Personal Business

With the current time being 4:30 in afternoon, the day was quickly inching its way towards the early evening. Despite this, the Smash Mansion was still as active as ever. Matches were still being organized, facilities like the cafeteria, gym, and lounge area were still being used, and the official tournament staff were working to keep everything up and running under the direction of Master Hand.

As the tournament festivities continued onward at their usual pace, there was something going on within one of the dorm rooms. Specifically, the one that belonged to a certain avian space pilot. What was typically used as an area of rest for fighters to relax or sleep during their stay at the mansion had become a fierce battle ground as a heated duel between two rivals was taking place.

"I got yer number this time Fox!" shouted Falco with cocky resolve.

"It's not over yet Falco!"

Competitive energy was radiating in the air as both space animals gripped their controllers tightly while staring at the TV screen in front of them. The game in question was a flight simulator created by their teammate Slippy in which players engaged each other in virtual dogfights with the objective to be the last spacecraft active. It was something Fox and Falco played quite often in their downtime back home, with the added excuse they often made to Peppy claiming it was extra practice for space piloting.

Ever since the second tournament when Falco first got the invitation to attend, the avian would always bring the game console with him and set it up in his dorm room for situations like this. Because even though Fox and especially Falco were fond of fighting in real battles against actual people at the tournament, sometimes the two members of the Starfox crew just liked to veg out and enjoy playing their favorite game from time to time. This however, by no means stopped either of them from bringing their competitive spirit into it unfortunately.

The current game session had been going on for a couple hours now with Fox managing to score a few more wins over his teammate. This made this match all the more important as Falco was determined to even out the scores. Moreover was the fact that Falco was also slightly behind Fox in the tournament rankings as well, so the incentive he had to try and one up Fox in the game to compensate was stronger than it usually was.

Falco was aggressively tailing Fox's ship within the game trying to line up his shot. The room was filled with electricity, the static from the monitor practically sparking from it, with the sound of incessant clicking and clacking of plastic against he could land the hit, the match would be over.

…Except Falco flew his little digital ship pretty much exactly like he pilots his Arwing. Too close to the sun.

As Falco was about to press the trigger,Fox pulled a quick vertical summersault, positioning his ship behind Falco's and blasting him with a homing missile. Clinching victory yet again.

"AW, DAMNIT!" Falco shouted as he stood up and threw his controller against the screen in a fit of aggravation.

"Hey careful there Falco, you don't want to break your controller, especially since we didn't bring any spares with us." Fox responded slyly clearly amused at his teammates anger. Falco's short fuse often made it easy to tease him.

"After all, it is just a game. No need to get so worked up over it." Fox added as he stood up and stretched.

"SHUT UP FOX! Don't patronize me!" Falco replied glaring at fox.

This wasn't the first time Falco made an outburst over losing to Fox at this video game. Falco always had a track record of being a sore loser when it comes to anything competitive, and this was no exception. It didn't help that Fox would typically win a majority of the games they played, meaning that it was getting harder for Falco to back up his trash talk.

"Look at it this way Falco, at least you pilot your Arwing better in real life than you do in the game, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here now."

"WATCH IT! Don't tempt me or do you want to break out our ships from the mansion garage and dogfight for real?" Falco puffed up his feathers, bristling with a need for vengeance.

Ultimately both space pilots knew this was an empty threat as Master Hand had implemented a "no unauthorized flight" rule near or around mansion grounds. On top of this, Slippy wasn't here to repair their ships if either got damaged in a potential clash.

After weighing the options and making the obvious decision, Fox let out a huge yawn and simply said "Nah. I'm good."

Falco instantly deflated with a huff.

"Anyway, as fun as it is smoking you at video games, I think I'm gonna head down to the showers and afterwards wind down for the day. I have a match tomorrow, so I want to be well rested for it."

"Whatever." Falco muttered, not caring as he packed the game system up.

"Cheer up Falco, at least you've still got your winning personality."

Like a bolt of lightning, Falco grabbed a cushion and flung it at Fox. "Get the hell out of my room!"

