Chapter 1
"Big Girls Don't Cry"
"So, anything else you want to talk about?"
"No….I've got nothing. I know you are tired of hearing me whine about the same things over and over. I didn't mean to waste your time like that. I…I just needed someone nice to talk to."
"Well Lucy…" An abrupt clearing of the throat interrupted the voice over the phone "Don't even sweat it. We're like family. Hell, we are family as far as I'm concerned. Don't be afraid to call me up again if you want to talk about something, anything. Okay?"
"Thanks Fox, you've always been there for me. I just didn't want to talk to Papa about this. He'd just nag me to death and make me want to break my phone." Lucy forced a chuckle
"Alright then, I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Goodbye Fox."
-click- The soft slap of a cell phone shut accommodated the end of the call.
Another stressful day at my job and I am on knife's edge. I'm so thankful that Fox still talks to me. Yet, I still wonder what life would be like if I were still by Fox's side. More than just friendship, I wonder what if we were still together.
The young woman sat precariously by the window of her room. As she looked yonder her vivid garnet eyes caught her attention in the reflection of the window.
"…!" Goodness, here I am crying again. Get a grip girl. Lucy got up from the windowsill and walked a short distance to her nightstand to grab a few tissues. In exchange for the tissues she placed her cell phone down next to the tissue box.
She blotted her eyes ever so gently to catch the tears that would have fallen had she actually let them fall down her face. Lucy was at the point that she realized she needed to stop groveling at the past and work on the present. However there has always been this form of resentment inside of her. Every now and then she would tear up due to multiple factors her but her job has been the majority of her mini-breakdowns as a way of dealing with stress.
-Chirp, chirp-
-Chirp, chirp-
"Oh, my phone." She tossed the semi-moist tissues in the waste basket near the nightstand and opened the flip phone before the third set of ringing was audible "Hello?"
"Yo Lucy…" A different voice than the one she was pouring her heart out to earlier. This was a female's voice.
Lucy sniffled back some tears upon hearing this voice "I knew I should have checked the caller ID before answering. NowI know to change some settings when I hang up."
"Hahaha! Why are you always taking it out on meeee? If anything, block the school's number not mine."
"I'll think about it. What do you want Seven? Or rather what does Dr. Aldenhide want?"
"He wants you to report in early tomorrow."
"How early are we talking?" Lucy rolled her eyes anticipating a displeasing answer
"0500 hours."
Lucy sighs "This is the third FUCKING day he's asking…No telling me to come in this early. It's ridiculous and I don't know how you can put up with your hours."
"Oh that's easy with coffee, a lot of tolerance and ass kissing. But who am I kidding? I am the humble TA servant on the lowest rung of the chain of command. I live to serve you and other higher ups." A mock regal voice bellows out.
The things this quirky teaching assistant would make Lucy smile so much that it would make her cheeks hurt "Hehehe…Don't say that. You make me sound as bad as the regular professors at the university."
"Well you are."
"I am not!" Lucy gripped the cell phone a bit tighter than usual and lost the smile.
"Geez calm down, I was just kidding." A loud burst of laughter ensured afterwards "Everyone knows you are the 'it' professor to take classes with."
"Hmmmmm…" Something about Seven's last comment bothered her.
"But know this Lucy Hare; I'll take that title away from you when I become a professor."
Honestly Seven, I could care less. "Okay…So I guess that's that. I got the message. Thank you."
"Hey, hey, hey…don't shoot the messenger. Shoot the person who hired the messenger. Remember, for every man, woman and child, work is inevitable, escaping it is-
"-futlie."
"Futile. Yeah, yeah. Later." Lucy chimed in at the end of the quite
-click- The phone slaps shut once more.
"Oh shoot, let me do this before I forget." Lucy opens up her phone once more to configure the send button to pick up rather than just opening the phone. "There. If it's work, it can just go to voicemail. I can't stomach hearing another plea on coming in earlier than scheduled." She puts the phone down once more and hopefully for the night.
1900 hours huh? Guess I better call it a night. Lucy walks over to the dresser of her room. It was a rather grand dresser accompanied with a mirror and all. Greatly varnished cherry wood with gold trimming furniture surrounded her room. The furniture set always reminded her of nature which is what she adored ever since childhood. Her room was not overly extravagant but it made her feel at ease with a lavish queen size bed with high thread count pastel yellow cotton sheets.
