grin, "Well I was taking control of Lylat
in the process, no one said gaining domination over a star system was a peaceful
task."
"Then what are your plans now?"
"You shall see when the time comes." He leered malevolently. "However, something
interesting has occurred. We found one of your friends trapped on Macbeth, right
where that awful weapon of yours was...what was it called?...the Corodus? Hmm,
miracle that he survived. Too bad we found him before your friends did...most
unfortunate."
"Who was it?!" belted Fox.
A small beeping sound emitted from a nearby console drawing their attention.
Distracted from the moment, Pepper walked over to it and pressed several buttons
quickly. The large screen at the front of the bridge came to life showing the planet of
Corneria below. The beautiful swirling bleach colored clouds, mixing with rich hues
of blue and vibrant green. It was home, and it was beautiful. It was also...Pepper's.
"Oh my look at this." he pressed another button. The main screen switched to a
blockade of several small civilian ships, they were speeding away from Corneria,
fleeing from the planet.
"It's sad, after all that I do for them, and this is the thanks I get, ungrateful citizens
running away from their home."
"Maybe that should tell you something," spat Fox.
"Silence! He barked. "Computer, could you be so kind as to tell me how many
brave little souls there are on board those ships in total?"
"Three hundred---and---thirty five"
Pepper sighed in discontent, "Thank you, bring main weapons online, full target
spread please." The lights dimmed, a crimson colored hue bathed his face, the light
emanating from the weapons panel on the console.
"No!" shouted Fox. "They didn't do anything! At least contact them! Tell them to go
back!"
"I'm afraid I have no choice Fox."
"But you do! Don't do this General! I mean Emperor! Spare them! They don't
deserve this!" Fox struggled under his restraints hopelessly as he watched the ships
ignorantly drift farther from the planet.
Pepper frowned at him in pity. Without warning he slammed his hand against the
fire button.
The ship vibrated as dozens of laser beams shot out from the cannons, impacting the
blockade of small fleeing ships randomly with cascading explosions. Metal and
debris shattered outward from the plumes of fiery orange and red, filling the space
above the planet with an expanding cloud of twisted matter.
Fox stared in awe at the horror that unfolded on screen. It was sickening, to know
that so many people had just died in front of him without reason, without logic.
Their lives, tossed away because of corrupted apathy. The General, who Fox refused
to think of as Emperor, was truly a monster.
*******************************************************
Falco and Katt's respective Arwings blasted across the terrain of Macbeth, zooming
towards their destination at a considerable pace. Katt who had never had the
pleasure of flying an Arwing was enjoying it immensely.
"Not quite the Katt's paw eh?" Falco smirked into the comm window.
"Not exactly, but still a joy to handle." She tilted the stick back, bobbing over a
rocky gray hill with grace.
"Whatever happened to that old heap of metal anyway?"
"Sold it on the market a few years back, and if I remember correctly, that 'heap of
metal' saved your feathered ass a few times. Why it was so amazing, they practically
wrote about it in history books!"
Falco chuckled lightly, "Naw I don't think so, I wouldn't want my kids to read
'Katt's paw saves loser avian from danger!' if I ever pop out a few little runts in the
future."
"That is...if they have a future to live in."
The sullen tone pulled Falco away from the light humor, focusing him on the
mission at hand. The thought hadn't occurred to him. Fathering wasn't something
that usually crossed his mind, it wasn't something he planned anyway, but the idea
of anyone not having a safe sound future was a detrimental thought enough.
"Ok, we're coming in on the Corodus station. Keep an eye out for Pepper's police
squads. They should be scouring the planet in droves by now."
Their Arwings peaked over another hill which was actually the edge to a massive
crater. Falco looked at his PDA and control display, it was where the distress signal
had come from. This was the right place.
"Dear God...Katt, do you know how deep the Corodus control station was
underground?"
"Eh...I think I remember hearing that it was a good 300 feet, but I don't see how
anyone could survive this Falco. Just look at the destruction."
They banked around coming back over the smoking crater for another pass.
"Trust me, I know Slippy. That guy can do anything, he's gotta be alive. I mean who
else coulda sent that distress signal?"
Falco banked around again, flying over the rim of the crater, looking out his canopy
down onto the scarred terrain.
"Alright, I'm going to land down there and get a closer look, see if there's still a way
to access the underground station."
"Wait!" shouted Katt. "I...I don't believe it!"
"What?! What is it?!" Falco stammered as he banked wildly to the left, sensing
trouble.
"Look closer at the crater! Next to those big rocks on the eastern edge!"
Falco flew down low, slowing his Arwing as much as he could. He frantically eyed
the area Katt was talking about when something caught his eye. A green figure,
standing on the ground, hopping up and down, waving his arms in the air
hysterically.
