Chapter Twenty Seven: RE: PLAY ME…

Authors Notes:

This is it! Final chapter, the end of the line. Get ready…

The silence is taxing
I'm waiting for something
There's images of love and war
And everything's here to explore
Its all alike unusual
A different place but beautiful
And it is not quite as it seems
I hear the children's laughs and screams

Its beautiful
So beautiful
Its beautiful

Do you believe in hallucinations, silly dreams or imagination
Don't go away cause I feel you this time
Don't go away cause I need you there this time
Do you believe in hallucinations, any dream or its revelation
Don't go away cause I need you here this time
Don't go away cause I'm making you all mine

Angels and Airwaves - "Hallucinations"

Captains Log

September 12th, 2053

20:26

Our ETA on Corneria is roughly twenty-four hours. I think that everyone is looking forward to being back home, the past few weeks have really taken a toll on us. There was an unofficial memorial service for Peppy today, nothing fancy though. While it may not have been as lavish as the one he will be getting on the 18th, I think it was perfect as it was just us, the family he didn't have. It's a lot more personal when it's just with the people that you worked around for so long. Maybe it's just me, but I'm sure that he would've wanted it that way.

Despite everything that has occurred since March, I'm willing to say that in the end, we all won in some ways. As a team, we've all been able to connect more and be there for each other when peril struck. Never has this been more apparent in my thirteen years of service than now. Even when some of us were way down in the dumps, believing that we would never get out, someone was looking out for our best interests. No matter what the situation, someone was there to get us back on our feet.

So with all that said, a simple question comes to mind: "Was it worth it?". I've come to the conclusion that you can't answer that kind of question. There's that loophole where you say: "Well if this didn't happen then…", which technically can't be properly explained because it never occurred. You could say that "If we didn't go to Besdolore, then Peppy would still be alive.", but for all we know he could have died from some other circumstances (Well, death is eventual. We're all going to do it one day, but that's not the point). I can't change the past, but there's still a future that can , and I'll make sure that it' s a future I'll look forward to experiencing. Instead of looking at all the "what if's", I look at the "we did's". So, for the sake of actually answering this hollow question, I say that it was worth it.

One Week Later…

Corneria City

With the passing of Peppy's memorial service, the Star Fox team was left without any missions. For the first time in almost a year, the team was off-duty.

Without anything to do, everyone was forced to resume their old ways of living; the simple life as a citizen of Corneria. Fox continued to live in his thirtieth floor apartment in the heart of Corneria. He had not actually stayed there for quite some time, shortly after his psychological demons were put to rest, a string of missions came his way, forcing him to live on Great Fox III since then. It was definitely a welcoming prospect for him to be back in his own abode, he had shared many memories there with Krystal before her death. Upon arrival, all of those times came back. They didn't dampen his spirits however, they merely brought joy to him, knowing that he had brought the same to someone at some time.

Slippy, being the mechanical genius he was, remained on Great Fox III, tending to every little thing that was on the carrier. If there was the slightest malfunction, Slippy was on it. Unfortunately, this led to him being a bit isolated from the team for most of the time, but he was used to that anyway, it didn't bother him.

Panther, much like Fox, used this time to familiarize himself with his small studio located on the outskirts of the city. He would usually make house-calls at Falco's residence as Wolf continued to live there for the time being.

And so, this brings us to Falco, Erika, and Wolf…

"So, it looks like you two are really going places with this relationship ,eh?"

"Damn right. I think that you deserve some credit for that."

"Well, I wouldn't say-"

"Aww, come on! You were the one that pushed me to do all that."

"Ah, well, fair enough."

Falco and Wolf were relaxing in some casual wear near the foyer of the beach house, shooting the shit as they drank some cheap beers they got down the street. It was a drink that the lupine was willing to down, compared to what he was given back in Zoness. Erika was nowhere to be seen, she had told Falco that she would be heading over to the Cornerian Military Base to fill out some paperwork that would make her an officially recognized member of the Star Fox team. She hoped that the process would work smoothly and without a hitch so that she could get her personalized gear and eventually, an Arwing.

"So, what do you think's gonna happen if this progresses?" Wolf inquired.

"Probably no further than it is now." The avian exclaimed, leaning back to stretch his wings. "Honestly, why ruin a good thing?"

"Well, what do you mean?"

"Personally, I find marriage to be a death sentence."

Falco looked back at Wolf and saw he was troubled. He was fiddling around with his eye patch anxiously. He knew that he had said the wrong thing, and cringed at his carelessness.

"Shit man, I didn't mean it like that." He expressed regretfully.

