Disclaimer: As usual, I don't anything of the Nintendo characters, Nintendo, any Nintendo products that may be mentioned in this chapter. I am merely using the names, characters, and products to entertain, at the possibility of getting sued. Anyway, on to the story.
Chapter Four
Yoshi
I looked up at the bracket and frowned a bit. Peach and I defeated Pikachu and Jigglypuff. The problem was our next opponent was either going to be the Pichu and Mewtwo or Link and Samus. I sighed. It didn't matter whether or not who won that battle. We still had to face two tough opponents.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I noticed Captain Falcon smiling down at me.
"Good fight, Yoshi," the racer commented. I smiled.
"Yoshi just glad he and Peach won," I answered. I never did well in the two-on-two division. I usually reigned in the free-for-alls, winning my fair share of tournaments. Falcon's smile faded a bit.
"Worried about your next opponent?" he asked.
"Yes," I admitted. "A Yoshi think it doesn't matter whom it is. Samus and Link would want to beat Yoshi and Peach just so they can get to beat each other. But if Yoshi and Peach face Mewtwo and Pichu...." I trailed off. "Please tell Yoshi he's not crazy." Falcon frowned and nodded.
"You're not crazy. That little pint-sized power plant Pichu can give an opponent Hell, but Mewtwo.... That guy even scares me. And I'm a guy who participates in dangerous races one day and hunt down bounties the next day." I nodded and sighed. He than tapped my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. If you lose, just shrug it off. If you win, than consider yourself a tournament favorite." I smiled weakly. Tomorrow would determine who my opponent will be
Samus
It was the moment of truth. Fox, Falco, Link and I trained for twelve hours straight. Unlike some of the other Smashers, the four of us our used to long, sleepless periods of times, spanning from two days to even a month if necessary. All four of us walked down the hall. Already I could here the voice of today's announcers: Captain Falcon.
"Ladies and gentleman, we have a treat for you today. The bottom and top seeds of the tournament are going to go fight today. The first match is the moment of truth. Can Samus and Link work together against this Pokemon duo?" The crowd cheered. I shook my head and sighed. I don't whether the crowd was here to see us tear each other a part in the middle of the match, or to see if we could work together. As I pushed through the door, I saw the other Smashers sitting in their seats in their own private section, complete with the mini-bar, a huge plasma screen that shows our battles, and very comfortable seats.
"Good luck-a, Samus!" Mario called out.
"Give 'em Hell, Link!" Mr. Game Watch yelled.
"I bet three hundred rupees on Samus and Link," Young Link said. I looked towards the 'adult' link.
"I...can't believe I used to be that little punk," he muttered out.
"At least he's the only one willing to bet on us," I murmured. He raised his eyebrows, wondering what I was talking about. I raised the finger at the Smash Polls.
The Smash Polls are what always appears on the plasma in our private section, and the titan-sized screen that appears near the roof the stadium. They always show who is the favorite in the upcoming contest. The polls right now showed that ninety-seven of the audience who participated in the survey believed we are going to get our asses handed to us (Don't ask me how they participate in this poll. I never had the chance to find out). A scowl appeared across Link's face. I shrugged it off.
"So what's the game plan?" Falco asked.
"We make this match into two matches," I answered. Falco raised an eyebrow. "Link and I will keep Pichu and Mewtwo far away from each other. That way, they cannot work off of each other's advantages." We stepped into the arena after hearing the usual introductions. Link and I were staring daggers into Mewtwo and Pichu, and they stared back. I half-smiled, wondering to myself what was going to be the setting of the arenas. Maybe something in space.
"All right!" Captain Falcon yelled on the microphone. "The stipulations are simple. Each fighter gets three stocks." Stocks pretty much counts how many times a combatant must knock off an opponent. In this case, we must knock off our opponents three times.... Each. "And there will be no weapons and no time limit. Fighters ready?" I looked towards Link. According to the morning newspaper, the radio, and the morning news, this match is going to be 'The Moment Of Truth.' Link thought so as well. He was wearing a pure white tunic with the matching cap. He said it stood for faith.
