OPTIONAL SIDE STORY #4
Fighting the Truth Inside
(Falco)
I don't know how he managed to do it, but that Fox sure knows how to get the stuff he wants. Well, not like he had really planed any of this, but that whole deal had to seem really convenient for him. I mean, running out of fuel cells and losing the sensor systems couldn't be helped, but when the good General himself sent us a transmission telling us that our docking bay would be Xavix-Yuan, and we'd have the day off? It must have instantly registered into that little vulpine head of his that he could get some serious private time with his little vixen friend. He's been spending so much time with her, I doubt he even really remembers this mission we're supposed to be on…but I guess I can relate…
At that point I pretty much gave myself a slap in the face, I don't know why I've been thinking so much lately, ever since I…well, re-rejoined with the team, I've had to deal with all kinds of stuff…stuff that I'm not used to seeing on board the Great Fox, but worrying was the last thing I needed on my mind, I had to get some serious relaxing time in before we got loaded back into that rusty tin can of a ship. McCloud said it himself, and I've never been one to ignore direct orders from the captain, unless they involve work of course.
It wasn't too long after I left the Great Fox that I came the entrance to the actual resort; the only thing I could really complain about was that elevator ride. Man, it took that thing longer to reach the top than it does to get to the top of the Cornerian Army Base, but that was about it, the rest of the walk out was pretty nice, nobody seemed to recognize me for whatever reason, not that I really cared, I sure wasn't there to make friends.
As I walked out of the docking bay, I could see that this place really did live up to it's name, all the buildings looked like they were in perfect shape, not that I'd really expect anything less from a place that has such a great reputation like this, but I'm used to being disappointed, I mean, just look at the Great Fox. Besides the buildings, the only thing that really caught my attention was a huge mass of water a little ways away. I had heard of this place having it's own little ocean, but I didn't think it would be anything like that, I mean, the thing had it's own horizon, and that's saying something. I've never exactly considered myself one who admire nature or anything like that, but I guess being in the abnormally good mood I was in at the time, it was actually pretty hard not to. Not that I stood there all day and stared out over that ocean, I mean, it was great or whatever, but it didn't take me long after I saw it before I figured that it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to start my day there. I didn't know anything about that place anyway, so it made pretty good sense to me.
It only took me a little under a half an hour to get to the beach, I couldn't believe how crowded that place was, even the walkway behind it were I was standing was loaded with animals. Luckily, I was able to find an open chair that was just a few feet onto the beach, plus there was a nice little patch of shade covering the spot as well. I've never really been the type who liked hot weather like that, which I guess is considered a little weird for my species. But I'll tell ya, there is nothing even remotely warm in space, and when you spend as much time out there as I do, you kinda get used to feelin' a little chilly all the time.
It didn't take me long to get comfortable, even though it was just one of those crappy little plastic reclining chairs, but it still felt nice just to relax for once in my life. I mean, that was really the first break I've taken since we had our little escapade against Andross about eight years back. That was so long ago; I had barely graduated from the academy when Pepper sent us on that mission. It didn't really make sense to me why he would send a group of young hotshots like me and Fox on such a huge mission so soon after we finished at the academy. I really didn't want to do it back then, I had more important things on my mind after I graduated, but Fox ended up convincing me to take Pepper up on his offer, but I don't think Fox ever figured out why I changed my mind so soon. I was pretty much dead set on staying in Corneria, and there was probably no way I would have left, but for some reason, maybe inside I really did want to go with Fox…and that may have been what caused it…Never really thought about it like that. Maybe that's why I was so careless when I…well, when I asked her…
(Katt)
I was never the same after he asked me that, for some reason, ever since I turned him down that day, I became a totally different creature. I can remember our days back at the Academy, all those years ago. I must have only been about eleven when I started taking classes there, and it only took a few days after I began before I noticed Falco. All the instructors at the Academy saw his potential in flight and combat, but as time went on and I slowly started to get to know him better, I could see that he had an even greater kind of potential in him. It wasn't long before he and I got together regularly, we both had almost identical personalities at the time, it seemed like a perfect match. We did everything together, and that's what made those years so special. I wished those days could've gone on forever, and it seemed like they would. Like any other 18-year-old girl, I had always dreamed of finding the perfect guy, settling down somewhere peaceful on the outskirts of Corneria, and raising a family of my own, and for the longest time it seemed like that time wasn't far off.