With an effortless step to the door, Fox dodged the projectile waved to Falco and bid him a "Nighty niiiight!"

Making his way down the hallways, Fox couldn't help but notice how empty and quiet they were compared to the early morning and evening traffic when everyone would either be getting up to start the day or getting ready to turn in for the night.

There wasn't much in the way of décor either, at least in this part of the mansion anyway, just simple support beam structures with the smash emblem imprinted across the walls. The more stylized architecture was reserved for the great hall and other important rooms within the mansion. The afternoon had turned this cozy domicile into almost a labyrinth. Not that fox minded though, he had a keen sense of direction after all.

As Fox continued onward, he encountered a couple of doors to supply closets that were common around the mansion. One door was slightly ajar, leaving the hinges squeaking. Was it recently opened?

"Hm? It looks like some of the staff is doing some cleaning around here." Fox thought to himself, dismissing it quickly. But once he passed by the open door with his back turned, Fox stopped in his tracks. Something was off, His ear flickered a bit in response to a faint creaking sound.

Before Fox could react, the door to the supply closet was kicked wide open and a shadow jumped out of the room and dashed towards Fox at high speed.

In an instant, Fox was subdued as a hand gripped his canine-like nuzzle shut preventing him from shouting while a blade attached at the tip of a very familiar blaster was held close to his neck. It was immediately clear to Fox who the individual was.

"Hey there pup, how's it going?" Wolf spoke with a sinister sneer on his face.

Sharpening his gaze and without a second though, Fox instinctively tried to grab his blaster from its holster on his leg.

"DON'T even think about it. " Wolf growled as he moved the blade from the tip his blaster closer to Fox's neck, moments away from making contact. Now aware of his compromised position, Fox relented his guard.

"Y'know, now that I think about it, we really haven't had a proper conversation since this whole tournament began. What's say you and I have a little heart-to-heart chat somewhere private so nobody will bother us?" He grinned with clenched teeth. "Just to catch up."

Being heavily restrained and having no real choice in the matter, Fox silently complied. Wolf then slowly backed up with Fox still subdued in his grip, leading him a couple feet backwards to the to the supply closet he had just jumped out of. As Wolf slammed the door behind them, Fox could only curse himself that he wasn't more vigilant.

Without taking his eyes off Fox, Wolf locked the door behind them. Wolf then released his grip and shoved Fox against the metal shelving at the back of the supplies closet. The shelves rattled and shook in response. Before he could fall to the ground, Wolf quickly caught Fox by his shirt.

"Alright, now that's better."

"What the hell is this all about Wolf?" Fox shouted.

"Don't fucking pull that shit with me! You know damn well what this is about. I heard you had a little talk with Isabelle regarding me and I'd like to know a little more about that." Wolf barked.

Fox raised an eyebrow. This was the last thing he expected to be almost killed for. He calmly pulled himself up so that he was standing back on his feet again, still wary of the blade that could easily close the distance between him and Wolf. "A bit slow on the uptake Wolf. I had that conversation with her a little over a month ago."

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH PUP!" Wolf shouted as he pointed his blaster directly at Fox's head. Fox had had standoffs with Wolf before. Facing the end of blaster's barrel. This time was different.

"I wanna know where you get off badmouthing me to my teammates."

Every sentence wolf said seemed to send Fox into further confusion. Badmouthing? Teammates? Who was this person and what happened to Wolf O'Donnell?

"What's the big deal Wolf? I've called you worse things over the comms. The entire galaxy knows about your criminal history. Isn't being a lowlife your job? What's another multiverse to the great space pirate?"

"I'm the one asking the questions, understand? Now tell me why you did it!"

Fox just stood there in silence, but not out of hesitation or fear but rather defiance. His hardened stare seemed to pierce through Wolf's own glare as if he was making a statement of standing his ground against Wolf and would not be intimidated by him.

"ANSWER ME!" Wolf demanded.

"What do you expect me to say Wolf? I only did what I thought was right."