"I don't believe it either!" In a quick moment he promptly landed as Katt did the
same. They rushed out of their Arwings, clamoring over the smoldering charcoal
like terrain towards Slippy. He looked perfectly ok, in absolutely normal condition,
not a scar on him.
"You guys found me!" cried the amphibian, overwhelmed with joy.
"Slippy you've got to have been touched by an angel, I still don't believe it! You're
ok!"
Katt watched Falco hug Slippy as they both laughed and shouted in happiness.
Something was very wrong with this picture and it wasn't the giddy excitement that
was filling Falco in that moment. No, something was definitely wrong. How could he
have survived without any harm done to him? Even if he did survive, how did he get
to the surface? His appearance was immaculately clean as well. None of it was
adding up properly.
"Falco we better get back to the Great Fox, we don't know when those death police
will come to this area."
"Of course! Let's get out of here!" Falco ran towards his Arwing with Slippy
following close behind.
"Uh, Falco wait, can I talk to you real quick." Katt stepped off to the side next to
her Arwing.
"Yeah sure, Slippy get inside, and wait for me."
He walked over towards Katt, who was still standing next to her Arwing, she had a
concerned look planted in her eyes.
"Not sure if we have time to talk in a situation like this Katt, but ok..."
"Falco, I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't right."
He strained his eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about?"
She lowered her voice to a strained whisper, "Doesn't it seem a little odd that he's
perfectly fine?"
Falco turned around and looked at Slippy who was sitting in his Arwing, fiddling
with his red cap aimlessly. "Look, I already said that he's a resourceful guy, what
are you getting at anyway?"
"Falco I just have a bad feeling..."
A laser beam flew past them piercing the ground nearby with a large cracking
sound. They both dove away, recoiling behind their Arwings.
"No time to discuss, looks like those death police have found us!"
Several hovercars with blaring sirens flew over head, accompanying another shower
of laser blasts. Falco leaped into his Arwing, cramming in with Slippy as the canopy
closed. Katt did the same, laser blasts burning into her hull with a flurry of sparks.
Without word, their ships blasted off, inciting a chase from the military hovercars.
They all banked wildly around rocky hills and shell-shocked buildings, the
hovercars weaving in and out of each other in a lunatic dance as Katt and Falco
frantically tried to out run them.
Falco's Arwing swiftly jerked upward, shooting towards the sky as he jammed his
boosters to full power.
"Katt get into orbit! Those hovercars can't go in space!"
The sky began to turn from a grayish blue to the blackness of space as they rose
higher, sparkling stars becoming visible. The hovercars were no longer hunting
them, instead circling each other above the ground like rabid dogs in search of food.
*******************************************************
Peppy's face lit up as Slippy stepped onto the bridge, his glasses nearly coming off
his face in shock.
"I'll be damned, it's about time one of us came back alive!"
"You can thank Falco and Katt for saving me!" Slippy grinned wildly, plopping his
red cap on his head.
The two entered, following Slippy. "Yeah, we made it just by a hair," mewed Katt
with exasperation. She leaned her head into Falco's arm, smelling his feathers.
Never again did she want to go back to that damn planet, and she was relieved to be
alive.
"I'm so glad to be back!" Slippy quickly walked off the bridge, the doors to the
hyperlift closing behind him.
"...That was a bit odd." Peppy looked miffed as he sat there. "I wanted to chat with
the kid so he could tell us what happened with him."
"Ah, he's probably exhausted, let him rest a bit. We can all talk about it later."
Falco took off his jacket and leaned into the chair in the center of the bridge.
*******************************************************
Wolf sat in his cell, staring at the plain gray wall in front of him. His cuts were
healing slowly as he noticed the little red scars slashed across his arms and chest. He
felt almost guilty for getting off so easy compared to the other victims Leon had
marred in the past. Perhaps he still felt restrained by their old camaraderie,
reluctant to maim him too much. He enjoys making bodies decay and fester into
dead emotionless corpses, the process of killing them being his favorite treat. He
must have been confined by his requirement to keep me alive thought Wolf. But he
still seemed to enjoy me...immensely...
He rubbed his forehead in pain before looking up as Fox entered the cell, someone
shoving him in brutally. He looked away, miserable, with a grim scowl on his face.
"I thought maybe he was going to kill you." he murmured as Fox sat down next to
him. "I'm trying to be hopeful though..."
"He says that we'll see his 'plans' soon when the time comes."
Wolf glared at him in anger, "What does that mean?"
"It means we're alive because he wants us to see what his next twisted stunt will be."
Fox stared at the floor, "I don't know, but we're landing on Corneria within the
hour. He spoke of showing us some 'new' research he's been doing. I don't like the
sound of it at all."
Wolf raised his eyebrow, acknowledging the threat.
"So I guess we're his pets now?"
"To put it mildly...yes. I have to warn Falco, there has to be some way to contact
him or get his attention. He has to know we're alive."
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