The arena turned black, as usual. I blinked only once, and I found myself on the wing of some battle ship. I looked at the atmosphere. It was a light brown with a touch of rusty red. The atmosphere almost made me sick. It was obvious I was on Venom.
"Fighters! GO!" I immediately jumped straight up, landing on the upper left wing of Great Fox. I was now looking into the eyes of Mewtwo.
"Swell," I muttered to myself. I quickly jumped forward trying to hit the psychic (What else could I call him? Telekinetic seemed too long) with a left hook. Unfortunately, he disappeared the before I could reach him. Before I could even halt myself I felt a huge impact from behind me. I landed on my stomach, cursing myself out. But I laid there, playing 'possum. As expected I saw a shadow form around. It grew, telling someone was falling overhead. I rolled backward, leaving one of my own bombs. The psychic Pokemon landed on the bomb, which knocked him back for a loop. As quickly as possible, I launched a missile that blew him away. As he was taking time to teleport, I charged up my cannon, wanting to take one stock off of him as soon as possible. As soon as I was done, I lost sight of him.
Something told me to duck. As soon as possible, I rolled away, narrowly missing one of his Shadow Balls. Using the time he was preoccupied, I aimed my cannon and shot my trusting grappling hook. The plasma rope rapped around the psychic and pulled him in. Using my left hand, I send a flurry of iron-fists to his head. I than pulled my right arm forward, throwing him behind me. He teleported again, this time appearing right in front of me.
"I know it's a little early but.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I launched a huge blast, knocking him all the way off the stage. "I wonder how Link's doing." As if on cue, I saw Pichu fly in the same direction I sent Mewtwo not so long ago. He also exited the same way Mewtwo did. I waited, charging up my cannon once more. As soon as I was done, I noticed that it's been a while since I charged up my cannon without any interruption. I didn't like that very much. I suddenly rushed forward, dashing forward, seeing Link was getting jumped.
"Damn," I muttered under my breath. Pichu was bouncing up and down, kicking Link downward. That would be his fatal mistake. As soon as he jumped up again, I ran under him and jumped as well. I curled up into a ball as my suit lit up like a Christmas tree. Pichu was getting shocked many times. That's the screw attack for you. As he fell to the ground, I aimed my blaster at Mewtwo. My cannon spewed flames, which engulfed him. As he trying to shake the flames off of him, Link took a few swings with his sword. Mewtwo put his shield up. As Link was still trying to take swings, I was about to launch my cannon when I felt a thunderbolt hit me from above. I was knocked into the sky. I did one screw attack, hoping I could catch the bottom wing. I missed the wing slightly, falling out of the stage. I reappeared in the stadium. Seeing the platform that appeared in front of me, I quickly jumped on the platform. I floated above and sighed. As soon as I was back, Link was already launched from the stage.
Our plan wasn't falling through. We now had to fight two enemies on their own terms.
I jumped down, using my precious moments of temporary invincibility to drop three bombs on Mewtwo. While he was distracted, I jumped down and stomped Pichu to the ground. I turned around. Mewtwo was ready to blast me with another Shadow Ball when a bomb landed on the psychic. I looked up to see Link smiling. I shook my head, my pride keeping me from saying thank you. I quickly turned around and grabbed Pichu with my grappling hook and threw him away. I than turned around to see face Mewtwo. He blasted me away with a Shadow Ball. I was knocked back a small distance, but retaliated with well place missile. From behind me, I heard a screaming behind me, telling me we had a slight lead. Link ran away, out of sight and returning to our original plan. I was smacking around Mewtwo, taunting him by shooting him with small shots from my cannon. He was getting pissed. He suddenly turned around, smacking me with his tail. It was than the tide turn. Mewtwo hit me with a flurry of psychic bursts. I was getting overwhelmed, moving backward and backward until I was knocked off the stage.