"And what exactly do you mean by that? You think you're justified in trying sabotage my standing in the tournament by spreading distrust among my teammates?"

"This has nothing to do with the tournament Wolf, I simply felt Isabelle's safety was in jeopardy and acted accordingly. I felt it was necessary to warn her about you."

"That so? I'd say you've got some nerve there pup!" Wolf sneered.

"OH DO I!?" Fox began to shout. "Because from my perspective I think it was a reasonable decision considering the way you have been acting since this tournament began. Assuming she told you, I went to her after I saw you walking to her room that one morning a while ago with that killer look on your face. You looked as if you were goi-"

"GOING TO WHAT? Harm her? You honestly think I'd be so low to do something like that?"

"Well, I mean, if the past two wars we've been in gives me any indication, it does make me think twice! We both know you aren't exactly the nicest guy around. The fact that you're holding me at gun point isn't helping your case either."

Wolf snarled impatiently and stuffed his blaster back into his holster.

"There. Happy?" Wolf said presenting his open palms in a mocking manner.

"Like a clam. That wasn't so hard was it?"

Wolf took a step forward, his eyes burning in the dim lit closet. Fox stood his ground and folded his arms.

"Answer me this Wolf, exactly how much does Isabelle really know about you and the things that you've done? I'm gonna assume you haven't told her much have you?"

Hearing these words caused Wolf to grit his with enough force to dent a lead pipe. His eyes and snout scrunched up in aggravation, more so than they had been before. Although he didn't want to admit it, what Fox was saying wasn't without merit. Wolf had deliberately withheld a lot of information about his past from Isabelle during their numerous conversations.

Being the ever-curious individuals that she was, Isabelle would often ask Wolf where he was from or what his family was like. And if she was feeling particularly brave, what exactly did his job as a mercenary consist of? When any of these topics came up Wolf would try to brush them off with simple and vague answers.

Where was he from? Just a distant planet of no real importance. His family? He's had no relatives for as long as he could remember. His livelihood as a mercenary? Contract work for a paycheck that wasn't guaranteed most of the time. And war? Forget about it. Isabelle could never understand. Why complicate things?

He pushed all of those dumb feelings down his gullet and focused all his attention back onto the rotten pup in front of him.

"The Truth is Wolf, I honestly don't know what to think about you anymore. Back during the Lylat wars when you were hired by Andross to help destroy the Cornerian military I thought you were nothing but a self-serving scumbag. The fact that you added a slimeball like Pigma to your team solely to antagonize me and Peppy over his betrayal of my father felt like a testament to that-"

Fox paused for a brief moment, holding a look of deep contemplation on his face.

"-But during the events of the Aparoid invasion not long after, you showed a completely different side of yourself I didn't think existed. You came to my rescue, aided me in fending off the Aparoid from Cornerian city, and even took part in taking them down for good."

"But after that, less than a year later when you showed up late and participated in the third smash tournament it was just more of the same arrogant attitude, only worse. You looked at me with killing intent and cursed out Master Hand when the match schedule didn't organize any matches between you and me. And then when the tournament ended you simply left without a word."

"I know we haven't seen each other too many times since then, but every time we've clashed in a fight it's always felt like it was fueled by a personal grudge. Like you're still trying to shoot me into the void of space. I don't understand you Wolf. You've always seemed to have it out for me, and I just don't know why."

Wolf surveyed Fox, his good eye darting up and down, trying to get a read on the situation. He squinted out of suspicion and then simply sneered at Fox. "You say some very strange stuff, pup. Getting all sentimental when cornered by an enemy is weird enough, but when your back is to the wall and the only thing you do is ask them why they hate you so much…Sometimes I wonder how you've lived this long being so naive ."

Wolf took a second to compose himself and then spoke very sternly.

"Okay lets first get one thing straight pup. I don't know where it is in the little head of yer's that you got the idea that after I helped you take out the Aparoids that somehow makes us friends. I told you back then and I will tell you again now, the temporary alliance that happened during the Aparoid invasion was just that: temporary. And it was only out of necessity to prevent those god-forsaken insects from infesting the Lylat system."

