Here's to us – here's to love
All the times that we fucked up
Here's to you – fill the glass
'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass
So let's give 'em hell – wish everybody well
Here's to us… Here's to us…

*Halestorm – Here's To Us*


Great Fox

"You want another, James?" Wallace asked, holding up a large glass bottle. James nodded with a smile and trotted up to the bar counter in the largest break room aboard the Great Fox.

"Hell yeah," he barked, handing the feline his glass. "We got one hell of a victory today. You guys have earned this celebration!"

The fifteen or so soldiers that were also in the room howled and cheered in acknowledgement. After James had downed another shot, he rapped his claws on the glass to get the room's attention.

"Alright guys, this war is far from over," James started as he climbed up onto the table in the center of the room. "We've still got a lot of ground to cover, and the competition is only going to get worse. I know for a fact that each and every one of you have the talent and the experience to make this war turn out in our favor, so I don't have any worries at all."

After a momentary silence, James cracked his knuckles and lifted the glass up high. "We've been given a day off from combat tomorrow, so this is your time to celebrate. I can't thank you guys enough for the help you've given me in reclaiming Fox, so this is for you! You guys earned this celebration, and I don't want to see it go to waste!"

Everyone launched a chorus of howls and barks as they pounded one another's glasses against each other's. James climbed down from the coffee table, then instantly found himself staring at the tall blue avian.

"You're one hell of a leader, James," Riley chuckled, swirling his drink in his glass. "You managed to save your kit without endangering anyone else. That's impressive."

"Almost," James responded, lowering his ears. "Remember Sarah? She was my first causality, and it had to be her of all my troops. Fox always told me how much he liked her every time he saw her at base. Granted, Fox was a bit younger that she was, but he still really liked her. Honestly, my heart split when I saw Fox's face after I told him what happened to her."

Riley nodded and took a quick sip. "I know buddy, I know," he said, consoling him calmly. "It won't be the end of his love life, I'm sure. He'll find another. I know it's unfortunate that it had to happen so soon, but it's no different than you. You've got to put the past behind you if you want to succeed."

James nodded, then before he could reply Riley wrapped his wing around him. "See what happened when you put Vixy's passing behind you? You've developed into a great leader; probably one greater than Pepper himself. If you keep this up, you'll be the one to succeed him when he steps down. I know you will."

James smiled, then managed to spin around and one-arm-hugged the avian. "Thanks Riley. I'll make sure you get a position once it does happen."

Riley chuckled as the vulpine gave him a sly wink. "I'll take your word on it."

The orange vulpine said goodbye to the bird, then as he turned around he suddenly got a muzzle full of a jet black ear and some similarly colored hair. He recoiled in sudden shock and embarrassment, then let a smile crease his muzzle as he recognized who he had accidently ran into.

"Oh, hey Ashley," he said somewhat awkwardly, pawing the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that," Ashley giggled sweetly, using her paw that wasn't holding a glass to pat down her jet black hair that flowed down to her shoulder blades. She was about James' size, but was thinner around the stomach. She had a smaller bust than some of the female soldiers in her age group, but she wasn't considered 'small' in male's eyes. She essentially had an almost picturesque hourglass frame, and her well-groomed midnight black fur and hair only added to her strikingly good looks. She lowered her deep blue eyes to the floor below and grinned.

"I, uh… didn't mean to sneak up on you like that," she continued, somewhat obvious that she had already had one too many drinks.

"That's alright Ash, I wasn't really paying attention myself," James replied, himself getting a bit giddy.

Ashley smiled again, inching closer and batting his leg with her long, bushy tail. "So, big guy, you holding up alright?"

"I am now, thanks to you guys," he replied, also making the same gesture with his own tail to the vixen. "I can't explain how thankful I am for you guys' help."

"Hey, glad to be of assistance," she responded, taking another swig from her glass. "Is Fox ok?"

"He seemed alright once we got him on board," James answered, struggling to stay comprehensible due to his looming intoxication. "I still need to talk to him about this mess. I should probably go right now–"

"You're in no rush," she cooed, backpawing the vulpine's stomach playfully. "He'll be there after the party. You don't need to worry about him right now for once. Just breathe, and have a little fun now that you don't have to worry about where he is every second."

James hesitated, but eventually let the air out of his nose as a grin slowly found its home on his muzzle. Ashley grinned back with her toothy smile, showcasing a full set of pearly white vulpine teeth.