After rummaging for about a minute or two through the dresser she pulled out two light garments presumably for sleeping. She tosses them on her bed and walks over to the window where she closes the curtains to obscure the view inside her room.
Lucy didn't take but a couple of minutes to change completely out of her day clothes into her sleeping clothes. She decided on a thick white tank top and black boy shorts. "I hope this temperature is constant for the night. It's perfect leaving the window cracked so some air can cool the room down."
Before giving in to the night, Lucy decided to peruse her one-bedroom apartment to make sure everything is secure for her liking. She took a quick glance at her common area and everything was neat and in order.
She had a peculiar taste for modern furniture to contrast with her room. The living room portion contained a red cloth couch and matching loveseat. A nice 40 inch plasma television sat atop a rectangular media center. Between the couch and the media center stood a nice coffee table made of dark oak wood that was low to the ground. The carpet that Lucy traversed on was grey and only covered half of the common area for the other half was for the open kitchen and dining area and that area is graced by tiles.
As she walked over to the kitchen she made sure everything was spotless as she had left it the afternoon after she prepared her dinner. The sink was clear, the dishes were dry in the drying rack, the counters were wiped clean and the stove was not left on. Check.
As Lucy walked towards the dining room table she noticed out the large window in the common area that Solar was indeed setting as it was giving the room a crimson and burnt orange hue. So pretty. She thought to herself. Although she was too into the sights outside to notice how quickly she's had come in contact with table.
"Ouch!" A slight bump with the table caused it to be shifted a tenth of an inch. Lucy corrected the table to its original position. She wasn't walking too fast but since the table was square it did cause quite a discomfort. It was a black square table with four accompanying chairs. She had a red vase sitting directly in the middle of the table with one exuberant sunflower poking out of it.
She walked over to the window and drew the blinds close. The window was rather large and had two sections. The basic rectangular structure which was covered with the blinds and a semi-circle portion that rested on top of the base of the rectangular window portion. Combined the window had to have been 9 feet tall give or take so the fact that the semi-circle portion could not be concealed by blinds was not of concern to her. It also helped that she lived on the second floor of her apartment complex.
The final and most important stop on the security check was the door. "Doorknob, Deadbolt and chain check." She made sure all of them were locked. There was a strip of coat hangers affixed to the wall adjacent to the door which was quite convenient since she didn't have to buy one.
After her personal security check, Lucy decided to call it a day by walking back to her bedroom. She walked past her bathroom door as it was across the hall from her bedroom. Back to the nature-like setting the young hare pulled back the covers of her bed and slowly climbed in. It only took a couple of seconds for the mattress to contour to her fatigued body and accelerate the moment sleep overwhelmed her.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt to announce that the shuttle headed for Fichina will be boarding soon. If you had not checked your baggage please do so as the carry on restriction is limited to women's handbags and small items."
Lucy Hare had a frantic look about her as she was peering through an endless sea of people. Different species and breeds yet she was looking for a specific someone. Where is he? I told him to meet me here an hour before my flight.
"Hey! Lucy!" A voice shouted out from the distance "Lucy!"
"Hmmm?" She turned around to try and track the sound of the voice "Ah!" Her eyes lit up when she saw him running in a mad dash towards her.
"Lucy!" The person she was waiting on appeared right before her eyes "Sorry I'm late. Traffic is gridlocked due to this new shuttle transportation port opening." He made an overall gesture
Lucy giggled "Fox, no need to apologize, you are right on time. I started to worry though but I knew you'd come through for me." She smiled at the seemingly breath out-of breath young man. She then took his hands in with hers to draw him into a brief kiss on the lips.
"Uh…yeah." Fox laughed nervously and looked off to the side to play off his tinge of blush
"Why don't we sit somewhere before you collapse? You know you didn't have to run from the parking lot to the boarding area."
"Yeah, well I didn't want to hold you up. You said you had something important to ask of me before you headed off to Fichina."
Lucy let go of one of his hands but still gripped the other one "Yeah I do. But come with me, there's still plenty of time before we get to actually board the shuttle. I'll buy you a cup of coffee; you look like you could use a pick me up."