"I never said we were friends." Fox interjected

"Second!" Wolf continued.

"If we've gonna bring up the Aparoid invasion, let's talk about some things that actually matter. Like how you soaked up all the glory for the fall of the Aparoid master hive when I risked my neck to help take them out. Or just as importantly, how because of your little quest to find Pigma, Sargasso got ran-sacked by the Cornerian military in my absence.

"What the heck are you talking about Wolf? I had nothing to do with either of those things. I didn't claim sole victory against the Aparoids, it was a galaxy wide war front where everyone in the Lylat played their part in exterminating those parasites. And as far as your criminal hideout goes, I don't know what happened, but I can assure you I had no direct involvement in it. I have no authority within the Cornerian military to do such a thing."

"DON'T FUCKING GIVE ME THAT NONSENSE PUP!" Wolf interrupted, shouting at the top of his lungs. Out of pure impulse, he had pulled his blaster back out of its holster and aimed it straight at Fox's head with killing intent. In response, Fox discretely kept his hand hovering over his reflector, ready to activate it if necessary. Luckily Wolf was too blinded by rage to notice.

"I know damn well how close knit you are with that flea bag General Pepper. Ever since the Lylat wars you practically lick his boots any chance you get, so don't you fucking try and tell me you didn't have any hand in the Cornerian military storming my base after your little man hunt for Pigma." Wolf shot back.

"I don't know how much General Pepper must've paid you to scout out my territory, but it must have been a lot. How stupid do you think I felt when after I saved your hid twice over and you took tall the credit with everyone in the Lylat system praising your team's name and I return to Sargasso only to see it under lockdown with most of my underlings arrested or having already fled."

That day was one Wolf could never forget. The feeling of returning to the once familiar space station he thought of as a throne only to stop short once Cornerian military dispatchment starships came into view. The shame at having to take cover behind orbiting astroids to avoid detection by enemy forces as they surrounded his former headquarters and took his criminal comrades into custody.

"Since then me and my team have had to relocate elsewhere in order to evade capture. Even now, a couple years later I still haven't managed to rebuild my empire all because of YOU!"

Wolf needed to calm himself, least he would end up doing something he would regret. Unfortunately reopening this old wound that has festered for so long made it difficult to control himself. With his finger still on the trigger and his blaster still aimed at Fox, Wolf was in the perfect position to end this blood feud if he wanted to, and he really did.

Wolf had often thought about the day when his final clash with Fox McCloud would occur. Wondering how it would go down and if it would result in one or both of their deaths. Frankly the situation at hand wasn't how he imagined it would go.

One of their dogfights goes wrong. A loss of control over their ships ensuing a fatal crash. A blaster shot that was aimed a little too well. It was a daydream Wolf rarely indulged in, but with how close he was to it bringing it to reality at this very moment, it felt so tempting.

But no, not like this. As much as he wanted to repay Fox in kind for his perceived slights against him, Wolf knew this wasn't the way to defeat his rival. It had to be a grand standing victory in battle, and it had to be in front of an audience. This was after all, Wolf's main goal when he accepted the tournament invitation. Wolf sniffed and begrudgingly let the air slowly out of his nose as he relaxed his posture.

Noticing Wolf's slight change in disposition, Fox tried to speak up. "Wolf, I give you my word, I had no involvement with that. At the time I was only looking for Pigm-"

"ENOUGH!" Wolf interrupted yet again, tightening the grip on his blaster. "I don't want to hear any of your excuses. What good is your word to me considering you've spoke behind my back to Isabelle!"

And there it was.

Both of their eyes slowly widened in surprise. Like a sigh held in for too long, the animosity they felt toward each other faded away, instead being replaced with a feeling of awkward realization as Wolf tried to discreetly cover his mouth over what he just said. A response so obvious, so unbelievable, yet it would be the only thing that would let both of them leave the room alive.