"There ya go," she giggled, nudging him with her elbow. "Just relax, big guy. No need to worry anymore. You can check on your kit later, but right now we've got a celebration to take part of."

Before James could reply, Ashley had already scooted off to grab another drink from the bar. Mainly because his internal instincts had been hindered due to the amount of alcohol that had found its home in his bloodstream, he followed the vixen and slipped into the stool next to her after she had poured another shot.

"You're right," he stated, startling the vixen a bit. "I've been too caught up in the moment to have a little fun with my friends. I should take it slow for a bit and appreciate what you guys have done to help me."

Ashley giggled giddily again and wrapped her arm around the similarly sized tod. "Aww, James, you're such a sweetheart. I'm honestly so sorry to hear what happened to Vixy, and I'm just shocked that it happened to you of all people. You didn't deserve that to happen to you."

James nodded and managed a smile. "Thanks Ash. Don't worry, it doesn't matter if I stay single the rest of my life, or if I do manage to find someone that'll keep me company, Vixy will always be there. I firmly believe she is watching over me and keeping me safe wherever I go."

"You were lucky to get someone like her in the first place," Ashley added. "Vix was my best friend in high school, and she honestly was a perfect fit for you. Seriously, you two were the cutest family, and Fox is living proof of that love. I absolutely love Fox to death, and I'd hate to see him feel lonely because you're always out fighting."

James suddenly nudged her arm and gave her a sly smirk. "When you're not out there, would you mind keeping an eye on him? Just to make sure he's alright, and care for him if he's starting to feel upset?"

"I'd love to," she responded excitedly, then leaned forward and gave the vulpine a warm hug. James took his opportunity and kept his embrace longer than the vixen expected out of him. That sudden sign of affection peaked the black fox's curiosity, even though she knew her inhibitions were limited.

"Listen, James, I understand how you feel," she blurted out, prompting the orange tod to remove his head and raise an eyebrow. She giggled and placed her paw on the fox's leg. "I'd be upset too if I had a spouse and I lost them suddenly. The thing is James, I… I don't know if I should tell you this or not…"

"Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind," James responded in an assuring tone.

"I don't know if I can," she whimpered, causing the orange vulpine to lift her paw off his leg and tightly grasp in in his own paws.

"What's wrong?"

Ashely exhaled and gazed up at the orange fox. "When I was at your wedding with Vixy years back, I… I was jealous."

"You?" James asked disbelievingly. Ashley nodded slowly in response.

"You don't know how bad I wanted to be up there with you," she admitted, lowering her ears flat on her head. "I was extremely jealous, because I did kinda have a bit of feelings towards you. I waited too long to try and tell you, and when I finally mustered enough courage you were up on the stage exchanging vows with my best friend. You don't know how angry I was with myself, because I could have been up there with you if I would've just listened to my gut the first time."

"That's what I tell my son all the time," James responded, and to the surprise of the vixen he had no outstanding hostility towards her, or any ill feelings towards her; period. He understood, even though he didn't have to openly admit it. It was blatantly obvious with his tone of voice and facial expression that he sympathized with her thoughts. "Always trust your instincts. They may be tough to do, but they're always right."

Ashley smiled and inched closer to the vulpine after he had stood up off the stool, but he tucked his tail between his legs after he had done so.

"Believe it or not… I seemed to have lost touch with my own instincts ever since Vixy was killed," he admitted, taking another long sip from his drink. "I still haven't found a way to get back in touch with them, and it's driving me nuts because I don't know if I made a wrong decision or not."

"James, you rescued your son; I highly doubt that it was a wrong decision to do so," Ashley stated, nuzzling closer and resting her head on James' chest. "If your instincts went away because you're lonely without Vixy, then you have a perfect person right next to you that would have no troubles in keeping you company if it makes you happy."

"And who would that be?" he asked tauntingly, making a bold move in lowering his muzzle and having the tip of it touch up against her forehead.

"Me, silly," she giggled, lifting her own muzzle up and brushing it against James'. James' heavily influenced emotions took over with no inner restrictions whatsoever as he pressed the tip of his mouth against her lips and waited for her to allow the affection. Ashley graciously accepted the invitation and cracked her muzzle open slightly, which was all the room James needed to slip his tongue into her maw. As their two tongues fought, Ashley wrapped her arms around James' neck and embraced him tightly, then after a few seconds both foxes backed off while panting and smiling.

"Thank you Ashley," James managed to say after regaining his breath. "Do you think Vixy will be upset with me now that I've fallen in love with another woman?"

