Bleeding Hearts and Shattered Skies

by doesntcareanymore

The heart and soul are both very fragile, what would happen if something like war were to come between them? War is hell, and so are the effects upon the minds of two lovers. As always any and all reviews are welcomed and appreciated.

11. Semper Fi!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright fine anonymous, ask and you shall receive. Here's the update that I finished last November but never posted. It'll pretty much answer the question that drives you all mad. But yea, I've been really at a loss of inspiration for this story. I kind of feel like "What's it all for?" But if you guys like it I'll work on it whenever I can. Stupid College.

Oh yea, you might find this chapter a little confusing. But I'll explain it at the end if you're still kind of lost. For those of you who have seen the movie Pulp Fiction, this is something along those lines.

CHAPTER 11

Semper Fi!

Steady...Placid...Rhythmus...

Breathe in, breathe out; and so goes the metrical patterns of sleep. Though physically in a state of anesthesia, the mind continues to remain active and dwell upon all that we've touched and all that we've seen. We try to shade out what we wish to forget, but uncontrollably it taints the depths of our memories.

Stagnant...Violent...Smoke on the horizon...

Wolf was both barefoot and shirtless in the main room of his hideout. Though with the lights on and the soft hum of the generators which purred around him, he had no trouble sleeping at all. Resting on the desk of the terminal was a burning stick of incense held by a wooden tray for catching the ash. The aroma calmed his mind and relaxed his muscles creating the perfect atmosphere for sleep. Surroundings simply did not matter when you were reclined in the most comfortable chair imaginable. His arms were folded across his furry chest and his feet propped up on the terminal. His ear slightly twitched and the pain of his dreams caused him to squint sporadically.

The lizard pilot relaxed after reducing his speed enough to make the ride in the small Katinian civilian transport more enjoyable. The lupine clenched his teeth, movement and especially vibrations caused him a lot of pain, he had to get used to this new body. He glanced at the other seven canine passengers from behind his dark sunglasses. Most of them were engineers or inventors; to them it was any other weekend of mining for raw materials. They were all having fun socializing with other unaware of what was about to happen to them.

"Captains Log: February 13th 5013, thirteen fifty-six hours, Flight zero-one-zero-niner, successfully entered Titanian airspace," the pilot recorded.

"Is it time to lighten the load yet?" The lizard copilot said into his headset.

"Yea I think it is," The pilot replied taking off his headset and set the ship to autopilot, the copilot did the same and walked into the passenger area. "Just sit tight, this will all be over in a second," the pilot said. The lupine gave a nod and fastened his safety belt a little tighter around his waist. Both the pilot and copilot simultaneously pulled out a Venomian standard issue sidearm which they kept concealed behind their backs. All conversation stopped and everyone focused on the muzzle of each gun pointed their way.

"Alright boys; women, children and shit, jump first!" the copilot spoke in a loud voice. The pilot slammed his fist into a button near the door to the cockpit. The back door of the transport opened, creating a roaring sound and letting in the light and exposing the pale orange sky and red soils.

"Enough gawking, we can do this either of two ways, the clean way, or the messy way!" No-one moved. The passengers where too petrified to even think let alone act. "Messy way it is then," the pilot raised the gun two the nearest passenger's head and pulled the trigger. There was a quick red flash from the muzzle of the gun and then there was an explosive stain of crimson mixed with bits of gray and white splattered on the wall behind the passenger who fell into his lap. The remaining passengers flinched and closed their eyes trying to hold back their tears of fear. The lupine however sat with the same stoic look his face blankly staring at the wall in front of him.

The pilot raised his gun to the next passenger's head, "No! Please don't shoot me! I'll walk, I'll walk!" the passenger cried. He slowly unbuckled himself and started walking towards the back of the cabin. He stopped at the middle of the ramp and muttered a prayer to himself. Just as quick as he leapt out of the ship, he disappeared from sight. The pilot pointed the gun at the next passenger and he did the same.

One after another each passenger leapt from the ship to their deaths. A couple would plead with God and pray before they made that last step off solid ground. Others just remained silent the whole time and slowly wept with each pace before they two would plummet to the ground below. The last one stopped on the middle of the ramp and turned to the pilot, "I hope the devil has his fun with you when your time is up..." he said.

The pilot laughed at the remark and said, "Ha ha, you'll see him before I do."

The copilot laughed with him, "Don't worry about a thing. You're more likely to die from a heart attack or shock before you actually hit the ground, you won't feel a thing." The passenger turned his back and held up his middle finger to both of them. The pilot fired another shot which struck the passenger in the middle of the back and knocked him off the edge. "That wasn't too hard," the copilot said holstering his sidearm.

"No, I guess not," the pilot said doing the same. "Roll that stiff out the back would ya?" The pilot said returning to the cockpit.

The copilot un-buckled the canine that was profusely bleeding out of a gaping hole in the back of his head and let him fall out of the seat along the wall. With one hard kick, his body tumbled down the ramp and off the back of the ship. "Enjoy the entertainment?" the copilot said to the lupine while pushing the button to close the ramp.