Wolf holstered his blaster once more and thankfully that's where it remained for the duration of the conversation"I'll say this only once, leave Isabelle out of our unfinished business. She has nothing to do with any of this."

"Why do you care so much about what she thinks?" Fox said, still puzzled by this whole ordeal.

"I have my reasons" Wolf replied somberly, Now facing the closet door. He had turned away in embarrassment, unable to look his hated rival in the face anymore under the fear that the little runt might start to catch on to what Wolf himself refused to acknowledge.

And just like that as if a switch suddenly flipped in Fox's head, He froze in place as it donned on him. His stomach dropped. The possibility was just too absurd but…

"…Do you—?"

"Finish that sentence and I'll make sure the bucket and mop in the corner gets put to good use cleaning up your remains." Wolf snarled, turning his head ever so slightly to glare at Fox behind him.

"You better watch yourself pup, because the second we enter a solo match together I'm not showing any mercy. I'll bring you down in front of everyone and prove you are just a rookie who cruises by on beginner's luck."

"And we ain't friends. Remember that." Wolf coldly huffed as he opened the door and left.

As Wolf departed from the room, Fox simply stood there in contemplation as he held his head high and started at the ceiling, not really sure what to make of things. What caught Fox's interest more than anything else was Wolf's odd aversion of not wanting Isabelle to know too much about him considering how obsessed he usually is about maintaining a reputation. From Fox's perspective it was so strange to see Wolf seemingly care about what someone else thought of him beyond his intimidating persona. Did Wolf really value Isabelle's opinion of him that much?

Perhaps there was something more to this, Fox thought. That fact that Wolf reacted in disgust when accused of potentially harming Isabelle was another sign that his moral assessment of Wolf may not be accurate. Perhaps now more than ever, Fox was sure that despite his harsh words and claiming otherwise, Wolf indeed had some shred of goodness inside of him.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Closet door, Wolf let out an exhausted sign as he rubbed his temple.

I need a drink. Wolf thought.

The Smash Mansion Bar: a place where individuals of legal age can go to enjoy an alcoholic beverage at their leisure should they choose to.

This facility was added to the mansion after the third smash tournament upon request due the increasing number of individuals being present for the held event, be they competitor, assist, or general staff. Although Master Hand was against the idea at first, he none the less relented on the decision so long as it was regulated to acceptable standards.

To prevent any possible incidents from occurring, there were very strict rules put in place. For one, alcohol would only be served between 2pm and 6pm. Second, a strict three drinks-per-person per night. Third, the alcohol itself while being of good quality was rather low-grade, making it very difficult for anyone but lightweight individuals to get drunk. And finally, no children or teens below the age of twenty-one were allowed in. The last thing Master Hand needed was a lawsuit for allowing underage drinking.

In any case once Wolf had learned of the mansion's new addition, he had made a habit of going to and staying at the bar most nights just to wind down and have a couple beers. Drinking away his frustrations, that was something of a norm to Wolf.

Behind all this self-pity however, the bar itself simply reminded Wolf of his old headquarters Sargasso back when he used to drink regularly with his teammates and criminal underlings. In essence, it was perhaps the one place in the smash mansion that made Wolf feel somewhat at home.

Being a frequent costumer, Wolf sat in his usual place, up at the bar near the back counter and away from any of the tables spread out around the room. Unlike everyone else there, sitting together while gathered around monitors to watch matches, Wolf preferred to sit alone.

"Exactly how much does Isabelle really know about you and the things that you've done?"

As he sat there on his bar, trying in vain to get drunk off of his second drink, Wolf couldn't help but replay the conversation he had with Fox minutes prior in his mind. Being called out by that little runt made Wolf's blood boil, something that his current drink session wasn't able to fix. As the old saying goes, you can't find a solution to your problems at the bottom of a shot glass. Though that didn't stop Wolf from taking another swig.

As if on cue, Wolf heard a voice call out to him from behind.

"Well hey there! By any chance is this seat right beside you taken?" The somewhat low-gravelly voice was one Wolf knew fairly well, belonging to none other than the king of koopas, Bowser.