"O-okay, fine." Fox was pulled by Lucy to the interior of the port. There was a multitude of shops that varied for the travelers' needs including several restaurants, a parts and labor garage for small transport vehicles, an on board hotel, and a small clinic. Lucy decided to stop at this one peculiar restaurant that had a television blaring the latest report on the Androssian war.
As soon as they walked up, an eagle hostess greeted them. "Howdy! How many in your party?" She looked middle aged and had this stern yet motherly characteristic about her.
"Just us two." Replied Lucy "Say do you serve coffee here?"
"Sure do hon, let me get you two seated right away." The hostess takes two menus and makes a following motion "Right this way."
After only a short walk weaving through some empty tables, the hostess thought it would be appropriate for the two to have a small table in a corner. "How's this? Figured you two might like some privacy in case we get any more customers."
"This is fine thanks." Fox nodded his head as the two of them sat at opposite ends of the table
The hostess gave each a menu "So, are you ready to order or do you want me to come back in a few?" The hostess whipped out the pad and pen ready to take down whatever her customers said
Lucy looked up and smiled "Actually we're just gonna have coffee."
"Oh? Okay. You sure?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Oh no. Nothing to be sorry about. I'll be right back with that coffee okay?" The hostess walks off.
Lucy was a bit disappointed that they were seated at a table further away from the television on the wall but in the position she was sitting in she could just see fine. The sound was quite loud so if something caught her attention she would be able to pick up the story so all is not a total loss.
Upon glancing at the TV she noticed the headline TENSIONS RISE IN THE CORNERIAN DEFENSE FORCE, ANDROSS IS AN AT-LARGE RISK FOR GENERAL SAFETY.
"Oh goodness." Lucy's eyes were at a flutter
"What? What's going on?" Fox tilts his head slightly in confusion
"The news is broadcasting Dr. Andross could wage war any second now. He's considered an at-large risk for the public."
"Yeah, Lucy about that…."Fox trailed off "I need to tell you something."
"Wait me first!" Lucy smiled "Fox, you know it's not too late."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Not too late for what?"
Lucy giggled as she looked away "Remember that talk we had at the academy?"
"What? About telling your father about our relationship?"
"Not that. After we'd had talked about that."
Fox sighed "Lucy, I'm not a mind reader. Just cut to the chase."
"Okay well, I've been thinking. Instead of me going to Fichina just to run and hide, I should be joining the CDF despite what Papa says."
Fox almost choked on his saliva when she told him that. His eyes widened for what she had to say next.
"I want to fight the good fight, you know. I can't just sit back and try to enjoy a life of civility when I could be fighting alongside you, William and Slippy." Lucy looked Fox straight into his eyes.
Fox felt his heart skip a beat. The thought of losing his significant other would be too much to bear. After all, he had lost both his parents within a short window of one another. Her father Paul Hare who was nicknamed "Peppy" was like his second father. Fox didn't know of any other blood relatives so he would confide in Peppy like a son would to his father. It took a while for Fox to relay feelings for Lucy as he always thought of her as a little sister but because of Lucy's habit of being a loving individual he couldn't help himself to evolve the relationship to something deeper. Not many people knew about them being a couple besides his flight academy friends William "Bill" Grey and Slippy Toad.
The four of them were closely acquainted throughout the three years of flight academy. A typical student must go through four years of training before they can be considered to enlist in the Cornerian Defense Force. With the exception of Bill, all of the friends had to withdraw before the final year of training due to complications of the Androssian war that had been building up. Fox was first with the loss of his father. He took some time off to recuperate mentally. Peppy had been there for him throughout all stages of his loss. Peppy decided to continue out his aerial training so Fox wouldn't be left completely in the dark for every situation Peppy could think of.
Slippy left for Fox's support. They had been friends since they were toddlers and he didn't see himself going into the CDF, especially without Fox. He decided to delve into mechanical engineering under his father, Beltino's tutelage.
Lucy was a different story. Peppy hit a rock bottom prior to James' demise. He had just lost his beautiful wife of 19 years Vivian due to a terminal illness. James was genuinely concerned about Peppy's condition prior to accepting General Pepper's mission in regard to confronting Andross. Peppy shook it off and told James he would be alright. Although Peppy did have his reserve about Pigma this time around, he still thought Pigma could be trustworthy. Unfortunately that critical misjudgment would cost Peppy one of his dearest friends' lives. Barely escaping within an inch of his own life, Peppy gunned straight for Corneria in hopes not only to inform Fox about James's fate but to take his daughter out of all of this mess before she was caught in the belly of the beast known as war.