It wasn't long before we both graduated from that place; we both had big plans for the future now that we had our whole lives in front of us. But perhaps the biggest part of my plan did come true only a month after our graduation. We were sitting on a patio outside a small restaurant in Corneria; the sun was just beginning to fall below the horizon that the buildings created when it finally happened. After 7 years together, he knelt down in front of me and said in an uncharacteristically nervous tone of voice…
"…Katt, will you marry me?"
I can't remember exactly how I reacted at that moment, but I'm sure that my heart must have skipped a beat of two. After my initial reaction, I hesitantly reached down to the ring that had been revealed to me in a small black box. It was a beautiful ring, it was a well-polished gold in color, and it had two stones set in into the top of the ring, a light pink ruby, and right next to it was a blue sapphire. I looked away from the ring down at Falco, with tears forming in my eyes, and said back to him,
"Falco, of course…I will marry you."
I can remember that day almost perfectly, the day that one of my greatest dreams came true…we were going to have our wedding in four months, but that day…never came to pass…
It has always been hard to think back to those days after what happened, but as I sat in that plaza in the middle of the Xavix-Yuan, I couldn't help but be reminded of all that. The sun was setting over the buildings and the ocean out in the distance, and the place where I sat was nearly identical to the place Falco proposed to me eight years ago. This place somehow reminded me so much of Corneria. So much so, that even only having walked the streets and shops for a few hours, I felt the need to return to the Great Fox. Reliving painful memories is really not something I'd like to do when I'm supposed to be relaxing.
But even so, why are these memories so painful? Is it because I had achieved my greatest dream, only to have it crushed soon after? Or is it because I feel guilt…because I think it's my fault for what happened between us before our wedding. Or is it…is the reason I can't get him…that idiot bird out of my head…is it because I still love him? Even after all that he's…well, after all we've put ourselves though? My pride has always told me that I didn't need anyone to help me though life, that Falco was just a distraction that would keep me from my full potential. But what have I accomplished without him? All I've come to realize is that space can get really lonely when you're out by yourself. But it's not just that…it's the fact that what we had seemed so perfect…and for that to be broken for what happened before our wedding…it just seems like we made an extremely foolish decision…but now that we have split paths, we're too proud to admit that…that maybe we still want what we had eight years ago. But how can we take each other back after what happened…
I was supposed to have a peaceful time at the Xavix-Yuan docking colony, but I had to return back to the Great Fox only hours after I left. Walking its streets just brought back too many memories, memories that I will remember for as long as I live, no matter what this mission puts up through, no matter if Falco still feels the same way he did back then…feels the same why I do, I'll always remember how much I loved him, and as long as I live, I will always feel that way, the way I did…when I first saw you…
(Back to Falco)
After spending about an hour or two watching the tide roll in, I stood up from that little plastic chair and let out a nice yawn. Not only did I have a nice tide to watch, but I also squeezed in a nice little nap during my time there, something a guy like me always appreciates. Just about as soon as I stood up, my stomach immediately let me know that it was time to eat. It had been quite a while since I had eaten, and judging by how the sun was almost completely set behind that huge window, I guessed that I had pretty much slept straight through the lunch hour, but that was fine with me, as long as I could get some kinda food in me, I'd be happy.
The only problem with this was the fact that I still had no idea where anything was on this colony. This only stopped me for a second though; I figured that if I walked around enough, I'd find something. So I started walking along the same pathway that sat just behind the beach. It was way less crowded when it started to get late, a lot less of those little kids runnin' around too. Pretty much the only animals walking around that area were older animals, most of em' had either a male or female counterpart walking next to them, I guess if you wanted to get all romantic on each other, that was apparently the place to be.
It wasn't long after I left the beach before the sun completely dropped below the colony's skylight thing. By the time that happened, the entire town had become filled with thousands of lights, if I wouldn't have known any better, I'd probably think I'd walked into the middle of a carnival or something. I mean, it looked like just about every building had instantly become wrapped in it's own unique colors of light. It was pretty nice in its own right I guess, but I've never been a real big fan of upscale places like the shops and restaurants that I saw in that area. In my travels, I've learned that places like those are either pure tourist traps, or just a place where a something like a salad can set you back more than a few credits, but at a big time colony like this, I doubted I could find anything else.
After walking around on the streets for a few minutes, I came to a small street that seemed a little less festive than all the others that were around. I kinda liked getting away from most of the commotion those other areas seemed to have at night, plus, not long after I had found that part of town, I saw that it also had a small, and slightly run-down restaurant just a little way down the street. All it took was the neon red 'open' sign that hung beside the door for me to take myself up on the offer of giving that place a visit.
