CHAPTER THIRTY

Wishes

Later that night…

For the whole night, everyone in the house partied as though it would be their last night together. They told great stories they had heard from their parents (or the hobo living in a cardboard box behind the dumpster down on Main Street. Pick your poison.), they ate, drank, and made merry. No one wanted to sleep...except poor Tyler who had passed out at 9:30. He wanted to stay up, but his metabolism just wouldn't let him.

Marcus eventually slipped away from the entire ruckus, made sure no one was watching, and dashed upstairs. He slipped through the sliding glass door in his room, hoisted himself onto the roof, lay down and looked up at the stars above.

Even though he was wearing a muscle shirt and a pair of jeans, since the roof was heated and it wasn't snowing, he didn't need to worry about getting cold. He didn't really care about whether he was warm or freezing. He just needed to be alone to think for a little while. Looking up at the stars was a good way for him to do that. And how beautiful the stars looked, twinkling up in the night sky, looking so close but really being millions of light-years away.

Marcus used to imagine that the stars were angels smiling down at him from Heaven, and if he tried his best, he could reach up and catch one. Then he'd hold it in his hands and make a wish. Of course, that was back when he was only four years old, and that age, most people (even Fox, Wolf, Panther, and Falco) were overcome by their own imagination and believed in such things.

But then again, there was one thing that Marcus couldn't see up there: a girl.

He smiled. It was because that girl was down here on Corneria with him. For the past two hours, Coyote had been the only thing on his mind. She was smart, beautiful, had a way with words, and most of all, she was kind. Traits like that were things that every Cornerian man looked for in a woman. It was those four things that could murder lust in an instant.

A regular Romeo and Juliet.

There were three words that Marcus had so desperately wanted to say to Coyote from the moment she walked through the door that night. The problem was that neither he nor she had the guts to say them, fearing that they would turn the other away.

Marcus' ears pricked up when he heard the sliding glass door open. He sat up when a pair of hands seized the roof's shingles and hoisted their owner up.

"It was getting kinda crowded down there." Coyote said when she caught Marcus' eye.

"I can well imagine." Marcus replied. "How'd you know I was up here?"

"I saw you go upstairs, and when you weren't in your room, I figured you must have been up here."

"Jeez, she's about as psychic as Mom is." Marcus thought.

"You want some company for a little while?" Coyote asked.

Marcus still had quite a lot on his mind, but he DID feel like having her around. Besides, it's not like she could tell what he was thinking, anyway. She wasn't a telepath.

"Sure." he answered.

Coyote scooted over to where Marcus sat. While she was at it, her tail lightly brushed against his underarm. He fidgeted.

"What's wrong?" Coyote asked, immediately taking notice to Marcus' sudden reaction to her presence.

Marcus inched away from her a little bit.

"Sorry. I'm just a little ticklish, that's all."

Coyote's look of confusion was replaced with a devilish grin.

"You are, huh?" she said coyly.

Marcus suddenly saw what she was getting at.

"Oh, sweet mercy!"

Just like that, Coyote pounced on him and started tickling him all over his torso. Marcus started laughing so hard that he thought for sure he was going to bust a gut.

"Oh, God, stop it! Hey, stop! Oh my God!" he shouted hysterically between laughs.

Finally, he managed to push Coyote off.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist." she said.

Marcus lay down again. Coyote lay down beside him, and they both stared up at the night sky.

Coyote had such a seductive figure that any other boy would have stared at it long into the night. Marcus, however, wasn't that kind of boy. Even if the woman had a perfect figure, Marcus looked at her eyes when he spoke to her, not her chest.

"Great place to think, huh?" Marcus asked.

"Yep." Coyote replied. "Mark…do you have youth dreams?"

"What's that?"

"You know, something you think about as a kid and it never leaves your imagination. Something you think is real but you never tell anyone else about it?"

Marcus had a good idea about what to say, but he was hesitant at first. Coyote seemed like one of those girls that would think he was a dweeb for saying that. Then again, she asked the question, not him.

"Well," he finally answered. "When I was four years old, I always wanted to catch a star in my hand."