"No, it's alright. There's something else on my mind anyway."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Eventually…"

Wolf realized that he had never gotten a reply from Serena when he had sent that message to her in his time of need; the need for someone to talk to. His sorrow grew as not even his tender words and flowing tears could bring her to sending him a response back. He felt as though it really was over, and that she wanted to erase him from her memory. But at the same time, it didn't seem to add up. He looked back on the last time they were together, their final sunrise. It was innocent, tranquil, and didn't seem to have a bitter type of end to it. There was one thing that she had said that made him doubt the worst:

"I won't forget you."

This was what was torturing him. The way she said it remained stuck in his head ever since it was uttered. The words felt so authentic, there had to be a reason behind all of it.

Out of the blue, something came upon Wolf. He had no warning that this would occur, or how, but the moment it did, it was implanted deep within and there was nothing that was going to stop him from doing what he was about to carry out. The thought of it was causing his fur to stand up on its end, sending chills down his spine.

"Hey Falco, I think I'm going to take a little ride." He announced, sounding distracted.

"Where to?"

"…" Falco caught on and appeared more concerned.

"Ah, I see. What are you gonna do?"

"Dunno yet." Falco approached him and gave him a friendly pat on the back.

"Don't worry, when the time comes, you'll figure it out."

"I know…"

I just hope she meant those words…

Wolf decided against taking a direct path to his former home, and chose to take the scenic route down the Cornerian shores. The roads were practically empty as the summer was coming to a close and there was no other use for the road unless you felt like taking the long way around to downtown Corneria. He figured it was a good way for him to think about what was to come. There would be no horns honking, lights flashing, or pedestrians crossing, it was just Wolf.

What if she's not even home? Should I wait? God, I really should think this out beforehand. Damn impulses…

The road started to wind back after some time as it approached downtown Corneria. A cool breeze ran across the black open-top convertible, the current was strong enough to keep Wolf stuck to his seat. His grip on the wheel became tighter as he continued to race down the barren shores. It was as though there was some sense of urgency floating around in his brain and he needed to get this over with.

To his dismay, that urge was going to have to wait. As soon as he reached downtown, the roads were filled to capacity. Based on some quick estimates, this would give him roughly half an hour to figure things out, as he had failed to do so when going down the shoreline. However, he needed only a few moments to realize what he had to do. Once he figured it out, he laughed at himself for not grasping the concept earlier.

Just be myself…

Man, it's been so long since I've been here. I lived in 450 right?

It was time, the moment of truth. In a way that felt oddly reminiscent to the day of his confession, Wolf was staring at the door to what was once his apartment. His whole body was hot to the touch, causing sweat to bead up on his fur before falling onto the soft carpet that lined the hallway.

Hesitantly, the lupine grabbed the door-knocker and slowly banged it against the door in a rhythmic pattern. Afterward, he took a few steps back and waited for the inevitable. Seconds felt like minutes, his heartbeat was all he could hear, pounding like a drum deep inside his ear. He wanted to try and knock again, but he was too distracted by the metrical thumping that his own heart was making to do anything.

Finally, the doorknob stirred, causing him to flinch for a split second. A quick twist and the door began to open. Wolf had no time to speak, for as soon as whoever was on the other end saw him, they shut the door violently, gasping in what appeared to be shock. He knew that it was Serena, her dyed red hair was unmistakable, even for a split second. He would never forget something as recognizable as that. Wolf's chest tightened with fear, the thought dawned on him once more. The worst may have happened, Serena may not have wanted to have anything to do with him. His head hung low in defeat while he began to walk away.

As he was retreating though, he heard something on the other end of the door. They were the faintest of sniffles and whimpers, Serena was crying. Wolf wanted to know what was wrong, so he came back and gently knocked on the door again, hoping she would respond back.

"Serena?" He whispered. "Serena, what's wrong?" His words were so gentle, that they may not have even been audible. When her sniffles continued, he knocked again. "Please come out, Serena." Now Wolf was beginning to tear up. No matter what the circumstance, he hated to know that Serena was upset. He really hoped that she would open the door soon, because the middle of the hall wasn't the best place for him to lose it.

A few moments later, the noise began to cease, and the door opened completely. Serena stood in the frame, trying to look somewhat presentable, but the smudges from her tears made it painfully obvious that she was not in a good place at the the minute.

"I'm so sorry, Wolf." She sobbed. "I just wasn't expecting you."

"Serena, you can't fool me. What's wrong here?" When she remained silent and motioned to come inside, he obeyed. Everything had practically looked the same as it did the day he left, save for a handful of new paintings that covered the off-white walls. None of them seemed to attract Wolf's attention, but nonetheless it was a lot more appealing than an vacant wall. Serena swept around the leather sofa's before sitting herself down on one, inviting Wolf to do the same. As he sat down, he noticed that the tabletop at the end of the hall was still filled with all the pictures of the two together. He may have been mistaken, but there may have been some others that weren't there before, but it had been so long that he couldn't really tell. After a quick glance at them, he focused his attention on Serena as she spoke.