Lucy was called out of the dormitory the next day after Peppy's arrival in Corneria. The headmaster of the academy frankly apologized to her and bluntly told her that she was expelled for reasons unknown. She wore an expression of shock as she packed her bags and travelled back to her family home in Corneria where broke down in front of her father about the whole situation. Peppy consoled her by offering to send her to school in Fichina.
Fox shook out of his state of shock to finally reply, "Lucy, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Huh? But what about the CDF you are fighting in ranks with them right?"
"No, I'm going rogue."
"Rogue?" Lucy turns her head in confusion.
"I'm acting as a free agent to the CDF but I don't have to take orders from General Pepper. I'm going to continue my father's legacy with the Star Fox team."
"Ah, I see. Well how about letting me come with you? You know I'm a pretty good tactician! I can get us to-…"
"Lucy, stop and hear me out." Fox held a hand up to signal her attention "I don't want you to come with us because it's going to get very dangerous and you're too young."
"Fox you're only 18 and I'm 15 and a half. What's the big difference? I placed in the same classes as you in the academy so why do you doubt my prowess?"
"It's not that. It's really dangerous and-…"
"It's dangerous. Yeah, you've said that already." Lucy looked off to the side agitated
"Let me finish. I've already established my team and your father's apart of it. You know he wouldn't accept this. He couldn't risk losing you and neither can I. Not all that we've been through."
Lucy's scowl dropped for a concerned look "Fox, I…"
"Coffee's up! And here's some doughnuts on the house." The waitress set placed two mugs of steaming aromatic coffee along with a plate of two doughnuts on their table. "Any cream, milk? How about sugar?"
"Yes, milk and sugar please." Lucy forced a smile to the hostess "Thanks for the doughnuts."
"No, thank you. I appreciate it." Fox sips the black coffee in hopes that it would jolt him awake.
The hostess nods and pours a small amount of milk from a creamer and hands Lucy a couple of packets of sugar as well as a coffee stirrer.
Lucy opens the sugar packets and empties the contents into the mug and gives the contents a good stir or two. She glances at the television once more to catch any updates that might have occurred within the last twenty-five minutes.
"Geez, now they're saying all the habitable planets are in fear of being invaded. The threat's getting stronger." Lucy takes a sip of her coffee.
"And you wouldn't mind fighting in this sort of condition? You know according to what you've been saying a few moments earlier?" Fox looked her directly in her eyes for a while until she would avert her attention back to him
"No. That's why I wanted to be in the flight academy." Lucy takes another sip of her coffee "I'm not the one to run away from my problems, I'd like to face them head on."
"Lucy, we aren't saying you should run away from your battles but we want you to be safe for now. This war isn't going to be pretty." Fox closes his eyes for a brief moment "Then again war is never pretty. Also Lucy, think about your father. He'd probably be too distracted over your concern. I'd really don't know what to do if I'd lost the two of you at the same time."
Lucy then just realized something, "Wait a minute, you think I'm going to be a nuisance?" Then picked up a doughnut
Fox was in mid-drink when he wanted to reply "N-ACK!" He coughed and sputtered. He firmly beat his chest so that everything would clear up and go down correctly "Ahem…No! I never said that."
"You didn't have to say it." She bit into the doughnut and took a large swallow of coffee
A chime ringing throughout the station's intercom system "Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt to announce that the shuttle to Fichina has arrived and will be boarding in 30 minutes. There is only 20 minutes to check baggage. If you have not done so, please do as so as the carry on restriction is limited to women's handbags and small items."
Fox gulped down the rest of the coffee and in hopes of killing the awkwardness of the situation, "Ahem, pretty good coffee huh? How's the doughnut?"
"Pretty good." She stated in a deadpan tone
"Heh,shall we?" Fox gets up and grabs his doughnut
"Yeah sure." Lucy gulped the rest of her coffee down and gets up from her seat.
The couple headed to the counter to meet the hostess once again.