Ashley smiled after his sudden and inadvertent slip of words came across her ears without him even realizing he said it. "I was her best friend since high school, and we loved each other like sisters. I'd highly doubt she'd be against this, just as long as we're both happy. She would have wanted you to be happy, even if she were to go so suddenly like she did."

James exhaled and let out another smile. "You're right. She'll understand."

After James had downed another shot glass, he removed himself from the black vixen's grasp and looked over at the door with a giddy chuckle. "I think I should go talk to Fox now."

"Oh, okay," she responded in her own lightheaded giggle. "See you later, big guy."

James smiled once again, then slipped out of the bustling break room without any further interference, then slowly trotted down towards the kit's room. He stopped at the door, let a quick burst of air through his nose, then placed a paw over the door handle.

##########

Fox whimpered slightly as he sat back down on his bedside and pawed at the golden cross around his neck.

He knew the fate of the man who had graciously given him the necklace. Right before the dark red coyote forced him into the transport ship, he heard his father's gun go off. Several times that weapon went off, and he cringed every time it did. Once James came back on board, he tried his best to hold in his tears, and basically had to avoid eye contact with his father entirely. It pained him to do that, but in his mind, his father deserved every second of it.

Now that he was alone in his room, he let the tears and emotions flow with no bounds or limitations. That was his friend, murdered in cold blood by his own father. He still couldn't believe that his father would do that. He completely disregarded everything he said, just to get revenge for something that happened entirely by accident.

It was like James was someone else.

Fox tensed up as he heard the knob on his door rustle. He swiftly tucked the golden charm into his shirt, flipped the lamp on his nightstand off, then ducked under his covers and closed his eyes as James slowly inched into the room.

The older vulpine exhaled through his nose slowly as he took step after step into the room, then sat on the kit's bedside and laid a paw on his blanketed shoulder. "You okay little buddy?"

Fox grunted in a fake sleepy tone as he nuzzled closer into his blanket, still not opening his eyes. James scratched behind his own ear, then wrapped his arm around the kit and leaned his muzzle in, gently kissing his cheek in a consolation attempt.

"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that," he said, keeping his arm on his son. Fox could smell the stench of alcohol stemming from his father's maw, and he absolutely hated when he drank. He would always loose rationality and his inner instincts, but he was already certain they were long gone ever since the incident earlier in the day. They were gone ever since the war first started for that matter, with the seemingly inconsolable rage at first, then the attack on his own brother, and now adding to that list with the killing of his friend in cold blood.

"I was too careless," he continued. "I didn't make sure you were safe first, and that almost got you killed. I can't believe I would let that happen to you."

James sighed again and sniffed. "You're all I have now, Fox… I can't lose you like I lost…"

He choked back a sob and stood up off the bed. "I promise, I'll be more careful. I won't let that happen to you ever again. I'll make sure you're safe, no matter what."

He leaned in and planted another kiss on the kit's forehead. "I love you Fox," he said thoughtfully, then slowly walked over to the door, but as soon as his paw clamped down on the handle Fox shakily spoke up, barely breaking a whimper.

"You didn't have to do that."

James let go of the handle as he raised an eyebrow and inched closer to the smaller vulpine. "Do what?"

"Kill him," he continued softly, almost inaudibly. "You didn't have to kill him. He wasn't going to do anything to any of us, like he kept saying."

James exhaled a breath tainted with alcohol and sat on the kit's bed again. "I did what I had to do, Fox. That human was a threat, and I had to take care of threats the way everyone else does."

"He wasn't a threat," Fox argued in a strange voice filled with subtle hostility. "If he was a threat, I wouldn't be here, and neither would you, and you know it."

"What's wrong bud?" James asked at the vulpine's increasingly sour tone of voice. Fox suddenly shot up and ripped the blanket off of his frame, staring at his father through the pitch blackness.

"Nathan was my friend!" he yipped. "He was looking out for me and making sure that I was safe, and you killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!"

James quickly turned the lamp on, revealing numerous tears streaming down the young tod's face and an expression he had never seen on his kit's face before. Anger.

"Fox, settle down," he pleaded calmly, but Fox growled very uncharacteristically at him, stunning the older vulpine.

"WHY?!" Fox commanded shakily. "You saw how much he cared for us, and you do that to him?! He didn't do anything wrong! Why would you do that to him?!"

"Fox," James started, feeling his eyes start to water. "Fox, I… I'm– Where are you going?" he asked as Fox suddenly threw his legs off the bedside and hobbled over to his door. He didn't answer as he turned the knob and slipped out of his quarters after swiping his crutches from the wall. James instantly shot up and quickly pursued him down the hallway.

