Mission 34 - Memories

Damon lay casually on the floor by his Uncle's feet. They had gotten off work early today, and decided to spend the afternoon lounging. They watched a series of cartoon shorts for lack of anything better on. They found it rather enjoyable, both being more childish in nature. Damon giggled as a small dinosaur outwitted a larger one, making it ram its head into a tree. The rumble it produced seemed to run longer than it should have, then Damon realized what the continuous rumbling really was. It wasn't a result of the dinosaur; it was the engines of Sirus' Wolfen. Damon wiggled in anticipation; finally he got to meet his father as he came home, rather than it being the other way around. Damon smiled to his uncle, and motioned for him to duck down. Obsidian merely rolled his eyes mockingly, giggling along with his nephew. Damon slipped off the socks on his feet and began to climb the walls, up to the ceiling.

Damon watched the door, perched upside-down in a crouching position. He was ready to surprise his father. He heard the key slide in, and the lock was opened. The door was slowly opened. The door flew open and Damon yelled, "BOO!" What he then saw surprised him as much as the occupant who walked inside their home. Instead of Sirus, a stranger stood there, an unknown gecko. The lizard just stared at Damon with an astonished look on his face. Obviously not comprehending what he was seeing. Damon just stared, then slowly muttered out, "W-who are y-you, and w-what are you doing in our h-house?" The confusion still left the stranger dumbfounded, as he simply said nothing.

Obsidian looked over, "Well look who returned from the grave." The lizard simply stared at the other occupant, wondering how he knew about him. Obsidian smirked, "Cody wasn't it? What are you doing here?" Cody just shook his head, "I…ordered…live…" he took a deep breath, "What the heck is going on?" Damon had become just as confused as Cody, and in his confusion lost his grip. He fell to the ground and landed on his back with a dull thud. Cody looked over worriedly, as Damon continued to stare although now with a more dazed expression, "Is he going to be alright?"

"Don't worry, happens to him all the time." Obsidian said with a wink, "Come in, Cody."

"Who are you?" Cody asked as he stepped through the door hesitantly, "And how do you know me?"

"I am Sirus Ares' brother, Obsidian Ares." Obsidian said with a smirk, "As for how do I know about you . . . Long story cut short, Dr. Zenotabi is my father."

"What, he is your father? But he's a rat . . . you and Captain Sirus are wolves . . ." As Cody bent down to untie his military boots, he also noticed Damon, still sitting on the ground, "And who is he?"

"Normal rules don't apply here, Cody." Obsidian said jokingly, "He is Damon, Sirus' adopted son."

"I think I can introduce myself, thank you very much Uncle Rocky." Damon stated as-a-matter-of-factly as he stood up, shaking off his daze, sensing no immediate danger with the stranger he moved forward. He cheerfully extended his hand towards the lizard, "Welcome to the Ares household." Cody shook Damon's hand.

"Welcome indeed," another voice said, "Cody what happened, I thought you were helping me haul dinner in." Sirus then walked in, several bags strung over his arms.

Cody turned back, "Oh, sorry, I was met with a little surprise when I opened the door."

"Oh really," Sirus asked, looking concerned, "What happened?"

Cody pointed over to Damon, "Your son here was…ummm…hanging from the ceiling."

Sirus let out a laugh, "Oh, and here I thought it was something serious."

"Normal rules don't apply here Cody." Obsidian repeated with a wink.

Cody walked over to the couch, collapsing and sinking into it, "Who are you people, and how do you know so muchabout me?"

Sirus looked at Damon, "Go set up dinner please," then he turned back to Cody, "I suppose a small explanation is in order. Just know what we say is the truth, but like your identity you have to keep it a secret."

Cody nodded, and Obsidian began to explain, "Basically, I am a genetic soldier, created and raised by Archimedes Zenotabi. So technically he is my father. I used to work at the hospital, so that's how I know you." Obsidian's eyes brightened, "Speaking of which I have something to show you. I'll be right back."