The lupine retorted with a raised eyebrow from behind his shady sunglasses. He was in too much pain to take pleasure in watching others die. It's an acquired state of pain created by cognitive dissonance. It kindles when a past is stained with constant death dealt to the innocent, and explodes in a flame when the only ones you can call friends perish before your very eyes. For so many years he was the dealer, but the time finally came around when he was hit by the iron fist not only in his body but in his mind as well. Physically he felt just as horrible; it takes a long time to get used to prosthetic limbs. Especially when it's more than one prosthesis. Every movement felt unnatural. Moving or rotating any joint didn't feel like he used nerves, muscles or tendons anymore. It felt more like turning a gear or pulling a cable. The hardest thing to get over was his heart. It didn't beat naturally anymore either. That rhythmic pulse was replaced by a distinguished tick and hiss. He didn't feel alive anymore, he died long ago and has remained dead on the inside since the crash. He closed his eyes and swallowed the pains back down to the pit of his heart where he would hide them forever and allowed himself to drift to sleep.

The ship roared over the lands towards a giant mountain covered in orange sand and rocks. It continued it's coarse around the base until it reached a small bunker silver bunker which was starting to have sand carried by winds pile up on its sides. The ship slowed its decent and prepared itself for a landing. The hanger bay doors opened and awaited the ship to dock. The approach slowed down to a crawl and then to a hover as it neared the door and glided in. It stopped in the middle of the hanger, deployed its landing gear and set down quite hard. The jolt shook the lupine out of his slumber. "C'mon, it's time to go," the pilot said, "The general's waiting." The copilot opened ramp the passengers had taken a leap off of.

The lupine unfastened his belt, got up and stretched after the long journey. He began making his way down the ramp; he wondered what it must have felt like to be one of those poor souls who were forced to plummet to their deaths. "Almost sounds like fun," he thought to himself. And with the way things had been going he knew he was serious. He wondered who this so-called general was who requested his presence at this junk yard of a planet. He stepped off from the ship and entered the dirty steel colored hanger which was bustling with activity. He followed behind the two pilots and exited through a door near the back of the hanger. The door lead to an office decorated swords and a strange banner the lupine had never seen before. Whoever this general was he obviously had a taste for blades due to the large collection he had mounted on the wall behind his desk. Instead of using conventional lighting, the room was lighted by torches mounted on the walls. A giant metal chair whipped around from behind desk, sitting in it was a large lizard. "Ah, Wolf O'Donnell," the lizard said slowly rising from his chair. He wore what seemed to look like steel spiked combat armor over a battle tunic. He seemed to have lost his left hand and replaced it with a gruesome looking double hook. He was massive, his colossal size would strike fear into even the most valiant of soldiers.

Wolf stood silent for a moment admiring the lizard's size. Though he was completely awestruck he kept the same stoic look. "Are you the one who requested my services?"

"Yesss," he hissed. "I hear that you were once the captain of the best...well, second best flight squad in the Lylat."

Wolf's eyes narrowed and his lip curled revealing teeth in the corner of his mouth. Just those words made worms of rage seem to crawl under his skin and flex his muscles for him. "He's got a lot of nerve," Wolf thought to himself. He prayed for vengeance some day, some how, against StarFox. "What is it that you want?" he asked as politely as he could while fighting urge to kill him right then and there.

"Forgive my discourtesy; I am General Scales, Commanding Officer of the SharpClaw Army. I come to because I am in need of expertise, and to my understanding, you have a great deal of it." Wolf stood a little straighter and folded his arms, now he was paying attention. Scales knew that he got Wolf irritated with that comment of his and he knew that he had to calm him back down before asking any favors. "That's a nice jacket you're wearing," he pointed out.

"Yes, I had them custom made for each member of my team," Wolf responded. His jacket was made completely of black leather. It had that tough look to it on the outside, but hidden behind all that robust was it's softness that engulfed him and become his second skin. Silver chain epaulets decorated each of his shoulders. Beneath them ran a silver stripe with a black streak parting the silver band along with two of the same style stripes running two inches above his wrists on both arms. Along the back of the jacket going horizontal from one shoulder to the next was 'STARWOLF', in silver of course. This officially made the owner of the jacket part of the squad. And to top it all off, covering his heart in silver lettering was 'Captain Wolf O'Donnell'.

"Getting back to the topic on hand, are you good with espionage?" Scales asked. Wolf stayed silent and gave a nod. "Good," Scales continued, "I need someone who is devious enough to carry out my wet-works for me. Do you think you can handle that?"

Wolf grinned, "For a price I can," Wolf scoffed.

"Name it."

Wolf contemplated his desires before responding. "Well...I'm not sure it's money I want," he said.

"Well get on with it then!" Scales said getting annoyed.

"I was wondering if you could provide me with a ship," Wolf continued.

"A ship...what kind of ship?" Scales asked.

"Fighter class, Wolfen III, I just finished the blueprints for it shortly after you summoned me. You see, the faster you can have my precious Wolfen built, the faster I can use it to your aid. This fighter will make my job a lot easier, which in turn, will make your job a lot easier. You scratch my fur; I scratch your...scales..." Wolf said fumbling with his words.

"Very well, the sooner you can get me the plans the sooner I can have your 'precious' built," Scales mocked jokingly. "We'll also be sending someone down with you eventually to help you out and keep tabs on you." He continued.