Coyote seemed interested.

"And what would you do with it?"

"Nothing, really. I guess I'd just…look at it. Think about all the good things in life that I have."

Marcus looked over at Coyote. She had a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I know. It's stupid." Marcus said.

"No, not really. At least, not when compared to mine."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

Coyote exhaled.

"Okay. When I was a little girl, I used to dream about this whole other world that I called Lethe, because it seemed like it was there once, but everyone forgot about it. I go out in the rainforest near my house sometimes and have adventures there. Every time I do that, it's like I've gone into Lethe…this perfect world I've got inside my head."

"Y'know, that's another thing I haven't figured out. Just where the hell are you from, anyway?"

"Fortuna."

Marcus took a second to ponder the name.

"Fortuna…oh, yeah! I've heard of that. But isn't that planet…y'know…isolated?"

"Yeah, but it's so beautiful there that I couldn't care less. There's waterfalls, lagoons, rainforests, you name it!"

"Sounds nifty. Maybe I could come visit you there one day. You could take me exploring."

Coyote smiled.

"I'd like that…but yeah, the whole Lethe thing is kinda ridiculous." "Not really. It's says something about you." Marcus replied

"What do you mean?"

"It means you're an intrapersonal person. There's nothing wrong with that. You like to think about your own personal world where nothing can hurt you. I'm like that, too."

"Wow…your mom wasn't kidding. You can make anyone feel better in an instant."

They were both silent for a few minutes, then Coyote spoke up.

"Hey, check it out."

She turned her back to Marcus and showed him the back of her left shoulder. It was bare.

"You got that tattoo removed?" Marcus asked.

"It hurt like hell, but it was worth it." Coyote replied. "I know how you feel about She-who-will-not-be-named, so I did us both a favour and got rid of it."

Coyote turned back to Marcus.

"Say, Mark? What do you think about…Leon?"

"Maniac."

"Panther?"

"Needs to get a girlfriend."

"Oikonny?"

"Has to start looking out himself a little more."

"My dad?"

"A little short-tempered, but he's a nice guy."

"My mom?"

"A great family girl."

"…me?"

Marcus snapped to attention.

"What…did she just SAY?!" he panicked in his thoughts.

"Be honest." Coyote said.

Even though he knew perfectly well that no one was up there with them, Marcus cupped his hand to his mouth and spoke just slightly louder than a whisper.

"Really…really hot."

He pulled back slightly, shielded his face, and awaited the Almighty Slap of Rejection.

It didn't come.

He peeked back at Coyote. She was blushing and grinning.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" she said.

"Err…really? I mean…REALLY?!"

"Yeah. You've got a way with words, you know. You could wrap up the girlfriend hunt in a snap if you put that to good use."

She looked away for a second, then glanced back at him.

"Now that I know what you think of me…wanna know what I think of you?" she asked.

"Umm…sure. Try me."

Coyote leaned over.

"Cutest furry little bastard ever." she coyly whispered.

Marcus blushed like a tomato. Within seconds, he was uncontrollably grinning from ear to ear. ("Shucks, folks, I'm speechless!")

Then he remembered that night that someone snuck into his room and…

"It was you, wasn't it?" Marcus asked.

Coyote turned to him.

"What was me?"

"The person that snuck into my room and snogged me on the cheek in the middle of the night. It was you."

Coyote salaciously grinned.

"Says the guy who was serenading me when I wasn't even there."

Marcus blushed bright red.

"Damn it, Mom." he grumbled under his breath.

The two were silent for a little while longer, then Coyote spoke up.

"You remember that night on Sauria when the whole 'most romantic moment of our lives' thing reared its head?"

"How could I forget?" Marcus replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking…let's be honest: this beats that by a long shot!"

"No kidding."

The two suddenly squinted and sat up when a bright, bluish-white light slowly enveloped them and their surroundings.

"That's not moonlight." Marcus thought.

When the light became dim enough for Marcus and Coyote to see, they both stared in wonder when they saw the source.

It was none other than…

"Halley's Comet!" Coyote exclaimed excitedly.

"Wow, seeing that thing is supposed to be super-rare. It only passes through the Lylat System once every seventy-five years!" Marcus said with a hint of wonder in his tone.

"Hey, I got an idea! Let's make a wish on it!"

Marcus didn't know why Coyote was suddenly so excited, but he decided to roll with it nonetheless.

"Okay. You first."

Coyote thought of something that she wanted more than anything in the world…something that couldn't be grown in the ground, but in the beating heart.

"I wish that we could live in a universe free of conflict, fighting and war…a place where every can live their lives happily and consider everyone else their friend."

"Really? You'd wish for something that big?"

"Of course! Just because I'm a metalhead doesn't mean I don't give two craps about people's lives." Coyote said, smirking slightly and raising her eyebrow at him.

"Okay, okay, sorry."

Coyote chuckled.

"Nah, it's okay….so how about you?"

Neither of them knew that Fox, Krystal, Wolf, and Lori were watching them from the balcony.

Marcus smiled and affectionately touched Coyote's cheek.

"I've already got my wish."

Coyote felt her heart flutter when those words passed Marcus' lips, and the inferno in her chest rose to a blaze when she felt his warm hand on her face. Now they could only see each other. A joyful tear started to form in her eye. He had just single-handedly said the sweetest thing that anyone had ever said to her, even if it was implied and not spoke outright. Now she had only one way to reward him. She gently pushed him down until he was on his back, and then got on top of him. A smile slowly stretched across their faces, and as soon as Coyote felt Marcus' arms around her, she closed her eyes and kissed him.

As Krystal watched from below with Fox, Wolf, and Lori, she smiled. As soon as she saw Coyote lying on Marcus, she knew that things had sparked up between them.

"Good show, Marcus." she whispered.

Fox smirked and nudged Wolf with his elbow.

"Looks like you and I are in-laws, eh, Wolf?" he said.

Wolf grunted, crossed his arms, and smiled up at his lovesick daughter.

"If Coyote's happy, I'm happy."

Fox heard his father's voice echo in his ears.

"Love…the most powerful and wonderful emotion there is." the voice whispered.

Fox smiled.

"Spoken like a true father, Dad." he thought.

As soon as Marcus and Coyote's lips parted, the clock struck twelve. The giant clock tower at the church down in the city rang once, then twice until it had rung twelve times.

It was Christmas Day.

Marcus sat up. Coyote cuddled up next to him, gazing into his bright, sparkling eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Mark." she said happily.

"Merry Christmas, Coyote." Marcus replied.

Marcus was about to say the three words, but Coyote beat him to it.

"I think…I love you."

Marcus smiled.

"That's kinda convenient…because I love you, too."

Coyote felt uneasy for a moment.

"Are you sure? I mean…let's face it; I can be a real bitch sometimes."

Marcus warmly smiled and gently ran his fingers through Coyote's hair.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Coyote smiled and laid her head on Marcus' shoulder. They looked up at the shining moon of Lunar…and howled.

"AWOOooOOooOOOO!"

"HOOooAAaaAA!"

The sound echoed away into the night…the sound of enemies turned friends, and friends turned lovers. And for just one night, every wrong in the universe was washed aside. For once, everything was right.

For just once, everyone was happy.

EPILOGUE

Christmas came and went, just as it always does, and with the days that came, wonderful events followed.

Wolf, Panther, Oikonny, and Leon went on to become the galaxy's top bounty hunters, bringing in the worst the Lylat System had to offer. Occasionally they would come across Star Fox while they were on a mission, and every time they did whatever they could to help.

The first baby of 2054 was Scott O'Donnell, born on New Year's Day. At first, Coyote didn't like him at all, because Wolf and Lori paid little to no attention to her when they were taking care of the baby. But when the siblings got a good look at each other for the first time (and when Scott said his first word: "Coyote"), the two of them became thick as thieves.

For helping the army in the war, Peter's prison sentence was terminated. He decided to join the Star Fox team as the weapons specialist, designing brand-new weapons for the team to use and flew alongside them in his own Arwing, the Outbacker. Sometimes his creations were great successes, other times they were miserable failures, but he always came through when his friends needed him the most.