When I arrived inside the restaurant, it was dead obvious that this place was more of a bar than just your run-of-the-mill restaurant. Not that it was a full-out booze house either, it was more like a restaurant with a large circular bar table in the middle of the room. Besides that, there was a little bit of cigarette smoke in the air and the lighting in the place was a little dimmer than I would have expected. I didn't really mind the atmosphere in that room though, even if it was a little seedy, I've weathered worse places than this during my time away from the team a few years back. So I really didn't give this place a second thought, I spotted a small table on the wall and took a seat.
I waited there for a pretty long time before anyone noticed that I was sitting there, which was kind of annoying, since that place didn't seem to be that busy, I'd guess there were only about fifty or sixty animals in a room that could easily have sat over a hundred. The only thing that extra time allowed me to do was let my mind wonder off into what it usually did when I ever had free time…
Thing is, I really didn't know what to think anymore…Everyone seemed to have changed so much after I returned, but the only ones that hadn't changed were me and Katt…Should I just give up on her and try to find someone else, all I've gotten from her so far is the cold shoulder, and even when I try to be nice around her, all I get is backtalk…If she is never gonna find it in her to forgive me, then why should I? There are plenty of ladies out there that would happily take Katt's place, after all, who could resist the famous Falco Lombardi? The only problem with that is…I just can't help but think how guilty I'd feel if I replaced Katt…I mean, we'd spent so much time together in the past, I don't know if I'd be able to adjust to someone that quickly…
My thoughts were interrupted by a well-aged lynx who had finally showed up at my table to take my order. I had already looked over the small menu that I found on my table when I had first sat down, so the ordering process didn't take long, although this old hag of an animal did seem to have a minor hearing problem, she eventually got my order and walked away. After she left, I slumped back into the small chair I was sitting in as my thoughts continued…
It's weird how things can be just peachy one day and then the next your sitting in a bar thinking about all your mistakes…I mean, if I really didn't want to forgive Katt, I wouldn't be thinking about it so much. Or maybe I'm just thinking about it because I refuse to move on, because I think Katt really is the one for me…that no one can replace what we had…It really was both our faults for what happened about a month before our wedding. We were both stubborn and we decided that it wouldn't work, but was that really true? I mean, look at us now, we're just shells of who we were before…but maybe it was the way to go, maybe we just weren't meant to be together like that…and if that's true, I'm going to have to let go sometime…
"Hey, why the long face?"
My thoughts were again interrupted by another voice. I looked up to see that a female cat looked down at me from just a few feet away. I couldn't believe it, but she looked just like someone else I knew…she was pink, almost exactly the same voice…I hesitated and just shook my head in response.
"Well, if your not gonna tell me, I'll just have to take a guess. Girl problems?"
This immediately caught my attention; I looked up at her in a sort of shock and asked her how she knew.
"It's easy to tell, lots of guys like you come in here with problems like that. Don't tell me a handsome guy like yourself just got dumped."
I was kind of embarrassed at that point, which was pretty weird for me, I was never the type to pansy out and get embarrassed like that, but this feline seemed to read my mind almost perfectly. I quickly shook off that feeling and told her that I didn't realize that bar was a place of refuge for animals in my circumstance.
"You'd be surprised handsome, there's a lot of guys like you that come in here all the time. I guess it's harder than most of you guys think to find the perfect girl. Love doesn't come easy ya know."
Something in that cat's words made something inside me click, it did seem like it was more than a little convenient that I ended up almost marrying the first girl I ever dated…and I guess she was even the first girl I ever liked. Maybe because of that I closed out everyone else that may have been my real match…
I replied by telling her that there could be truth to what she said. When I did, she smiled and sat down in the chair that stood on the other side of the table.
"I'd think a good-looking falcon like yourself would be above stuff like that."
I couldn't help but smile back to her kind remark and told her that even the best can fall sometimes.
She smiled and gave out a quiet giggle as she replied. "Oh, and you have a little attitude I see, I always like to see…"
The cat's words were interrupted by the old waitress who was returning with the food I had ordered. I had just ordered a small plate of fish, it wasn't the greatest plate of fish I'd ever seen, but it was food after all, not that I had remembered that I was hungry at all, at that time, that cat held most of my attention.