Cody looked over at Sirus, "Surely you're normal Mr. Ares? I mean, there has to be at least one normal person, without anything strange or mysterious about them?"

Sirus smiled, "Well, I could say that, but I'd be lying. I'm a dead man like you."

Cody tilted his head, "I thought I was the first one to be resurrected?"

Sirus nodded, "You are, I am dead in a different sense. You see, before I was Sirus Ares I was someone else, someone rather famous actually."

Cody smiled, "Oh really, who, what happened?"

Sirus grinned, his white teeth glistening, "Wolf O'Donnell, and I was assassinated."

Cody's eyes widened, "What are you talking about; you don't even look like him."

"Plastic surgery works wonders," Sirus said, "It's true, but it's not like you have to worry, I'm a good guy."

Cody held his head, "I'm seriously debating whether I really should ask about your son."

"Damon is a lot like Obsidian, an attempt a super soldier of sorts; unfortunately he's somewhat of a failure." Sirus began.

"Ah-HAH, the truth comes out!" Damon yelled jokingly from the kitchen, "So that's what you really think of me!"

"Oh be quiet," Sirus retaliated while they both chuckled, "It was a project Andross put together, Damon was the end result, and his creator was Leon Powalski." Sirus then began to whisper, "Listen I ask that you try and be polite around him, he' exceptionally sensitive, and highly emotional. He's a good kid, but sometimes has a hard time taking criticism, especially about his appearance."

Cody nodded, "I see…" he stared Sirus in the eyes, "So who's the crazy nut behind all this? Who would set up a crazy family like this to protect such odd people like ourselves?"

Sirus grinned, "Now is that any way to speak about the good Admiral?"

Cody's eyes widened again, "Pepper, he's the one, that's crazy. I never would have suspected."

Sirus nodded, "The perfect crime you might say," he shrugged, "The thing is we're kept around and protected because we're useful."

Cody frowned, "So when our use runs out?"

"Oh don't be so grim," the lupine said, shaking his head, "It's not like they're going to get rid of us if we aren't of any use. We could live fairly normal lives if we really wanted. Pepper only chooses certain people because he sees the potential in them."

"Not just the potential Sirus, Admiral Pepper sees everything." Obsidian said as he reappeared after an abrupt absence, carrying a laptop computer in one hand. The nimble lupine approached the pair, "He even saw the good Sirus Ares in the evil Wolf O'Donnell."

"Excellent analogy," Sirus said with a smile, "Couldn't have put it better."

"Well, Cody, here you go." Obsidian placed the laptop computer next to Cody so the lizard could see its screen. Scrolling through a few folders within his documents, the wolf came up to a folder labeled, "Autopsies", then on the subfolder, "Lt. C. Tibet". "These are the autopsies pictures of the deceased pilots that died during that terrorist attack five years ago. I thought you might be interested."

Cody looked at the computer, his eyes widened in surprise. There it was naked body of a lizard, dead, lying on a metallic morgue table. Several small burn marks were evident throughout the corpse's hide, along with several puncher wounds in his chest. Most disturbingly, Cody could easily recognize that this was no ordinary person. It was himself.

Obsidian pressed the forward button, scrolling to the next picture within the folder. It was another picture of Cody, his chest now flayed open, his sternum removed. Everything was quite clear now, even to a non-professional. To large metallic fragments jutted out from the victim's now exposed lungs and heart. Those were the fragments that took away the life of a young and talented pilot, five years ago. "Your aircraft only collapsed and caught on fire during the fall. Unfortunately, something from the dashboard exploded and hit you in the chest, mortally injuring you."

"Um . . ." Cody gulped, "That's nice to know. . ."