Wolf remained silent, not even looking up from his drink. He was in no mood to really talk with anyone. Hopefully Bowser would take the hint.

Unfortunately, he did not.

"I'll take your silence as a no." Bowser said cheerfully as he sat himself right down on the bar stool to Wolf's left, it took a moment or two for Bowser to get settled in his seat because of his large frame. He made sure to position himself at a reasonable distance so his arms wouldn't intrude in Wolf's personal space. Unsurprisingly however, this did not stop the tension beginning to form between the two of them, at least on Wolf's part.

Clearly annoyed at Bowser's apparent lack of ability to read the mood around him, Wolf just dropped his head slowly as stared at drink in his hand. His eye fixated on the last sliver of low-grade alcohol left in his glass, nowhere near enough to numb himself in order to put up with this.

What the hell does he want? Wolf thought to himself, continuing to avoid eye contact with the Koopa King. Thankful this was easy to do as Bowser (by sheer coincidence) was sitting on Wolf's blind side and could only see his eye patch.

Having been served the drink he just ordered and taking a good swig of it, Bowser let out a nice gentle breath of relief.

"Ahhh, nothing like a nice cold one at the end of the day to unwind, eh buddy?" The koopa spat out, trying to make small talk.

Wolf didn't respond.

"Hey come on now, what's with the silent treatment huh?" Bowser teasingly pressed further.

"Why are you here?" Wolf said sternly, not moving an inch from his position.

"To get a drink of course and have a friendly chat with a fellow smasher."

"And since when the hell did we become buddies?"

"Come on don't be like that. What are you still made about losing the team match earlier today? Look you guys put up a really good fight, there's no shame in that."

Wolf clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"You know I've been wondering. What's with this sour disposition lately huh? Where's that cocky smirk and the tough take no prisoners attitude you're better known for around here? When this tournament started you acted as if this was your own personal quest for glory, but now you just sulk around with a constant scowl on your face."

Clenching the glass tightly in his hand, Wolf slowly brought the drink up to his lips to finish it off before offering a fair warning.

Turning his head to finally face Bowser, Wolf Simply uttered "Do not push me. I'm not in the mood. I've been in more than my fair share of bar fights before and don't think I won't start one now."

Though Wolf's fur started to bristle up in a threatening show, Bowser was relatively unfazed. He had no intention of starting a brawl here with Wolf. Though he did reconsider his approach as to not push Wolf's buttons so hard.

"Duly noted, although you should lighten up a little bit. Being so wound up ain't good for ya."

"And maybe YOU shouldn't take so damn long at the coffee brewer!" Wolf spat back at him.

"Well what can I say, I like my coffee a certain way and it needs to be brewed to perfection. But honestly, I'm surprised you're still sore about that considering I don't usually see you in line for coffee pot anymore. Word is that you've started to wake up before most other people here."

Wolf froze slightly in posture, that oddly specific phrase got his attention. With the way Bowser spoke he sounded as if he knew something. Wolf didn't like where this was going.

"In fact, from what I understand you have a new friend you're having coffee with at the crack of dawn."

Wolf was beginning to get agitated again. This situation was turning into a repeat of what happened earlier with Fox with Wolf was reaching his breaking point. This just wasn't his day apparently.

Before anything else could be said, Wolf turned to face the Bowser armed with his trademark death glare and said, "Choose your next words carefully."

Bowser let out a modest laugh just loud enough to not drown out all the noise in the room. "GWA-HA-HA-HA, oh boy. If looks could kill I'd surely be a goner by now. No need to get on the defensive there."

"Enough, what's your reason for bringing any of this up?" Wolf demanded.

"Well, from what I can tell you've grown very smitten with that newcomer Isabelle as of late and I can bet you've probably had a lot of conflicting feelings about the situation, such as not wanting other people to know. I figured I could spare a few words to help you out."

Wolf's eye widened fear, quickly he turned around in his seat just enough to look around the rest of the bar making sure no one was paying any attention to the two of them.

"Keep it down would you!"

"See this is what I mean, what you're doing right now. You're unsure about how you feel about Isabelle and you're trying to hide it from other people."

What is it with people at this tournament not minding their own damn business? First Fox and now Bowser. Who else at this tournament was going try to stick their nose in his affairs?

"Listen, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Any affection you think I have for her is simply a delusion on your part. She's a teammate and nothing more!"

"You can deny it all you want, and you can probably fool most people here with that indifferent tough guy act, but you can't fool me as someone whose been in your shoes before. It's pretty obvious what is happening?"

"Oh yeah? and what makes you such an expert on Romance? From what I heard you got stiffed for the 80th time by that princess you always pine after. The plumber crashed your staged wedding and she ditched you."

Although taken aback by the rather harsh rebuttal, Bowser uncharacteristically took it in stride and didn't lose his temper. Perhaps it was because he expected something like this to be said at some point.

"Well, I won't say that you're wrong. But let's just say that I've had a change of heart since then." Bowser replied calmly.

"Here let me explain a little further to give you some context. This will make us even" Bowser continued as he gestured the bartender for another drink.

"So for starters, what you said was true. About a year ago, before this tournament started, Mario did indeed crash the wedding that I had planned for Peach and me. Thinking back, so much time, effort, and money went down the drain trying to organize and steal everything necessary so that the wedding would be as perfect as it could possibly be. Expensive wedding dress and tuxedo, a finely crafted wedding ring, a delicious Stew for the reception, and I even reserved the only wedding cathedral located on the MOON!"

Wolf rolled his eye in annoyance as Bowser began to prattle on and on about every intricate detail of the ceremony. It was pretty clear that Bowser was still sour about having such a lavish event he planned out go south so quickly. The thing is that Wolf didn't ask for the Koopa's life story, if he had a point to make Wolf wanted him to get it over with.

"-Anyway" Bowser continued on. "what really got me was what happened afterwards. As I saw Mario and Peach fly off into the horizon on his stupid hat shaped ship, being left in the mostly empty plains of the moon's surface, I felt my heart sank lower than it ever had before. I genuinely tried to give peach everything I could to make her happy, to finally show her that we could have a great life together. But I guess I was just fooling myself.

This time it was Bowser's turn to sink his head lower and stare at the bottom of his now half empty glass of alcohol.

"I remember sitting down on a rock with my head buried in my hands…and that's when it happened. I met him."

Wolf was starting to get a little curious now, who the hell could he be talking about?

"How or why he was on the moon at the time I wasn't sure, though he told me it was a new kind of side business he was trying to start up. I can remember it so clearly, He looked so dorky floating there with his back mounted suitcase full of balloons and goofy bowtie over his usual overalls."

"Wait is he talking about-" Wolf thought to himself.

"For whatever reason, despite any prior actions I took against him or Mario or Peach or the Mushroom Kingdom in general in the past, he was still compassionate enough to ask if I was okay. After that, we spent who knows how long sitting there talking to one another, enjoying each other's company."

Bowser looked up from his glass at the celling with a rather happy look on his face.

"Since then, things haven't really been the same. I gave up on trying to win over Peach and any ploy I stake against the mushroom kingdom is now more for shown than anything."

Bowser then guzzled down the last bit of his drink in enjoyment.

"I'll admit, things have gotten a little complicated since the tournament started. We haven't gone public so we're kind of in the same boat as you and Isabelle. Frankly I think he's just worried what Mario would think so for the moment we're just keeping things rather low key."

"SHUT UP!" Wolf Barked. "Am I really supposed to believe any of this?"

"Well, again it's complicated. As far as I know, they had an on again off again relationship, but they broke it off on good terms a while ago. But that's not the point, I'm telling you this to let you know you're not the only one who has recently become involved in relationship you want to keep secret."

"Stop using that word dammit!" Wolf interjected.