"Fox," he called out. "Get back here."

"Leave me alone," he whined shakily, not turning his head back to face his father.

"Fox," James repeated in a warning tone.

"GO AWAY!" Fox suddenly snapped, jerking his head around and glaring at the older vulpine with tears flowing from his eyes like a waterfall. "You don't care about me! If you did, you would've listened to Nate the FIRST TIME! You don't care about anyone other than yourself, and YOU NEVER WILL!"

James' eyes widened as he felt his heart split in two at the kit's outburst. Fox wasted no time in quickly spinning around and hopping down the hall; crying softly in the process. As his tail disappeared around the corner, James lowered his head and placed a paw over his broken heart as he tried to comprehend the kit's actions.

All of a sudden, his euphoria that he had acquired with the drinks and the successful rescue mission suddenly dissipated into regret. It was the first time in a long time that he had dealt with regret. It finally took his kit to snap at him to understand what he had done. His grief took over, and he couldn't keep enough strength to keep himself standing on his own two feet as he fell to his knees.

"James, what happened?" Ashley called out, rushing down the hallway and up to his kneeling frame. James sniffed in acknowledgement, then tilted his head up to face the vixen.

"I made a mistake."

"How?"

"My instincts didn't come through when they mattered, and now my own kit wants nothing to do with me," he replied hollowly, again lowering his head. "I feel terrible now… I broke my kit's heart, he broke mine, and now I'm lonelier than I ever was before… …I… What have I done?"

Ashley couldn't believe her eyes as she witnessed the vulpine break down. He had never let his emotions show in such a terrible way, even when the whole ordeal started in the first place. She could only stare in disbelief as he lowered his head all the way down and pressed his forehead against the floor, crying somewhat audibly in the process.

"Easy, big guy," she said calmly, crouching down and beginning to rub her paw over his back. "He'll calm down. He's probably still in shock from all the events over the past few days. Give him time to simmer down a bit. Guaranteed he'll be more approachable as soon as all these events get time to sink in."

James still couldn't respond. He was too busy trying to regain his composure, still with his face planted against the floor. Ashley continued, sliding her paw from his back to just behind his ears.

"It's alright, James. You'll be okay."

James exhaled after the vixen had retracted her paw, then straightened up while still kneeling on the floor. There was a visible trail down the vulpine's cheek where the tears had flowed down from his eyes. Ashley saw this trail, then used her thumb to wipe the water away from his face.

"No matter what he says to you, he'll still love you," she continued, trying her best to cheer James up. "There were times that I hated my father for the things he did, but deep down I always loved him. He was irreplaceable… and so are you James. Not only for Fox, but for all of us. You're irreplaceable."

James glanced down at the floor again. "Ash, I… I don't know. He's never said that kind of thing to me before. He'd never say that."

"I know I sure wouldn't," Ashley cooed smoothly, again scratching behind James' floppy ear. James' tail started to show signs of life, letting the vixen know she had found his sweet spot.

"Do you really think he'll calm down?" James asked pitifully. The vixen nodded and continued her scratching.

"He'll be fine, bug guy," she assured. "Give him a bit of time. Now, we're missing a great celebration, and it won't be good enough until you join in. Whada'ya say?"

"Yeah, we should… probably get back to… the others," James managed to say while his grunts of pleasure surfaced and constantly made him pause his sentence as she continued rubbing behind his ears. Ashley nodded and picked the vulpine up off the floor, then wrapped her arm around his neck as they wandered back towards the break room.


Just outside Prairie City, Iowa

Sharp started slowing the vehicle down as he saw the tip of a farm house become visible in the distance. After a few more seconds of driving, he eventually pulled into a dirt driveway and parked the truck behind a large barn off to the left of the house.

The house was a two story ranch style house, made almost entirely of wood and brick foundation. The siding of the house was a faded mint green color, and the barn behind the house was about the same shade. It was obvious the house had been lived in recently due to the well-kept yard and garden near the front of the house. Luckily, there was no other car in the driveway, or even the barn, so his hopes about nobody being home were starting to become a reality.

As soon as he turned the vehicle off, he staggered out of the seat and started limping towards the house. Kurt closely followed, with the light gray husky pursuing him. Kassian managed to scoop up the unconscious vulpine out of his seat and trotted up to the back porch with him in his arms, then watched as Sharp harshly kicked the back door in. As soon as he did, he fell to the wooden porch and let out an agonized howl as pain from his leg wound made him unable to stand up.

