"All right, look!" barked the wolf, "If I untie you, will you stop it with the crying!?" Lucy looked up at Wolf, her red eyes wiggling, and managed to sniff back the last of her tears, swallow her moans, and give a light nod. "…Okay, that's better. No point in you trying to run away at this point, anyway. General Peppy finally received the message with my demands. He should be here for you by sunrise."
With that, he untied the hare, shuffled past his two teammates and left the room. Though wanting to spend the rest of this frustrating ordeal in solitude, his pointed ears picked up the pattering of feet charging from behind.
"Wolf!" shouted Leon, his voice strained and crackling with anger, "What was THAT!?"
"Huh? What's the matter with you? What was what?"
"That entire emotional display! It makes me sick!"
"Ugh! Look, what do you want from me? The girl learned her lesson."
"Lesson? Ha! I think she was faking it. That little snot pretended to cry so you would untie her, and you completely bought it!"
"What? Aww, you're crazy! Looked real to me…bah! Since when do YOU know anything about emotions!?"
"Now, now! Let us not bicker in such a way," said Panther with his ever constant smooth and unsettlingly calm tone, "Leon, you must not be so hard on Wolf, for I, too, know what it is like to want to do anything for a pretty face."
"What did you say!?" the wolf snarled, "I had her tied up just a moment ago! I've been threatening her almost the entire time she was here!"
"Well, I had always figured you the type to be into the…how shall I put this…the kinky sort of situations?"
Wolf began to burn with anger, his fists clenching and growls sputtering from his mouth. Before he had the chance to verbally chew off the panther's head, Leon interrupted, "All the same, you're the only one who's been talking to her. You could have just as easily locked her in that room and left her be until the general came for her, LIKE WE PLANNED!"
"Grrr…bah! I don't need to be lectured by the likes of you idiots!" With violent shove of his two teammates, the wolf bolted away from the hall and towards his own room, where he would remain until Solar rose on Titania's surface.
In a few hours, an orange, hazy morning covered half the planet, leaving the base in a sickly glowing mist. Rays of burning sunlight pierced though Wolf's resting, so he rose from his flat bed and headed for head of the base. Beyond the hall where all the dorms had been placed, the lupine's ears twitched with the commotion that lay ahead of him.
"Ah, sweet, Lucy," sighed Panther in a somber tone, "Your father approaches to take you away, and we've had so little time to get to know each other!"
"Uh…yeah….sure, what a shame…" replied the hare, desperately trying to inch herself away from the large black cat.
"Could I at least have a kiss goodbye?"
"Um…I think we should just stay friends…"
"Come now, no need to be coy with me! Just one kiss, that is all I ask!"
"I said no, Panther! Now please…just leave me alone!"
"Just one! Come now!" said the Panther as he grabbed her wrist and reeled her close to him.
"I said NO, you jerk! Let me go! Let me…go!" the hare cried out fervently, yanking herself around in hopes to catapult her body from the panther's grasp.
"Panther!" Wolf blasted as he stomped over to them, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Oh?" said Panther, a twist in his tone, oddly delighted with his leader's grimace. "Is Wolf upset that I am making time with his…captive?"
"You listen here," Wolf said with a growl as he shoved the panther in the other direction, breaking his grip on Lucy. "This whole lover-boy act is getting REAL old, REAL fast, and it is too early for me to deal with your garbage!"
Just then, a massive whistling sound, like that of a comet dropping, emerged from the morning silence outside the base. By reflex, the hare forgot the unwanted advances by Panther and yelled out, "Papa!" with delight.
"Finally!" exclaimed Leon, emerging from the shadows, "The morons have complied! What is our plan, Wolf?"
"…Plan?" he grunted.
"Yes! You ordered that only General Peppy show up, and he come unarmed, didn't you? Are we going to ambush him…or better yet! Take him hostage as well!"
"We're not doing anything like that," he answered. He could see the unnerving of his two associates, but his face remained blank. "I will be taking care of the general personally. Lucy, come with me and let's get this over with. I want you two to stay in the base, but if I'm not back in thirty minutes, prep your Wolfens and get ready to leave." And he nudged his head in the direction of the door, signaling the hare to come follow him. Though just as confused as Leon and Panther, Lucy acknowledged the signal and trotted off behind him.
As they walked down the final corridor, Lucy shuddered, feeling the cold aura that was coming off of the wolf. She knew he was done talking at this point, but figuring she would never get another chance, gulped and said, "…You didn't have to do that, you know."
"Huh?" he snorted, as though her words had woken him from sleep, "What are you talking about?"
"Back there…you saved me from Panther."
"Yeah, well, he gets like that. Such an idiot…shutting him up is one of my hobbies."
"You still didn't have to, though."
Wolf grunted. "Yeah, well, I wanted to, okay?"
The hatch doors lifted, and the Great Fox could be seen in the distance. They continued to walk, but the hare's joy in being able to see her father again was somehow muddled by another conflicted emotion.
The Great Fox stood but a few yards away, glistening in the sunlight. Salvation was finally in the hare's grasp, and yet the tendons in her body tightened and clogged her breathing. In a long sigh she struggled to release the tension. Knowing her time was only thinning, she blurted out, "You know, you're better than this."
"Yeah, I know that, I am….oh, wait, you were talking in terms of personality, weren't you?"
Lucy sighed again. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Ah, crap, why would you even say something like? I'm your CAPTOR, for cryin' out loud! You're supposed find me repulsive!"
"Well, I did at first! But…well, after spending so much time here…you…you have certain sense of…well…I'm not sure what it is. But you're not like Panther and Leon. There's something about you, I guess…that I just find fascinating."
"I'm the leader here. I'm supposed to be the worst of them all."
"It's ironic, yes, but…well, I'm just telling you what I think."
"Well, I think you're wrong. And I think it's a safe assumption that most little girls like you who think that men like me have some inner softness or whatever, are usually wrong."
"I never said anything about softness. I said you were fascinating, and that could be good or bad."
"I see…Let me ask you one thing, Bunny. Did you fake all that when you cried so I would untie you?"
"Well…" mused Lucy, her rising inflection serving as a warning to Wolf, "Let's just say that…when you're a Daddy's Girl like me, you learn how to get what you want."
"Ha!" the lupine belted, "Maybe you're not so bad, Lucy."
"Lucy!" cried an elderly voice. As the Great Fox came into clear vision, a short and stocky rabbit came running. "Lucy!" he said again. He held up his arms, outreached for his daughter, but Wolf blocked him with his own arm in front of her, letting him know he would not be able to get her back until negotiations were made. "Lucy…I was so worried! I came as fast as I could! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did Star Wolf hurt you at all?"
"No, Papa, I'm fine. Everything's okay."
"Hmph…" the wolf grunted as he saw a second figure appear from out of the Star Fox team's mother ship. Out stepped a younger man, his orange-brown fur and green eyes glowing in the intense desert sunlight. "…Fox."
"Wolf," replied Fox with displeasure as great as the lupine's, "I can't believe you've resorted to kidnapping. This is low, even for you."
"Heh, what can I say?" he replied with a snicker, "I guess I was bored."
"Bored…sure…right."
"Listen, Wolf," said Peppy with a stern voice, "I don't want any trouble. I…I couldn't risk anything, not when my daughter is involved. Just please…give her back to me, and I'll give you the money."
The wolf paused, a scowl covering his face. He positioned himself so that Peppy and Fox could not see all of Lucy; he would not give her back so easily. "Why is the pup here? I told you to come alone."
The elder hare's face went blank. "I…I…"
"I insisted upon coming," replied Fox, his voice snapping back at Wolf's intimidation like a whip, "Lucy is a friend of mine, and I will not sit back idly while someone I care about is in danger."
"Is that so?" said Wolf with a twisting grin. "I also asked that Peppy come unarmed. Let's see if you did the same."
"What—?" Fox's mind flashed, an instinct unearthing from inside of him, and all the actions that proceeded whirred together in an instant—the glint of the sickle-like attachment of Wolf's blaster in the desert sunlight as he yanked it from his holster, Lucy's fluttering shriek upon seeing weapons, the ringing of a shot of light piercing through the air, and the shuffle of dirt and sand as Fox rolled to his side. On foot and knee, the vulpine revealed his own blaster and returned fire, the ray of red light flying through Wolf's fingers.
"GAH!" Wolf hollered, his weapon falling to the ground as he gripped his shooting hand. His pointed ears twitched with a click, and he turned to see it came from Fox's blaster, upright and aimed at his head.
"Nice try, Wolf," he said with a mesh of confidence and disappointment that made the lupine cringe. "We'll be taking back Lucy, now."
"W-wait!" squeaked Lucy, still standing by Wolf, her eyes bouncing back and forth, desperately searching for the right course of action. "Wh-what…what's going to happen to him?"
"I can have Special Forces here in ten minutes," said Peppy, "And we can put an end to Star Wolf's legacy right here."
"Heh, that'll be ten minutes too late, old man," snarled Wolf, a smile slowly curling across his face while his wrist still shook, "My men are already set to leave this dump."
"I doubt they'll be able to come for you that quickly," snapped Fox, his weapon still pointed at the wolf. "Maybe I'll just take you in myself."
"Wait a second!" cried the pink hare, startling both her saviors and her captor. "Please, he's in no position to fight back now and…and we don't even have to give him the money…can't we just leave him?"
