Authors note:

I took the reviews under consideration and changed up my writing style with the speech between characters so it's easier to understand. I have also done this to the previous chapter, but there's nothing else added to the story.

Chapter 2: Release

The sun arose in the morning, casting an orange glow over Corneria. A lone Wolf, inside his 'home' awoke. He groggily looked to his clock on the bed stand, but the numbers were too blurred. He focused his eyes on the green numbers and it read. 7:34. He groaned, realising he had little time to get ready for what he was supposed to do today. His alarm didn't go off, again. He was starting to get infuriated by the clock not functioning properly.

He quickly got up from his bed and went into the shower. He had little time to waste, or else he would be late. He left the shower 5 minutes later and brushed his teeth haphazardly, rushing out of the bathroom. He looked into his closet to find clothes to wear, noticing his mercenary suit, spikes adorning the leather materials. He chose to wear something more casual, he wouldn't want to stick out in public.

He noticed his eye patch located next to his clock, and quickly stuffed it into his pocket. A light chuckle sounded from the lupine. 'Oh, if only they knew'. Contrary to popular belief, Wolf O'Donnell actually had two functioning eyes, even if one of them was not as good as the other and scarred. He had his reasons for using the eye patch, and later for his cybernetic eye patch. He rid of the classic eye patch but continued the use of the cybernetic eye patch, as it had several bonuses over using his actual eye, but they took that away from him.

He sighed, looking at the clock again. 7:46. 'Guess now is as good of a time as any' he thought as he began his journey. He never bothered to put on his eye patch, it would just make him look out of place and intimidating to the public, he didn't want this.

As he walked towards the centre of the city, he noticed the park to his right. The sun glistened magnificently on the ponds surface, casting off orange hues of light. He marveled at the sight for a while, before he mentally scolded himself. He couldn't be like this in public. He quickly hurried off to the main military building.

He looked up at the building, dwarfing him in size. The walls of the building were white, casting off the light from the sun, glowing brightly. Before entering the building, he put on his eye patch. Now that he wasn't going to be in public, he wasn't bothered about others seeing him wearing it. He walked into the building and noticed the room encompassed him. It was a large dome shaped room, with a desk at the end. Above the desk there was a large clock, showing the time to be 8:04. They had said to meet at 8 o'clock, but they could wait. It's not like they had anything else to do urgently. Ever since the Aparoid invasion, interplanetary conflict died off. Only few people were actually needed, mainly for pirates.

He walked up to the desk to see a cheery husky looking directly at him. She was shorter than Wolf, but she was no means small. She was around 1 to 2 inches shorter than him, more including his mohawk. "Excuse me miss, can you please tell me where General Peppers office is? I don't have a faintest clue of where to go" Wolf asked politely. It seemed strange for him to ask politely, but he would just have to get used to it.

"Sure can. Just take the elevator on the left wing to the fourth floor. After, it should be the third office on your right. Office 132, just in case you forget your way" she replied ecstatically. She wasn't too familiar with interactions with others, since the military was barely used too much any more, but she was still full of energy.

"Thank you" Wolf said.

"No problem." She winked as he started to walk off.

The elevator ascended quickly, catching Wolf by surprise. He got to the fourth floor and looked for Office 132. He knocked on the door and a voice called out from within. "Come on in".

It had been a week now since the fight with Star Wolf happened. Fox left the hospital 2 days later, and was now living in his house, or his old house, where he lived with his parents. He didn't feel like going to his current house, it felt cold and alone, so distant from what a home should actually be. He felt that all he needed was some effort, making it more homely, but that required too much effort and he would still feel alone. If he had someone to live with, he would gladly live there, but he was in no position to do so.

He left his house around midday with the intent to go to the hospital. He wanted to visit Falco again, hoping that his condition was better, or getting there. He didn't like thinking about what happened, as it made him annoyed. He knew that his team made the right choice by evacuating, but he couldn't help but feel angry.

He walked in the main block and walked up to the counter. The receptionist seemed busy, not really looking for anybody who wanted to speak to her. He looked at her, amazed by how she didn't notice him. "Hello?" he asked. The receptionist quickly looked up and noticed him, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry about that, what can I help you with?" she asked in a formal tone.

"Could you please tell me where the room for Falco Lombardi is?" he questioned. He hadn't actually visited Falco yet, for many reasons. One being his fear, his fear that his condition was too severe and he wouldn't get better. Another one being his own condition, he had been resting at home, recovering from his own crash.