"Come here, I gotcha," Christina said, lowering her arms. Sharp grasped her forearm and allowed her to lift him off the ground, then used her shoulder as a crutch as she gently eased him into the house.

They entered through the kitchen back door, then after staggering through the small kitchen they found themselves in a spacious living room. There were two large couches against two adjacent walls, overlooking a coffee table in the center of the room and a TV mounted on the wall. The room was hardwood floored, but there was a large rug surrounding the couches and the table. Behind the one couch was a staircase that led to the second floor. There was also another door near the staircase which was also located near the front door, which housed a large bedroom.

Kassian gently set Brendan on the nearest couch, while Sharp practically fell out of the female's arms onto the other sofa. As Kurt found a seat on a small upholstered chair in the corner of the room, Christina quickly rushed over to Brendan and started working on him.

She located the bag stolen off of one of the human soldiers, then started to unpack a few supplies. She found a needle and a bottled liquid, then swiftly measured out an appropriate amount and stuck the needle into the vulpine's pale, cold arm. She set the needle on the table after the liquid was injected and folder her paws together.

"Come on Brendan," she whispered softly under her breath. "Wake up… please."

A few seconds after she had injected the medicine into his bloodstream, he still did not stir. His body heat was still low, so she pulled off a blanket from the top of the couch and wrapped it around him to conserve what little body heat he had. The husky placed the back of her paw under his muzzle on his neck, then gasped when his pulse started to fade.

"Please," she continued. "Come back to us."

She was starting to lose hope. Brendan's body heat was not returning, and what breaths he was taking were becoming shallow and almost unnoticeable. She held back a tear, mustered enough courage, then leaned forward and planted a kiss on the side of his muzzle.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Brendan!" she exclaimed breathily, finally smiling for the first time in a long time.

Brendan groaned softly in discomfort, then closed his eyes and tried to move. Christina quickly placed a paw over his shoulder to stop him.

"Don't move buddy," she commanded. "You're hurt. Just stay here and keep resting up. We'll get you help soon."

Brendan grunted in acknowledgement, then cracked his eyes open slightly and stared at the husky. "Cr… Christina…?" he called out hoarsely and gravelly.

"Hey Brendan," she giggled, partially sitting on the couch.

"Am… Am I gonna be ok?" he asked pitifully.

"Of course," she assured, herself not even sure he would survive in the condition he was in. She said it to keep his hopes up, because he sounded like a little kid that had scraped his knee on the sidewalk and was crying because of a little blood seeping out of the wound.

"Are… you sure?" he asked in the same voice.

"You'll be ok," she repeated, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. Brendan let out a slight trace of a smile, making the husky's heart melt instantly.

"Thank you…" he whispered back, continuing to stare into her dark eyes.

"Just hang in there," she added. "I'll try and help you."

Brendan's smile increased as he used the last of his remaining strength to open his muzzle again. "I… Christina… …I love you."

Her muzzle dropped instantly in shock. Assuming that he was just extremely lightheaded due to the lack of blood in his system, she smiled and played along with him.

"I love you too."

That was all the injured tod needed to hear. He grinned happily, then shut his eyes and drifted off into sleep. Christina exhaled with a subtle grin as she scooted down the couch and sat by his feet. She let the back of her head rest on the couch for a few moments, then Kassian interrupted her rest as he placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Who's your new boyfriend?" he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Christina smirked back and shut her eyes.

"Apparently he is," she stated frankly. Kassian chuckled and knelt down by the couch's armrest.

"You do know he probably has a concussion. He might not be thinking straight."

"So?" she butted in. "Concussion or not, he told me he loves me. That's all I could ask for."

"Wait, do you…?"

"I always did like him," she admitted. "I'm only saying this because I don't know if we'll make it out. I hope he wakes up again, and is more aware next time so I can tell him. I'm not gonna hide it from him if he's not gonna recover, which I have the feeling he might not if we can't get help."

Kassian patted her shoulder in reassurance. "Glad you got that off your chest?"

"I am," she affirmed, then closed her eyes again. Kassian nodded, then pulled out his transmitter, but almost instantly tossed it onto the table in the middle of the room after growling at it.

"Why are comms down?" he asked impatiently. "We can't get out of here without letting them know we're stuck here!"

"Please stop yelling Kass, you're murdering my head," Kurt grumbled, holding both wings over his head. Kassian lowered his ears in response, then sat on the coffee table.