"I'd much rather work alone." Wolf retorted.

"I'm afraid that's not a possibility," Wolf grumbled. "I wouldn't worry much about it. We'll get you everything you need to start off, including your new home which will be an abandoned fall out shelter for Cornerian VIPs. It's been around for a while but we think that all the generators should still be functional inside. We will give you all the technology you'll need in order to hack frequencies and tap into databases. We will be abandoning this base and moving on to our secondary objective, taking control over Dinosaur Planet. This will only be a cover operation for our Primary Objective."

"And what's that?" Wolf interrupted.

"Taking control of the Lylat!" Scales roared.

"Ah yes, like that's never been attempted before," Wolf responded.

"Yes but this time we will succeed! One army isn't acting alone this time..." Wolf looked at him with a raised eyebrow of curiosity. "Well...as I was saying, once your ship is completed we will abandon this base, and here it will silently wait for your return. We are working on a teleportation device which hopefully will be able to take you from your hide out to this hanger in no time at all. Does this satisfy your needs?"

"I believe so," Wolf responded.

"Excellent, it's a deal then!" Scales roared.

Wolf's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up abruptly and he rubbed his face. His eyes still felt heavy, he didn't feel like he was ready to wake up but he did. The amber on the stick of incense faded away and the scented smoke ceased it's dancing in the air. He got up out of his chair stretched his arms in the air and gave a great big yawn. He looked towards the hatch behind him; the one he said led to the armory. He walked over to the hatch, turned the release valve and pushed it open. Once inside, he flicked the lights on. The room was quite small and looked about the size of a small hallway. There were shelves and boxes piled up along the sides of the walls. Along side of one wall was a large generator about the size of a refrigerator. It had a door just like one too, inside were holders and ports for power magazines and clips of all sizes. When activated, the generator would fully recharge the clips of plasma energy. Most of the weapons on the shelves were full auto plasma rifles and plasma pistols. However, he did have a few conventional cartridge/projectile firearms lying about. In the boxes he kept some BDUs, armor, and other equipment. He walked slowly to the end of the hallway where what looked like a large mirror hung from the wall. It was the transporter Scales gave him to take him back to the bunker on Titania. He touched the mirror which caused it to ripple like a rock thrown into undisturbed water. He wanted to see his ship again and he knew this was the only thing to get him there. He used the transporter once before and as he recalls it was a painful journey. Elbow deep within the borderline, this hurt a little but it's something he got used to. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to prepare himself for the pain it would inflict on him.

Wolf's ears perked up all of a sudden, he heard his door disguised as a rock start to open. He instantly withdrew his arm and grabbed a pistol off of the nearest shelf. He cocked the gun and felt it warm in his hand; he hurried over to the door of his armory and aimed at the ladder while still keeping his body unexposed behind the doorway. He caught sight of blood dropping down through the entrance. One leg stuck down through the hole and stepped on one of the rungs of the ladder. That leg of its pants was soaked in blood. It tried to bring its other leg down with it, but it screamed in pain and fell the rest of the way down onto the floor. It appeared to be a frog; Wolf knew from the scream who it was right away. He lowered his gun and stepped out from behind the door. "Caiman!" Wolf growled, "I thought I told you never come back here."

Caiman staggered to his feet and tried to keep all his weight on his right leg. "I'm sorry Wolf, I didn't have a choice!" he groaned.

"You're damn right you didn't have a choice, and THIS PLACE certainly wasn't one of them!" Wolf shouted. "And another thing, DON"T call me Wolf, to you, my name is Mr. O'Donnell!"

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry I came here but I need to stay here for a little while," Caiman whined.

"I'll decide how long you can stay," Wolf responded. "That all depends on how much of a bad mood you can take me out of. So don't just stand there, what happened!?" Wolf shouted.

"I got shot..." Caiman whimpered.

Wolf clenched his teeth and tugged at the fur on the top of his head. "Grrrrrrrr, I CAN SEE THAT YOU NUMBSKULL!!" Wolf barked. "I can ALSO see that you're bleeding all over the place! Hell I bet you left a bloody red carpet leading the entire goddamn planet to my front door! What the hell were you doing?"

"I was trying to take out StarFox"

"YOU WHAT!?"

"I-I-I-I thought it was what you wanted me to do," Caiman stammered

Wolf was getting angrier by the minute, "What I told you was to take your damn bombs and get lost!! I didn't want any of your goddamn help, and I told you to never let me see your hideous face ever again," Wolf said showing his back to him.

"Umm......One more thing Wolf," Wolf snapped the gun back up from his hip and zeroed it right between Caiman's two big frog eyes. Caiman flinched back and covered his face with his hands. "Mr. O'Donnell, Mr. O'Donnell is what I meant, sorrysorrysorrysorry!!!" he shrieked. Wolf slammed the gun down on the desk of the terminal and turned his back. Caiman started up again, "Umm, I talked," Wolf whipped around and glared deep into Caiman's fear struck eyes. "They know all about you and your mission on Corneria." Wolf snarled and bared his teeth, he ripped open one of the desk drawers and pulled out a large silver scorpion knife. Caiman's eye bulged at the sight of the knife. "Wolf I'm sorry, they were gonna torture and kill me if I didn't!!" Caiman cried.

