-Scrambled Dimensions-
Back at Lylat, while the events were happening, a familiar space fighter with four, red, razor-like fins spanning from its sides jolted through the vast empty area. It was a Wolfen, and the pilot was none other than Wolf O'Donnell, the leader of Star Wolf. It seemed that he was able to escape from the fight against the Queen, and he had known that his teammates were able to escape. The only problem was they were separated, though he didn't know how distant they were from him… about a dimension apart…
"Leon, Panther… Damn it, answer my call!" he shouted to his console. Only static was the answer. "No… I'm sure you guys are okay. I don't believe that you couldn't make it… You're a part of Star Wolf… You fight to live!" He tried once more, but the results were the same. He felt sad, and deemed that they weren't able to make it. "Damn… It's been a day… and no response… not again… I don't want to lose allies…"
The vehicle fleeted once more to the vast space. Wolf thought hard about what just happened. He was doing the search for his teammates for about thirty-four hours without rest. He didn't rest and relax, even though the Wolfen could provide such needs. He was worrying about the two more than ever.
"You two… are the only ones I trust," he murmured whilst glancing at the console, waiting for a response. "I almost lost everything when I accepted that offer of Andross… and that Pigma character… I want to broil him up when I see him again… I hope that Fox didn't kill him thoroughly. I want to do the final blow…"
An alert aroused all of a sudden. To his dismay, it wasn't a reply from his attempted communications. "Turbulence warning… Turbulence warning… Unknown anomaly is occurring at current location. Please transport to safety," the computer warned him. Then, the console flashed the map of his current coordinates, revealing a big blue circle surrounding his icon.
He looked around the ship, but saw nothing. There were no observable obstacles surrounding him. "What is it talking about? There's nothing here," he wondered while checking the tail, the wings, and beneath the Wolfen for any physical contacts. However, he was surprised when his ship suddenly shook. He was lucky to have a seatbelt placed. Otherwise, he would have been knocked out of his seat.
"What was that?" he exclaimed as he scanned the area again, but to his surprise, there was nothing around. Nevertheless, he knew that shock so powerful couldn't be just anything at all. He pushed a button in the HUD and spoke out, "Scan any physical contacts in the Wolfen."
The monitor showed a radar icon and a meter. The latter refilled gradually as the former continued to spin its arm around a circle. The console responded, "No physical attributes made any physical contact with the Wolfen. However, current location cannot be defined. There is no data in the databank." He was taken aghast. He was very sure that when we investigated earlier, the place seemed to be the same. "Warning. Oncoming object approaching."
The Wolfen moved a short distance from the approaching unknown entity. As he looked at it, he realized that it was nothing potentially dangerous. The object looked like a small sphere. It was releasing some sort of energy spheres in its trails, and those spheres produced a translucent ring of energy. He watched it as it passed from the left side of his vehicle to the right. All of a sudden, the space fighter was repelled, probably from hitting the energy hoops.
"Heh, it seems like that device is making a pseudo-tube," he concluded while taking a peek at the long line of rings the floating object had created. Curiosity came into his mind. "I wonder where that thing came from… It's probably from an advanced space colony or something… I think I should follow the trail…" The Wolfen boosted again, and it followed the direction where the sphere device originated.
It took him eight minutes until he reached a planet. He continued to dash at high speed, allowing him to enter the atmosphere in less than a minute. He realized that it came from a city. He trailed the path once more, and he came down to what seemed to be a racetrack. "What the heck…?" he simply grunted while slowing his pace. People in uniform suddenly blocked his way, forcing him to make a full stop.
As his vehicle made a halt, he opened the cockpit and jumped out. It was a while since he last slept, and he couldn't keep up, so his view was kind of blurry. He realized that he couldn't stay awake anymore, and so he dropped down. It was all just a dream… That was his wish.
Chapter 4 - V-ZONE
Nine hours had passed since Wolf fell down. He slowly opened his eyes, and realized that he was inside a room - an inn, perhaps? He was lying on bed, and it felt good - it was about a day since he had last slept. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. He felt a bit odd, since the place was somehow the same as a regular room in an apartment in Corneria City - it had a table, a screen, some windows, a fridge, a bed, and a bathroom. Speaking of the fridge, he felt hungry and decided to take some food.
"Damn, I'm hungry," he smirked as he took out a whole chicken. It was cold, so he had to reheat it up. A microwave was there, so he placed it in. As he snapped the door, he realized that there was only one button. He pushed it, and in less than a second, the threshold of the appliance opened up, revealing a delicious, cooked poultry. It was hot, so he took precautions in putting it on a table.
When he was eating, somebody suddenly entered. A furless light-brownish ape-like girl with long brown hair, blue eyes beneath the thick eyeglasses, a computer clipboard, a yellow-brown long-sleeved suit, blue pants, and white female's boots, with a medium-sized tower-like robot, was surprised to see him, and so was he.
"Ah!" she screamed out. "Oops… I'm sorry. I didn't know you were already awake." She then bowed down before continuing. "You fell asleep on the track earlier, and you seemed to be following it, so we had to change the course…"
"What are you talking about? And who the heck are you?" Wolf gestured out while pointing a fork to her. "Geez… What in the world is this…? Simians shaving themselves... Though, I must admit, you're quite… umm… beautiful…" He inserted a piece of gravy-covered meat into his mouth.
The girl suddenly blurted out, "Simian? For your information, I'm a bona-fide human! You're in Earth, so you should know better, unless of course, you're from a Kanisian clan who doesn't travel outside space or doesn't visit the third planet of the Solar System."
"Kanisian?" he grumbled back. "I'm a wolf. I'm Wolf O'Donnell! I'm from Lylat System!"
"Lylat System? I never heard of such place," she assessed him. She then glanced at her computer clipboard, which she then touched with her pen. "Hmm… Ah, sorry! Lylat System, the star system just beside Terra System and System Asgardi. Hmm… I wonder why no one from your place joins V-Force. Oh, and sorry to mistake you as a Kanisian… You see, a Kanisian is a person who comes from the Kanis star, and they resemble a humanoid member of the dog family - a dog, a fox, a wolf, a coyote, any canine…" She looked at him keenly, making her blush. "Oh, sorry again! I always talk too much before even introducing myself! I'm Fuchiko Yurihime, and this robot is Repairbot!"
"What a loudmouth," Wolf thought to himself after looking at her. He then recalled what she said earlier and asked, "What's V-ZONE? Is it a racing tournament?"
"Yes!" she replied while Repairbot released a hologram of a small video clip of the race. "It's a racing tournament divided into 11 divisions, with many cups within the division. Racers in the whole universe compete every Earth season. The tracks are also held around the universe. The winner of each division will be granted with money and trophies, but the first-placer of each division will be able to ask for a wish… which will come true!"
The last sentence made the lupine curious. "Any wish?"
"Well, all, except anything that could cause harm to the V-ZONE racing tournament, of course," she answered back as the robot stopped showing the clip.
"I could wish to save Leon and Panther while returning us back to Lylat," he thought. He knew those two were the most important for him. The team was the only thing keeping him alive. He looked at her again and asked, "Can I join? Has the tournament begun?"
"Don't worry," she smiled as Repairbot transformed into a desk with a projection of the Wolfen. "You can still join Division 10, and the track you followed belongs to it, so you can stay here for a while… By the way, we've checked out your vehicle. It looks like a space fighter, but it is capable of being in the race too. What do you call it?"
"Wolfen," he spoke out, but then he took it back. "Wait, hold that thought. I christen it Burning Wolfen."
"All right, Burning Wolfen," Fuchiko confirmed as she typed out the name. "Please input your name and sign at the projection desk with your index finger, gloves removed. That way, your membership will be authenticated with your DNA." Wolf followed, and his membership was done. "Thanks for signing in! Oh, and let's go to the Racer Lobby. I want you to meet somebody."
-0-0-0-
A brown, yellow-eyed male Kanisian, probably a wolf-coyote crossbreed, wearing a blue-streaked silver suit, green shirt, black racer's gloves, blue pants, and white boots, was seating on a chair inside the lobby. He was greeted by Fuchiko. "It's you," he acquainted her as he stood up. "So, did he join?" He pointed Wolf, who was behind her.
"Yep!" she smiled. She then pulled the lupine and introduced each other. "Wolf, this is Artur. Artur, this is Wolf. This racer is famous, since at the last season, he was a newcomer, but he became Division 4's second-placer!" She then looked at the seasoned competitor and winked, "He's at Division 10. You don't have to worry, since you're at Division 2… Is he at that division too?"
"Yeah, he is," Artur answered back. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Wolf. I hope you could last the whole division. Judging from your space fighter earlier, which I will know call a V-hicle, since it's now used as a racing vehicle in the tournament, you could win the divisions."
Wolf gave a grin. "Hmph… I want to see you in a race," he smirked while crossing his arms. "Maybe, I want to compete with you." Artur just shrugged from his last statement. "Just interested… What would you wish when you win?"
The Kanisian and Fuchiko became silent. "Let me give you a hint," he noted the eye-patched lupine. In a sudden flash, Wolf saw him move at a very fast pace. It was so quick, that afterimages were even trailing his path! In less than half of a second, he was behind the Star Wolf leader's back. "I want to get rid of this… Time Void Syndrome, it's a rare universal disease that has absolutely no cure… The person suffering from that sickness will feel that everything surrounding him will be slow. On the other hand, you guys will notice that I am moving fast…"
Wolf was silent. He too, was wishing for something to get rid of the dread inside his heart. However, this silence was shaken when a message was given. It was about the racers participating in Division 10. They should get ready. "All right," he nodded. "It's time for me to go…" He suddenly smelled something bad. He sniffed around, until he came into a conclusion. "Oh no… I stink… I hadn't taken a bath since…"
"Let me accompany you to the locker room," Artur smiled at the embarrassed wolf. "There's a shower room there. Besides, it's near the V-hicle Start, so you won't be late." Wolf agreed, and so the two left.
"Good luck, Wolf!" Fuchiko bade them with a goodbye. "I hope you can win the division!"
-0-0-0-
Wolf was inside the shower room and Artur was outside the locker room. The Lylatian lupine finally finished his quick bath and opened up a locker. He realized that his uniform was missing! He angrily pushed the door, making a loud bang. "Damn it all! Who the hell stole my uniform!" he furiously howled. It was loud enough for Artur to come inside.
"Hey Wolf, what happened?" he asked, and judging from his glance at Wolf, he knew it wasn't good. "Um… Somebody stole your uniform…? Dang, I knew it… There are lousy racers who like to steal the uniforms of other racers just so they can't participate." He then scurried around the room, trying to look for it.
"What do you think I should do?" he grumbled. He knew time was passing, and he didn't have much left. "I don't want to race in my undies…" However, he thought of Leon and Panther once more. His companions meant more to him than humiliation. "No… Artur, I'll trust you to look for my uniform… I'll go and race. There isn't much time!" He then trotted away with full speed.
Artur noticed him leaving. "Wait!" he shouted back, but he realized that he was already inside his fighter. "Damn that thief… I have to look for his outfit." He searched around, and noticed a part of a black spandex sleeve hanging out from the janitor's closet. "Rats… I should've known…" He opened it, and saw a giant one-eyed rat tattering the uniform. In fact, it had nibbled the shoulder pads of Wolf, reducing it to pieces.
The creature squealed to attempt to scare him, but he simply punched the vermin. He gave quick punches, as the Time Syndrome affected him, making him deliver numerous blows in a short span. In just a few minutes, he was able to cage a big rat alien using strong brooms, and he was able to retrieve the uniform.
However, it was a big dismay to him. It wasn't already the same uniform Wolf was once wearing. The right sleeve of the black spandex suit was already gone, the right knee part of the black pants was ripped, and the blue vest had scratches. The shoulder pads were not even wearable anymore. "Hmm… I guess Wolf just has to deal with this one," he sighed. He also felt that, just in case his new friend would win, he would be in a big mess.
Yes, Wolf did win the current race. He ranked first with his Raging Wolfen. However, the personnel had a hard time forcing him to leave the cockpit. He was standing at the stools, blushing while in his underwear. Artur, no matter how fast he could go, could not save him from such humiliating yet funny scene.
-0-0-0-