"I sure hope they can find us," he wished.

"They will," Sharp said in reassurance. "We just need to sit tight. When they figure the comms out, we'll call for a pick up. For now, we just need to worry about surviving. That's our biggest worry."

All of the able-bodied soldiers in the room grunted in agreement. Sharp let out a long breath of air through his muzzle and continued speaking.

"And as soon as we get out of here, we can tell Pepper directly that we want out."

"Out of what?" Kassian asked.

"The war," the dark husky replied. "I'm not fighting in this war anymore. It's pointless. We've done enough damage already; it's time for us to leave."

"I second that," Kurt mumbled over on his chair. "All the humans are gonna do is keep killing us off. We underestimated their training, and now we're suffering the consequences."

"Not to mention we shouldn't even be here in the first place," Kassian piped up. "We're essentially sacrificing our troops. We could have easily dropped a bomb on them and moved on. We shouldn't be wasting our time here fighting on ground, or fighting them period."

"And then there's Wolf defending them saying the shit they pulled was an accident," Sharp abruptly remarked.

"I don't disagree with him on that," Christina replied. "Think about it Sharpie; why would the humans attack us first? They don't have any reason to start bad blood with us. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Ehh, she's got a point, Sharp," Kurt interrupted.

"True," Kassian added. "There wasn't any reason for them to start this. Why would they? Wouldn't they want to research us first before they start launching rockets at us? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"I could give you an answer, but the human that we captured the first day never woke up," Sharp responded bitterly. "We had him on support because he was supposed to tell us why this war started, but the poor bastard never recovered. That was our only chance of finding the real reason for this war; gone just like that."

"There's gotta be something else that we aren't figuring out," Christina stated. "There has to be a concrete reason for why this is all happening. We've already deduced the humans are intelligent enough to fight back in an effective way, but I don't think they started this. This had to have been an accident, just like Wolf said. We were just too dense at first to agree with him."

"That's pretty crazy Wolf knew before any of us," Kurt remarked. "He must've saw something that we didn't on the day we got hit with whatever the hell the humans used. We need to find Wolf and ask him, and then get our asses out of here once we prove to Pepper that it wasn't intentional."

"And how are we gonna disprove the entire CDF?" Kassian asked. "It's only us four and Wolf that think it's an accident. Everyone else is too busy blowing up everything to actually sit down and think."

Sharp sighed and pawed at his forehead. "Damn, now I know how Wolf felt. He was the first one to fight against the whole CDF's stance on this war. He was brave to speak out like he did."

"He had balls, that son of a bitch," Kassian chuckled. "I mean, he can't be the only one, no?"

"Besides us," Sharp added.

"Well yeah, besides us, but there has to be more soldiers that have our same stance. Seriously, not everyone is as blood-lusted as Pepper. There has to be some thinkers that think the same as we do."

"You can hope all you want Kass, but that may not be the case."

Kurt nodded slightly. "All I know is if they try and force us into combat again after this, they're in for a rude awakening. I ain't gonna pick up shit when it comes to this war ever again. The only time I'll pick up a gun in regards to this war is so I can put a laser right in the skull of whoever started this revenge mentality."

"Wasn't it James that started that?" Kassian asked.

"I don't care who started it, all I know is that whoever did it is on my shit-list."

"Mine too," Sharp poked in.

"Same here," Christina announced.

Kurt managed to let out a small smile, then closed his eyes as he let his head fall back. "So… Looks like we've joined Wolf's minority. I sure hope he can help us out… wherever the hell he is…"


Great Fox

Sheila sat on the small twin sized bed in an even smaller quarters on the dreadnaught warship, sitting against the headboard with her hairbrush. She had been thoroughly brushing her long cinnamon colored hair for what felt like days, getting every single knot out of it. She had never felt her hair so untangled before, and it was a nice feeling knowing that there was not a single knot in it. However, it was only a minor accomplishment, and the giant negative of being locked up in a small living quarter negated any feeling of accomplishment she may have felt.

"How long have we been in here?" Sheila questioned, using the brush to groom her arms. She was only wearing a skimpy light purple tank top that only covered her medium sized bust and nothing more, along with some extremely short silk shorts that only extended a half a foot from her waistline. Wolf was lying right next to her in the opposite direction on his stomach, laying his head flat near Sheila's feet.

"A few hours now," he mumbled, letting his right arm hang off the bed. He was swinging the appendage back and forth, letting his claws dig into the small rug that was on the floor next to the bed.

