"So, this is the place?" Wolf, Panther, and Waffle all stood outside an apartment door. They had gotten a few looks on their way there, but less than Wolf had been expecting.

Waffle nodded. "It seems to be, at least. We already sent your files ahead so introductions should go smoothly. I'll just…" The officer reached out to ring the doorbell, but the door was suddenly flung open, revealing a female dog in a Cornerian Defense uniform, likely only a bit younger than Wolf and Panther were. She adjusted the red bow in her hair and smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd show up! Hi, hello, welcome, come on in!" Stepping out into the hallway she ushered the three inside before closing the door behind them. The apartment on the inside was… nice. Nicer than Wolf had expected. It looked more like a penthouse than an apartment, really.

Panther, of course, wasn't paying any attention to the penthouse. Setting his suitcase aside, he bowed deeply. "Ah, I see we have been graced by an angel today, a truly magnificent blessing, my dear…?"

The dog giggled. "Fay. Fay Grey, actually. And I'm flattered, Mr. Caroso, but I'm gay."

"Ah, I understand. While that may be unfortunate for me, it's a boon for women everywhere, as they now will be able to partake in your beauty far more than I ever shall."

"You're good, I'll give you that." Fay turned to Wolf. "And it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope you'll set… um… did you bring a suitcase too?"

Wolf shook his head. "No, I… don't need one."

Panther sighed. "Unfortunately, dear Miss Grey, my good friend and captain Wolf O'Donnell only owns one outfit."

"But… pajamas?"

He shook his head. "She just wears that to bed." Wolf's heart jumped again. He had almost forgotten how it had felt to be called 'she' earlier, but-

"That won't do at all!" Fay reached out to Wolf and grabbed her- his hands. Why did- "It's too late today, but we will have to take you shopping tomorrow. At the very least so we can wash your pilot's outfit, since there's no telling how long it's been."

"Too long." Panther chimed in. "I'm surprised you can't smell it."

"I- stop, hold on." Wolf held up his hands and stepped back. "Just wait one moment. I don't need any other clothes, this outfit is fine."

Panther, Fay, and Waffle all glanced at each other. "No… it's not really." Waffle offered. "Given the stuff you deal with in your line of work, the potential blood splatter and stuff getting caked into your outfit… there's a lot of potential for disease."

"Plus it smells horrendous."

"Plus you'll be spending the week in my apartment and I'm not letting you just lug that around without it getting washed at least once. It's okay, I'll pay for everything."

Wolf sighed and lowered his hands. "I can see I don't have a choice… fine."

A few hours later, Waffle had left to go back to his post, and the two mercenaries had gotten settled in. Panther and Fay were out in the main area talking about… something or other, but Wolf was lying on the air mattress they had set up in the guest bedroom. After a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors, Wolf had ended up on the floor, but that was fine. Not like he needed to be comfortable. A pause. He rolled those words around in his head. He… his… what had been up with him earlier? 'What had been up with him…" nope, no reaction. 'What had been up with… her?" There, why did he get excited by that? Maybe… 'What had been up with them…?' Nothing for that one. Was it just she and her?

"Okay Wolf, we gotta get to the bottom of this…" he muttered quietly. They're just words, right? Shouldn't make any difference what ones you use. Wolf stood up and looked in the mirror that was in the guest room. There's that same face that always stared back. A deep breath. Okay, time for test number one. Making sure to keep quiet so as to not alert the other two, Wolf looked right in the reflection's eye. "You're a man." Was that… a wince? But why? That's literally what Wolf had been described as for as long as… Test number two. "You're not a man." There. Wolf's tail had started to shake, just a little bit. Wolf's eye narrowed. What the heck was going on? Number three… "You're not a woman." Another wince? Then test number four… "You're a w… a wo…" Come on… say it. "You're…. you're a wolf." Ugh. With a sigh, Wolf plopped down on the air mattress. Whatever.