"Oh how was everything?"She asked
"Great thanks. How much?" Fox replied
"4.15 Lyats." She replied
Fox dug into his pockets searching for his wallet.
"Didn't you pay attention when I said I would pay for it?" Lucy handed the hostess a card
The hostess handed her a holographic tablet "Just verify them amount and press okay."
With a few clicks and beeps from the tablet Lucy handed the device back to her. "Here you are."
"Thank you…Uhhh…Are you sure this is what you wanted?"
"Yes."
"Hon I think you better look at this to make sure." The Hostess kept her mouth slightly agape and handed the tablet to Lucy once again "People do mistype on these things."
Lucy lightly shoved it back towards the hostess with a faint smile. "Keep the change."
"W…Uhm…thank you." The Hostess put away the table and displayed a huge grin "Have a safe trip and come back soon."
Lucy could have sworn that she heard a faint 'Wow' from the Hostess upon exiting.
"How much did you give that lady?" Fox bit into the doughnut
"The tab plus 50 on top of that."
"Well, if you're still feeling generous how about giving us a donation?" Fox chuckled
"'Us?' Who's 'Us?'" Lucy shot a glance at Fox while walking towards the baggage check area
"Why the new and improved Star Fox team of course. Who else would I ask on behalf of?"
"Sure, I can chip in fuel for the three of you." Lucy gave a half-assed smile
"There's actually four of us."
"William's going to be on your team? I thought he was sworn into the CDF."
"Yeah he is and it's not Bill. It's a new guy." Fox finished the doughnut
"New guy?" Lucy was intrigued. Maybe this is for the better. I mean this guy could be a seasoned veteran like Papa. I guess if this guy's good then I can forgive Fox and Papa for not including me. "Well, we're here at the baggage claim. It's not too late for me to reclaim my suitcase, run away with you and kick some bad guy butt." Lucy smirked causing Fox to laugh nervously "Besides what's this new guy like?"
Fox scratched his head. "Eh…I don't know much about him except that he's an exceptional pilot."
"What? You don't know much about him? Then what the hell is he doing on your team? You need people you can trust, Fox. It sounds like to me that you just pulled him off the street." Lucy folded her arms and sighed in aggravation. "Aside from his so-called exceptional piloting skills is there anything personal you would know about him personally? Like where he was born? Where did he learn his piloting skills from?"
"He's not the one to open up so easily. All I know is that he came from a gang known as the 'Hot Rodders' and for the right price he's willing to cooperate and get the job done."
Something about how Fox said that last statement enraged Lucy on the inside. She started to walk off frustrated.
"Huh? Lucy? Wait!" Fox caught her by the arm "What's your problem?"
Lucy retracted her arm violently away from Fox "I can't believe you picked a gang member over me! Tch, If you were that desperate for a fourth wingman with a shady background why don't you just ask Pigma to rejoin and the Star Fox team will lose yet another teammate and loved one!" As soon as Lucy finished she cupped her hand over her mouth.
Fox turned around, his back towards Lucy. Holding back tears, he didn't know how to respond. How dare she bring up his father's death as an example of trust issues? Fox knew what he was doing or at least he thought he knew. But to have one of your childhood friends call you out was like a bullet to the kneecap. It didn't kill you instantaneously but the pain was so unbearable that you almost wished you would die.
"Fox, I'm sor-…"
Lucy's voice drowned out by the intercom announcement, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the shuttle to Fichina is now boarding. Please note that the baggage check is now unavailable as departure is 15 minutes. Thank you."
"Well then, let's get you to the dock and to Fichina huh?" Fox turned around and asked Lucy cordially with a smile as if her previous comment bounced off him
Lucy looked down to the ground while following Fox. They navigated through the thick crowds for a good five minutes. Then the two approached the line for boarding.
Standing side by side it was only a few moments standing in line before Fox decided take Lucy's left hand and interlace fingers with his right hand. "So, I hear the climate control center is on the fritz in Fichina. You gonna be alright with the drastic temperature change?"
"Heh, yeah." Lucy kept looking around anywhere but at Fox but something clicked in her to say something once more.
Lucy turned her head towards Fox "Fox, I'm sor-…"
"I heard you the first time." Fox said plainly
"Oh." She looked away still embarrassed. They took quite a number of paces forward in the line still hand-in-hand.
