Chapter Nineteen: War

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!

"Oh… this is so boring!"

Lupe grumbled as he played with his long silver hair. "Why can't we all have fun? I envy those people out there… at least they are having some action!" He was assigned to accompany Bark at the tented area where they treat the captured enemies and rehabilitate them with the vaccine.

Bark snickered for a second from his comment. "Wow, I didn't realize pretty boys like to get their outfit dirty!" He then took a kit full of syringe and headed to a fainted, evolved she-jaguar that was carried by two allied soldiers. "Okay, I'll just treat her and maybe we'll play some word game."

"Boys and girls, can't we at least get some action?" the pretty boy grumbled once more. He heard roars and building crashes repeatedly, giving him more reason to envy the people who are enjoying out there. Suddenly, he thought of something. "Say, can I check on mademoiselle Jill? That is, if it's all right with you."

"Uh, sure, go ahead. She might need some hand there," he answered back as he injected the serum to the jaguar's shoulder. "Anyway, this area's secured. Once we've made sure that no one could open the blockade, it's Mission Complete!"

Lupe replied as he showed his favorite flower, a rose, "Of course! I'll be off then!" He left the camp, and headed off towards the current location of Jill. The dog just smiled back from his gesture.

He walked the ruined alley with ruined structures. He usually encountered two evolved people bashing each other, with the other winning, mainly the Defense Force side. He didn't mind their battles, though, for he's off to look for the bat. "Hmm… Maybe I should call her," he thought. He grabbed his communicator and contacted her. Jill immediately responded from his communication.

"Oh Sir Lupe Leon, you're just in time! My men just cleared a group of enemies when suddenly an evolved panther called Panther Caroso entered and…"

Her transmission suddenly was cut off. "Oh shoot!" he gnarled. However, he took the source of Jill's signal of transmission in his communicator, and it showed her location. It's pretty much near his current position. "Don't worry, damsel in distress!"

He rushed to the location of Jill, an abandoned alley. "Mademoiselle, fear not! For The Lupe has arrived!" he quixotically proclaimed upon arrival. He saw the bat bleeding heavily, as well as her comrades injured. He quickly grabbed his small first-aid kit from his utility belt and treated the injured commander. "Scratches? That Panther you're referring to likes to play with his nails, hmm?"

"He's so strong," she remarked as she showed her scratches. "He's stronger than the usual evolved Lylatian. We better be careful…" Lupe however cut her statement off.

"Leave the rest to The Lupe!" he smiled. "That push-over could do me a favor and knock himself out! I'm pretty sure he's no match for an Adonis like me!" Jill wasn't amused though, especially when she heard small laughs.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… A flamboyant person who doesn't even know how to fight… What a pity…" a voice growled from the alley. A muscular panther with a white scar on his right cheek wearing striped underwear and holding a rose appeared. He apparently fought Jill's team earlier, for his right palm had blood. He also gave the earlier comment. "Your comrades here might as well perish with my claws. You have absolutely no class in fighting, judging by your looks and words. By the way, I'm Panther Caroso, one of the Chosen Ones for the system's future. I was sent by Lord James McCloud to finish you people off. You contaminate the Eden."

"Oh quit it, pussycat!" Lupe growled back as he also grabbed his rose. "Don't judge me quickly, Mr. Caroso! Prepare to meet the most handsome creature to step in the universe!" He then laughed wholeheartedly, making the panther shake his head.

"Now I see what's going to happen to you," he remarked, as he tasted his fingers covered with blood from his fight earlier. "Oh, and about meeting the most handsome person in the universe, sorry but I already met him. I usually see him when I'm looking at a mirror." He chuckled devilishly as he neared his rose towards his nose.

Anything, joke or comment, giving the idea that Lupe's not a handsome fellow or that there's a more beautiful man than him, which he hasn't accepted yet, makes the silver-haired flamboyant wolf mad. The statement Panther gave earlier was one of these things. "Grr… Why you…" he furiously growled as he his silver bangs slowly swiveled from a gust. "I WON'T ACCEPT YOUR REPLY, EVEN IF I DIE! I'LL NEVER ACCEPT IT! Grr… Just because you have a white scar and a red rose, not to mention your gentlemen's speedos and hunky frame, that doesn't give you a right to proclaim that you have more looks than ME, The Lupe!" He then held his rose with his mouth and sneered, "I'll show you what a true better-looking person is made of!"

"You're not taking me seriously, are you?" Panther mocked him once more, as he held his rose with his mouth as well. He braced for a while before extending his arms forward. "Prepare to suffer! Those who cross my rose shall die!" Suddenly, his sharp claws extended forward from the fingers. It seemed like his nails were retracted and now he showed them. He lunged towards The Lupe, who was surprised from the panther's move.

