Chapter4: Recuperation

Fox McCloud

I woke up in the infirmary bay of the Grand Fox, listening to the light chatter of families friends. Sitting on my bedside was Krystal; who was gently rubbing my hand. My eyes were barely open, but I could make out who she was speaking to. Sat on the other side of me was a beige bulldog. He seemed quite injured himself, but very much alive. Bill! I quickly and sneakily grabbed Krystal's hand and pushed myself upright, still a little weak from the morphine, but I still managed to smile widely at them.

"Speaking about me, eh?" I chuckled and leaned back, noting that Krystal didn't pull her hand away from mine. "Any juicy rumours?"

"Fox!" Both Bill and Krystal happily greeted me with wide eyes.

"Man, it's great to see you again, Fox!" Bill chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Even if we're both in the infirmary, hah!"

I laughed with him and made myself more comfortable. I frowned when I saw a similar medical brace to Falco's around Bill's right thigh, peeking out of his shorts and pumping the same medical gel into him.

"Bill, what happened…?" I pointed to his injured leg. He raised an eyebrow at me and lifted his leg onto the chair he sat on, pulling up his shorts even more, revealing a large singed piece of fur where the brace was.

"Shot in the leg by some bastard before I could even get to my ship," he casually explained, reaching down and pulling a crutch from the floor to show me. He sighed and frowned "Have to use this stupid thing for a few days."

All things considered; he seemed pretty calm and relaxed. He reached a hand out for me and pulled me up along with Krystal. I slowly climbed out of bed; which caught Bill and Krystal off guard somewhat, considering I was in nothing but my underwear.

"Tsk tsk, Fox," Krystal giggled and exaggerated her reaction of averting her gaze. "have you no common decency?"

"Never seen a man like this huh?" I jabbed her shoulder with a finger, smiling all the way as she laughed even more. "Besides, remember what you were wearing when we first met—?"

I was interrupted by Bill awkwardly clearing his throat and looking down. Krystal and I immediately blushed and chuckled, looking at everything but each other…(even if Krystal shot a few flirty peeks at me.)

"Uh, you should get your clothes on and join us, we're having a few beers and stuff to lighten up," Bill chuckled and hobbled out on his crutch. "Don't keep us waiting, yeah?"

"I got you a replacement of clothes for when you woke up~" Krystal pointed toward a table with my casual clothes all folded up neatly. She winked at me before leaving. "Like he said, 'don't keep us waiting."

I chuckled as I was left alone in the infirmary in my undies. Shaking my head, I walked over to the main window and stared out at Katina as we hovered in the high atmosphere with the rest of the fleet. Something about being this high in a planet was always strangely relaxing. It reminded me that I was grounded to a planet somewhere, but space and freedom was just at my fingertips. It was all very serene.

I swished my tail about and looked down at my bare paws, frowning at the large scar on my leg. Hopefully that'd get grown over by fur. That was a nasty cut. Damn that swordsman asshole. Who uses swords anyway?!

I closed the curtain around my bed and removed my underwear, enjoying the feeling of true freedom I got while staring out into space. Good thing these windows were one-way. Didn't want the passing ships to see everything. Before I did anything, I started doing my stretches and exercises. Gotta stay limber. I started out with a crane stretch before bending over and touching my toes. I looked in a nearby mirror at myself, smirking as I flexed my lean muscles. Lookin good, McCloud. Looking good.

With one last inspection of my battle hardened body, I cracked my joints and got dressed in the provided shorts and vest Krystal left me. Very comfortable. Even if these shorts are getting too...well...short. Whatever the case, I left the infirmary feeling only slightly tired from the morphine they pumped into me. The metal floor was cold on my bare feet.

I walked down a few hallways and into the mess hall; where everyone minus Samus was gathered. They all stared at me and cheered happily as I sat down by Krystal and Falco, the blue avian sliding me a bottle of my favourite beer: Papetoon Reserve. Reminded me of...Dad. This was always his favourite too...I missed him. Falco patted my shoulder knowingly, a more genuine smile on his beak.

"Hey, it's Flyboy," Falco half chuckled while shooting an occasional glance in the hangar's direction before looking back at me. "Finally decided to get up, huh?"

"Best sleep I've had in awhile," I chuckled and took a swig of my cider, enjoying the sweet taste. "I should sure use more of that morphine."

Everyone laughed as I proudly took a sip of my drink. Damn it, they made me feel like a hero. I let out a happy sigh and stared out the window. I didn't look for long, as I took notice of our absentee.

"Falco, where's Samus?" I tilted my head at the somewhat distracted avian, concern rising for our newest friend. "I haven't seen her since her run in with Dark Samus."

