Chapter Twenty-Three: Will to Live
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!
"Who is this fool?"
Kane looked keenly at Lupina, who was about to attack him with fierce punches. "Do you really think your puny strength can bruise me?"
"Lupina, be careful!" Wolf shouted to the she-wolf. "Something tells me this isn't the Kane we faced before…"
"I know!" she shouted back as she lunged forward with her fist. "Take this!" Her punch hit the dragon's chest, but as she looked at his face, he showed no reaction. "Well then... How about this one!" She quickly delivered two quick punches to the abdomen. The dragon was unscathed, however. "Rats… Issen Tetsu Sakura!" she howled as she quickly gave her strongest blow, an aura-charged punch. However, her fist was caught with Kane's tight grip.
"Pathetic little girl, your foolish attacks are futile!" he laughed as he slowly constrained his grasp to the she-wolf's hand, giving her pain. "And now it's my turn." He delivered a powerful uppercut to Lupina, sending her up while inflicting heavy damage.
"KANE!" Wolf shouted as he thrust forward, but he met a tail whip. He flinched from the dragon's attack, but he was unaware of the following move. A kick to the stomach pushed him to the floor. Lupina then landed on him. The two felt unbearable pain.
"Maggots… You're all just maggots!"
The evolved reptilian walked towards them and started to stomp them. Lupina and Wolf shouted cries from their suffering. It would only be a while before the two collapses or something.
Wulf stood up from the floor. While doing so, he felt his abdomen giving anguish, and thus he was having difficulty in standing up. Blood was still present on his outfit, and on his face. Beside him was the evolved Fox McCloud, who just finished aiding his father's injury. They then saw what Kane's doing. He's going to kill Wolf and Lupina!
"No!" Wulf yelled as he unleashed his weapon. "Kane, you'll pay!"
"Wulf… wait!" Fox tried to call him back, but he was already away.
"Fool… I'll ignore him. His attempt is just fruitless," the dragon thought as he continued to kick the two on the floor. He was pretty much certain about the fact that the neutron blade wouldn't do any damage to him.
"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!"
Wulf dashed forward, passing through Kane's back. At first, he thought that he might not be able to do something to stop what the dragon's been doing, but then, he realized that he must try or else his friends would die. The laser of the blade hit the dragon's back, stopping it from moving along with Wulf.
"It won't work, McWolf! It didn't injure me before, so your effort is useless!"
However, the wolf didn't lose hope. The blade slowly moved forward, cutting Kane's wing off. As he sliced it away, the dragon roared in anger. He quickly turned around and grabbed him by the neck, and then he punched him to the face. The poor wolf was pushed back into the room, hitting a drawer full of aiding materials.
Fox knew that he had to act as well. He rushed forward as his body started to flicker. "I'll kill you, Kane!" he shouted as he suddenly became engulfed in flames. He rammed the dragon, and then he grappled him, making sure that he wouldn't escape from his fiery form. "Burn! Die!"
"Fool! There's no point in attempting to defeat me!"
The evolved dragon wasn't affected by the heat. He simply countered Fox with his own fire. He breathed a blast, overpowering the vulpine. He struggled to stand from the dragon's counterattack, but then, because of the intense pain and force, he was sent to a wall. The blast was so strong though, that he broke it and fell down to the room behind the now broken wall. He's now down.
Kane slowly approached the standing James. "I'll have to eliminate you in order so that I will take your place! You may step aside, but I'm pretty sure you won't." he snickered. "And look at that! It's such a shame not to kill that pathetic person on the bed! You don't really deserve to be the new Lylat's emperor!" He then jerked, making him kneel down to the floor. The cut portion of his wing suddenly began to restore. Bones formed and followed by veins, tissues, and such, until finally, it's covered with reptilian scale. "Your existence is pathetic! You can't compare to me! I'm immortal! I've reached a level higher than your special evolution!"
"You… you're not an evolved being… You are a monster!" he shouted back while slightly feeling his wound burn. "I believe I cannot reason to you, and I'm pretty sure you won't listen to me, anyway, so I'll have to stop you!"
"Waste of time! I'll just finish you off quickly!"
Kane shoved his palm to James' chest, and then he quickly pulled him. The alpha fox tried to attack him, but they were blocked easily by the dragon. The reptilian used his tail to knock him down on the floor, and he used his arms and legs to restrain him.
"Farewell, James McCloud. Lylat surely has some records of your name. I'm pretty sure that after today, a monument will be built to respect your name."
Fire began to collect in the dragon's mouth. James couldn't move at all. He'd die for sure. However, he thought of Fox again. He didn't want to lose him once more. With force, he thrust his head towards the dragon, giving a headbutt to the enemy's forehead. He quickly released himself from the restraints, and punched him repeatedly. He then pushed him to a wall, and he gave a bite to the side of his neck. He didn't want to let go… He's waiting for him to die.
"I don't think that was enough, James!"
Kane wasn't weakened, however. He did cause injury, but that wasn't enough. The dragon pushed James away, ruining his shoulder while doing so. He delivered a roundhouse kick, hurling his foe away. He then inhaled deeply, a sign of a powerful fire breath. "DIE JAMES MCCLOUD! DIE!" He then released his blast, hitting the knocked fox.
As the blast cleared, he was anxious to see the toasted McCloud. To his surprise though, he saw the red wolf, the one he pointed out earlier to James, covering the alpha fox. He took the damage from the attack. He was breathing heavily, and his stare to him was inducing anger.
"Another worm, huh?" he growled as he grabbed his neutron blades and unleashed their blades. "Looks like I'll be busy here. Tell you what. I'll finish you off first." He suddenly panted, but then resumed to his stance.
"A mere fool who thinks he's strong… what a way to die!" Kane smirked as he held his wound from James' attack. He gripped it tighter, and released his grasp. The wound vanished. "A weakling like you needs to be taught on how to compare weaklings to strong ones…"
"Weakling?"
Rufus dashed forward at an extreme speed. He quickly avoided Kane's attempts for attacks. When the overgrown lizard punched him, he evaded it, and saw an opening. He rapidly jumped towards his shoulder and gave a fearful remark, with his right arm showing plasma charge.
"You're comparing me to weaklings? You're the weak one! I'm certainly not a foolish weakling. I'll kill those who say that in front of my face!"
Kane didn't notice him coming. Rufus placed his palm on the dragon's head, and whispered, "Farewell… weakling…" Suddenly, an explosion occurred from the red wolf's position. He jumped away from the impact, and rolled on the floor. He was weakened from what he did, but he knew it's enough… or was it?
"Do you expect to see an immortal being die? You may not be a weak person, but you're certainly not the smart type!"
"What the…?" Rufus whined with labored breathing. He saw a large coiled up steel beam heading towards him, but he was unable to move. He was hit, and the force pushed him to a wall, knocking him down to a bed.
"This is insane… I… I created a monster…" James thought to himself, back when he evolved Kane. "A monster… incapable of being defeated… I didn't know that the CEL virus was so compatible, that it infiltrated throughout his anatomy. Every cell in his body has CEL virus…"
"I am indestructible… I am the CEL virus!"
"No…"
"NO!" Fox shouted as he woke up from his consciousness. "Kane! He's going to kill my father! I have to act quickly!" He stood up and saw Wulf's neutron blade. He picked it up, and noticed Kane strangling his father. "Here I come!"
The attention of Kane's killing was placed to Fox's awakening. He hurled James away, and battled the son. "Fool! Your toy won't work!" He gave a tail whip, but the vulpine jumped up. He then stabbed him with the blade, and it's full of force. "Heh! See what I tell you! It won't work!"
"Don't rely on that, Kane!"
Wulf aided on the grasp at the neutron blade. Fox was surprised to see him, but the wolf was busy for such reactions. "Fox," he told him, "your will to live… Put it in your thoughts!"
"My will… to live?"
"Yes!" he shouted back as his neutron blade change color, from blue to light blue. Kane was stunned from the change that he couldn't move at all. "The laser of the neutron blade has components of Anatyde, and this element responds to the person's feelings, especially to the will to live. With me, I can amplify your will, allowing the Anatyde to react from it, and finally, destroying Kane!"
"You can't do that!"
"Fox!" James shouted weakly. "Remember, you're Star Fox! You know your will, your reason, to live!"
"My will to live… I can't dig it out… but…"
Thoughts of Fox flew back in time. He remembered when he was young. His father worked as a leader of Star Fox. However, he was destroyed by Andross. It's up to him to take his place. At first, he was nervous to do it, especially with the new faces, except for Peppy. He encountered Wolf, and he defeated Andross. A journey to Sauria was then made, and there, he learned his strength. However, when things started to get hard, especially during their financial crisis, Star Fox broke down… all because of him. He lost his reason for the team… and the new story began… when Wulf first visited him for a mission he was about to embark… This new mission changed him back to what he once was…
"I want to see Star Fox again… I want to see my father back… I want to fix my friendship with Wolf and to others who I did bad… I want to see Corneria after this… I want to live to see these…"
"That's it, Fox!" Wulf smiled back. "I felt it… I felt your will to live… You want to see everything after this… You want to know the outcome!" He then growled at Kane, who slowly gained movement. "Time's up, Kane! You're about to be vanquished!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" He felt an immense energy entering his body. Slowly, he was weakening. "What's happening! Why is my body slowly…"
"Anatyde is a lot stronger than CEL virus… It dissipates them… Your madness ends now!"
Wulf and Fox gripped the weapon tighter. The beam became broader. The light blue color turned white. Lines appeared from Kane's stab, and slowly, it climbed up towards his body. His limbs, his chest, his head, it's all absorbed by the white sign.
"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! I AM INVINCIBLE! AAHHHH!"
As his entire body became a flashing white material, he faded away after a small explosion. James didn't know what happened. "How did he…?"
"All of his cells were already fused with CEL virus, and Anatyde destroyed each of the cells, so he basically ceased to exist," Wulf explained as he fell down with exhaustion. Beside him was a fainted fox, now happy for everything ended. "Fox, you really are a Star Fox leader…"