I quickly ran to the platform, not even noticing Link appearing behind me. As soon as the platform transported me to the stage, I jumped off, focusing on Mewtwo. I dropped two bombs to distract him and than landed an aerial stomp squarely on his head. As soon as he stood up, I punched him with my right cannon. I tossed him away, evening the score. I looked forward, seeing Link taking care of Pichu. I smiled until I noticed a shadow form around me. On instinct, I jumped up, performing the Screw Attack. Unfortunately, I forgot that a fight that is returned to the stage, they are invincible for a few seconds. I was pounded into the ground. He hit me with yet another Shadow. Damn, he must LOVE that move. Everything was blur. All I remembered was getting launched from into the sky, catching a glimpse of Link breaking Pichu's shield. I desperately performed another screw attack, trying to get to the tip of one of those wings. I was on my last stock. My hand missed the ledge, but was wrapped around by a hook and chains. I looked up to see Link.
Link
I pulled Samus up, looking behind me. She looked up at me and sighed.
"I guess I owe you one!" she yelled as she started charging up her cannon. "If you want your dept paid, I suggest you duck!" I took her advice, lying down with my stomach to the ground. I felt the heat across my back. I than heard a huge impact. Pichu was behind me the whole time. Now he was sent out of the stage.
We both jumped up to the top wing. We both attacked him, not even giving him any room to breathe. Eventually, we knocked him away with a combination of my bomb and her missile.
"MATCH OVER!" Captain Falcon yelled on the microphone as we suddenly appeared in the stadium. "The winners: SAMUS ARAN AND LINK!" The crowd was shocked. It was pure silence. I frowned at first, but my frown completely faded when I heard half of the crowd cheer "LINK! LINK! LINK!" while the other half cheered "SAMUS! SAMUS! SAMUS!" It was bliss. I smiled as the both of us exited the arena.
In the hallway, we were silent. Samus decided to break the silence.
"Look, I'm thankful that you saved me from falling from the ledge but...why?" I raised an eyebrow, than sighed.
"I didn't want to face Mewtwo alone," I lied. There was some other reason, but I myself didn't know it.
"I guess we may win this thing after all," Samus said. I stopped in front of my door and sighed.
"Good night, Samus," I heard myself mutter out.
"What did you say?" Samus said, raising an eyebrow.
"I said get ready for the match tomorrow night, Samus."
"I will," she replied. That was a close one.
Zelda
Everyone was out training again. So I was alone in the cafeteria. I looked down at the cheese and potatoes. Eating in the cafeteria isn't the same when you're alone. I was about to leave when I saw Fox enter the room. He merely grabbed his food and seated himself in his usual...seat. I shook my head and grabbed my lunch, sitting in front of him. He was looking upward towards the sky, obviously thinking deeply about something.
"Hello, Fox," I said gently. He quickly turned his head. "Did I startle you?" He shook his head. "Congratulations on your victory over the Ice Climbers." He smiled, nodding in thanks.
"How come you never train with the others?" he asked.
"I never train at the same time they do." I gave a small smile and sighed. "That's probably a good thing after all. If I trained the same times they do, I wouldn't be able to talk to you as much." He smiled a bit, tilting his head to the side.
"Why me? There's like...twenty-something other Smashers that have more interesting stuff to say than me."
"Indeed," I heard myself say, voice dripping with sarcasm. "A young Pokemon that's not even past the age of ten is more crude than even your friend Falco is. Link isn't so bad, but he's from my world and I talk to him all the time. Falcon...well..." Fox nodded, getting the point. "If its not a bother, may I ask why you always pondering to yourself?" Fox sighed a bit.
"It's... Zelda, have you ever lost something, than thought about how your life would be now if you had that thing?" My eyebrows furrowed up as I pondered the question. I than shook my head. "See, when I was young, I lost something....something very important to me. And now I wonder if I would be happier if I had that thing. Know what I mean?"
"I understand, if that is what you mean," I answered. "But I never been through what you been through. Is it too much to tell me what is that 'thing.'?" He nodded slightly. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly. I looked into his eyes. "Fox, I'm telling you this for future reference. If you need someone to talk to, do not be afraid to come to me." Fox smiled. He placed one hand over my hand.
"Thanks," he said. I returned the smile.