Wolf laughed to himself, "Well ya know what? You should have let them do it and get it over with so I wouldn't have to!" With that Wolf punched a button on the terminal, the generators died down and all the lights faded out. The room was silent except for Caiman's rapid breathing and a droplet of sweat hitting the floor. "Please Wolf, don't kill me, I beg of you." Caiman begged

Wolf's voice seemed to echo from all around causing Caiman to gasp. "O'Donnell...today my name is...Mr. O'Donnell." Just then something pointy hit caiman three inches below his sternum. He was only able to let out a slight yelp before his esophagus constricted and he couldn't breathe. Wolf rocked the blade like a seesaw upwards through his sternum, its razor sharp edge cutting through bone and any flesh that got in its way. Wolf grabbed him by the top of his shoulder and pulled him down making it easier for him to pull the knife. When he got to his throat he pulled the knife out violently and kneed him in the face sending Caiman onto his back. The generators made snapping noises as they re-activated.

Wolf walked back over to Caiman's corpse and spat on it. "Look what you made me do! I try and show you some hospitality but you blow up in my face and now you make a mess I have to clean up! Humph...serves ya right." Wolf went into his kitchen and grabbed three garbage bags. He tried to carefully slip it around the corpse so he didn't spill his bodily fluids anywhere else. The slipped the other two bags around the first bag so they wouldn't tear. He then tightened the bags shut using some zip ties. He dragged the homemade body bag over to the ladder and dropped it onto the floor. He went over to his closet and threw on a pair of his boots and grabbed his gloves which were in a metal basket hanging off the door. He took his trench coat off of his hanger when something else caught his eye. He pushed the rest of his jackets and clothes over to one side and found his old StarWolf jacket. He threw the trench coat onto the floor and took the jacket off of the hanger. He held the jacket up to his snout; it still had brand new fresh leather smell. He put the jacket on and zipped it all the up to his neck. The feel of the jacket sent shivers down his spine, the interior felt so soft on his bare back and chest. It molded his body and became part of him like a second skin. To him it was a treasure; it gave him that feeling of comfort like a security blanket would to a young pup.

When he was done wallowing in the coziness of the jacket he put on his gloves and grabbed a gas can out of the armory. He brought it over to the ladder and scratched his head trying to figure out how to get the corpse up the ladder. "Alright listen you," he commanded. "You get one speck of blood on this jacket and I'll kill ya....again." He grabbed it by the ankles or the neck, he couldn't be sure; but then he thought to himself. "There has to be an easier way of doing this..." Wolf got went back into his armory and got some nylon rope out of one of the boxes. He tied a timber hitch around Caiman's corpse from outside the trash bag. He coiled the excess rope around his shoulder and climbed up the ladder with it. When he got outside he tossed the rope on the ground and started pulling Caiman up hand over hand. In no time at all, he dragged him outside of the little shelter and out into the open. He went back for the can of gasoline and quickly returned. He didn't bother to close the door and make it look like a rock again; nobody comes to this park anyways anymore.

With the coil of rope around his right shoulder and the gas can in the same hand, he dragged Caiman out of the park and down the street. He wasn't too concerned with the bags ripping since they were marked 'heavy duty', however dragging the corpse was beginning to tire him. "Fatigue rears it's ugly head," Wolf said wiping sweat from his brow. "Perhaps I should have let you bleed a little more back at the hideout to lighten the load, don't you agree?" Wolf said to Caiman. "I kind of like you this way Caiman, I say anything I want and you won't say or do anything stupid to piss me off." He sighed and stuck his hand into the pocket in his jacket. He felt a small box, when he pulled it out and discovered it was a pack of cigarettes. "Hmm..." he stopped, "I remember the days when I used to smoke, I haven't picked up a cigarette in years." He patted himself down until he found a lighter in another pocket. He dropped everything in his hands and lit up. He felt like his old self again; a tough looking leather jacket, and a cigarette sticking out from his muzzle. He felt cool again, that lasted until he tried to inhale which turned out to be very unsuccessful. Wolf started coughing furiously and doubled over, "Oh lord! I didn't think it was possible to forget how to use these damn things!" He spat. He stuck the cigarette back in his muzzle and coughed a little more while picking up everything he dropped and started down the street again. "You know what? I think the only reason I picked up this filthy habit was to just try and look like a bad ass. I'm one of those lupines who care too much for his appearance I guess." It suddenly dawned on Wolf that he was smoking and carrying a can full of gasoline. "Hmm, that's using my head," he said flicking the cigarette away.

Wolf had to walk a little bit farther until he reached his destination, a large brown dumpster. "Well, here we are ol' boy, your crematorium," He said to Caiman. He undid the rope which was binding Caiman from outside the bag. He opened the lid to the dumpster and wrinkled his nose at the stench that raced out. "Phew, I don't care if there's a war, that's no excuse for the city to ignore waste removal!" He said waving a gloved paw in front of his nose. "Oh! Now that I think about it, I AM taking care of waste removal!" he laughed to himself. He hoisted the corpse up onto his shoulders, and with one big shove, he threw Caiman into the dumpster. He unscrewed the nozzle of the can of gasoline and poured it all over the inside of the dumpster, getting most of it on Caiman. He stepped away from the dumpster and lit another cigarette, he thought about trying to take another puff of it but he reminded himself of how unpleasant all that gagging was. He turned to the dumpster again and saluted it. "It's been great chatting with you Caiman; if you'd just shut up and not do anything half-witted you could probably earn a lot of respect. Too bad you didn't learn that lesson while you were still alive." Without lowering his salute he tossed the lit cigarette into the dumpster. All it took was ten seconds and Wolf had a good fire going. "StarWolf salutes you Caiman..."