Wolf wasn't sure how much time had passed before Panther finally came back into the room. "Ah, I see you're still awake. After Fay and I didn't see you, we assumed you had just fallen asleep."

"No, I… no. What were you two talking about, anyways?"

Panther smiled. "Ah, we were merely discussing famous actresses in Cornerian film. Did you know that she has an autograph from Osprey Hepburn? It was apparently inherited from her parents. It'd be worth a fortune these days, but there's some things where sentimental value is more important than monetary value, eh?"

Wolf nodded. "Yeah, it… is."

A frown. "Are you feeling alright? You seem to be distracted."

"I'm fine. I'm… I'll be fine. Just thinking, is all."

"I don't suppose you want to… share those thoughts?"

"No! Er… no." Wolf frowned. "Not yet. I still need to… time."

Panther raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Very well. Just don't forget I'm here if you need me."

"Right. Thank you. I think I'll be go sleep now. Goodnight." Wolf, very eager to end this line of questioning, rolled over and shut Wolf's one good eye.

"Yes, well, goodnight to you as well. I hope you have pleasant dreams."

Wolf's dreams were anything but pleasant. Standing on the barren surface of Venom, Wolf was locked in combat with an unknown opponent, one who blocked every attack, countered perfectly each time. Jabs, swipes, kicks, nothing worked. The assailant managed to slip past the offensive and went for Wolf's throat, finally giving Wolf a chance to see who was attacking… and the face was his own. Choking the life out of himself.

He awoke with a start to see Panther and Fay standing over him, concerned. "…what?"

"You were… making noises in your sleep." Panther said. "Like you were… I'm not even entirely sure."

"Whimpering." Fay said.

"I do not whimper."

She shrugged. "Well regardless, we're all up, so it's time for you to take a shower."

"Time for me to what?"

Panther nodded. "Both you and your flight suit need to be washed before we take you clothes shopping."

Wolf narrowed his eye. There were so many things he wanted to say but honestly it's not like this was the end of the world.

Panther smiled as he took a sip of coffee. "Ah, this is truly a spectacular brew."

"I should hope you like it after how much cream and sugar you added." Fay said with some snark.

"Ah, I'm not the one who takes mine black. That would be Leon." Hm… Panther frowned. Hopefully Leon is alright and not doing anything too problematic.

"Panther? You there?"

"Hm? Ah, sorry, I was distracted." He hadn't realized how lost in thought he must have gotten. "Were you trying to ask me something?"

Fay nodded. "It's about Wolf, actually. They're taking a shower now but we won't be able to wash the flight suit until afterwards, so…"

"So Wolf is going to need something to wear."

"Right. And I was wondering if you knew what kind of clothes she likes?"

Hmm… an interesting question. "I've never actually seen Wolf wear anything other than the flight suit. I'm not sure what he'd choose…"

"Well, if you've got a spare outfit, then at least we can give them a choice."

The shower took three hours. Partly because, truth be told, every minute of it was necessary to finally get clean. But also partly because once he was in the shower he didn't want to leave. Something about the warmth of the water on his face… Almost made him forget everything he was struggling with last night. Almost. Wolf sighed and grabbed a towel. At least now all that was left was to… get dressed… even though the flight suit was about to be washed right now. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"Wolf? Are you done?" It was Panther.

"Yes, I just finished."

"Well, once you 're all dry, we put some clothes on the bed for you. I wasn't sure what you'd want to wear so you've got some options."

Options? That sounded… weirdly ominous. Before Wolf could say anything though, it sounded like Panther had already left the adjacent bedroom and closed the door behind him. Wolf sighed and finished drying off. Best to just get things over with. He opened the door and took a look. On the right, closest to the bathroom door, was a plain outfit. A red polo shirt with thin blue stripes and a pair of jean shorts. And to the left… Wolf's breath caught in their throat. Walking over to the bed, Wolf felt their hand shake as they… she… he… Wolf. Wolf reached out and placed Wolf's hand on the clothes. It was… it was incredible. A yellow shirt with a picture of a flower on it, an orange jacket, and a green skirt… the fabric felt so soft… Wolf had never even touched anything that felt this good before. The flight suit was so uncomfortable compared to this… this beautiful fabric. This. This this this this this this this this this this this. This is right.