"Glad to hear it." Obsidian said with a smirk, then scrolled onto the next picture. It was a pair of lungs, sitting in a metallic tray. A fragment appeared embedded in the middle section of the left lung. After a brief and technically explanation of the picture, Obsidian proceeded to showing the gecko his heart, intestines, stomach, and brain. "Here, we found the problem."

"Something was wrong with my head?" Cody asked, grimacing at the picture of the bloody organ.

"This . . ." Obsidian minimized the picture of the brain, and behind it was an image of Leon's infamous, multi-tentacle, Cerebral Impulse Interceptor. "Lovely thing to be found in your brain, isn't it? This is a CII, one of Leon's most brilliant inventions. It allows him to bypass all functions of the cerebrum and control all parts of the body. You were unfortunate enough to get one of these shoved down your throat."

". . ." Cody didn't know what to say, "Why?"

"Oh right, you probably don't remember a thing. . . I should have known." Obsidian quickly proceeded to showing Cody pictures of the destruction of Corneria City. "He controlled your bodies, flew you into the sky, and then crashed your planes into the city."

"That sick freak . . ." Cody muttered. Taking the laptop, the lizard exited out of the folder that was labeled, "Lt. C. Tibet", and went back to the previous folder. Next to his folder was another folder, named, "Lt. B. Tibet". Without thinking about the consequences, he opened the folder, and discovered the picture of a charred, unrecognizable corpse. Tears welled up in his eyes, "My brother . . ."

"Way to go Rocky; let's greet our new friend with some autopsy pictures!" Sirus said furiously. The older lupine gently took the laptop from the tearing gecko's hands and folded it shut. "I am sorry Cody . . . I know it's a lot that you are going through right now."

Damon walked back into the room, noticing the grim atmosphere and Cody crying. He walked over and knelt by Cody, "Are you going to be okay Cody?"

Cody sniffed, trying to hold back the emotion, like the military had trained him to do. It was all too much to bear however, and he began choking on his tears, ready to over flow. "B-Brian…"

Damon slipped onto the couch, placing Cody's head on his shoulder. "It's okay Cody, no one is going to yell at you for crying. You've had a great loss, it's okay to cry."

Sirus patted his shoulder, "You want to talk about it, or perhaps be alone? We can take you to your room now if you like."

Cody nodded, "Please, I need to lie down."

Damon looked at his father, "Where is he staying?"

"The Guest room by your room, it should already be made." Sirus said.

Damon helped Cody up, and allowed him to lean into him. They walked up the stairs together, once they had reached the top of the stairs Cody finally let hi tears out fully. He began to sob uncontrollably. Damn patted his back and opened the door to the room. He left the lights off, and closed the curtains so only a small amount of light filtered in from the sun. It left the room feeling cold and gloomy, and was already feeling empty due to it's lack of any decoration. All there was in the room was a queen sized bed, and a closet with a dresser in it. Cody walked over to the bed and collapsed into it, burying his head into the pillow. He began punching it with his right hand as he sobbed.

"I know how you feel. I know exactly what it feels like to lose someone you really love." Damon said, sitting by the lizard, stroking his back.

Cody looked up and glared at Damon, "How do you know how I feel you freak?!"

Damon looked at him, and then turned his eyes away, shuddering for a moment. Cody thought for a moment he was going to start crying. Then Damon turned around punched Cody as hard as he could in the snout, sending the reptile reeling over the other side of the bed. Then the hybrid dove after him, and the two began wrestling about the room. While Cody was strong, mostly likely stronger than Damon before he died, his new body did not have the development he was used to. Soon he was worn out, and Damon gained the upper hand, rolling him onto his back and sitting on his chest. The hybrid stared at him angrily, tears streaming down his face.

He growled at Cody, eyes clenched shut in frustrated anger, "You know how sick I am of everybody calling me that?!" he shook Cody in anger, "Freak, Loser, Weirdo, and all that? I had enough! What have I done to deserve this? Before I was just a kid and I thought I would one day "grow" out of it. . . But I thought wrong. I am twenty two and everything is still the freaking same. People like you . . ."