"You are most welcome. Now let us eat. Our food is getting cold." We ate in silence at first. I than decided to ask Fox another question. "What can you tell me about your friend? Falco, that is." Fox looked up at me and smiled.
"Well, under his 'bad boy' attitude, his crude sense of humor, and his handful of bad habits...he's a pretty nice guy," he answered.
"How did you two meet?"
"I met him in high school. Some bullies were trying to jump me one day. I was trying desperately not to fight them. Luckily, Falco decided to step in." He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "After the encounter, Falco said I was first person he ever put his beak on the line for. Falco and I were friends and went through the Military Academy. Afterwards though, we went our separate ways for a while. He went through many different kind of jobs before we reunited and he became part of my team." I nodded, finding this intriguing.
"What are those many jobs?" Fox shook his head.
"I can't tell you. When he joined Star Fox, he had only two demands: I can't tell anyone about his past, and he had the right to keep it to himself. It's all in his contract."
"One last question. What is your job like? Being a mercenary?" He blinked a couple of times, pondering the question.
"Well...it's good, and it's bad. Every situation we go through has more than one way it could go wrong. Half of the times, when it does go wrong, we never see it coming. Needless to say, sometimes a mission is a cakewalk, and sometimes, it feels like someone is taking a cakewalk on our backs. And after it's done, we take our reward and leave, always ready for the next assignment. Sometimes the awards are enough for us to have some spending money in our pockets. But sometimes, it's only enough to pay the debt we owe.
"However, if there is a thing about my job I dislike the most is the lack of time to do certain things."
"Such as?" I said, almost automatically.
"Meeting Ms. Right." I raised my eyebrows a bit. "I'm rarely have time to for a relationship, so I had very few of them. Whenever I had one, they all dump me, complaining about how many times I had to go in a middle of a date, or how long its been since they last saw me. It's as if they didn't expect that from the famous Fox McCloud." I frowned at first, than smiled.
"You'll find the right person. Everyone always do, no matter what." Fox smiled weakly.
"If only I knew when. That way I can just mark it on my calendar so I can remember to look my best that day." Fox and I laughed at his joke.
Chapter Four
Yoshi
I looked up at the bracket and frowned a bit. Peach and I defeated Pikachu and Jigglypuff. The problem was our next opponent was either going to be the Pichu and Mewtwo or Link and Samus. I sighed. It didn't matter whether or not who won that battle. We still had to face two tough opponents.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I noticed Captain Falcon smiling down at me.
"Good fight, Yoshi," the racer commented. I smiled.
"Yoshi just glad he and Peach won," I answered. I never did well in the two-on-two division. I usually reigned in the free-for-alls, winning my fair share of tournaments. Falcon's smile faded a bit.
"Worried about your next opponent?" he asked.
"Yes," I admitted. "A Yoshi think it doesn't matter whom it is. Samus and Link would want to beat Yoshi and Peach just so they can get to beat each other. But if Yoshi and Peach face Mewtwo and Pichu...." I trailed off. "Please tell Yoshi he's not crazy." Falcon frowned and nodded.
"You're not crazy. That little pint-sized power plant Pichu can give an opponent Hell, but Mewtwo.... That guy even scares me. And I'm a guy who participates in dangerous races one day and hunt down bounties the next day." I nodded and sighed. He than tapped my shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. If you lose, just shrug it off. If you win, than consider yourself a tournament favorite." I smiled weakly. Tomorrow would determine who my opponent will be
Samus
It was the moment of truth. Fox, Falco, Link and I trained for twelve hours straight. Unlike some of the other Smashers, the four of us our used to long, sleepless periods of times, spanning from two days to even a month if necessary. All four of us walked down the hall. Already I could here the voice of today's announcers: Captain Falcon.
"Ladies and gentleman, we have a treat for you today. The bottom and top seeds of the tournament are going to go fight today. The first match is the moment of truth. Can Samus and Link work together against this Pokemon duo?" The crowd cheered. I shook my head and sighed. I don't whether the crowd was here to see us tear each other a part in the middle of the match, or to see if we could work together. As I pushed through the door, I saw the other Smashers sitting in their seats in their own private section, complete with the mini-bar, a huge plasma screen that shows our battles, and very comfortable seats.
