Wolf Brother

Disclaimer: Star Fox and its trademarks are owned by Nintendo. Other characters are owned by me.

VI. Upheaval Mystery

-0-0-0-

A week had passed since Wolf celebrated his birthday. He was enjoying another weekend back at the residence, but a thought kept on bothering him. Something was amiss. He wasn't feeling rather well. He was fine though - there was nothing wrong with him.

"I need some walk," he thought as he grabbed his brown jacket. "Maybe this would keep my mind away from thinking odd things."

Fox, who was completing his spaceship model - a project for his art class, saw him putting on his leather coat. He wondered where he was heading. He placed the tools he was using on the workbench and followed his brother. He tapped him to the shoulder and asked, "I know it's not my business, but where are you going?"

"Oh, um, I… I need to take a walk," Wolf answered while scratching his head. "Um, I want to be private for a while. Sorry, Fox." He then left the house, leaving his younger brother to say goodbye.

The vulpine returned back to his project. It was a small ship he named Arwing. "Well, you look like Grade A for art class in Monday," he commented to the object. He just needed some paint to finish it. "Hmm… I wonder where I could get some acrylic…" He thought about asking his father, who was currently working on the car, so he headed to the garage.

He opened the walnut door and entered a moderately hot room decorated with shelves and tools. He saw James, wearing nothing but his jumpers, covered in soot. "Ah, Fox! Be careful! Everything's a mess here!" he told him while wiping himself with a towel. "Sorry son, I am a bit busy right now…" Fox could tell that, for he was covered with motor oil.

"Ah, no prob, dad," he replied as he searched a dusty cabinet. "I'm just looking for some paint. Do we have some stored in here?"

"Hmm, I don't know, but you might want to check on the old box there," James pointed out. It was a black medium box beside an old lamp.

Fox scurried and dredged at the container. He saw nothing but old broken parts. There were many tools that needed repair as well. One thing that got him startled was a head of a wrench. "Hey dad, what's this?" he asked while showing the clamp of the wrench without its shaft. "And what's the thing written at the rim? SOLID STEEL?"

"That's an old broken wrench. I don't have any use for that, but it seems you are interested in it," he answered with a slight chuckle. "Ah, it looks like we don't have some paint." He then neared towards him while grabbing something in his pocket. He handed his son with some dough and a piece of paper. "Well, I want you to go to a nearby hardware and buy a few jars of acrylic and some screws with that type written in the paper. And… um… buy us some orange soda!"

Fox smiled while cleaning his oiled palms. He grabbed his blue jacket and the scarf Wolf gave to him days ago and left to buy some materials.

-0-0-0-

It was snowing already. The vulpine had to be careful not to slip or anything. He walked in a normal pace and headed at the opposite sidewalk. He passed children who were already playing with the snow and, well, he was almost hit by a snowball from their snowball fight. A few blocks forward, he went across a meat shop. Beside that store was the hardware he was looking for.

"Here it is - Screws, Bolts, and Nuts," he said to himself while remembering the things he needed to buy. He entered the moderately small shop and quickly browsed at the acrylics. After taking the white and blue ones, he managed to look at the screws with the description his father gave to him. He rushed at the cashier to cash them out.

The clerk noticed him. "Ah, Fox, running errands," the raccoon greeted him as he swiped the items to the scanner at the side of the desk. "By the way, I saw your brother passing by. I tried to call him, but he only smiled back. I thought that he might have some problems."

"He was somewhat glum earlier," the vulpine replied while handing the money over. "Hmm… Yeah, I guess I need to talk to him. Where was he heading?"

The coon tried to recall his memory. "I think I noticed him going to St. Bernard Avenue. Anything peculiar there?"

"Ah yes," Fox gave an aye, for he knew that it was the street going to the previous house of Wolf. "Um, excuse me, but can I leave what I bought here for a while? I'll get them back after talking to big bro."

After the clerk agreed, he swiftly went to the street he was informed. After walking at an uphill snowy path, he finally saw the location of the burned-down house. There remained the ruins of the structure - the black cracked walls, the shabby floor, the unfriendly-looking furniture, and the scattered debris. In front of that was a coated person with a grey bushy tail. It was Wolf.

Fox thought about talking to his brother, but he anted to take it smoothly and slowly. He approached him with some mixed ideas rambling in his mind. When he finally tapped his shoulder, he whispered, "Um… Is, is something the matter, bro?"

The lupine was slightly startled by the call. "Ah, Fox… I thought it was somebody else," he spoke out with a surprised tone. "Usually, dad was the one startling me… heh… I'm sorry to make you worried… I guess you followed me because I was looking quite… odd, right?"

Fox shook his head and responded, "Actually, Mr. Ayer, the hardware clerk, told me that you looked gloomy… Why? Is there something bothering you?"

The grey wolf closed his eyes and exhaled, releasing a small mass of mist from his mouth. "Well, it's nothing much," he explained as he signaled his younger brother to follow him. "I am just looking around at this place. I haven't visited this for a while now…" He, with Fox following him, headed to the back of the lot. "This… this used to be the kitchen and dining room of my house…" He pointed a clutter of wood and some concrete just beside them. "Our tank used to be here. It was foolproof, that it sometimes made me wonder why the gas leaked out…"

"Well, I know you have already moved on, and the reason why you're here is that because you're trying to figure out why it happened, right?" the vulpine said back, trying to clarify his observation. His brother just nodded. "Then, you should not try to let this problem bother you much… Sometimes, you'll eventually see the reason. You just need some time…"

Wolf chuckled for a bit and smiled, "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm trying to push myself too much. Well, let's go home then… I'm done here…"

Fox was about to leave when something took his attention. At the debris where the gas used to be, there was something noticeable - a rusted metal object. He quickly picked it up and hid it in his jacket. Wolf didn't know what he did.

"Oh, let's go back to the hardware store to pick up the things I bought," he exclaimed as he caught up with him. "And, um, let's buy some orange soda."

-0-0-0-

In the room of Fox McCloud, the Arwing model ship was standing on a brown desk. It was perfectly painted, well, because his brother helped him. The owner, however, was sitting on his bed, looking at the two objects he found at his trip earlier.

"Wait," Fox murmured as he glanced at the head of a wrench and a metal bar, "the ends looked like they were used as a baton, as if it was struck to something hard." He pieced them together, and was surprised to see them connect. "Huh? These parts… they form the wrench… Wait, I don't believe this… It's just a coincidence…"

As he stood up, the rusted shaft fell down on the floor. He grabbed it, and noticed some blackened words on it. "What the," he silently growled, "the name… SOLID STEEL… No…" He quickly placed them inside the drawer of his desk and lay on his bed. "It can't be… Dad couldn't possibly do it… No… I don't believe it…" He squeezed to the side of the mattress and covered himself with a red blanket. "He loves Wolf… He doesn't want to see him die… He doesn't want to kill him! Fox McCloud, what are you thinking…!"

-0-0-0-