"Was this seriously the worst they could do to us?" Sheila grumbled, using her brush to comb her bangs in front of her ears.

"Well, they weren't exactly hoping for prisoners," Wolf explained, wrapping his other arm around Sheila's feet. "They don't have prison cells on the Great Fox. This I guess was the best way to detain us – putting us in a room and not letting us leave."

"This is stupid," Sheila deadpanned, letting her head fall backwards onto the pillow. "We didn't even do anything wrong!"

"I know, babe," Wolf said calmly. "We really can't do anything about it though. They'll just have to find out the hard way that we were the ones that were right this whole time."

Sheila nodded, then picked up the brush again and started running the brush down the entire length of Wolf's gray tail. Wolf exhaled a bit and spoke up.

"Before he died… Nate told me that someone's flaws will eventually catch up to them. I could tell he was specifically mentioning James, and how his flaws will come back and bite him. In all honesty, I won't feel sorry for him once they do."

"And you wondered why I couldn't stand him," Sheila remarked with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, I was wrong, bleh," he grumbled with no pauses in between his words as he buried his muzzle in the bed sheets. "I still can't believe what James did."

Sheila nodded slightly as a tear dripped out of her eye. "Nathan was such an amazing person. I still can't believe that he's gone."

"Same," he agreed, flipping his frame around so that his face was within inches of the husky's muzzle. "He helped us through a lot. He kept telling me that he wasn't perfect, but he honestly couldn't have gotten better. He was perfect, but… we all know that the perfect people are the ones that are targeted first."

Sheila nodded as she rested her muzzle on his shoulder. "He helped us both… I mean, he was just everything a friend could ask for. I only knew him for a little while, but I still thought of him as a good friend."

Wolf started nipping at the husky's face. "He saved you. He found you and brought you in, kinda like what James did to me years ago."

Sheila lifted her muzzle off of the lupine's shoulder and stared at him questioningly. "James saved you?"

Wolf sighed and nodded faintly. "I was abandoned. I had no family, no way of life, not even a roof to sleep under. One day, a long while back while I was sitting against a dumpster in downtown Corneria City, this black car pulled up next to me, and James popped out and instantly came over to me. He asked me who I was, and offered me a place to stay for the night. I graciously accepted, and I got the best night of rest in my entire life. Right as I was about to leave in the morning, he puts a paw on my shoulder and says, "Why are you leaving when you can stay here?" …And that was that… From that day on I was a McCloud. James took care of me like I was his own kit. Fox loved me like a brother. I… I went from having nothing on the streets, to having a family again and a place to stay."

Sheila sniffed and wiped the tip of her nose on her arm. "Wow… James was that compassionate towards you, even though you were a complete stranger?"

Wolf nodded once again. "He had no idea who I was prior to that day, yet he took me in because of how awful I was. I was a mess, yet he saw something in me… And that's what changed me… I actually was stone cold and heartless years before, but the fact that I found out that there was someone that actually cared for me… it changed my life. I dropped my previous way of life, that being a mentality of not caring for anything other than yourself, and actually appreciated the things that make life worthwhile. You being one of them."

Sheila smiled and fought back a tear. "If… If James would've never found you, what would you have done?"

Wolf shrugged his shoulders. "I probably would've stayed the way I was on the streets. Uncaring. Unfriendly. Putting it simply; a bitch to everyone. She, if I would've met you when I still was acting like that, you would've wanted nothing to do with me. You'd push me away, just like everyone else did."

Sheila leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the lupine. "Wolf, I… I don't know what to say… I honestly feel awful thinking about James the way I did earlier… If it wasn't for him… I wouldn't have you."

"I wouldn't have anyone at all if it wasn't for him," Wolf added, slipping his paws under her arms.

"What happened to him?" she asked abruptly. "He was so caring before, now he wants nothing to do with you anymore. He changed so suddenly."

"Can you blame him?" he replied with his own question. "Vixy, the love of his life, gone without warning. He didn't even get to say goodbye, or anything to her for that matter. One minute she's perfectly fine, next minute she's flat on her face and not breathing. That was one of those emotional moments for him that changed his life. I honestly don't blame him for the way he's been acting. He wants to avenge his wife, but if he doesn't cool off soon, he's gonna end up joining her."

Sheila nodded and buried her face into Wolf's fur again. Wolf grinned and started stroking the husky's hair like he had always loved to do before.

"We'll be fine, Sheila. James isn't gonna take any chances with Fox back on board now. He's gonna have the Great Fox stay out of orbit, right next to Pepper's flagship so that he keeps his kit safe."