Before the waitress left, the cat caught her attention and said something to her quietly, I couldn't really hear, but it didn't really matter, I took a slice out of my fish and started eating. Even though it didn't look that great sittin' on the plate, it actually didn't taste half bad.
Our conversation went on for a while, somehow she found my talking between bites pretty entertaining, I don't really see what's wrong with taking with your mouth full, especially to girls. I mean, if you do talk, they think it's rude and disgusting, but if you don't talk, they think you're ignoring them…but this feline didn't seem to mind at all, which I thought was actually kinda nice.
Not long after I had almost completed my food, the waitress returned and brought two drinks over to the table. They were both a dark blue in color and each were held in a strangely shaped plastic cup. After we had both gotten our drinks and the lynx had left the table, I asked the cat what those drinks were.
"It's called a Midnight Breeze, it's my personal favorite. It's pretty strong, but I'm sure it's nothing that a guy like you can't handle."
I chuckled in response as I looked down into the drink, I could tell just by the smell that this was a pretty volatile beverage. Alcohol wasn't really something that I was used to drinking, but it's not like it was something I'd never had before either. I took a cautious sip at first, just to test, and it didn't seem to be as potent as I had thought.
"Well, what do you think?"
I took one more larger sip just to prove myself and then told her that I gave it my approval.
She smiled as she replied. "That's good, of course, I wouldn't expect anything like a glass of alcohol to be hard to handle for a tough guy like you."
I smiled back and continued on my drink, I really did begin to enjoy the drink after a while. It seemed to somehow make me forget about my problems with Katt, or at least it took my mind off of it for a while.
Suddenly, a loud screaming noise came from outside the restaurant. I don't know if my mind was playing tricks on me or what, but I could've sworn that the voice belonged to McCloud. I stood up, like most of the animals in the restaurant already had and walked towards the door.
"Get away from her!" the voice screamed again.
Not long after that, several yells and screams came from outside the door, but thanks to the fact that there were already crowds of animals swarming the door, I couldn't see what was happening. I could only hear what was going on outside. And from what I could make out, there was a pretty big fight going on outside. It lasted for a few minutes, but eventually the yelling subsided and the crowd slowly withdrew from the doorway. As soon as I found enough space, I pushed my way outside and saw that three wolves were laying on the ground, each with a good deal of blood coming out of various places on their bodies. I looked up and down the street, but did not see anyone in the area that could've done this. Could it really have been McCloud? I doubt that he would just pick a fight on random animals in town…
"Well, looks like things are getting kind of dangerous around here, wouldn't ya say?"
I looked back to see that the cat had followed me outside near where I was standing. I nodded silently back to her as she walked closer towards me.
"Hey, whadya say we go to my place and we can talk more there? I'd really like to get outta this smoky bar for a while. And don't worry about the bill, I've already paid for everything."
I figured I really didn't have anything better to do, since I still really didn't know anything about this place, so I accepted her offer and thanked her for covering the bill.
"It's no problem, I'm sure you can find a way to pay me back later. My apartment isn't that far, it should only take us a few minutes to get there."
I nodded in response and we soon began to make our way around town to this girl's apartment. The town was still filled with animals, especially on the main streets, despite the fact that it must have been around ten at night. The whole town was still lit up, which made walking down the streets a breeze; I don't think there was one corner that wasn't all lit up.
Not long after we left from the bar did we arrive at the cat's apartment building, it wasn't nearly as impressive as most of the buildings were in the main part of the colony, but it was still pretty nice. She walked a short distance ahead of me and led me up a large set of stairs that climbed up the side of the building. It was then only a short walk to her door, which she opened as I arrived behind her.
The door opened and we both walked into the room. It was a pretty big room, with a large patio that I could see through a large sliding window. The room was well decorated with all kinds of pink or red items sitting on either the small table that sat in front of a wall-mounted TV, or on one of the many shelves that hung on the walls of the room.
"Well, it's nothing special, but it's much better than that smoky old bar. Don't you think?"
I agreed by saying that it definitely smelled a lot better and that she had done a nice job decorating the place. I'm pretty sure that the alcohol I had earlier was starting to kick in, I don't think I'd ever complemented anyone on how good their decorating skills were before.
She smirked back at me and replied, "Well, I don't get that a lot, it's nice to meet someone with as good taste as you."
I smiled back at her as I walked over towards a large couch that stood a few feet back from the small table. I sat down and began to study some of the decorations she had set on the table. As I was doing this, she walked into a different part of the room.
