Chapter Fourteen: Out from the Shadows

I don't own Star Fox, but I own my characters. Using my characters means you have to ask me for permission 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!

"Burn!"

Falco allowed himself to be covered in flames. He then attempted to tackle Wulf, who was about to charge forward with his weapon the neutron blade. "I'm invincible, ass-hole! If you haven't noticed yet, I can't be harmed or anything!" He clashed his fiery arm to Wulf's weapon, allowing him to swipe his other arm to his opponent's face. Thankfully, Wulf evaded it. He made a counter-attack, but the attempts of the two were simply caught with another defensive strike.

"We can't fight like this! We absolutely have no time for this!" Wolf grumbled as he removed an earring. He made it longer, turning it into a large metal sheet. He then hurled it towards Falco, knocking him to the ground. The metal then wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly, making sure he won't escape. "Now's the time, Wulf! Give it to him!"

Wulf didn't hesitate to stand idle. He quickly grabbed a syringe loaded with the vaccine for the CEL microbe. He immediately rushed towards the restrained Falco. However, the bird just grinned. The metal plane that was holding him slowly melted down due to his intense heat. He delivered a sudden blow to the wolf, flinging him to the air and knocking him down to the ground, releasing the syringe from his hand. "Why are you all so dumb! Don't tell me you forgot that steel melts on high temperatures!"

The lupine looked at the injection, which was pretty much far from him. He tried to stand up, but Falco kicked him once more. Wolf tried to aid him by grabbing Falco tightly. He wasn't affected by the heat, since he too, evolved, and that means his body could sustain high temperatures. However, the bird burst out into flames, flinging Wolf away and sending him to the wall.

Fox was left standing. He knew he wasn't sure of what the outcome would be if he would fight back. His blaster won't scratch evolved Falco's body. He was suddenly surprised by Falco, who reappeared behind him.

"You're mine!" Falco sneered as he grabbed Fox by the collar. "I'll make sure you won't be a trouble when you evolve!" He then slowly tightened his grip to the fox.

Fox tried to fight back, but he couldn't. He's running out of time. He glanced back and forth, noticing the syringe Wulf dropped earlier. Thinking quickly, he awkwardly grabbed his blaster from its holster, giving Falco a slight sign of wonder.

"It won't hurt me, Fox! You know that!" he laughed, waiting for Fox's slumber.

"It… won't…" Fox coughed out, "but… this… will…" He quickly aimed his blaster to the injection and fired a shot. The object flung upward, allowing him to grab it and stab it to Falco's shoulder. The device automatically injected the serum inside the falcon's bloodstream, giving him a slight sign of defeat.

"What the fuck…" the bird grunted as pain slowly traveled around his arms. He released Fox, and then he pulled the syringe out from his shoulder. His started to ache, which slowly grew into a migraine. He couldn't handle the headache anymore. He fainted to the ground, giving Fox a relief.

"I'm glad he's with us now…" he sighed as he placed his blaster back to its holster. Wolf, who just recovered from the attack, patted Fox's back. He looked back at the lupine, this time with friendliness, not with anger. "Thanks, Wolf… Oh, and sorry about what happened before… I should've listened to everyone…"

"Nah, forget about it…" he laughed back. "Besides, it's been what, nine years? My duty as a hired mercenary faded away with those years, so I'm pretty sure I'm clear. I already accepted the fact that you're better than I am! Anyway, let's go get Wulf and…" Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching them. "Hold on… Somebody's coming!"

"Falco, where are you? I've been looking for…" Kane called out as he entered the evolution chamber. He was then surprised to see Falco knocked on the ground, and Fox and Wolf. "Damn! How did you get in here! And how did you stop Falco!"

"The police stalled your evolved soldiers, giving us time to enter," Wolf explained while slamming his left fist to his right palm. "They made a sacrifice, and we won't fail it! We're going to stop you, Kane! Your madness ends here!"

The dinosaur laughed. "Really? What if they were the ones to stop you?" He then grabbed his com-link to call the evolved police. However, before he could do anything, a light-blue laser pierced through his right abdomen, making him lose grip of the communicator and drool blood from his mouth. As he glanced at his back, he saw Wulf with his neutron blade stabbed at his back.