"And who is this regarding?" her voice never changed from her formal, yet friendly tone, even if it sounded distant.

"Fox McCloud." he stated his name clearly.

"The Fox Mccloud? Sorry, I didn't notice. He's down on the right corridor in room 14." She clearly didn't recognise him out of his mercenary gear.

He began his journey down the corridor when he ran into Krystal. Fox smiled and she smiled back, but he could tell it wasn't a good smile. It seemed more of a sad smile. "Hey Krystal, were you just in with Falco?" His facial expression changed, looking more fearful of Falco's condition.

"Yeah, just went in quickly. He's still not awake yet unfortunately." she informed him. He could see it in her eyes that she still felt guilty about leaving them.

"Oh, okay... I just came to visit him also, see how he's doing but..." he trailed off.

"Well, I'm sure he will be fine, he just needs to take his time and recover," she said "but, after you've visited him, would you like to go out for some coffee or food?" she asked. Her face seemed hopeful, and Fox felt bad for what he was about to say.

"Sorry Krystal, I'm really busy, this was just going to be a quick visit as I have a lot to do..."he said, as her face drooped slightly. "Maybe some other time, okay?" he quickly added to not make her feel so bad

"Hm... That's okay. I guess I'll be going now. Goodbye." She quickly walked off.

"See ya." he replied.

He couldn't help but feel bad about Krystal. He knew she liked him, and felt bad when he denied her advancements. He even liked her at a time, like the first time he saw her on Sauria. There was no denying she was beautiful, and unique too. Who could say they had seen a blue vixen before? But after he talked to her, they seemed more like friends than lovers. Mostly because she wanted to join the team after her rescue, and Fox obliged. He felt he had to look after her, as all of the other people she knew were gone.

After she joined the team, he realised that being in a relationship wasn't the best idea. Mercenary work wasn't the best for relationships, mainly because if they were together, he would be too scared for her. He couldn't live with himself if she had died or gotten injured, and he would obviously kick her off the team, just to keep her safe. He knew that would be a selfish decision on his part, so he tried to avoid her trying to get them in a relationship. This team was her life, and he couldn't take that away from her. After being with her for so long, he felt that she was like a sister he never had, and he didn't want to ruin it.

And if they ever did break up, that would create a large amount of distrust and anger between them. Doing this seemed like the safest option. At least to him, but he didn't feel okay with it.

As he opened the door to Falco's room, he saw a curtain blocking him from his view. He silently closed the door and approached the bed. A beeping noise slowly got louder and louder, until he opened the curtains. Fox's jaw dropped open, not knowing it would actually be this bad. Both of Falco's legs were bandaged greatly, and his left wing was in a cast. His beak was broken and his head bruised.

Fox quickly left the room and rested his back on the door. His heart was pounding, head spinning. He couldn't help but feel guilty about this, looking back on the battle and seeing if there was anything he could have done which would have prevented this. If he had focused Leon, he wouldn't have shot down Falco. If he had told the team to fall back when they were in this critical state, he wouldn't be in this state. He knew Falco's ship was damaged greatly, but Falco insisted he was fine. He should have thought rationally, told Falco that he wouldn't be fine and that he had to get out, but he didn't. And now, he was comatose, having no knowledge of what was happening on the outside.

He mentally scolded himself for thinking this way. What happened had happened and there is nothing he could do about it now, so he had to stop dwelling on it. Fox slowly walked away from the room and towards the exit of the hospital. The receptionist however, noticed that he was acting strangely. "Excuse me, Fox. Are you okay? You don't look too good."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just need a bit of air is all." he lied through his teeth. He didn't feel fine at all. He wasn't sure what he was feeling; concern, guilt, fear? He couldn't tell, but he did know how it was affecting him. His breathing rate had increased and he was shaking slightly.

"Hm... Alright, have a good day now." She didn't look convinced in the slightest, but allowed him to go anyway. As he left the building, he noticed a bench to the side. He seated himself next to an old, brown Labrador. He also noticed his strange behaviour, but instead of asking him what was wrong he just walked off.

'Jeez, what's wrong with him?' the canine thought as he walked away. Fox didn't seem phased in the slightest, just stared forward into the road, watching the cars go by, until his heart rate calmed down.

"Welcome Wolf. How are you finding your time out of jail?" Pepper introduced. He sat behind his desk, where two monitors were stationed. He surprisingly seemed pleased to see Wolf. This made Wolf sceptical of Pepper's motives.