"Good luck-a, Samus!" Mario called out.
"Give 'em Hell, Link!" Mr. Game Watch yelled.
"I bet three hundred rupees on Samus and Link," Young Link said. I looked towards the 'adult' link.
"I...can't believe I used to be that little punk," he muttered out.
"At least he's the only one willing to bet on us," I murmured. He raised his eyebrows, wondering what I was talking about. I raised the finger at the Smash Polls.
The Smash Polls are what always appears on the plasma in our private section, and the titan-sized screen that appears near the roof the stadium. They always show who is the favorite in the upcoming contest. The polls right now showed that ninety-seven of the audience who participated in the survey believed we are going to get our asses handed to us (Don't ask me how they participate in this poll. I never had the chance to find out). A scowl appeared across Link's face. I shrugged it off.
"So what's the game plan?" Falco asked.
"We make this match into two matches," I answered. Falco raised an eyebrow. "Link and I will keep Pichu and Mewtwo far away from each other. That way, they cannot work off of each other's advantages." We stepped into the arena after hearing the usual introductions. Link and I were staring daggers into Mewtwo and Pichu, and they stared back. I half-smiled, wondering to myself what was going to be the setting of the arenas. Maybe something in space.
"All right!" Captain Falcon yelled on the microphone. "The stipulations are simple. Each fighter gets three stocks." Stocks pretty much counts how many times a combatant must knock off an opponent. In this case, we must knock off our opponents three times.... Each. "And there will be no weapons and no time limit. Fighters ready?" I looked towards Link. According to the morning newspaper, the radio, and the morning news, this match is going to be 'The Moment Of Truth.' Link thought so as well. He was wearing a pure white tunic with the matching cap. He said it stood for faith.
The arena turned black, as usual. I blinked only once, and I found myself on the wing of some battle ship. I looked at the atmosphere. It was a light brown with a touch of rusty red. The atmosphere almost made me sick. It was obvious I was on Venom.
"Fighters! GO!" I immediately jumped straight up, landing on the upper left wing of Great Fox. I was now looking into the eyes of Mewtwo.
"Swell," I muttered to myself. I quickly jumped forward trying to hit the psychic (What else could I call him? Telekinetic seemed too long) with a left hook. Unfortunately, he disappeared the before I could reach him. Before I could even halt myself I felt a huge impact from behind me. I landed on my stomach, cursing myself out. But I laid there, playing 'possum. As expected I saw a shadow form around. It grew, telling someone was falling overhead. I rolled backward, leaving one of my own bombs. The psychic Pokemon landed on the bomb, which knocked him back for a loop. As quickly as possible, I launched a missile that blew him away. As he was taking time to teleport, I charged up my cannon, wanting to take one stock off of him as soon as possible. As soon as I was done, I lost sight of him.
Something told me to duck. As soon as possible, I rolled away, narrowly missing one of his Shadow Balls. Using the time he was preoccupied, I aimed my cannon and shot my trusting grappling hook. The plasma rope rapped around the psychic and pulled him in. Using my left hand, I send a flurry of iron-fists to his head. I than pulled my right arm forward, throwing him behind me. He teleported again, this time appearing right in front of me.
"I know it's a little early but.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I launched a huge blast, knocking him all the way off the stage. "I wonder how Link's doing." As if on cue, I saw Pichu fly in the same direction I sent Mewtwo not so long ago. He also exited the same way Mewtwo did. I waited, charging up my cannon once more. As soon as I was done, I noticed that it's been a while since I charged up my cannon without any interruption. I didn't like that very much. I suddenly rushed forward, dashing forward, seeing Link was getting jumped.