"It ends here!" he yelled as he deactivated his weapon and kicked Kane away, flinging him to a wall. Before Wulf came closer though, the weakened dinosaur flipped a switch that made him escape through an opening inside the chamber. He followed the criminal, but the passageway was closed. He then looked at Fox, Wulf, and the recuperating Falco.

"We can't let him flee," Fox told him, "but we can't leave Falco alone, either. We need his, and the evolved people's help to stop him." Wulf agreed, as he knew he and Wolf has the vaccine to recover their senses.

"I can't die now…" Kane grumbled as he limped through the hidden hallways of the secret base he established. Blood leaked away from his wound, and he has yet to find anything that could cure him. He then entered a laboratory, wherein he grabbed a first aid, but alas, it was empty.

"Kane… What has happened to you?" a voice suddenly echoed around the room. Kane gave a slight chill upon hearing it.

"D-damn those three… Wh-what do you want with F-Fox anyway? If you could've j-just allowed me t-to evolve him q-quickly then w-we won't have any t-trouble…"

A figure stepped inside the laboratory. A hood and cape prevented from seeing who that person was, but his physique resembles an evolved person, as seen from his minimal clothing and large muscles. He has a light brown fur color like Fox. He approached Kane and thrust his hand to the neck of the dinosaur, pushing him to the wall. "You've wasted my plans many times. I told you to execute immediately the contamination when you have the sources. I told you not to let go of Wolf when he's evolved. Your stupidity and ignorance ruined everything… However, I can still fix it, but you won't live to see it. The utopia of Lylat doesn't deserve people like you…"

"P-please… I'm begging y-you… At least s-save me from t-this wound one l-last time… I have s-served you many t-times…" Kane pleaded. The hooded figure nodded, and then grabbed something from a nearby table.

"All right, I'll give a second chance," he replied as he showed a vial of water containing CEL virus to Kane, "but this time, I'll make sure that you won't fail. I'll give you the elixir that will be the key to Eden and the end of inferiority."

Kane however, didn't like the idea. He didn't want to evolve! However, he couldn't complain anymore. The mysterious figure forced his hand to his neck, restraining him from any movement. The hooded figure then opened the vial, and pouring it to the dinosaur's mouth. He released him, and he chuckled from what he's seeing: Kane's wound recovered, yet his head ached and his body slowly changed.

"Remember, eliminate Wulf, he has a great threat for our future. You may weaken Fox and Wolf, but you mustn't kill them, especially Fox. Don't kill the prince of our coming redemption!"

"That's what you get for being so slow!" Lupina scolded Garou, who didn't felt the she-wolf's strong hit to his head. "Anyway, I've contacted the general, and he wasn't aware of what happened. He will remain in Fortuna until everything's clear in Corneria." Everybody nodded after hearing that. After all, they needed good news after what happened.

"That's good," Slippy sighed with relief. "I thought the general would be in a pretty bad shape. As long as Corneria is the only planet having this problem, all's well."

"So, any reports on how bad the contamination of Corneria City?" Peppy asked them.

"According to the waterworks data I've hacked, seventy percent of the city's been contaminated," Katt replied as she checked on the console. "That means an estimated number of sixty percent of Corneria City's population has evolved! Holy shit, that's so many!"

"I agree…" Eagle remarked as he crossed his arms, looking down at the ground. "If only we could do anything, at least to snap them out from their frantic evolve is good for your heart ideas."

Garou, who also knew what he felt, suggested valiantly, "Then I know something that we can both do! Let's get some of the medicine that cured us and return back down to the ground! They won't notice us since we're evolved physically, which will give us the advantage on curing their heads!" Bark chuckled from his hint.

"Did evolution make you smarter? You just took the words right out from my mouth!" Bark then gave them the bombs that contain the vaccines. "Anyway, I want the both of you to go down there and set this bomb. It'll release a gas that can make them normal." Garou grabbed them and told them that he and Eagle will go to the hangar, but Leon halted them.

"I have a better idea," the chameleon smirked. "That way, we'll be sure they'll fall for it!"

"So, what did they do to you?" Fox asked Falco, who was regaining consciousness. "How did they force you to evolve?"

"They… they caged me in a hot room," Falco groaned as he slowly stood up from the floor. "The whole place's… so… hot… Man, it was dry in there… The only thing they left is a bowl of… water… I… I have to drink it… Otherwise, I'll be dead…"

"Kane forced people to evolve, yet sometimes he did it in a way that the victims themselves would be compelled to evolve," Wolf concluded. "However, how come he wanted me and Fox to be evolved with such strange priority?" Wulf just shook his head.