"Say, is that jacket all you're wearing to shield you against the cold? Here take this." Fox temporarily let go of Lucy to give her the red scarf that was draped around his neck
"Fox, you don't have to do this."
"Yeah but I'd want to. I can't have my gal freezing." Fox nudged her playfully
Lucy actually felt butterflies in her stomach. She liked, no loved it when Fox acknowledged her as someone special. More than a friend.
"Fox…?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll miss Slippy, Papa and well I already miss William but most importantly I'll miss you Fox."
"We can stop by your new place of residence once things are peaceful. Don't worry, you said you wanted to be in school in exchange for the army. You promised your Papa."
Lucy frowned a bit "I guess…"
"Hey you're going to be busy in schoolwork. You probably won't have time to be worrying about us. Hey we're almost to the front of the line! Haha…ready or not you've gotta get your butt on that shuttle." Fox flashed her a brief smile
Lucy wrapped her arms around Fox's waist. "I'm going to miss you and everyone here." Her voice was breaking as evidence of her beginning to cry as she drew him closer.
"Shhh…don't cry." He rubs the top of her head. "You treat this as if we're never going to see each other again. I'll come and visit. I promise." He lifts her chin up and proceeds to wipe away the few fallen tears from her face.
Even though she was nuzzling Fox's chest, she decided to take it one step further and tiptoe slightly to kiss him once more. This kiss was more passionate that the first time that day when they first met up. There were a few catcalls and whistles. One person even had the gall to yell 'Get a room, teenagers!'
That was enough to pull away from each other.
"I love you Fox." Lucy said in a captivating soft voice
"…!" Fox looked at her as if she sprouted a third eye in the middle of her forehead. It's not what she said but how she said it. He had heard her say those three words so many times when they were kids. She often thought of Fox as her big brother when they were growing up. Of course she'd only say it when it was just the two of them around as he definitely would have gotten teased by Bill, Slippy and some others. Lucy was the type of girl that wanted to make everyone around her comfortable so she understood Fox's situation.
There's also Peppy. The man Fox thinks of as a second father. Fox wouldn't want to disrespect Peppy by keeping their mild courtship a secret but in times of war this sort of situation didn't need to be revealed just yet. Fox does ponder how Peppy would take the news of him and Lucy being together. Fox always hoped he would take it in good stride since he knew what kind of man Fox is and how he would treat his only child. But this is war; he couldn't have any of the teammates distracted as survival is imminent.
Lucy looked as if she'd seen a ghost. She was searching for something in Fox but began to tear up once more.
"What is it now?" Fox placed his hands on her shoulders.
"D-Don't you love me too?" Her hands were shaking uncontrollably
"…Uh…" I don't know why but I can't just say flat out 'Yes'. Damn it! What's wrong with me! "Hey, you're next in line." Fox removed his hands from her shoulders.
"…!" Lucy felt her heart strings tug at the highest force possible. She wished that it would have ripped her heart in half and killed her right on the spot. H-He doesn't love me. I knew it. Why am I so STUPID! I never should have said anything!
"Boarding pass ma'am." The steward announced. He did a double take and noticed her lacrimal-prone eyes "Ma'am. Are you alright?"
Lucy looks down on the ground "Here it is. No, everything's fine." She literally sounded as if all the life force was sucked out of her the moment Fox didn't give her a concrete reply
"Goodbye Lucy." Fox waved at her
Lucy just glanced at him and stormed in the shuttle.
Fox walked back to the parking lot. It's for the best. Yeah. I can't get too involved with her just yet. I'll wait it out until we've finished our job as Star Fox. Then see if we can go further in the relationship. Heh, I bet some lucky guy's already going to get to her. I just hope he's better than me and treat her like the princess she is.
Upon walking back Fox stopped and turned towards the shuttle to see it take off. There she goes. "Lucy, I hope you live your life. Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone's safe by the time this is done."
The loud sound of the alarm woke Lucy up from her deep slumber.
"Dangit." She rubbed her eyes. They had been moist from tear formation "I've been crying in my sleep again."
Lucy took a moment to inhale and exhale deeply as the pain of reliving her dreams washed over her when she woke up. She didn't know why she kept having this recurring dream but as much as it saddened her, it may as well have been a nightmare.
~Chapter 1 End