Sheila exhaled in relief and tried to adjust her position on the bed, but couldn't move because of the large lupine occupying what little space there was on the small twin-sized bed. She grunted and tried to push just an inch of space between her and the wolf, but he was just too heavy for her to move.

"And they couldn't have gotten us a bigger bed?" she complained. "I can't move anywhere with you here too."

"Who says I want you to move?" Wolf asked smoothly, rolling over onto his stomach and wrapping his arm over her chest.

"I can't breathe with you on me," she explained.

"You seemed to be breathing just fine the day before the attack," he cooed, making the husky's face warm up again. She withheld a giggle and forcefully pushed his arm off of her chest.

"Not now Wolf," the light copper husky pleaded. "I'm not in the mood."

"I know, I know; I'm not either," the lupine replied, laying his head on the pillow. "I'm gonna use this time we're gonna be held up in here to catch up on some much needed rest."

"What, that's it?" Sheila questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You're just gonna give up?"

"It's not like we can do anything about this She," Wolf explained. "The only people that disagree with this stance the CDF has on this damn war is you, me, and Fox. Not much three people can do against an entire military hell-bent on wiping this planet clean of all life."

"We have to try something," Sheila stated, but Wolf shook his head.

"We can't," he responded. "If you're implying we fight everyone off and force them to retract their troops, then you're insane. That's suicide trying to fight an opponent that exponentially outnumbers you."

"But that's not what Nate wanted," Sheila argued.

"Nate wanted us to stay safe," Wolf said sternly as he lifted his body up and sat on the bedside in front of the husky. "He wanted you and me to stay safe. If we try and fight against the CDF; we're gonna get killed. That's not what Nate wanted from us."

"Didn't he want you to avenge him and fight for his cause?"

"No," Wolf lied, trying his best to disprove the husky. "It's a lost cause, She. If James didn't accept the information when it was right in front of his nose, then he's never gonna stop until his desires are satisfied."

"But you said–"

"I know what I said!" Wolf suddenly snapped, then after his outburst he clutched at his forehead and dropped his nose in shame at the fact he had just exploded at her. He calmed himself down a bit, then continued in a low voice.

"I don't want you getting hurt Sheila," he continued shakily. "The reason I don't want to fight back is because I love you too much to see you get hurt. I don't want to lose you."

Sheila's eyes started to tear up as Wolf removed his paw from his face, revealing his own watery eyes. She sat up, then leaned over and hugged the lupine strongly and warmly.

"I can't take the risk," Wolf admitted, hugging her neck and rubbing his muzzle into her hair. "I would with anyone else, but not you. I care about you way too much to see you get killed. You're all I have."

She backed out of the lupine's grasp, then as fast as she escaped she forced her muzzle into his. Wolf grabbed the back of her head and brought her in closer, then fought with her tongue for a few moments before backing away and gasping for breath.

"I love you too Wolf," she said after regaining her own breath, then pulled him back onto the bed. As soon as the husky repositioned herself on the bed, she felt Wolf's paws work around her midsection and pull her in closer to the lupine's warmth.

"Don't worry She," he said softly, nuzzling closer to the husky. "I'll keep you safe. We'll find a way out of this… I'm sure of it…"


\/ \/ \/ \/ \/


A/N: My apologies for the... I guess lack of action this update. It's a big swing to go from the intensity of the last two updates down to this one, but don't worry, I've got a plan. I'm working on another update to this that should go up later in the week, so if I'm a little "lacking" in this update, I'll make up for it next chapter.

That being said, for this next chapter, I'm gonna need you guys' help. If you are interested in lending a hand, send a message my way saying you are, and I'll respond with details. I hope to hear from you guys soon, and preferably as soon as possible so I can make this update happen as quick as I intended it too.

Anyway, as usual, lemme know what you guys think, and I'll see you guys next update! Here's one last song to end it off on. Take care guys!


On pins and needles we are waiting for the fall
We count the days scratching lines on the wall
Wait in the wings at someone's beck and call
No longer recognize the place that I call home
No longer recognize this face as my own
Somewhere, this fate, I lost control

We backed down, we took no
For answers far too long
We felt those walls close around

I don't want to be here anymore
I know there's nothing left worth staying for
Your paradise is something I've endured
See I don't think I can fight this anymore
I'm listening with one foot out the door
And something has to die to be reborn
And I don't want to be here anymore

*Rise Against – I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore*