A/N: At long last, I have updated :) A good three months later…Sorry about that, but September was a hectic moment, not being able to write a single chapter for anything, and later months have driven me away from this fic.

So, I'm terribly sorry if this update isn't up to complete standards, and please rest assured that I will complete stories, even after this lengthy hiatus or something. Again, I apologise and hope you enjoy this long-awaited update.

/\/\/\/\ Chapter 3: Understanding /\/\/\/\

Wolf ran a hand over the table before sitting down. It was something he always did, even if there was a lot on his mind, or if there was too much noise.

Fortunately, both were in full swing.

"The zapper you installed is brilliant!" Panther exclaimed, pulling a chair out and plonking himself on it sideways. His tail curled round the backrest, one elbow on the table as he stroked his own whiskers nonchalantly.

Leon rolled his eyes in reply. "I could see your enthusiasm quite clearly. You didn't have to blow up one end of the mothership."

The lupine gestured for Leon to sit down, as to prevent the two arguing. It was true Panther was being the powerhouse of the team, but there was something other than his team mates that bothered him.

"Why was it that they weren't putting up a proper fight?" Wolf wondered aloud as he caught sight of Krystal. She seemed to hover there like a new schoolchild, which she technically still was, not intent on sitting with them after their first mission. He was tempted to call her over, but she opted to perch on the sofa before he could.

Leon shrugged. "Beats me, but we got the disks and the booty at the end of the day. What else matters?" His eyes turned in their sockets as he eyed the box on the floor pointedly.

It was far from the stereotypical treasure chest. For starters, it was something like a large jewellery box rather than a lumbering chest. It made it easier to carry at the time. The deep red burned through the wood, as if the colour itself had etched the numerous grooves. The contents it should have held were unknown, for Wolf had tossed them aside without a second thought.

The leader grabbed hold of the handle, indented into the lid, and swung it onto the table swiftly. All eyes save for the vixen's were on it now as Wolf undid the clasp, lifting the lid slowly. He rather enjoyed the tension, with Panther's small intake of air and Leon's head nearing gradually.

He raised an eyebrow as he took out a curved kitchen knife. He passed it automatically to Leon, who had held out a hand expectantly.

"Knife collection not big enough?" the lupine mused as the blade slipped from his fingers.

Leon laughed, which was eerie by itself. "There's always something. A different alloy, a different length." Running a hand over the blade, the excitement amplified as he let it turn in his hands. "95% stainless steel, I hope you know."

Panther cleared his throat impatiently.

Before glaring at the feline, the wolf leaned back in his seat further. Using the ends of his claws, he took out one disk at a time and lined them up. Each one was in its own packet, labelled neatly with the same scrawny handwriting the date and time.

"I need you to look through these soon," Wolf commanded, sliding the wallets to the chameleon. Leon glanced up from his knife and gave a small smile.

"I suppose I can do that." He reached over the table, snatching the envelopes in one swoop. He brought the one on top to eye level, twirling the knife in the other. "August 12th."

Panther arched an eyebrow. "That's pretty recent," he mused.

The leader nodded solemnly. He thought it was best for Leon to retrieve what he felt was most potentially useful. He was a good judge at that sort of thing, he had to hand it to him.

"I figured recent reports were more likely to hold worthwhile information, such as why they were going to Fichina."

The feline snorted. "We know why they went there. Some trade or another."

"No." Krystal had finally spoken up, looking up from her paws and looking directly at the panther. "That might not necessarily be the case." She averted her gaze, as though she was still uncertain.

There was a low laugh, and Wolf was shocked to find it was his own. "Whatever the case, let's not squabble and find the real answer, hmm?" He glared in turn at Panther and Leon, his visible eye flaring.

The chameleon snorted. "Fair enough," he replied as he threw the CD packet back into the pile. Leaning back into his chair leisurely, his grey eyes lingered on the chest. "But we still have a lot of time."

"How do you know we 'still have a lot of time'?" Panther questioned sceptically as the lupine fingered the box's clasp.

"Gut feelings," Leon said swiftly, using the knife's point to form a groove into the table. He ran two fingers over it.

Wolf was about to clear his throat for attention but, as if she had just read his mind, Krystal shook her head. He raised an eyebrow, as if to ask, "How come?"

The vixen got off the sofa shakily, walking towards the spare seat at the table. Her eyes only displayed anxiety as she dusted the seat's flat cushion and sat down. The other members of Star Wolf didn't even notice.

"And? What's with this?" The lupine waved a lazy hand at Krystal, his tail thumping the chair leg unconsciously.

The blue creature smiled weakly, apologetic even. "I want to talk to you…in private."