"I guess since I'm here I might as well change into something more comfortable. Feel free to look around, I'll be out in a second."
I sat there for a while, but it didn't take long for me to get impatient. I stood up from the couch and began to look around the apartment room. Beside the door, there was a small hallway that led into a few separate rooms. The first door in the hallway led to a small laundry room, which I didn't find to be of any interest. I couldn't tell what the next room was, the door was locked and I guessed that was where the cat was changing. At the end of the short hallway I found a nice sized bedroom. It held a large bed, which was almost completely pink in color, and in the far corner there was also a small closet, which seemed to hold a pretty good number of different outfits. Next to the bed, I saw a small dresser, which had a short lamp and a book sitting on top of it.
Before my search could go any further, I heard the sound of an opening door coming from the hallway. Not long after I heard that did that cat reappear in the doorway. She was now wearing a dark red nightgown that was held on her only by the two small straps that hung on her shoulders. She walked slowly into the room and set down next to me on the bed.
"So, what do you think of my apartment? You like it?"
I could easily tell where this was headed, but for some reason, probably because of that glass of stuff I had back at the bar, my judgment at that time was just too poor to even think of resisting. I sat down next to her and told her that it was great, and that I liked her new cloths.
She giggled provocatively as she stoked the feathers on my arm.
"I'm glad you appreciate my nightie, but I don't think you'll miss it…"
She then gingerly crawled in front of me and pushed me back onto the bed. She then began to giggle again as she slowly rubbed herself against me, which was accompanied by her quiet purring. I replied by gently sliding my hand back and forth against the upper region of her leg. She then stopped and raised herself off of me. She slid her hands underneath my uniform and slowly pulled it off over my head. She threw the shirt off the side of the bed and purred seductively.
"Now it's your turn sexy…"
(Insert use of own imagination)
It seemed like a long time before we had finished, and when we did, we just laid in the bed looking at each other. We were both pretty winded from our experience; it took us both a few seconds to regain our breath. She was the first to speak.
"That was amazing, you really do know how to handle yourself, don't you?"
I smiled back and began to tell her that she was great too, but I had just realized that I didn't even know her name. I asked her and she replied with a smirk,
"My name's Katt, what about you?"
(In the Great Fox)
I woke up the next morning and found myself aboard the Great Fox. I sat up on the couch that I had been sleeping on ever since my room was taken. I pushed my hands into my eyes and rubbed the sleep out of em'. I looked around to see that we were still in Xavix-Yuan, and when I looked up at the holographic clock that hung in the hall, I saw that it was the morning after we landed had there. I could only sit there and think of what could have happened. Was it all a dream, or was it all a side effect of the alcohol I supposedly had taken last night at the bar in the resort? I didn't really feel like I was having a hangover or anything. And that girl from last night…Katt…Everything she did reminded me of the real Katt, the Katt that I had grown up with, the Katt that I had promised to marry, the Katt that I broke up with…
"Hey Falco, nice to see you again."
I turned to see that Slippy was slowly walking down the hallway past me. I just ignored him though; I was way too confused to be bothered by annoying little frogs. If all that really did happen, does that mean that I really have given up on Katt? But what if it was all just a dream? Would that mean that I'm so desperate to get her back that I have to have freakishly real dreams to realize it? It was just too much for me to think about, and too much for me to forget. All I could do is stare out the window of that seating room and think of all the possibilities, all the consequences. And everyone of them came from the same source, one moment in time, and that is...the day I first saw you…
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whoa, what the heck is up with those two? They like, ended saying the same thing? WEIRD! Oh well, hopefully they'll straighten things out before they go and kill themselves or something. Hey, I even posted this within the month, What a deal!
The Docking Colony, Xavix-Yuan PART 3
Ya, it's the last one in the Xavix-Yuan trilogy thing, hence the number three, located directly right of the PART part…Anyway, I've already hinted what happens in the next chapter in this side story deal. So why do I have to point it out for you? If you didn't catch it the first time, guess you'll just have to read though the whole side story again, fiddlesticks for you.
For the first time, I will officially thank my editor, who has been working with me for the last few chapters. I'd like to post his name here, but due to the fact this is my story, I don't wanna. You may call him by the name Editorman, but don't get excited and think he's a superhero, he's just some schmuck that skims over my chapters and says their great. Just a lame excuse to read my chapters ahead of time…well, it works, so I guess it's not so lame of an excuse…uhh, FoxMC out!