Cody clenched his teeth, not rationally comprehending Damon's words. Instinctively sensing that Damon was distracted, the lizard curled his upper torso up without warning, allowing the thickest part of his reptilian skull to collide with Damon's chin. Dazed from the impact, Damon soon found himself on pinned down on the ground, unable to retaliate.

"People like me? Who am I? I don't even have an identity! I am just some dead guy resurrected from the dead for fun!" Cody hissed, pressing the struggling hybrid down, ensuring his dominance, "At least you are special. At least you have something to live for. I don't. I am nobody. And I don't have anyone left…" Cody glared at Damon, his eyes watering. Damon just stared at him, unable to speak, on the verge of crying as well.

"You aren't nobody, and you should be happy to have a second chance at life." Damon said sadly, "Trust me, there are more things to live for than you think."

Cody still glowered at Damon, raised his fist as if he wanted to hit him again, "Shut up." He sobbed, "I don't have anything."

"I'll be there for you." Damon said.

Cody's eyes widened, his thoughts drifted back to his brother. Brian always said that to him when he was feeling down. He lowered his fist, still sobbing. He simply collapsed, falling into Damon's chest, sobbing harshly. Damon patted his back, trying to console him. The door slowly opened, and Sirus peeked in to see what was going on. Damon smiled to Sirus to show everything was alright, and the door closed again.

"I'm sorry…" Damon said.

Cody sobbed, "I want my family."

Damon hugged him lightly, "I'll see what we can do…"


"So what do you think of that plan, my faithful little one?" Leon Powalski spoke with a devious grin. Fourteen lay in a small cot, under several clean white sheets that Leon had prepared. The child was listening intently to his master's voice, trying his best to comprehend Leon's plans as they unfold before his weary eyes. To the young hybrid, these plans were a source of entertainment, just like bedtime stories. Through the many nights spent with Leon, Fourteen had naturally formed a basic understanding of Leon's plans. As far as he knew, a group of evil people named "StarFox" took away what his master once had, and these plans were merely a form of justice yet to be performed. Knowing so, little Fourteen was more than happy to help his master in accomplishing these plans.

"Well, how do you know this Falco guy is going to take the challenge, Master Leon?" The child asked; his voice innocent and sweet. "What if Fox and Falco both come? Then that can't be good, can it?"

"Well, Fox is going to be too preoccupied with his children. As for Falco, he had been waiting for this challenge for a long time. There is an unsettled score between us for quite a while now, and being the rash, lone wolf that he always is, the chances of him denying my challenge is close to zero."

"What about the other people, Slippy, Peppy and Sirus?" Little Fourteen asked worriedly. "If they come along, we'll be in trouble!"

"Oh don't worry little one." Leon said, patting the boy on the forehead, soothing his anxious mind. "Peppy is now too old to be any sort of threat to us. Slippy is a scientist who poses no more a threat than Peppy. As for Sirus Ares, I shall turn his whole family into ruins with a few cleverly arranged events."

"I see . . ." The boy yawned, his luminous green eyes sparkling with lachrymal fluid. "When are we going to start, Master Leon? I am getting excited!"

"Me too kid, but we must wait for now. Patience . . ." Leon said his voice thick and gentle, "We'll get them soon, I promise."

"Yeah . . ." Fourteen muttered as he drifted off to sleep. Leon smiled and fixed the boy's blankets. He was evidently happy about the creation of Fourteen, an excellent servant and companion. In fact, sometimes, for a moment or two, the cold-hearted killer actually thought he loved the child . . . Or perhaps it was just an illusion. Nevertheless, Leon knew that his bond with this kid was special: A bond between a creator and a creation.

Watching the child for a few minutes, Leon decided that it was time for him to go. Before exiting the door, the reptile turned and smiled at the sleeping figure in the bed. "Sweet dreams, Jessie."