"Yikes!" he muttered as he did a split in a split-second, with a slight sign of discomfort. He noticed Panther's deadly nails swiping overhead. He quickly rolled away and went towards his foe's back, pulling his black tail. "How's that, pussycat!" he grinned. He quickly transferred his hands towards Panther's ribs, and then he started to tickle him. "I see Panther's soft spot!"

"Heh… Hah!" the panther burst out with his flower dropping from his mouth. "We'll… heh… see… who's going to.. hah… have a last… laugh!" He grabbed the wolf's arm, and then he gave a powerful bite to it, making Lupe scream aloud and dropping his rose as well.

"AAAHHH!" Lupe struggled to pull his arm out, but Panther gave a deep bite. The predator released it and suddenly pulled the wolf's silver hair, but instead of crying once more, he became mad and delivered a roundhouse kick to the wild cat, flinging Panther away. "No… nobody… has the right… TO TOUCH MY SILVER HAIR! CAN'T YOU SEE THE EFFORT I GAVE TO THESE BEAUTIES!" the brown wolf growled with rage. He then picked up his rose with his bleeding right arm.

"What are you going to do, call for mommy or a stylist?" he once again mocked him. However, his teasing met an explosive reply. The ground he's standing suddenly caused an explosion, as if there were bombs! He landed on his back, and glanced at the wolf. "What just happened!"

"Oops! I should've done this one a lot earlier!" Lupe laughed out. "I forgot to tell you that I have telekinesis… specifically Tele-Bombs! I can make an area explode by just thinking about that!" He then started to give random explosions to the panther, knocking him off in different directions as if he was a pinball. "That one's for insulting my looks! This one's for biting me! And this one…" he yelled out as he sent Panther to a wall. "This is for pulling my silver locks!" Panther, who barely recovered from the continuous explosions, looked up. "Damn!" he growled. He saw an explosion on the upper wall. Large debris fell down before him. While he didn't die, he became unconscious.

"And the winner is… Lupe!" the wolf proclaimed as he posed with his rose. Jill, who was now strong enough to stand up, walked towards him.

"I'm really sorry if I or my team wasn't able to help you out, Sir Lupe Leon… I mean, The Lupe!" she chuckled with an excuse. "Okay, now let me treat your bleeding arm. Thankfully, you have a vaccine! Otherwise, that battle might've evolved you." She started to wrap the bite of Panther, giving Lupe some signs of pain. "Oops! Sorry, the wound must've been deep."

"Nah, don't worry! Four eyes will take care of this one! Anyway, are your men okay?" he asked Jill. She nodded as she pointed the injured soldiers standing up. "They could bring Panther and bring to Bark as well. Once we cure him, we can ask him questions!" Jill commanded her team immediately, but faced Lupe afterwards. "Uh… something wrong, mademoiselle?"

"Nothing!" she smiled back. "You're really handsome, by the way. I like your silver hair too…"

"How nice of you to accompany me, Katt!" Fara smiled as she held out her hand. "Handling these baddies is hard!" She grappled an armadillo that was about to attack her feline friend. She's an evolved vixen now, and every evolved person fighting for the system should fight.

"I really like to meet your new boyfriend, Fara," Katt replied as she fired a plasma rifle. Louie heard her so he neared towards her. "Oh, hi! Name's Katt Monroe! Um, just in case you wonder, I won't steal you from Fara!"

"I know! She knows, right, cheeks?" he grinned as he hurled spikes from his back. Fara smiled and nodded. "Anyway, I really want to chat with you guys, but frankly, I'm quite busy right now. Maybe later, when we're sure nobody is gonna open the gate, okay?"

"Yes!" the cat replied as she fired some more to those evolved heathens. "Say, since after this, I'm pretty sure Falco's returned from his hotness, so maybe we should set up a double date. You two, and Falco and I will have a date in the same restaurant. So, agree?"

"Sure, that's a nice idea!" Fara nodded. "But Louie, I ought to warn you about Falco."

"Nah, don't worry!" Katt replied with a grin. "I'll smack that bird of prey if he starts acting like a shit!"

"You're gonna smack who?"

She, Fara, and Louie heard a cocky yet familiar echo. Suddenly, an arrow-shaped fire headed towards Katt. Fara pushed her away, making sure that she wouldn't be burned or anything, and Louie caught the two. From the flames, Falco appeared. He heard what the three were talking.

"Katt, you said you're going to smack this shit!" he grinned as he gave a come on sign.

"Falco, I…" she replied with silence. However, she grabbed her plasma gun and yelled, "Like what I told them earlier, if you start acting like a shit, I'll pummel you like there's no tomorrow!" She let loose with her weapon, giving every shot to the bird. The shots hit his body, head, and wings, but it looked like he didn't get any scratch.

"What? I thought you're going to pummel me!" he smiled as he flexed his biceps, showing his muscles on the wings and chest. "This falcon's got an iron body, pussycat! I should be called Firebird Falco, the Buffest Bird Ever!"

Louie attempted to hurl needles toward the bird, but Falco simply burned them to ashes. "He's… he's invincible…" he griped as he pulled the two girls.

