Chapter Two: Stars
I don't own Star Fox, but I own my characters. Using my characters means you have to ask permission from me and giving me credit. I would be delighted then when you do! This is probably one of my long-running stories, so bear with it!
While it would be a very long and hectic day for the two canines, it's just a fine day for withdrawing a few dollars for Fara Phoenix. That's what she thought when she just recently finished her work for the day. While her work hours are short and early, she does earn a fair salary, and she needs to take a break for a change. Going to the bank wouldn't be much of a problem now… would it? Hope she doesn't encounter anything bad, like bank robbers…
Meanwhile, a female lupine was just walking along the city sidewalk. She has a white-brown fur with long black hair. She wears an open, almost-thick red jacket with a white short sleeveless shirt (her stomach seen), a pair of brown gloves with her fingers uncovered, short pants that end above her knees, and a pair of brown shoes with long pink socks. Her regular strolling was then stopped when she caught something. She strode quickly to the other side of the sidewalk, the place where she saw something: a bank robbery. Police were all around. And maybe because of her kind demeanor, she joined in.
"Let me handle this!" she told to one of the officers of the police squad. With wonder, the police allowed her. She peeked at one of the bank's glass wall. "Hmm… Two, three, four… nah! These guys are still too easy for me!" she giggled silently as she estimates them. "I've got a raccoon robber, a lizard lawbreaker, a dog-gone dog, and a pesky pelican. I bet there's still a few of them in the vault room, but I can handle them. Hmm, and the crowd's all at the ground and controlled, so I guess they wouldn't be able to shoot them if I bust in…" After evaluating the situation, she immediately charged in, proclaiming with a huge endeavor to save, "All right boys, the party is over." As she attracted the four thieves however, they ended up laughing.
"Hey babe, you shouldn't have stuck your nose to business you ain't involved!" the pelican laughed, looking and mocking at the she-wolf's outfit and the way she spoke out earlier. "Now you're one of the hostages! Get down on the floor with your hands up, or you would like to prefer a kiss from each of us if you want to leave this place." The lupine, with that confident face, just scoffed at them.
She spoke out as she pointed to the pelican robber, "Actually, it'll be you and your friends who'll be kissing the ground! I can take on all of you in just a flash!" The robbers laughed, thinking that she's just a harmless girl. However, that thought will then be changed when she threw her jacket up, and with a quick body movement and reflexes, she knocked every one of the four thieves down to the ground. She did it so fast, that she was able to catch her jacket. "I guess the police will handle what to do next."
Fara, who was one of the people who were forced to lean to the ground, stood up. She was amazed by the wolf girl with fantastic movement. However, she knew that their troubles aren't over yet, as there are still three thieves in the vault room, and after hearing the punches and kicks, they went out from the room, seeing the wolf putting on her jacket.
"What the hell… she did all this?!" one of the robbers reacted as he puts down a bag of money. "We'll have to teach her a thing or two!" He then drew out a blaster from its container. The girl saw it and stood still after she sees that it was about to be pointed towards her. "Say your prayers, toots!"
However, Fara quickly pulled her blaster from her handbag and quickly fired a shot to the robber's pistol, knocking it away. This gave the wolf a chance to move quickly, deliver a powerful flying kick to the three, followed by a series of spinning kicks, knocking everyone down. While feeling both amazed by the quick attacks of the girl and gloomy because she wasn't able to do much, she was pleased that she saved everyone in the bank.
The police took over, and quickly cuffed the robbers while helping them to stand up after being beaten up by a girl. Business goes on, as usual, and the female wolf got a credit from the police.
"It was nothing!" she replied as she delivers a peace sign to the crowd. "I'm a member of Galaxy Wulf, and it's both our will and duty to protect those who are innocent and in need of our help!" Everybody applauded, and then she bowed down to the crowd, giving thanks like she was just playing around. Fara, after collecting her withdrawal, neared to the wolf and gratified her.
"You're great, no, amazing! What's your name?" she asked as she looked at the lupine's eyes. "My name is Fara, and I would like to show my gratification to you." The female wolf smiled back, holding both hands of Fara.
"The name's Lupina. And actually, I'm the one who should thank you," she beamed to the vixen. "Without your help, I might've been shot by that jerk! Anyway, just in case you're wondering, I just strolled away from my team's mothership, and then suddenly forgot where it is. I walked around and I stumbled here…"
"I might be able to help you out," Fara replied sweetly as she urges Lupina to come with her, "but meanwhile, why not take lunch along with me. It'll be my treat! And as we walk along the way, why not tell me what you just did earlier?" Lupina, after being offered like that, couldn't resist.
She smiled back, following Fara along the way. "Thanks for the offer! I'm hungry to tell you the truth!" she embarrassingly answered back. "Oh, and what I did earlier, I just utilized my martial arts skill on those pigs. I call it the Sakura Ryuu or Cherry Blossoms Way." Fara, still impressed from Lupina's actions earlier, treated her newfound friend.
"So Wulf, you said you're the leader of a space squad of mercs, eh?" Fox asked bluntly as the two ride on a hyper rail transit going to the Cornerian Defense Force HQ. "How does it feel when your life has been completely occupied by doing missions, or when you're going short? You know you can't deny the fact that sooner or later your team will have problems and then you'll get disbanded." Wulf just glanced at him however, and just stared at the buildings.