He lowered his hand from his brow and stuck both his hands in his pockets. "Ah yes...this lupine isn't going to need these any more." He said tossing the pack of smokes in the fire after realizing they were still in his jacket. As he made his way back to the park, he thought about his sanity, weather it was all there or not. Granted he was a very bright Wolf, a mixture of street smarts and stuff he picked up at the academies he attended. He thought about how many people in the world actually talk to a stiff they just butchered minutes ago. Probably only murderers and serial killers, had he become one of them? "NO!" he thought himself, "I am a mercenary, I am a captain of an elite flight squad, and I AM WOLF O'DONNELL!" He sighed to himself. He wasn't the same anymore, that jacket deserved to be burned just as much as Caiman did. He wasn't a captain anymore, just a washed up pilot abandoned by the army that took him in. He frowned, "I need more friends..."

When he got back to his hideout he dropped down the ladder and shut the door when he got to the bottom. He tossed his gloves onto the desk of the terminal and through his jacket onto the chair. He glanced over at the pool of blood over by where he stabbed Caiman, there was much more blood than he thought. "Should probably clean that slime up before it starts to reek," he thought to himself.

He went into his kitchen and got some cleaning supplies from beneath the sink. He dumped some Bleach on the blood. He put on some latex gloves and began scrubbing and sopping up the pools of blood. "Damn bloodstains, always the hardest thing to get out of any surface," he said out loud. Just then something was pressed again the back of his head, it was small and felt circular. He heard a click and then a whirring sound, the small circle on the back of his head got warmer. The hair on his neck stood up, he knew what that circle was. It was the muzzle of a fully loaded, ready to fire, pistol. "Well..." Wolf chuckled nervously. "I see that you've caught me in a rather compromising position."

Krystal was just about to turn the key when she heard Fox yelling his lungs out. "Fox what's wrong?" she asked as he ran frantically up to the car.

"Out now!" he said after ripping the door open. He grabbed Krystal by the arm and pulled her out with so much force she almost fell over. Fox pulled her back to where he and Trent where was standing. "You said there was a remote starter, where is it?" he asked her.

Krystal shrugged, "I don't know, it wasn't on the key ring."

Trent piped up, "Uh, the guy who installed it has the remote" he said looking around. "It was one of those last minute jobs." Trent finally caught sight of who he was looking for. "Heyyo, new guy!" A frog that was rummaging through a tool box turned around with a confused look on his face. He pointed his finger to himself wondering if he was the one Trent was calling. "Yea you!" Trent shouted, "get over here!"

He slowly made his way over looking at the ground. "Is there something wrong sir?" he asked weakly.

"Yea, where's the damn remote for the car?" Trent hollered.

"Oh...right here," he said pulling the little car remote out of his pocket. Fox made note that he didn't look any of them in the eye. A true sign that someone is either guilty or hiding something.

"Gimme that," Fox said snatching the remote out from his grasp. Fox stared at him a little longer; he still didn't pick his head up. He turned to face the car and pushed the activator on the remote, at first there was nothing. Fox tried again this time holding the button in, there was a click, a second of silence and then a large bang. The car burst into flames, the explosion caused every head to turn in the hanger and nearly knocked Trent and Krystal off their feet. Fox on the other hand stood like a rock gazing into the fiery blaze for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed, something like this had already happened to somebody he loved and he sure as hell made sure it didn't happen again. He turned back to the frog that gave him the remote and was instantly greeted with a green fist in his left eye stunning him momentarily.

The nameless assassin hit and ran past Fox towards the burning vehicle. Fox shook off the stun and pulled his pistol from his holster, but before he had a chance to aim a gunshot rang out from behind him. The shot stuck struck the assassin in the back of the leg and went straight through right below his knee cap. He instantly dropped to the ground squealing in pain. Fox turned around to see Krystal on sight with her finger on the trigger ready to fire again. "Can I finish him off Fox, before my ears start bleeding with that girlish screaming of his?"

Fox snickered, "No, I would like to ask our guest a few questions first. Call up the guys and tell them to get here as soon as they can."

"Okies," Krystal said holstering her blaster.

The assassin was dizzy, he was rapidly losing blood and he did not know what was in store for him. He had a great perspective the cloudy sky until Fox walked over to him. "Don't die just yet; we haven't had our fun with you. Wait a minute...don't I know you from somewhere?" Fox said. The assassin saw spots starting to cloud his vision, they started to get larger and move around more. His mind had trouble putting together the puzzles his eyes put in front of him. The spots all seemed to come together forming one big black cloud, he was out.

Within the black void of the comatose state, the assassin could not decipher the voices echoing around him. On top of that, he was still unable to break through the darkness and awaken himself.