"Damn," I muttered under my breath. Pichu was bouncing up and down, kicking Link downward. That would be his fatal mistake. As soon as he jumped up again, I ran under him and jumped as well. I curled up into a ball as my suit lit up like a Christmas tree. Pichu was getting shocked many times. That's the screw attack for you. As he fell to the ground, I aimed my blaster at Mewtwo. My cannon spewed flames, which engulfed him. As he trying to shake the flames off of him, Link took a few swings with his sword. Mewtwo put his shield up. As Link was still trying to take swings, I was about to launch my cannon when I felt a thunderbolt hit me from above. I was knocked into the sky. I did one screw attack, hoping I could catch the bottom wing. I missed the wing slightly, falling out of the stage. I reappeared in the stadium. Seeing the platform that appeared in front of me, I quickly jumped on the platform. I floated above and sighed. As soon as I was back, Link was already launched from the stage.
Our plan wasn't falling through. We now had to fight two enemies on their own terms.
I jumped down, using my precious moments of temporary invincibility to drop three bombs on Mewtwo. While he was distracted, I jumped down and stomped Pichu to the ground. I turned around. Mewtwo was ready to blast me with another Shadow Ball when a bomb landed on the psychic. I looked up to see Link smiling. I shook my head, my pride keeping me from saying thank you. I quickly turned around and grabbed Pichu with my grappling hook and threw him away. I than turned around to see face Mewtwo. He blasted me away with a Shadow Ball. I was knocked back a small distance, but retaliated with well place missile. From behind me, I heard a screaming behind me, telling me we had a slight lead. Link ran away, out of sight and returning to our original plan. I was smacking around Mewtwo, taunting him by shooting him with small shots from my cannon. He was getting pissed. He suddenly turned around, smacking me with his tail. It was than the tide turn. Mewtwo hit me with a flurry of psychic bursts. I was getting overwhelmed, moving backward and backward until I was knocked off the stage.
I quickly ran to the platform, not even noticing Link appearing behind me. As soon as the platform transported me to the stage, I jumped off, focusing on Mewtwo. I dropped two bombs to distract him and than landed an aerial stomp squarely on his head. As soon as he stood up, I punched him with my right cannon. I tossed him away, evening the score. I looked forward, seeing Link taking care of Pichu. I smiled until I noticed a shadow form around me. On instinct, I jumped up, performing the Screw Attack. Unfortunately, I forgot that a fight that is returned to the stage, they are invincible for a few seconds. I was pounded into the ground. He hit me with yet another Shadow. Damn, he must LOVE that move. Everything was blur. All I remembered was getting launched from into the sky, catching a glimpse of Link breaking Pichu's shield. I desperately performed another screw attack, trying to get to the tip of one of those wings. I was on my last stock. My hand missed the ledge, but was wrapped around by a hook and chains. I looked up to see Link.
Link
I pulled Samus up, looking behind me. She looked up at me and sighed.
"I guess I owe you one!" she yelled as she started charging up her cannon. "If you want your dept paid, I suggest you duck!" I took her advice, lying down with my stomach to the ground. I felt the heat across my back. I than heard a huge impact. Pichu was behind me the whole time. Now he was sent out of the stage.
We both jumped up to the top wing. We both attacked him, not even giving him any room to breathe. Eventually, we knocked him away with a combination of my bomb and her missile.
"MATCH OVER!" Captain Falcon yelled on the microphone as we suddenly appeared in the stadium. "The winners: SAMUS ARAN AND LINK!" The crowd was shocked. It was pure silence. I frowned at first, but my frown completely faded when I heard half of the crowd cheer "LINK! LINK! LINK!" while the other half cheered "SAMUS! SAMUS! SAMUS!" It was bliss. I smiled as the both of us exited the arena.
In the hallway, we were silent. Samus decided to break the silence.
"Look, I'm thankful that you saved me from falling from the ledge but...why?" I raised an eyebrow, than sighed.
"I didn't want to face Mewtwo alone," I lied. There was some other reason, but I myself didn't know it.
"I guess we may win this thing after all," Samus said. I stopped in front of my door and sighed.
"Good night, Samus," I heard myself mutter out.
"What did you say?" Samus said, raising an eyebrow.
"I said get ready for the match tomorrow night, Samus."