"I got your message Wolf, and I really wanted to send a response because I knew that you were in bad shape-"

"Then why didn't you?" He questioned in a frustrated tone. He could see that she was beginning to weep silently, so he brought down his voice and continued. "You saw me on the video! I only wanted to know if you were doing well, and you still couldn't respond?! Why?"

"Because I wanted to respond in person…" She blubbered.

There was a major shift in mood right then. What was a pseudo-argument, had become something that could go either way. Wolf wasn't sure how to react. At first, his mouth formed a barely noticeable grin, feeling as though it was a kind gesture on her part, but was quickly replaced with a more stoic visage as he waited for her to resume her explanation. She wiped away a few stray tears as she did so.

"What I'm about to tell you can be considered my reply to your message." She stood up and faced Wolf, a look of anticipation in his eye. "My world just fell apart after you left. At first, my friends were constantly checking up on me, calling me every few hours and whatnot, thinking I was suicidal or something, but it wasn't like that."

Wolf's eye shot her a confused glare. "I really hope not…"

"Trust me, it wasn't, Wolf. I was just heartbroken; I needed some time to let it all simmer before I would be able to return to a somewhat normal life. About a month later, I was able to go around in public without too many problems, and within a few more months, I had become reacquainted with the single life." Her voice was somewhat muffled by her occasional sniffle, but otherwise, she seemed calm and collected as she spoke.

"Yeah, it was difficult for me too." Wolf replied with a sigh. "It really was hard. With time, it got easier though…"

"But then came your video." She said as she began to well up again. "When you sent that video, all the memories, good and bad, came back. But seeing you say what you said in such an evocative way somehow brought forth this odd feeling. It was almost as if an empty hole had been filled-" The rest of the statement was lost in a series of muffled cries. She collapsed back onto the couch and allowed herself to shed her tears freely. Wolf quickly got himself back up and attended to the stricken Serena. He put his slightly sweaty palm in her lap, carefully caressing hers as her ongoing sobs failed to relent.

"Serena," He murmured as he continued to comfort her, now resting his head against hers. "everything is okay. I'm right here." Her body shook as he adjusted himself, she didn't react negatively to the gesture, but instead aknowleged it with a smile.

"I still-" She mumbled.

"What was that?" He whispered back, turning his head back toward her.

"I…still love you…" She sniffled. "And...I was hoping that you'd maybe come back…"

Everything up to this point had been fairly predictable in Wolf's mind. He had expected them to argue a little but share some tears, but this was the last thing he had expected to occur. Silence fell upon the room, neither Wolf O'Donnell or Serena Groaves-O'Donnell moved an inch. He wished to say something, but the words escaped him as quickly as they had arrived. In a way, Wolf had shut down.

"Wolf?"

"Yeah?" He replied, sounding distant.

"Are you okay?"

"Is this real?" He responded, beginning to come back to his senses. "I mean, this can't be happening! This has to be a hallucination or something, I'm just speechless…" The lupine stood up, beaming like a child would when confronted with the front window of a candy shop. His tail wagged swiftly behind him as he paced around the coffee table that was in the center of the room before sharply turning back to Serena. "Is this reality?" He exclaimed with his still very toothy grin.

Serena took a moment to compose herself before she made a response. Saying nothing, she silently got up and approached Wolf, who still seemed to be bewildered by what she had said earlier, leaned in, and allowed their muzzles to lock. To Wolf, everything around him became nothing, leaving just him and Serena to experience it. His entire body felt as though it were about to go limp, but still he stood tall as he basked in the glory of it all. In that very moment, Wolf realized that what he said to Falco one lazy morning was true, Serena really was for him, and only him. He drew himself in closer and locked his arms around her. Deep inside him, the animal within let out a thunderous howl that Wolf had not expirienced in months. Eventually, it dawned on him that he wasn't going to wake up, because it sure as hell wasn't a dream.

Finally, their embrace was concluded, leaving them both speechless. Wolf was dazed at first, but when it passed, he looked back at Serena, who was now giggling quietly. He put on his grin again before she finally responded to his question.

"You be the judge…"

Turns out, it was reality after all, and it never felt better…

End

A Word From The Author

Thank you very much everyone, it's been quite a journey. Without you guys (you people know who you are), Oblivion would not have been possible. Until next time…

Canis Lupus - Coming Soon…

Star Fox Oblivion was started at 11:35 AM on August 31st, 2009

Star Fox Oblivion was completed at 4:07 AM on December 30th, 2009