"You could be right Fox; I think we may have encountered him during the war," Falco said.

"Yea but where?" Slippy asked.

"I dunno, that's the thing," Fox said, "We normally taunted only bosses and we killed ALL the bosses we taunted, so I think that rules that out. What do you think Pep?"

"Hell I don't know Fox," Peppy said adjusting the glasses resting on his nose. "I'm old; I have trouble remembering what we did last week!"

Everyone got a good laugh until Falco silenced them all. "Hey shuddup, he's gonna wake up!"

Slowly the frog's eyes slid open, he tried to move but he couldn't. His hands and feet were bound to the table he was lying on. The room around him was dark and empty except for five individuals standing around him and a bright light burning into his forehead. "What's your name?" Falco asked.

"Ugh...who wants to know?" he groaned.

"Let's see....The ENTIRE StarFox team who is in control of weather you live or die today!" Falco threatened.

He was now fully awake, "My name is Caiman, and please let me go!"

"All in good time, all in good time," Fox said. "What we are going to be doing is simply playing a little game. As you can see, we have fastened a C-clamp over your wound. Now you know as much as I do that the tighter that C-clamp gets the more discomfort you will experience. Now, what determines how tight that clamp will be is how well you can answer our questions. If you are smart, you will be able to hobble away with only that wound. If you should piss us off, we have a lot more tools we can use the WRONG way."

Caiman took one look at the clamp attached to his leg and gulped hard.

"Krystal you don't have to stay for this part if you don't want to," Fox said to her.

"Ok, I think I'll go take a nap, I've had quite enough excitement for one day," she grinned.

"What's wrong Krys, weak stomach?" Falco teased.

"Hell no," Fox answered for her, "she's the one who shot this idiot." Falco looked at Krystal with an impressed look on his face; she returned it with a wink and walked off. "So...shall we start?" Fox continued.

"Right," Falco said cracking his knuckles. "Tell me Caiman, what are you doing here?"

Caiman gulped, though he was extremely nervous and couldn't easily tolerate pain. He decided it was in his best interest to enlighten them as best he could. "I was sent here to help transmit information to my superiors."

"Who's your CO?" Falco questioned.

"We were sent here by General Scales, all the reconnaissance we do is sent directly to him," Caiman answered.

Falco rolled his eyes, "I could have guessed."

"Information like what?" Fox asked.

"Well we were given the tools for doing any sort of reconnaissance, hacking or monitoring frequencies. We have the ability to break into any channel weather it be ally or enemy."

Fox's eyes narrowed what Caiman had just said sounded all too familiar to him. "Who is this we?"

"Just me and some other guy"

"Do you think you can be a little more specific than that?" Fox growled, grabbing hold of the C-clamp.

"Alright! Alright! He was a lupine but I don't know his name, we never learned them for purposes such as this." Caiman lied.

Fox looked at his teammates and scratched his chin, "How many eyes did this lupine have?"

Caiman put a confused look, "what?"

Fox turned the C-clamp a quarter turn, "How many eyes did he have!?" Fox repeated himself louder.

Caiman cringed in pain and groaned between his teeth, "ARrrrrgg, two eyes!!"

"Were they BOTH functional!?" Fox yelled louder while tightening the C-Clamp.

Caiman's eyes budged from the sudden surge of pain racing through his wound, "No!! OWWWW!! HE WORE AN EYEPATCH!!!"

Satisfied, Fox released the pressure on Caiman's wound, "Ok Caiman, you can have some time to breathe but don't think we're through with you just yet. Fox waved to hit teammate to follow him away from the table was strapped to so they could talk in private. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, he sounds like he's telling the truth to me," Slippy stated. Fox nodded his head in agreement.

"There's just something about all this that doesn't smell right," Falco said. "That lupine he claimed he worked with sounds a lot like someone I know. Are you thinking of the same person I am?"

"And who would that be?" Fox asked.

"Don't be stupid, you know Wolf was the answer you were looking for. Do you know something I don't Fox?" Falco said giving Fox a suspicious look.

Fox leered back, "You and I BOTH know that no body was ever recovered after we shot him down over Venom."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there is still that possibility that Wolf may still be alive and looking for vengeance. I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid, but there's only one way to confirm my worst fears," Fox said turning his back.

"And that is?" Falco asked.

Fox looked back over his shoulder, "I'm going to turn him loose and follow him."

Falco tugged at the feathers on the top of his head, "Are you serious!?" Slippy held up a finger to his lips trying to tell Falco to keep it down, Falco retorted by holding up his middle finger to him. "Do you really think he's going to lead you straight to his hideout?"

"Of course, he tried to kill me and Krystal, how smart do you really think he is?" Falco narrowed his eyes and twisted his beak. Fox ignored Falco's look and approached Caiman, he pulled the knife he got from Wolf in the alley from his vest. The enormous blade caused a streak of sweat to run down to Caiman's chin. He shut his eyes tightly expecting to feel some serious pain, but instead he only felt the sudden release in tension on the ropes binding his wrists to the table.

"Y-yer letting me go?" Caiman stuttered.

"That's right Einstein, we're done with you. See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Caiman sat up and removed the C-clamp on his leg before placing it on the table.