"I will," she replied. That was a close one.
Zelda
Everyone was out training again. So I was alone in the cafeteria. I looked down at the cheese and potatoes. Eating in the cafeteria isn't the same when you're alone. I was about to leave when I saw Fox enter the room. He merely grabbed his food and seated himself in his usual...seat. I shook my head and grabbed my lunch, sitting in front of him. He was looking upward towards the sky, obviously thinking deeply about something.
"Hello, Fox," I said gently. He quickly turned his head. "Did I startle you?" He shook his head. "Congratulations on your victory over the Ice Climbers." He smiled, nodding in thanks.
"How come you never train with the others?" he asked.
"I never train at the same time they do." I gave a small smile and sighed. "That's probably a good thing after all. If I trained the same times they do, I wouldn't be able to talk to you as much." He smiled a bit, tilting his head to the side.
"Why me? There's like...twenty-something other Smashers that have more interesting stuff to say than me."
"Indeed," I heard myself say, voice dripping with sarcasm. "A young Pokemon that's not even past the age of ten is more crude than even your friend Falco is. Link isn't so bad, but he's from my world and I talk to him all the time. Falcon...well..." Fox nodded, getting the point. "If its not a bother, may I ask why you always pondering to yourself?" Fox sighed a bit.
"It's... Zelda, have you ever lost something, than thought about how your life would be now if you had that thing?" My eyebrows furrowed up as I pondered the question. I than shook my head. "See, when I was young, I lost something....something very important to me. And now I wonder if I would be happier if I had that thing. Know what I mean?"
"I understand, if that is what you mean," I answered. "But I never been through what you been through. Is it too much to tell me what is that 'thing.'?" He nodded slightly. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly. I looked into his eyes. "Fox, I'm telling you this for future reference. If you need someone to talk to, do not be afraid to come to me." Fox smiled. He placed one hand over my hand.
"Thanks," he said. I returned the smile.
"You are most welcome. Now let us eat. Our food is getting cold." We ate in silence at first. I than decided to ask Fox another question. "What can you tell me about your friend? Falco, that is." Fox looked up at me and smiled.
"Well, under his 'bad boy' attitude, his crude sense of humor, and his handful of bad habits...he's a pretty nice guy," he answered.
"How did you two meet?"
"I met him in high school. Some bullies were trying to jump me one day. I was trying desperately not to fight them. Luckily, Falco decided to step in." He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. "After the encounter, Falco said I was first person he ever put his beak on the line for. Falco and I were friends and went through the Military Academy. Afterwards though, we went our separate ways for a while. He went through many different kind of jobs before we reunited and he became part of my team." I nodded, finding this intriguing.
"What are those many jobs?" Fox shook his head.
"I can't tell you. When he joined Star Fox, he had only two demands: I can't tell anyone about his past, and he had the right to keep it to himself. It's all in his contract."
"One last question. What is your job like? Being a mercenary?" He blinked a couple of times, pondering the question.
"Well...it's good, and it's bad. Every situation we go through has more than one way it could go wrong. Half of the times, when it does go wrong, we never see it coming. Needless to say, sometimes a mission is a cakewalk, and sometimes, it feels like someone is taking a cakewalk on our backs. And after it's done, we take our reward and leave, always ready for the next assignment. Sometimes the awards are enough for us to have some spending money in our pockets. But sometimes, it's only enough to pay the debt we owe.
"However, if there is a thing about my job I dislike the most is the lack of time to do certain things."
"Such as?" I said, almost automatically.
"Meeting Ms. Right." I raised my eyebrows a bit. "I'm rarely have time to for a relationship, so I had very few of them. Whenever I had one, they all dump me, complaining about how many times I had to go in a middle of a date, or how long its been since they last saw me. It's as if they didn't expect that from the famous Fox McCloud." I frowned at first, than smiled.
"You'll find the right person. Everyone always do, no matter what." Fox smiled weakly.
"If only I knew when. That way I can just mark it on my calendar so I can remember to look my best that day." Fox and I laughed at his joke.