Damalgo worked alongside Chase as the backup mechanic, but he also proved himself worthy as the foreign expert. He could speak all three of Corneria's global languages fluently (English, Spanish, and Japanese) as well as his native tongue. He also fixed the Blue Marine by simply fitting a strainer over the engine and tightening the distributor cap, something Chase took months to figure out.

Chase was partially right about his prediction of a love life. For a long time, he couldn't talk straight to Anna. This didn't stop her from throwing in a good flirt every once in a while. There was one good thing about it, though: now Chase would stop cracking jokes at her.

Two weeks after Christmas, Falco and Katt were married. They didn't care how anyone thought about it, because they were so happy together that neither of them noticed. About a year later, they…on second thought, I'll let you figure that out.

Coyote remodelled the Iron Maiden and joined the Star Fox team as Marcus' first lieutenant. Wolf claimed he only let her do it so she'd stay out of trouble, but everyone knows it was so she could be close to her new boyfriend.

Kursed may still be dreaming of a new way to steal Marcus' soul. For now, we just can't be sure when she'll strike next. Just don't think about her too much or the next time you're asleep, she'll find you.

Fox and Krystal continued looking after Marcus well into his later teenage years. No matter who was there for him, he knew that the ones that always had his back were the two creatures that gave birth to and raised him.

And Marcus himself still pilots the spaces of Lylat, helping whenever he can, for a true hero never gives and never stops believing in himself or his friends.

Wait a minute. You think this is the end? Hold your horses, buster! There's still many more adventures where that came from!

The Star Fox team's great exploits very well transcend history and can live on into the next millennium if everyone remembers them. The legacy of Marcus James McCloud and his legion of allies still has more ground to cover, so just you wait.

Because of that, I can't say "The End" just yet. So instead I'll finish this adventure with…

TO BE CONTINUED

Bonus Section

In this story, you frequently read of Marcus speaking a language that isn't used in the real world. This language was the main tongue of Cerinia, a primitive and exotic planet where Krystal and her ancestors were born and raised. Cerinia was destroyed by Andross in 2032, and its several thousand inhabitants were killed, though Krystal was able to flee to Sauria before the apocalypse took place.

The Cerinian culture is relatively unknown to even the most advanced of Lylatian scientists and astronomers, though it's known that the Cerinians consisted of foxes that had blue and white fur and wore tribal outfits of mainly white, and sometimes gold if they were of high rank. After a sample of Krystal's blood was taken, it has been shown that they can also live longer than an average Lylatian, though exactly how long is not known.

Cerinians mainly spoke their own language, but it's said that they may have been learning English, as well. Though not much is known about their lifestyle, speaking the Cerinian tongue is actually very simple.

The first vowel on the first side of the alphabet (A to M) becomes the first vowel on the second side (N to Z). For example, A becomes O, and E becomes U. This also applies to consonants, (Example: B becomes N) and Y is always considered a vowel. Proper nouns such as names remain in English.

A=O, B=N, C=P, D=Q, E=U, F=R, G=S, H=T, I=Y, J=V, K=W, L=X, M=Z

Sampler sentence 1: (English) "Hello. My name is…"

(Cerinian) "Tuxxa. Zi bozu yg…"

Sampler sentence 2: (English) How are you doing?

(Cerinian) Tak ofu iae qaybs?

AUTHOR'S CHALLENGE!

Use this section of the story to go back and find out exactly what Marcus was saying!

And that my friends was Star Fox: Next Gen. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and to answer your question: yes. There will be a sequel. When is it coming out? Hell if I know, but I will say one thing: it's going to be much darker.

Otherwise, keep a look out for the Darkstalkers fanfic, and may the stars shine upon you...dear God, did I really just say that?!

Anyway, just as another reminder, I don't own Star Fox or any of the characters in this story aside from Peter, Damalgo, and Coyote. If you'd like to use them in any of your own fanfics, please send me a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Note: As of January 21st, 2013, the bonus chapter no longer exists on the grounds that it really has nothing to do with Star Fox and thus had no purpose being put up at all.