Twenty minutes had passed since Wolf had gotten dressed. Wolf couldn't move though… too busy looking at the Wolf in the mirror. Looking at her. Wolf laughed. A real laugh. There was no malice behind this laugh like there usually was. No bitterness. No sarcasm. Just… just joy. Suddenly a knock at the bedroom door.

"Wolf? Everything alright in there?" Panther? Panther can't see her- him-

"Fine, yes, everything, don't come in, it's- we're all fine here don't come in." Panic started to set in. How do you take off this shirt- need to change into the Polo-

"Wolf… I'm not coming in."

Okay, okay, deep breaths, Just need to… just need to. "Okay, good. Because you don't need to, everything's fine."

"That's good."

Silence. Neither of them spoke. Wolf's breathing started to calm. Wolf had moved to stand right next to the door to make sure that Panther couldn't change his mind all of a sudden and throw the door open.

"Well… if you need anything… or even just to talk, I'm here, alright?"

"Right. Good. Thank you."

Silence again.

"I'll… go back to the living room then."

"Good. You do that." Wolf's shoulders relaxed as the sound of Panther's footsteps started to fade… but… "Wait, Panther."

"Yes?"

"I… which one of these outfits was I supposed to choose?"

The footsteps returned. "Supposed to choose?"

"This… what was the right choice?"

"Wolf… they're just clothes."

"Like heck they are!"

There was a pause from the other side of the door. "I don't know how to put this, but they really are just clothes."

"Yes but- with the skirt-"

"Wolf you've seen me wear a ballgown. Clothes are clothes are clothes. There are just some that we're more comfortable wearing and others we're less. Putting on 'boy's clothes' doesn't make you a boy, and putting on 'girl's clothes' doesn't make you a girl." Another pause. "It won't change who you are, but it might help you realize who you are."

Wolf sank to the floor. "But… but…"

"Are you happy?"

Happy? "I don't-"

"The choice you made, did it make you happy?"

Wolf thought. "I…. I…" Happy? Could clothes really do that? "…yes."

"Then you chose the correct outfit."

"Clearly I chose the wrong outfit." Pigma grumbled. Again. They had hardly entered Fichina's atmosphere when he started complaining about the cold. Which was ironic given that this had been his hideout until recently.

"I'm really sorry sir! We'll be out of here just as soon as we pick him up." Algy skillfully navigated the ship down to the planet's surface and landed next to what looked like a cave. Pulling out a handheld radio device, he sent some kind of encrypted message. Almost immediately, a light blinked on the device. "Oh good, he's on his way."

Leon opened the cargo bay door, grimacing at the cold. Oh wah, poor Pigma, sitting up in the cockpit where it's warm and his fat self can take up three chairs while his warm blooded system keeps him going in this temperature. Meanwhile Leon could already tell he was losing feeling in his hands. Thankfully a figure emerged from the cave and rushed towards the ship. Whoever it was was dressed very warmly, bundled up in a long snow jacket, gloves, boots, and several scarves. As soon as they were on board, Leon punched the door control and the two headed deeper into the ship, the door closing and sealing behind them.

"It's good to see you again, Leon!" A muffled voice said from inside the bundle of scarves. It was shrill and familiar, but where had he heard it before? A realization struck him and filled him with dread.

"Oh no…" Leon groaned.

"Yes, it is I!" Tossing aside the scarves and coat, the figure was replaced with a tall white monkey dressed in a tattered Venomian Officer's uniform. "The one and only true emperor of the Lylat System! Andrew Oikonny!"