"I won't feel depressed or anything. We've been together for quite a long time, but that doesn't mean we'll never encounter the problems you've mentioned," Wulf replied in the same manner, but this time he glanced at Fox, "but I know even with those problems, we'll still be whole. We consider each other a second family. We're like a pack; inseparable even when the storm comes along. We don't consider our missions as missions but as a duty. We know we were formed because it is our duty, and also our will, to do those missions." Fox was then silent after hearing the answer, but then he thought of something to ease things up for the both of them.
"There's a stop near Falco's condo before HQ. Do you want to grab him along with us?" Wulf glanced at him once more, but this time, he nodded. "All right then, we'll convince that playboy to come with us whether he'll like it or not."
"Are you sure it's fine? I mean, he's already a model and he might be busy or he might not want to see us," Wulf remarked with uneasiness. But with Fox's strange facial expression, he knew the avian would come along as well.
As the two entered the building, they rode an elevator heading towards Falco's room. As the two wait in the lift, Wulf sensed something strange to the vulpine he's with.
"I can feel reluctance when you first came along, Fox," Wulf told to Fox in a stern manner, hoping for a serious reply. "I know you joined me because there's someone you'd like to meet. I know that you already knew Falco for a long time, so it just leaves me to Wolf. According to his past records, he was engaged to a tyrant dictator in Lylat. He was paid to work for him as a main force squad leader. Your team was sent to stop this tyrant named Andross, right? So… are you trying to settle a score with him?"
Fox, who was a loath to reply from the question, answered, "I don't want to bring it up, okay? It's a personal vendetta that you're not involved with." The elevator opens up, and the two left the lift. "Please, let's just go on. Falco's room is just this way…" Wulf still glanced at Fox, hoping to unearth that mystery.
As the two reached the room's door, Fox pushed a button that pinged in the inner room. As he and Wulf looked up, they saw an orb-shaped camera attached just above the door. It seems that Falco can view who the guests would be. Beside it was a hologram lens, and suddenly, it released a hologram of Falco's head.
"Fox, is that you! Man, why didn't you tell me you're going to visit!" Falco replied in a way that he's taken by surprise. As the holograph disappears, the door slides open, and who else but Falco let them in quickly. The two silently chuckled by Falco's outfit, a guy only wearing his rainbow-colored brief. He pulled them in, and quickly shut the door close.
The two were slightly amazed by Falco's abode. There were carpets around, a very large screen with lounges arranged, a very nifty sound system and even players, and his medium-sized gym. "Now I can see how stars decorate their room, or maybe this is how a Lombardi decorates his room…" Falco, after letting the two sit down as they glanced around the place, scolded them from visiting him without a notice.
"Okay, what shit are you trying to impose, Fox?! You almost got me open the doorway during my routine! You didn't ask the receptionist if it's fine visiting me! She would've told you that it's my work-out hours! And I even wonder if you two just sneaked towards my penthouse!" he yelled at them continuously, but the two weren't affected. Fox noticed Falco's new physique, and for once, in his lifetime I suppose, he admired him.
"Nice muscles, Falco. And you even have piercings on your nipples and your belly button. How'd you become a beefcake like that!? You're always second to me when it comes to everything!" Fox implied in a way Falco's confidence would raise again, hoping that he'd be glad to join them. Falco however, only became more confident.
"You're always underestimating me, my foxy friend, but after having a habit of doing workouts and visiting some stylists, you'll get big pecs, biceps, and a lot more like this!" Falco jeered as he flexed around, showing his bulky, yet not so exaggerated body. Wulf however just looked unimpressed.
"You might be muscular, but it doesn't mean you're that strong," Wulf scoffed at the proud avian. "Anyway, muscular or not, we want you to come along with us. We've got important things to do, and you're needed there." Falco, who has a tough schedule on the way, didn't agree to well on the group however.
The avian just stood up and grabbed a white towel, wiping away any sweat on his body. He stated, "I'm not going to come along with you, doing heck and so. I've got more important things to do, you know." Before he could say another word however, a buzzer was heard. Someone's on the door. He checked the monitor, and he saw nobody, except a package in front of his doorstep. "Excuse me but I have to get something important!" He then walked away, leaving the two on the lounge.
"Is he that type of person who feels that he's so important?" Wulf asked the fox, who was chuckling while nodding his head. Wulf laughed along too, knowing why.
Falco brought in the unknown package from anonymous. "Looks like it's from someone. It probably came from a fan of yours truly!" He then ripped the cover off, and was shocked to see the item: a ticking bomb! And it's just waiting for four seconds before it explodes! Falco became panicky as he saw the bomb. Fox quickly grabbed it and threw it away. Wulf unleashed his saber delivering a slash to the bomb, disabling the explosion. The avian was taken by a relief after that.
"You'll also be safe if you come along with us," Fox told to Falco as if he was scaring him. "Besides, there won't be any death threats if you join us." Wulf then figured out who the attacker was.
He concluded, "It's probably from the unknown syndicate we've been targeting. They might've known who the people we're asking for help are. That means Wolf's life may be in danger…" Fox, who suddenly got worried about Wolf, became quiet for a while.
"All right, I'll come!" the avian replied reluctantly as he grabs his pants, a belt with a blaster holster on its side. "But this time, make sure it's a hell worthwhile to tag along with you two…"
"You're not going to put on any shirt? Suit yourself," Wulf deemed the avian. "Anyway, we should get moving on… We might as well search for where to find Wolf O'Donnell…" Their journey is getting more dangerous than before, and they might not make it on time. What would happen to them if they couldn't find Wolf?