"Look, if you truly do want to keep it a secret you might want to do a better job of hiding it, is what I'm getting at. You're honestly not being that discrete about how you interact with her around other people, and someone is bound to notice that. For instance, when you gave Isabelle your coat to keep her warm in that fight on icicle mountain a while ago is what first tipped me off."

Wolf slammed his head on the bar surface in frustration. "People just won't let that one fucking kind gesture go will they?" Wolf thought to himself.

Bowser reached over to give Wolf a consolatory pat on that back.

His fur bristled up like spikes coming up from a dungeon floor. Bowser calming relented seeing this.

"Hey, did you two mention Isabelle just now?" A sudden voice spoke up.

Filled with a seemingly unimaginable amount of anxiety upon hearing those words as if his fight or flight response was activated, Wolf shot straight up and turned to see who it was. It was none other than Ken Masters.

Wolf's heart stopped for a second. Did Ken overhear them?

"...Yeah, why?" Wolf asked trying to sound as emotionally detached as possible.

"Oh I just didn't know if you were talking about what was going on right now, she's currently in a match." Ken said pointing behind him to one of the tv screens on the wall.

"Wait what? Isabelle isn't scheduled for any more matches today. Our team match was supposed to be the last one." Wolf asked confused as he looked over to the battle being televised.

Focusing intensely on the one TV screen displaying the match, Wolf could see that the fight was taking place within a replica of the Castle nesting in the Reset Bomb Forrest of Pit and Palutena's home world. Currently Dark Pit and King K. Rool were engaged in an odd game of cat and mouse as Dark Pit was keeping his distance in the air while trying to pierce the crocodile's sturdy Belly armor with his arrows. In retaliation, K. Rool was trying to knock down the winged angle by throwing sizable chunks of stone rumble that were lying around.

Amongst all the dangerous projectiles being thrown around, Wolf managed to spot Isabelle practically hugging the wall of the castle way off in the corner. Her bright yellow fur contrasted heavily with the dark cobblestone surrounding her making Isabelle hard to miss to any onlooker and an easy target to any potential enemies on the battlefield. It was obvious Isabelle was doing her best to remain out of danger.

"Apparently, she was a last-minute replacement." Ken explained.

"That psychic boy Ness had to be dropped from the match listing and taken to the infirmary. It seems he overextended his pyrokinetic abilities using PK Fire too much and now his fingertips are severely burned"

"Replacement? Is this what she had to go see Master Hand about earlier?" Wolf pondered.

This was bad. Being a Free-for-All match with none of her teammates participating, Isabelle was all on her own. Wolf couldn't jump in and protect her like usual if she got caught up in fighting. From Isabelle's perspective, she was knee deep in a war zone and all she could to was remain out of sight of the other combatants.

On the other side of the television screen, as the volley of arrows and rocks flew overhead, Isabelle only had one thought:

What have I gotten myself myself into?

Author's Notes: Okay so first thing's first, addressing the long hiatus between this chapter and the last one. Long story short and without getting personal, a lot of things have changed in the last 2 years since I last uploaded and I just don't have the time and energy to write the fic like I used to. This isn't a declaration that the fic is straight up abandoned, but rather a forewarning that I don't have a release schedule for it and that I can't guarantee if and when new chapters come out.

On to the chapter itself, I know a lot of you were expecting a fight between Wolf and Fox. Rest assured that will happen at a later part in the story, just not now. I have something big planned for it, so I hope you all aren't too disappointed. Instead, I wanted to use this chapter to try and piece together a somewhat functional continuity between the Starfox games up until Assault and Smash as well as establish Wolf's newly ignited vendetta against Fox. How Well I did with this is up to you the readers.

Regarding the not so subtle mention of the Bowser x Luigi ship, I wrote that in for my Friend who provides the chapter illustrations and helps proof read my chapter rough drafts. He's a huge fan of the ship and I figured it would be a nice little thank you.

As for what happens now, I'm not sure. I still have all my notes written down for future chapters and the grander plot so I guess we'll see. At the very least I'm very glad people have enjoyed the fic up until now and I'm sorry you all had to wait so long for this chapter to come out.

Until next time.