He discovered he was going to have some difficulty walking when he fell flat on his face after the first step toward the door. Falco came over and picked him up off the ground by his shirt. "Let's just clarify one thing frog boy," he threatened. "If I see your sorry hide anywhere on this damn planet, I won't hesitate to blow your head off. I don't even care if you're in a goddamned church and God almighty is standing before me I will blast your ass in the middle of the sermon." Falco dropped Caiman hard onto the floor causing him to fall on his rear, "Got it boy?" Falco smiled?

"Y-y-yes sir!" Caiman said scurrying out the backdoor.

"Well are you going to follow him?" Peppy asked turning to Fox.

Fox looked at Peppy from over his shoulder, "Yes, in just a moment. I don't think he'll be going very far on that leg of his. Do me a favor Slip; see if you can find any of your dad's old overcoats."

"Sure thing, I think he's got one in his office, I'll go check," he said waddling off.

"I think I know what you're looking for," Falco said approaching Fox. "You're looking for Wolf aren't you? What are you gonna do if you find him?"

"I dunno," Fox replied.

"Well if you do find him, put a bullet in his skull for nearly killing me on venom."

Fox smirked at Falco's comment just as Slippy tossed a neatly folded navy blue overcoat into Fox's arms. "Thanks Slip, geez this thing is huge!"

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers' y'know!" Slippy retorted.

"Yea I know," Fox chuckled. "I really don't think blue is my color but-....what the hell is this!?" Fox said, finding an old jean fisherman's hat in with the jacket.

"What!? It'll make you look more incognito!" Slippy exclaimed.

"It'll me look more like a boonie!" Fox shouted back. Peppy had his paws over his mouth trying to keep himself from bursting into hysterics. Falco on the other hand had his arms folded and back turned to all the excitement.

"If you were going to a fashion show I'd understand why you'd be upset, but you're just stalking a Frog with a gimpy leg! Just put the damn hat on! Fox growled and pulled the hat down on top of his head.

Peppy could take it no longer and fell onto his back and rolling on the floor with laughter. "You look like something out of Gilligan's Island with that hat on!!" Falco gave him a sidelong glance and looked away just as quickly.

"Oh stuffit hairball," Fox said walking out the door. "Old clothes suck!" Fox stated defiantly before slamming the door behind him.

Falco thought to himself silently, "You're hiding something from us Fox. Peppy and Slippy may not smell it, but I do. And I'm going to find out what it is."

Caiman left a fresh trail of blood for Fox to follow and it wasn't before long before Fox found Caiman himself. He was right about one thing however, that leg of his was definitely slowing him down. He relied more heavily on moving between cover than actually using the disguise to mask his identity. "I hope to god Caiman, you'd better not lead me to Wolf...for both your sakes." Fox said to himself. "He's got all that equipment, he could easily be spying for Scales. I swear to God Wolf, if you're playing games with us, the consequences are gonna be deadly."

Despite Fox's silent threat, Caiman lead him directly to the park where he met Wolf. Caiman walked over to the entrance of Wolf's hideout and opened the door. He was having trouble getting down the ladder. Fox threw the coat off on to some rocks along with the goofy hat. Fox chuckled to himself when he heard Caiman's yelp and then a thud shortly after. "Caiman!" He heard Wolf bark. He slowly crept his way toward the hole so he could listen to any conversation that might go on.

Fox listened in on the whole conversation between them, Wolf didn't seem too happy with the sight of Caiman. Nor did he much appreciate Caiman's attempt at premeditated murder. Fox began thinking maybe his accusations about Wolf were incorrect, perhaps he was Venomian defector? He couldn't be sure but he was determined to find out. Just then Fox heard a short yelp followed by a gurgling sound. His face twisted in to a look of disgust, he tried to look down into the whole at what was going on but it was too dark to see anything. He heard what sounded like a fleshy cutting sound and then something heavy hit the ground. He was almost positive it was a body and he didn't have any doubts who it might be. Wolf began speaking again, but Fox was pretty sure there wasn't a third person in the room. He peered down into the hole once since the lights were now on. Wolf was dragging a garbage bag most-likely containing Caiman's corpse to the ladder. Wolf looked up at the entrance; Fox was able to move just in time with out being seen. Fox crept out from the shelter and snuck around behind it where he threw the coat.

It took a few minutes but Wolf finally came out of his hideout dragging behind him Caiman's corpse by a rope. Fox waited before he was out of sight before he stepped out from behind the shelter. He took one last look around and finally dropped down into Wolf's hideout. "Whoa," Fox said when he caught sight of the gruesome mess Wolf had created. "I think it's obvious he hasn't lost his killer instinct" he continued out loud, "either that or he's on that friggin' needle again." Fox rummaged around Wolf's terminal, "I wonder if Scales is on his buddy list," unfortunately he came up with nothing. Everything he had on there had been password protected so he just didn't bother. He took a peek into Wolf's so called armory, "this is some pretty serious shit!" Fox said looking over all of the guns. Much to his surprise not one of them was Venomian manufactured. Disinterested in his armaments, Fox walked into his kitchen. He decided the only way he was going to get any information at all he was going to have to get it straight from Wolf's mouth. In the meantime, he helped himself to a beer in Wolf's fridge. It dawned on him that he should perhaps hide somewhere so he could hopefully surprise him when he returns. He took the beer he stole and hid inside the armory, he left the door open a creek so he would be able to hear Wolf when he came back in. Fox sat in silence a little while longer awaiting Wolf's return ,drinking his beer he thought about what he would do if Wolf had actually betrayed him. "I'm so clueless," Fox thought to himself, "taking information from old enemies. But why would he do something like that? He practically saved mine and Krystal's life; I at least owe that to him. It just bugs the hell out of me that he knows everything before anyone does."