Metaphorically speaking, his head had spun 360 degrees and his stomach was in his throat. Of course, both were impossible in real life. The 'in private' part had thrown him off, but his exterior of widened eyes was all he offered. He had his pride.

"Now?"

He didn't wait for her reply. He ensured his other subordinates were busy ("And what exactly do you use all those knives for?") before slipping off his seat. Instead of going out into the corridor, Wolf led the female into one of the rooms which branched off the conference room.

It was nothing much: a single bed, a chest of drawers and a tiny mirror which could fit into his palm snugly. The aluminium walls and the azure carpet were not in perfect condition, as if the owner of the room had a restless reputation.

Wolf had the dignity to feel embarrassed. "What happens when I sleepwalk, apparently." He closed the door behind him, making sure he heard the click before continuing. "I'm pretty sure it's Leon's doing though. As a joke."

The leader stretched out on the bed, placing his hands behind his head. He eyed Krystal, who was inching towards the chest of drawers. "You don't want to go there."

She glanced up like someone guilty of stealing, but she complied. She gazed into the wolf's visible eye. "What's in there?"

Guns and lives, he involuntarily thought.

"It's not spiders, if that's what you're thinking." Ears twitching in amusement, he jerked his head so he could see better. "Perhaps third time round, you'll say what's the matter."

Another tiny smile. Even though it was there from remorse rather than happiness, Wolf still seemed to feel a sense of security. It was comforting, in a way, and the sensations within were vibrating like bubbling water.

Those same sensations soon went haywire when the vulpine perched onto the bed with him. He bolted upright.

"A lot of the things in the mission made me think of him," she began, talking to her lap. Wolf didn't need to ask who she was referring to. "How we, the rest of the team, used to cover him the same way you covered me and Leon. How he would rarely let me go on foot, yet you assigned it to me straight away."

Wolf tried to offer her a sympathetic look, but it looked like he was forcing a smile more than anything. It was an expression he seriously needed to improve. "Do you miss him?"

She blinked slowly, the cogs in her brain working. "It was hard at first. Now, it's getting more bearable." Looking down at her palms, her fingers seemed to shake a little. "If I see him again, it would all be for nothing."

The lupine turned away. "We can't determine when he'll come for you. Though his return is, naturally, inevitable. There's nothing we can do about it." He glanced up at the ceiling, where a bulb was hanging like a pendulum, swaying somewhat. He didn't bother turning it on before, but he was now reconsidering it.

A light in this conversation was just what was needed.

Then it came to him.

"If you wanna talk about this romance junk, Panther's the best." Passing the problem to someone else was the ultimate way. He waited for Krystal's reply, but there was nothing. It was only the vibrations on the mattress which made him swivel round again.

Her head was in her hands, her legs hunched up as if searching for comfort. Her tresses hid her eyes, and her shoulders rose and fell occasionally – the telltale sign of crying.

Groaning inwardly, his hand clenched as he hesitated. He had no idea what to do – no-one had ever cried in front of him. The people he knew anyway. The only tear-stained people he met were no longer here – he had killed them with the easy pull of the trigger. The only form of comfort he had offered them was his howl of victory, laughter booming as their blood stained the carpet.

Hardly what was asked for at the moment.

After a few long minutes of anxiety, the wolf got up and reached for the mirror. Without looking at her, he held the ornament to what he guessed was about her eye-level. "You probably look a mess," he said flatly. He was in no hurry to see her tear streaked face, red eyebrows and all.

He waited for the mirror to leave his grasp before leaning over with his forearms on his knees.

Wolf heard the vixen sniff, then a broken laugh followed. "You're right."

"Don't worry about it – just clean yourself up, pronto." The lupine was getting sick of looking at the floor, with its fraying edges and various broken fibres. It only made him dizzy from seeing the same general pattern over and over.

Krystal laughed softly, more serene than before. "Is this a first?"

The wolf's ears twitched. Why did they keep doing that? "Everything has to be a first," he pointed out, "or else life won't get anywhere." He furrowed his eyebrows as he realised what he had just said, how ludicrous it sounded.

He looked up, assuming Krystal had more or less finished. She was smiling shyly, both hands clutching the mirror as if it was the only thing she had left. As if, for the second time, she knew what he was thinking, she whispered, "It doesn't sound ludicrous at all. In fact, some of that actually made sense."

Her green eyes sparkled with the slightest delight under their red-rimmed lids – the first time since she arrived at Sargasso. They were doubled through the glass of the ornament in her grasp, and a few hairs of her tail brushed a couple of his own.

It was then Wolf realised how much the vixen was hurting from inside.

/\/\/\/\ End /\/\/\/\

A/N: So there you have it. More romance! If things go according to plan, the main drama will start next chapter. Until then, please know I will never abandon a fic :)