"Probably in her ship," Falco shrugged and swished his bottle around, seemingly without interest in drinking. He didn't seem like himself today. I wondered what was wrong. "She's a loner like that, heh."

"I see," I turned to Slippy, who fiddled with a datapad, likely with the data he, Falco, and Samus stole from Aquas. "Anything good on that, Slip?"

"Uh, yeah!" He eagerly scooted over to me and showed me the screen. He pointed out a map of their bases. "Looks like they set up shop on Fichina, Fortuna, Macbeth and Titania. They're staying away from sectors X through Z, I think they learned their lessons since last time, eh Fox?"

I smiled widely with this new information in mind. We definitely had the upper hand now.

"Good work Slippy," I patted the shorter toad on the shoulder. "Sent this to the general and admiral yet?"

"Way ahead of you, Fox!" Slippy gave me a proud grin. "Already transmitted this information to them, they're formulating a plan as we speak."

"You stick it to these bastards good, Fox," bill grabbed my shoulder and gave me a strong look. He held his crutch tightly, so tight it looked painful. "I was told to stay and defend Katina, orders are orders, after all."

"I'll take down as many for you as I can, Bill," I smirked at my injured comrade. "I promise."

"Also, Fox," Slippy began with a concerned expression. He tapped on his pad a few times and stared blankly at two files he couldn't open. "I've cracked everything but these two files, these have been encrypted to all heck."

"Projects A-R and X-F," Peppy began as he walked by, stroking his whiskers wisely. "Whatever in tarnation is on those files, Andrew didn't want us having them. It ain't good, that's easy to say."

"Probably just private photos of him or something," Falco shrugged, eliciting a loud laugh from the slightly drunk lynx recruit who sat on the nearest table. "We all take em."

"No, Falco," Peppy scowled. "His security systems are already airtight and well programmed. These must be extremely important if he put his strongest encryptions on them. He may be a coward, but he ain't no fool, he's Andross' nephew after all. He's likely up to somethin. Big."

"If we don't get this cracked by the time we get to venom," Slippy continued Peppy's point. "We're gonna be in a whole lotta pain from whatever he has up his sleeve. I guess I'm gonna have a few extra all nighters...hehe...heh...hoo boy I hope we have extra coffee..,"

I grimaced. Whatever were on those files was real bad news. We were putting him on the defensive now, no doubt he was going to dig his heels into the dirt and say 'come get me!' We had to prepare for the worst. Though this war was short, it was gonna get bloody. Whatever he had planned for us, we'd be ready for it.

"Whatever's in store for us," I stood up, proud and tall. (Despite being the fourth shortest of my team.) I raised my drink and voice. All eyes were on me. "We can handle it! We've seen and been through plenty worse over the years! Andross, the Aparoids! You name it, we've seen it! Let's stick it to that miserable monkey, Andrew! We're Star Fox! It's what we do! Am I right or am I right?!"

Everyone cheered for me and held up their drinks. I smiled at my team and took a swig of my cider. I couldn't help but chuckle at the way Fay and Miyu's eyes sparkled like stars as I gave my speech.

"Just like your father, Fox," Peppy nodded approvingly with a big smile. "Just like your father."

"Slippy, you keep cracking those files for now," I ordered. "The general and admiral would love them. We'll win this war in no time with your big brain, Slip."

"Aww, shucks, Fox," Slippy blushed and adjusted his cap. "You're too kind."

"That's our leader!" Falco cheered and took a sip of his beer.

We spent the next hour or two drinking semi-heavily and celebrating the retaking of Katina. I felt slightly tipsy when I decided enough was enough. I peered around the room that reeked of alcohol, everyone else seemed slightly drunk, minus Fay and Krystal. The Cernian Fox stared at me, then to the white dog who was trying to keep her intoxicated lynx friend in line. Krystal's eyes were filled with concern. She left the room in a hurry before contacting me with telekinesis.

"Fox. My room," her usual brazen voice as serious, just like when I first met her in Cernia. "We need to talk about Fay."

About Fay? I gulped and followed her. When I entered her room, I saw her swiping back and forth on her data pad. I sat beside the blue fox, taking note of how soft and spongy her bed was. She handed me her pad; which displayed a mugshot of our spaniel recruit.

"Take a Look at her, mainly her nose and eyes," she pointed towards the rounded triangle shaped noise and her wide blue eyes. "Now compare her with him, I got this picture off of the known wanted mercenary lists. I'm certain this was the guy we fought yesterday."

My heart sank as I saw his mugshot appear. Rounded black nose and wide blue eyes. White fur and he was obviously a spaniel. Remove the brown spot and ear and he'd be an exact male replica of Fay. The resemblance was that uncanny. Felix, just who were you?

"This...jeez this is...have you spoken to her about this?" I gulped and compared the images again. "This seems pretty important."

She cut me off by grabbing my hand in hers and staring at me with a worried expression.

"You should tell her, Fox, you're her leader after all," she squeezed my hand with a smile. "She looks up to you, I heard her in the showers the other day speaking to Miyu. Idolises you, even."

I blushed. I wasn't aware she admired me so much. Whatever the case, I nodded.

"Right, I'll tell her," I stood up and prepared to leave, but Krystal stood up and quickly pecked my cheek, which sent my face into a burning blush. "K-Krystal?!"

"For being such a good leader," she gave me a coy smile. "That and I didn't have much privacy earlier~"

"D-damn you, Krys, you know the best ways to mess with me…" I said with a blush, taking her datapad with me. She laughed at me and waved as I left.

"I know!"

Fay Farley

"This girl, right here!" Miyu guffawed with her arm wrapped around my shoulder, her other arm clutching a bottle of beer. She smelled of alcohol… "followed me right through that damn hangar! She's got balls! *hic!*"

Everyone chuckled in amusement as Miyu drunkenly stammered on. I barely even noticed Falco slipping out of the crowd and out of the mess hall.

"Only to make sure that you were fine, Miyu," I blushed and wrapped my arm around her back to keep her balanced. I struggled to do so because of just how darn tall she was. She stood above everyone apart from Falco and Samus. Second most masculine woman I've ever met, most until meeting Samus! "Someone has to keep you in line!"

"I—I told ya she has balls!" Miyu laughed drunkenly while wobbling, she was quite difficult to keep upright. Ugh, curse her and all of her five feet and ten inches.

"Alright, Miyu," I fake chuckled and ushered her to move. "I think you might have had one too many drinks, don't you think?"

"I...I g-guess, *hic*" Miyu swayed a bit, causing me to tighten my hold around her. We began walking to her room together. Slowly. We left the mess hall and she smiled a drunk smile at me. "T-thanks, Fay, hehe...just to my room, please…"

She slurred, still somewhat cognitive.

We walked through the Grand Fox until we reached her door. She struggled to input her passcode, but she managed eventually. Her room was an untidy mess with clothes and other such gadgets strewn about across the floor. I scowled at the mess she lived in. How uncouth. I led her to her bed slowly and carefully helped her into it. Thankfully it was already unmade, so it was easy to tuck her in.

"Not feeling sick, Miyu?" I gently asked, making her comfortable by fluffing her pillows. I quickly ran over to the water dispenser built into the wall and filled a plastic cup full and placed it on her bedside table. "You good?"

"Hehe. Thanks, Fay…" she hiccuped and took a sip. "Y-you're the best, don't think you can look after me when I wake up hungover, eh?"

"Sure, I can do that," I playfully rolled my eyes and helped her remove her single earring. "Guess I'm your nanny now."

"H-heh, yeah…"

We were silent for a moment, awkwardly left looking at each other. I blushed for whatever reason and cleared my throat, standing and dimming the lights.

"Goodnight, Miyu."

"Night, skygirl~"

My face burned as I closed the door behind me. 'Skygirl?!' That nickname...did drunkenness make her say that?! I rubbed my face and giggled quietly. I liked it. It was cute. However, before I could gush more, the familiar voice of my boss made me jump.

"Fay, you got a minute?" Fox slowly approached me with a raised eyebrow, a datapad clutched in his hands. I tilted my head for a moment before standing straight to attention.

"O-of course, Sir!" I saluted, which he smiled at.

"Less formal, Fay," Fox chuckled.

"O-oh...yes sir—I mean!" I loosened up. "Fox."

"Let's take this somewhere more…" He looked around suspiciously, then to his data pad with concerned eyes. "...private."

I nodded understandingly and led him to to my room, where I let him enter first. He looked around at all the pink and fluffy things in my room with wide eyes. I giggled at him, causing him to chuckle awkwardly. The foxy commander took a seat on my coffee table, tapping at my teapot and cups with a finger, likely surprised at the authentic porcelain.

I sat on the chair opposite to him and tilted my head.

"Tea?" I offered him. He politely shook his head and tapped on his pad, well, Krytal's pad. Why he had that was beyond me.

"Alright, Fay." He gulped and breathed heavily. He slowly spun the screen around at me. "Have you seen this man before? He's part of Star Wolf."

My heart sunk as soon as I saw the portrait of the man in question. He was a white spaniel with bright blue eyes, a large brown spot across his left eye and ear. Even as just a mugshot, his eyes pierced me. I had seen those very eyes before. In the mirror and my memories of...dad.

"He...he looks just like my dad…" I gasped and took the pad from Fox, staring intently at the photo. My eye twitched as I remembered how much he hurt my mum. "I knew my father was a cheater, but...how old is this spaniel?"

My eyes drifted to what was in his hands. It was what prisoners usually held in mugshots, a black piece of plastic which their credentials in it.

'Felix Farley, Sex: M, Height: 5'5", weight; 135lbs, DoB; 5/8/3765. Age: 23'

My blood boiled. He was four years older than me. My dad married my mother before that. Cheating arsehole...Farley...that was my legal surname. I grit my teeth.

"He...he must be my half-brother…" I whispered sadly, examining the photo of Felix. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. His mother was likely lied and cheated on too. I let a tear fall into the screen as I handed it back to Fox. "H-here. I don't know much about this man, I've never seen him before in my life, but, he's definitely my father's son."

"Unfortunate he ended up with Star Wolf…" Fox grimaced. "You alright, Fay? You're crying."

"I-I'm...I'm fine I think…" I sniffed. Maybe Mum knew something about Felix. Maybe he's why Mum kicked Dad out.

"It's your call, Fay," Fox stood up and squeezed my shoulder supportively. "What should we do next we cross paths with him, he's your brother, after all."

"Capture him, I want to speak with him," I scowled and remembered how awful my dad was. "Don't hurt him, ok?"

"Right," he nodded. "Capture him. Should I stay or do you want to be left alone?"

"Yeah, I want to be left alone for now, thanks."

He nodded and silently left, gently closing the door behind him. For a military leader, he was as soft and gentle as a puppy. I felt honoured to be around him. However, any feeling of honour was drowned out by the thought of my half brother. Did he know about my existence? Did he hate my dad as much as me? Felix...just who were you?

Falco Lombardi

While nobody was looking, I slipped into the hangar to check up on my newest friend; who seemed quieter than she usually did. The floor was cold on my talons as I slowly approached her landed gunship. I peered into the green window above and frowned, waving at it to see if she was there. After a minute where it seemed like she was hesitant, she lowered the elevator for me; which I gladly took up.

As per usual, her ship was dark and cold. I saw her just stood there in some kind of machine that was repairing her damaged suit. She looked so...vulnerable...I took a step forward towards the huntress, quietly uttering her name as I stared at her in concern. However, I was met by her voice calling my name from her chair. Was she not in her…?

I slowly turned and sat on a chair next to her as she spun hers toward me. My beak dropped at the sight before me. Samus Aran...unarmoured.

She wore an extremely tight fitting blue jumpsuit that didn't leave much to the imagination. Her forearms and legs were gray. The tight suit just seemed to show off her muscles (biceps, thighs, six pack etc.) really well. So her bulk wasn't just her suit. It was her. My eyes trailed up to her face. She was ghostly pale with large bags under her green eyes and her somewhat grizzled jawline was covered in battle scars. The golden fur on her head was a huge mess, unkempt and tied in a lazy tail that was resting on her shoulder. She was a mess, but she was still a looker. Even if she was much bigger and more masculine than me.

I stared up into her permanently exhausted eyes and frowned. She stared back at me with an almost vulnerable expression. I wondered just how many scars she wore under that jumpsuit. She definitely had seen her fair share of shit. I gave her a quick smile and scooted over to her on my chair.

"Have you ever felt...weak?" She suddenly asked, her usually strong voice wavering somewhat and her eyes struggling to look into mine. She seemed to flinch at the word 'weak.' "Like, something is enough to destroy your confidence and ability to cope…?"

"Yeah, a few times," I sighed and remembered things I'd rather not. I removed my jacket and zipped my jumpsuit down, enough to show off the medical brace around my arm. "Same shadow that messed you up did this to me."

"Dark Samus…" Samus hissed under her breath and stared at my arm intently. She shook her head and gritted her teeth, her hands clenched into tight fists. Even out of armour, she was intimidating as all hell. Though she sighed and loosened up, standing and taking a step towards me. She knelt and looked into my eyes. "Your arm has probably healed by now, remove the rest of your top so I can remove it for you."

"Alright," I followed her instructions and removed my other arm from my sleeve, leaving my jumpsuit top dangling around my waist as I sat there, completely shirtless. I smirked and held my arm out for her. "First time a woman has told me to pop my top."

"..." she just gave me a deadpan stare and studied my arm, holding it in her left arm by the wrist and fiddling with the brace with her right. My smile widened more as I studied her right hand. I was surprised that she even had one under that arm cannon of hers. I relaxed and stayed as still as possible as she slowly removed the wires and thin tubes from my arm one by one, hissing as they literally were removed from my flesh. She noticed as I winced in pain and placed her left hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, removing the final tube and letting the brace fall to the floor with a resounding thud. I flexed my fingers in satisfaction, glad to have that heavy thing off. She quickly took my arm in her strong hands and examined it more professionally. "Flex, any pain?"

"I don't think so…" I started moving my arm around freely with little to no pain. I smiled as an aura of freedom washed over me, felt awesome to have a free arm again. I flexed and showed my bicep, feeling my guns with my other hand. Though, I still felt a bit funny about how her's were still bigger than mine. She was a beast of a woman...I smiled and made eye contact with her. "Yeah, I'm all good, thank you, Samus."

"My pleasure, Falco," she simply responded with a somewhat relaxed voice. We made direct eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time as she forgot to unhand my shoulder. We were silent for a slight moment before she let go of me and looked at the floor, blushing lightly and holding her blonde ponytail in embarrassment. I smirked at seeing this sensitive side of this human woman. She was kinda…cute...in a way. I raised an eyebrow at her; which she noticed and blushed even harder. "I uh...apologise for that...you just reminded me of my Chozo guardians…"

I dropped my sly smile when her eyes seemed to fill with sadness when mentioning her chozo friends. The same kind of sadness I see in Fox when he speaks about his dad. I immediately sat straight up and placed my hand on her shoulder, giving her a supportive squeeze. My gentle touch made her shudder hard. She looked up at me with her mouth slightly agape. I gave her another squeeze, paired with a nod. Without even thinking of myself, I got closer.

"I'm sorry, Samus…" I genuinely frowned, letting all cockiness or jokes leave my system. "You wanna talk about it…?"

"They took me in after my parents were killed, when I was three…" she suddenly explained while sadly staring at my feet. "That was twenty-five years ago...when I was nineteen, the space pirates slaughtered them."

Her hands, which were rested on her lap, scrunched into tight fists. Rage, sadness, regret and fear painted themselves on her face. Her teeth were gritted. I only held her shoulder tighter.

"I'm sorry, Sam," My heart fell to my stomach as I could only imagine the pain and heartbreak she's experienced in her life. Even at a year younger than her, I haven't seen nearly as much crap as her. My only traumatic experience was my dad walking on us when I was young… "I can't imagine what you've been through…"

"It's...it's fine…" she sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose, resisting the urge to cry. I could simply see it in her eyes. I grabbed her other shoulder and stared into her green eyes to show her I was here. She leaned towards me and slowly wrapped her arms around my body. W-wow...didn't help that I was topless. Her grasp was strong and tight, I could feel her muscles on my body. I blushed as she rested her head on my shoulder. Not being one to disappoint, I withdrew my arms from her shoulders and gripped her body closely. As awkward as this was, it was quite comfortable, she had an exotic scent about her, humans were weird. I felt her fingers feeling my feathers gently. She shuddered and attempted to pull back. "I-I'm sorry, this isn't very appropriate—"

"Shh, it's alright…" I smiled and hugged her tightly. "Just let it out."

We stayed together for about a minute at most before splitting apart. She blushed and gave me a weak smile. First time I've seen this from her. I smirked and zipped up my jumpsuit as we both stood up. Even out of armour, she stood way above me. My smirk faded when I saw just how gaunt and pale she was. She seemed a bit ill and injured. Dark Samus did a real number to her. I offered her my prized jacket, which she gladly took from me and donned. Looked good on her.

"C'mon, the guys wanna see you, they're worried," I began walking to the elevator. "Sure you can be seen out of armour?"

"..." She looked down and tugged on my jacket. "I think so. Hold on a sec."

She began typing something on her suit repair dock. Something about gravity enhancements. Whatever that meant. She stepped onto the elevator with me and made awkward eye contact. I smirked as the elevator descended.

"Y'know, this is a good look for you. You should do it more," my smirk turned into a wide grin. "I'm sure we have a spare coat in your size."

"H-heh. Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it." She smirked.

However, before we descended, I gripped her shoulder and smiled softly. If she can make compromises, I can too. I let my true self out.

"Samus," I gently spoke. "Next time we run into Dark Samus, we don't have to be alone. We can kick her ass together."

"Falco...I…" she struggled to speak, an extremely grateful look in her eyes. We went down the lift together. "Thank you."

End of Chapter...