Fox's thoughts were shattered when he suddenly heard someone drop down the ladder and close the door behind them. Fox got up, tiptoed to the door and peered through the crack he left open. Wolf tossed his jacket and gloves off somewhere and stared at the unsightly mess he made. He walked off towards his kitchen and came back with some cleaning supplies. He began furiously scrubbing the floor in hopes of sopping up the blood. Fox decided that this was his chance to move in. "Damn bloodstains, always the hardest thing to get out of any surface," Wolf said to himself. Fox pressed the gun against the back of Wolf's neck, he instantly froze. "Well..." Wolf chuckled nervously. "I see that you've caught me in a rather compromising position."

"Stand up," Fox said backing away slowly.

Wolf got off his hands and knees and turned to face his attacker. "Whew, it's only you, for a minute there I thought it was someone who was actually going to kill me," Wolf said nervously.

"I'm still holding a gun," Fox reminded him.

"Well what's stopping you?" Wolf asked.

"I need some answers first."

"Don't we all," Wolf retorted.

"Don't be a smart-ass with me I'm in no-"

"Then put away the damn gun!" Wolf cut him off. There was a brief moment of silence where the two of them just locked eyes with each other. Finally Fox shoved his pistol into the holster inside his vest. Wolf walked over to his terminal and sat down in his chair. "I suppose you were wondering if what Caiman told you was true?"

"Not entirely," Fox replied. "What I really want to know is if you are loyal to Scales and cause."

Wolf paused, "...In a way yes."

"Why?"

"Same reason as any, money..." Wolf lowered his eyes.

Fox twisted his mouth, "You always did get caught on the wrong side."

"I haven't been caught," Wolf said.

"You're betraying your home planet!" Fox exclaimed.

"Hardly, consider the facts Fox, consider where those bombs fell. Do you think that bombing the trash of this city is a strategic target to hit? What's the point; destroy several blocks of low income housing instead of government and military buildings?" Want in on a little secret Fox? I was the one who submitted the coordinates for the bombers; I took the risk and dropped them on my head instead of General Pepper's. The Cornerian Government owes me a big thank you along with their lives.

Fox scratched the back of his neck, "You couldn't have given them coordinates out in the middle of the ocean or in some open field?"

"Oh please," Wolf said with a disgusted look on his face. "They're not THAT dumb, they wanted to bomb Corneria City, and I told them that this was the best place to hit. Speaking of bombs how's the gang?" Wolf asked biting one of the claws on his paw.

"Krystal almost blew up today, thanks to your friend," Fox said looking at his feet.

Wolf spat, "Heh, my friend is in a dumpster covered in third degree burns at the end of the street." Wolf cleared his throat and held a paw up to his ear.

Fox smirked, "Ok, I owe you a big thank you and it was completely wrong of me to suspect you of selling us out." Wolf had his head turned to Fox and was twirling his finger urging Fox to keep going. "...I'm sorry." Fox continued.

"THAT'S what I was looking for!" Wolf said springing up in his chair with a big grin. Wolf held out his paw for Fox, "friends?" Just as Fox grasped his paw from over the terminal, Wolf tugged his arm hard and pulled him half-way over the terminal. He grabbed Fox around the neck and picked the gun up with his opposite paw and pressed it against his forehead.

"What the hell are you doing?" Fox choked.

Wolf brought his muzzle to Fox's muzzle, "Thought so..."

"Traitor!" Fox gagged.

"Traitor?!" Wolf dropped the gun and gave Fox a slap in the face. What the hell's wrong with you today?!" Wolf threw him over the terminal and onto the floor, "Stay out of my refrigerator!" he said.

Fox got to his feet with the look on his face when he couldn't understand what Tricky was saying to him in the Dino lingo. Suddenly he remembered the beer he took, "oh...you could have just asked!" he exclaimed.

"Did you just ask?" Wolf retorted. Fox held up his middle finger, and Wolf began to snicker at him. Fox joined him and suddenly the snicker turned into a full blown hysterics.

Fox walked over to the ladder when he regained control of himself, "you're a real bastard you know that?" he said.

Wolf turned his head in a cocky manner and rubbed his claws on his fur, "yea I know..."

Fox chuckled again, "later" he said climbing up the ladder.

"Don't worry Fox...I'm watching over you..." Wolf said quietly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, if you really don't get it, the first part of the chapter is told from Wolf's point of view. And the second half of the chapter is told from Fox's point of view. I just thought it would be kind of cool to explain the story this way. And if you really don't

Send complaints there.

Yea, so that. Hope you guys liked it, I did about a paragraph of the next chapter. Let me know what you guys think and their will be more