"That's why I'm one of the Chosen Ones!" he laughed out as he created a fireball to play with."Oh, and for the sake of curiosity, the other Chosen Ones are Wolf, Panther, and Fox! We were called like that because we have better evolution than your normal evolved Lylatian! Oh, and we're the ones that will help Fox's father to change this garbage into gold!"

The three was surprised from his sentence. "Wait… You said Fox was evolved too…" Fara asked him. "And you even said that Mr. James McCloud is behind everything!"

"Hey, I thought Wolf was with us!" Katt yelled back again.

"One at a time, people!" Falco laughed again. "Fox was convinced by his dad that Wulf's mission was all just a piece of bullshit, so he was evolved, and thankfully, his evolution is like ours! Lord James survived his almost-death with the virus, and was angered by what you shit heads like to do, so he wishes to change the whole system… but personally, I like his idea because he said each of us will have a place to rule! As for you, Katt dear, Wolf was cured, but James brainwashed him again, so he's one of us!"

"Hey, isn't that Wulf character the leader of the smart Bark Arfie, the dangerous Lupina Klaus, and the eagle and that ice wolf?" Louie asked the two.

"Yeah, he went on a mission to save Fox, but I don't know what his current condition is, sadly," Katt replied with a shake from her head.

Falco grinned as he clasped his hands. "Okay! It's time for you three to die! I wish we could chat a little longer, but I have some schedule to keep, you know!" Fire suddenly appeared around the three, encircling them and making sure that they wouldn't escape. "I'm gonna enjoy this one!"

"Man, the fire's intense!" Katt whimpered. "And the smoke's too much too! We'll either get burned to death or suffocate!" Inside of her, however, another Katt was crying. "Falco… you… you want me dead? Don't you care for me anymore?"

"Hey, I think you turned on the flame too much!"

An ice beam suddenly hit the fire circle, dousing the flames. Falco was surprised to see this. He looked up, and noticed a white wolf on top of a building. "Hey… you're that…"

"Garou Kelvin reporting for duty!" he proclaimed as he jumped down from the building. He landed on an awning and jumped once more, hitting the floor with his boots. "The ice wolf's in the house, yo!"

"G-Garou! You're here! Finally!" Fara cheered. "Say, where're your wings? And you're not muscular anymore… You gave up your evolved look. I thought you liked it!"

"Nah, I miss my uniform! Besides, Lu's going to kill me!" he laughed. Falco heard the conversation and felt something of a threat.

"What the fuck… you reversed the evolution! Damn, I must kill you all and report this to Lord James!" Falco growled as he faced Garou. "I'll start with you, ice wolf! Prepare to meet fire!" He then delivered a stream of fire, as if he was a flamethrower.

"I can do better," Garou grinned as he breathed out an ice beam. The two projectiles somehow were nullified by the other. Of course, the ice wolf had other things in mind. "Gotta get him… somehow," he thought as he glanced around. He noticed a fire hydrant at a sidewalk, giving him an idea.

"Is there a problem, ice wolf?" he asked while noticing that his fire was winning. "Prepare to be cooked!"

"When you're at it, what about some dessert, say, ice cones or shake?" he laughed as the hydrant exploded, releasing water. Garou turned the water into ice needles that were hurled towards the blue firebird. It injured Falco, but it didn't stop there. Some of the water turned into cold gas, covering the bird with mist.

"Garou, trap him! I'll talk some sense into him!" Katt ordered Garou, which the ice wolf did with pleasure.

Knowing that there was water running beneath the street were Falco's standing, he made the liquid to geyser below the bird. Falco wasn't even aware about it. As the bird's covered with water, Garou froze the liquid, making sure that the bird could not escape. "Okay, she's all yours!" Katt approached him, with anger burning inside.

"Let go off me!" he squawked as he tried to burn into flames, but failed because of the mist. As Katt approached him, he got a powerful slap to the cheek.

"You… you're an insensitive git!" she cried out as tears fell from her eyes. "I don't care whether you're evolved or not! It's not a good reason for you to behave like a lunatic, killing everyone, including me! Before, I thought that even when you're evolved, you still think of me, but I was all wrong! I thought we were special!"

Falco suddenly became silent. Was there something inside of him that made him realize his mistake? "Katt… I…"

"What? Now you're going to act like a kid, pretending that it wasn't your fault!" she once again screamed.

"KATT!" Falco yelled as tears fell down from his eyes as well. "Sorry… I don't what I was doing… I… I don't know what to follow! Everything went confusing! And… Aghh… My… My head! AGHH!" He screamed out as pain started to collect inside his brain. Garou quickly destroyed the ice trapping Falco, making him fall to the ground, holding his head.

"Falco? Falco!" the cat quickly reached for him. "He's… he's going to be all right?"

"I don't know…" Garou told her in a soft tone. "Maybe we should head back to camp and check him out there."