"Lucy…how can you even say that?" asked Peppy.
"I…well…" Lucy trembled, her eyes still scrambling, "It's just…this whole thing…the kidnapping wasn't even Wolf's idea!"
"What…?"
"Y-yes! Fox, you said this was low, even for him, right? Well…that's because it is! Wolf's ship was damaged and…Leon and Panther made this plan to kidnap me! And they…Leon probably would've tortured me if not for Wolf!" Fox and Peppy's faces were wide-eyed and vacant. Wolf, too, was dumbfounded by Lucy's words, though he covered his confusion with a more stern expression as to follow along with that she was saying. "Look, those two are probably planning to just leave him here, and I…I think he's suffered enough."
"Lucy, I…I can't believe what you're saying," said Fox, "I mean, if either of those three were to have a soul, I would guess it'd be Wolf, but the fact remains…"
"Fox," interrupted Peppy, "I believe her. Lucy has no reason to lie to us. Besides, you'd rather take out Star Wolf on more fair grounds, so to speak, wouldn't you?"
"Well, I…" the vulpine looks around. He could see Wolf was indisposed; Lucy was overcome with pity, which was in turn spreading to Peppy. With a heavy sigh, he lowered his blaster and said, "Fine, fine…let's just get out of here."
The fox and two hares walked back towards the Great Fox, the sand-filled winds whipping their backs, carrying over waves of uncertainty.
"I…do fear we're making a mistake here," sighed Peppy, "But…I'm just glad I have you back, Lucy."
"Yeah," said Fox, "I just hope Wolf is grateful of how kind Lucy is."
"Th-thank you, Fox," she replied softly.
"Yes, let's just put this whole ordeal behind us!" said Peppy, his voice ringing with resilience as an effort to boost morale.
"Yes, that…sounds good," Lucy turned her head back as she walked, watching Wolf's figure become dimmer with each passing step. As she watched him begin to turn away, she sighed.
Peppy's ears flopped down as he watched his daughter. Unable to maintain a positive tone as he observed her, he said, "Lucy…is everything all right?"
"Hmm? Oh…oh no, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course! Why would you ask that Papa, I…" Lucy found herself with her head locked in the other direction. The emotions running through, confusion and relief, concern and happiness, were tying knots in her stomach.
"Lucy…?"
"Oh!" the young hare groaned, her hands clutched at her heart in an attempt to keep herself from shaking. Another moment, and she placed them on Peppy's shoulder and said with focused eyes, "Papa, please don't hate me for what I'm about to do!" and her feet bounced off the sand, sprinting in the other direction.
"LUCY! What are you doing!?"
"Lucy!" cried Fox. A foot lifted from the ground and arms stretched out towards her, he planned to run after her. But before he could begin, it was already over.
"Wait a minute!" cried Lucy.
"Hmm?" Wolf muttered, slowly turning the other way, wondering why he heard Lucy's voice instead of the humming of the Great Fox. He turned and, to his surprise, saw the hare rushing towards him. "What's going on? What's wrong with--mmph!"
His sentenced was cut clean off by a soft pressing. The hare threw herself at the wolf as if to halt her momentum, launched herself on the tips of her toes and crammed her mouth against the end of his muzzle. Wolf's natural eye was wide, like two hands were yanking the ends of it apart. Fox was in the middle of the path, Peppy still at the end by the Great Fox, the two of them in full view of Lucy kissing her captor, and not a word or breath escaped their lips.
Lucy clenched the ends of Wolf's black shirt, grabbing him as though for dear life. Before Wolf could even process her action and formulate a response, she pushed herself away, as quickly as she came, and with her newly free hands, she raised an arm to the beating sun and catapulted it across his face. Though the wolf's face was covered in fur, her hands had managed to make a firm, resounding "Smack!"
As her arms repositioned to her side, she had already twisted herself back around. Wolf watched the dust collect as she ran back to her saviors. Her spontaneous actions left him grounded, helpless to watch as the three of them recollected and flew off. He could not gather why Lucy did what she did, nor could he completely hear what the responses of the other two were. But as he watched the gusts of wind rise with the lifting of the Great Fox, he heard a faint rustling beneath him. With his good hand, he searched himself and found a small piece of paper crammed into his pocket. He unfolded it and immediately noticed the very feminine handwriting.
"Bah. Dumb girl must've done it before we left…" The wolf grunted to himself as he examined the note, which had been wrapped over a small card. The lupine examined it and found the small displacement of money already within. "Only a fraction of what I asked for…Then again, I was just about to settle for nothing…" He looked up one last time to find the mothership still disintegrating in the sunlight, and his devious grin returned to his face. "I suppose thanks are in order…"