"At least I don't have to wake up to people screaming their heads off or banging on the bars." He shrugged. He had no idea why Pepper even called him to the meeting, and at the time Pepper was being civil so he should too.

"Well that's good. So, have you heard the news about Star Fox?" he questioned.

'So that's why he wanted to meet.'. "News?" Wolf had no idea what had been happening outside of the jail so this was information, possibly for his benefit.

"Well, it turns out they had a run-in with your team above Fichina an-"

"Old team." Wolf quickly cut off.

"Right, as I was saying, Falco Lombardi crashed into Fichina and is fatally wounded, comatose even. Their team is lacking in pilots and since you finally got pardoned for your crimes, I was wondering if you would want to join their team." Pepper finished. Wolf was taken aback, Pepper wanted him to join Star Fox? How preposterous.

"Wait wait, hold on a second. Did you just say you want me to work for Star Fox? Under the command of Fox? Do you know how stupid that sounds?" Even if Pepper thought he should join Star Fox, that wouldn't change the fact that Fox certainly wouldn't. He was pretty sure that Fox still hated him, and for good reason. "I hardly doubt that Fox would want to work with somebody who he thinks killed his dad." He added.

"Thinks?" Pepper seemed confused at this. Everybody thought Wolf had killed him and for good reason. Even Wolf took responsibility when asked, but now?

"Oh come on. You think somebody like me, a novice at the time, could take him down? He was the greatest pilot in the system, I stood no chance. Pigma did everything. James was so distracted on fighting Andross' forces that he would have never seen that defective swine betray him until too late". Wolf kept his face clear of emotion, not giving away anything to Pepper.

"So, why did you even take responsibility? That makes no sense"

"I have my reasons." Wolf said lowly.

"Anyway, the offer is open. It'll save you from going into a menial job living on minimum pay, when you could be paid much more for your mastery in piloting." Pepper added. Wolf cringed. Pay. Money. That was one of the biggest problems in his entire life. It reminded of the things he would do, just to get paid a miniscule amount of money. Steal from shops, assault civilians, working for Andross... He could never get over that, the biggest mistake in his life.

"Fine. I'll tell you when I have made up my mind on the matter. Goodbye." He quickly walked out of the room into the long corridor. He placed his hand on his head and groaned. Only two days ago, his life was fine. No complications. But now, he had to either choose whether he would work for his rival's team or not. Thinking back, he slightly wished he was still in jail. It was simple, and Wolf liked simple.

Four years ago:

"Wolf O'Donnell is hereby sentenced to 21 years in Corneria State Prison, for the crimes of working for Andross, thievery and murder." The Judges gavel slammed into the desk, surprising Wolf. The knowledge of this arrangement was hidden from the public, as requested by Wolf. He handed himself in to them, knowing he would be sentenced to prison, possibly for life. He wanted it a secret however, so it didn't destroy his 'image'. If people knew he was in jail, they would think of him as weak for being caught by the Cornerian justice system.

'21 years? That's going a little easy...' He wondered as he was guided off outside by two guards. The bus outside was cold and monochrome, unwelcoming to all. His hands were cuffed and he was guided onto the bus. The journey was long and uneventful, and he felt strangely subdued as the bus rode onward. He was the only one on the bus, so he had no one to talk to, alone with his thoughts. He rested in his seat and drifted off into slumber.

"Get up." A guard nudged him with his arm. His limbs were stiff, and as he arose he stretched his body. Looking at the jail from the front made it look far more intimidating than he originally thought. Prior to this, he had only seen it from an aerial view. From above, it didn't look no where near as big as it currently did. Wolf was pushed forwards by an impatient guard, and he continued moving.

Many of the prisoners inside looked old, angry, scarred. Some tried to lash out but were quickly subdued by the guards.

"Here." A cell room opened to the right of him, and the inside of the room was foul. A bed with stained sheets was placed in the corner. In the corner opposite the bed was his toilet. At least, one could call it a toilet. To him, it looked like more of a bucket than a toilet. That was all inside the room, making it empty.

"Dinner is about to end soon, I suggest you make it to the cafeteria before it closes unless you want to starve. It's just at the end of this corridor." The guard stated as he walked the opposite direction. Wolf slowly walked down the corridor and noticed the size of the room. It was a grand room, with rows and rows of benches. Hundreds of convicts sat on these benches, eating the mush that could hardly be called food.