"Well, whatever that means, Kane's still out there, but I believe he won't be able to run with the injury he has," he commented as he helped Falco to stand up. "Anyway, do you think he has some sort of full treatment to Falco's condition as well as anybody's?" Before everyone could answer though, rumblings were heard from the walls. It slowly grew louder, giving everyone something to worry about.

A wall of the room suddenly exploded. A dark green dragon stepped out from the opening. From the way he looked, it's Kane! Basing his anatomy, he has evolved, and now he's more dangerous than ever.

"I'll get everyone of you!" he growled as burst of flames escaped from his mouth. Falco tried to stop the fire by absorbing them.

"Don't tell me that he resorted to this!" Wulf growled as he unleashed his weapon once more. He jumped forward and tried to slash the dragon's horn, but was blocked by Kane's bicep. He was then flung away, but Wolf caught him this time.

"I remembered that evolution could cure any kinds of wounds," Wolf told him as he helped Wulf to get up on his feet. "After I was evolved, my wounds from my torture and my left eye slowly recovered."

"We have to bring him down!" Fox yelled as he threw a bar of steel towards the dragon's chest, but it was only bent.

Kane flailed his tail to everyone, making them hit the wall. He then grabbed Wulf, quickly hurling him to the floor.

"You have killed me… so I'll kill you too!" he growled again. He slammed himself to the wolf, pinning him to the floor while injuring him completely.

Falco, after standing up, quickly commanded to Wolf, "We're evolved right? That means we can use these bodies of ours to create massive mayhem!" He then started to hit a wall repeatedly with his wings. He then picked up the debris from what he conjured.

"What are you talking about… and what in the world are you doing? We don't have much time!" Wolf wondered, as he was getting tense not knowing what to do.

"I think Falco means that you should help him strangle Kane," Fox hinted as he rushed towards the dragon. "I'll get Wulf while you two get the dragon!"

He quickly set up a bomb and placed it swiftly to the dragon's shoulder. Kane wondered what it was but before he could do so, the bomb exploded, making him flinch. Fox quickly pulled the injured Wulf while Falco mauled the dragon with blazing debris. Wolf then focused on the metal pipes of the chamber, making them restrain Kane, including his mouth. He and Falco then gave a powerful punch, knocking the fiend out of consciousness.

Wulf's wounds slowly recovered thanks to Anatyde in his bloodstream. It was after awhile when he was able to stand up again. Fox was amazed to see this. "How… how did you recover yourself quickly?" The wolf just laughed.

"Well, let's just say I have something that you guys don't have in your blood… and I'm pretty sure that's the reason why they all love to kill me. I'm immune from their CEL virus!"

Applause was then heard. The enigmatic figure stepped out from where Kane opened a hole. He was clapping from the fight scene earlier. "Amazing… you pretty much amazed me…"

"Who… who are you!" Fox asked fiercely to the person. Somehow, he felt an urge of energy upon seeing him.

"I am the person who'll deliver the people of Lylat to a new generation. A place where war won't exist." The figure replied as he approached the light away from the shadows. "Kane was merely a tool, yet he failed. I gave him another chance, yet he still failed, and you, Wulf. A person like you, a person who denies utopia, doesn't deserve it. Your existence will be a contamination to the new world I'll bring."

"You're insane," Wolf shouted back. "Many of us don't want your so-called utopia! You forced people to evolve! What madness drove you onto doing it!"

"Shut up! You don't know what it feels like to live after being torn apart by war. I witnessed everything. I myself was a victim of it. The era of today only leads us to wars and hatred… there's no Eden for present. I won't allow many more to suffer the pain of losing loved ones… By changing the way of the whole Lylat System, everything will be at peace!"

"You're making non-sense!" Fox growled back.

"Am I, Fox McCloud? Am I?"

The hooded figure then removed his covering. As the cape landed on the floor, a muscular brown fox stood in front of them. He resembled Fox so much. Everybody except Wulf flabbergasted.

"J-James McCloud!" Wolf roared in surprise.

"It can't be!" Falco also shouted from what he saw.

"Who?" Wulf wondered as he heard the name. "Hey, his last name… it's…"

"F-father!" Fox slowly spoke out with a feeling of nervousness.