As he made his way to the food, a stubby bulldog stood up and pushed him to the side, almost knocking him over. "Hey, O'Donnell. I knew a piece of scum like you would end up in in here" he said as he swung his fist at Wolf. Wolf didn't even attempt to dodge, just took the hit to his left arm. The guards in the room raised their heads, ready to stop a conflict if it got to that stage.

"That all you gonna do to me?" Wolf said as he looked unaffected by the hit.

"You little piece of shit!" He shouted as he threw another punch. This time, Wolf dodged nimbly too the side of his fist. The bulldog threw his weight into the punch, leaving him vulnerable to attack. Wolf fiercely struck him in the side, knocking him to the floor, out cold. The guards watching quickly ran at Wolf and detained him.

He was lead into the wardens office and thrown in, as the guards stood by at the door. "O'Donnell, I know he started that but there was no need for you to retaliate. We could have sorted him out and penalised him instead." The warden was a large rottweiler, looking intimidating to most. But Wolf O'Donnell, was not most

"So what? That shit had it coming to him." He said coolly, disinterested in what the warden had to say.

"Listen here, if you keep acting this way, your time here will be a living nightmare. If you want solitary confinement, keep acting this way. We can always prolong your stay here." He said menacingly.

"Fine... Have it your way. But if this happens again, don't expect me to sit down and take it". He stared at the warden, as if trying to intimidate him, but it had no effect. The warden had nerves of steel, trained to not show any fear.

"Good. Now get out of here!" The guards grabbed him violently and pulled him out of the room.

"Get to your cell O'Donnell. If we see you out of your cell, you don't want to know what the consequences will be." The guards pushed him forward and left him to his own devices. Wolf arrived at his cell and laid down on his bed. 'This ought to be interesting'. He thought back on the incident and actually seemed sad. Of all the emotions Wolf could have experienced, he felt sadness. He would never show his feelings to others, and for good reason. If people knew that the famed 'Lord O'Donnell' felt sad about things, they would flip. 'Hm, I guess some things never change...' he sighed as tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

Throughout his life, Wolf O'Donnell was reviled greatly. He had never actually experienced love in any way, not even through his parents. His mother died shortly after his birth and his dad fell into a terrible state of depression. Wolf was often abused by his alcoholic father, as he blamed him for losing his wife. This lack of love left a hole in Wolf, always emerging after something like that happened. He steeled his nerves and closed his eyes. He wouldn't be caught dead crying over something so small, and if it was on camera it would be even worse. He slowly drifted off into sleep.

Four days ago:

Wolf opened his eyes slowly, unknowing of what was about to occur today. A loud banging emanated from the bars from his cells, as a guard rang his baton across them. "Get up O'Donnell, the warden wants to speak to you"

Over the years, nothing happened to Wolf. Nobody ever wanted to start a fight with him after what he did on the first day. The stubby bulldog, now known to him as 'Big Bob', was apparently one of the strongest and most feared of the rest of the prison. After they saw what Wolf did to him in one punch, they were all terrified of him, which was fine by him. It meant no trouble.

He opened the door to the wardens office and looked the warden in the eyes. "You wanted to see me? What an honour." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

"Sit down and shut up O'Donnell. I called you in here to tell you that you have been officially released from jail." Wolf's eyes widened drastically.

"Wait what? I thought I was supposed to be in here for 21 years, it's only been 4. What kind of nonsense is this?" he almost shouted. He had no idea why he was being let off so easy, why would he be? "Why am I being released?"

"Well, it turns out you have been a lucky man, Mr O'Donnell. Your behaviour in the jail has been perfect after the first day. Not only that, but General Pepper also requested for you to be set free. Consider yourself lucky, not everybody has the benefit of leaving early." He was getting impatient with being in the room with him.

'Old salt and Pepper wants me out of jail? I don't even know what I've done to make him want me out...'. He mulled over this thought until he was brought out of his trance.

"Well, that's it O'Donnell. Time for you to go. I'll have the guards guide you out of the jail and from there, you're a free man." He said as he turned back to his computer. The guards from behind opened the door and walked through the jail. He followed slowly, getting shouted at by the guards for being so slow, so he sped up.

After getting outside, he had no idea what to do. He wasn't accustomed to living under the law, and he didn't know where he was supposed to go. He remembered that his parents had a house in the city, which he believed now belonged to his sister. He had no idea where it was, but he just walked onward, letting his feet guide him.

End note:

The characters may seem a bit OOC compared to what they are usually like in the games, but I feel like it will be easier to develop their character better if they act like this. Sorry if it's a bit off putting. See you next time.