Well here is chapter 18 of the fic. Some of Sabre and Bill's pasts are also revealed.

Chapter 18

Childhood Reminiscence

The doors to the Cornerian Fighters garage slides open by two of the guards of the Cornerian military base, allowing Bill and Sabre entry to the interior. The tour was over and Bill had the nice idea of helping Sabre with some flight practice before his first day of work tomorrow, the wolf felt grateful and agreed.

"Thanks so much for letting me get some practice before my first day," Sabre said in glee. "I'm gonna be needing it."

"It's no problem at all dude," Bill replied. "Just helping out a fellow pilot in-training is one of the best parts of my job."

"Well, I'm just hoping that I have a good first day tomorrow. It's almost Thursday and I still feel like I'm not prepared."

Bill placed his hand on the wolf's shoulder. "You'll do great. Just wait and see."

Sabre turned his head towards the dog and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

…

After a few minutes of changing uniforms, which was like what the other soldiers were wearing around here. The attire was a nice fit for him, but most parts of the suit were small enough to make his buff body a little more visible, stretching some of the uniform for a little bit. He looked at himself in the mirror and took some time to adapt to his new appearance.

'This is a little embarrassing, must've got the wrong size' Sabre thought to himself.

He thought to himself a little more and took a closer look at the size tag, seeing that it was the right size for him. He sighed before heading out to meet up with Bill.

"Hey, looking a little tight there aren't you?" asked Bill.

"Tell me about it," Sabre sighed. "The clothes fit on me, but I don't fit in the clothes. I look like I'm a people-sized giant!"

"Trust me," Bill said with a smirk on his face. "When people see you, they'll see a giant. But the good kind that can be squeezed. Really hard if I may add…" He whispered that last part.

Sabre's face blushed into a deep red color and was lost on words. "Huh?! W-w What? Um… T-that's not… t-they wouldn't… I-I mean- GUH! Bill!"

That reaction just got a laugh from the canine.

"I'm only teasing you, man," he said. "But you gotta admit, you DO look attractive."

"T-thanks...I guess…"

They walked to the Cornerian Fighters to hurry with practice so they don't waste any more time getting into a... embarrassing conversation. Bill gave Sabre the keys to his ship so he could enter and get himself prepared.

They both jumped in their ships, put on their safety belts, inserted their keys, and turned to ignition. It took them a little bit but they rode out of the garage, lifted off of the ground with the following by a few bumps of the wheels, and they both flew off.

Sabre received a transmission notification on his screen. It was Bill calling. He did not hesitate to push the answer button.

"Hey man!" Bill cried out over the screen. "Doing good?"

"So far, so good Bill" he replied.

"Nice. Let's get some practice!"

"Yes, sir!"

While they were discussing what flight moves to practice or learn, Sabre could recall all the times that his late father, Randorn, used to teach him how to combat when he turned 13. They would practice every day of the week whenever they got the chance to, and whenever Randorn had some important business to attend to he would ask his most trusted tribe warriors to train his son instead. He trained and worked out every day and evening to learn all he was taught growing up, and to shape his body into what it is today.

He remembers how he used to be a small and skinny teen, and how much progress his body went through as his muscles grew over the years. Everything was noticeable when he reached the stage of maturity: How big his pecs were getting, how his abs started to form on his belly area, and how his torso, arms and legs were growing and bulging too. And let's not forget his two other parts of his body that his parents said were too inappropriate for him to understand at an age like that. Those parts were seen as a... magnet to most adults, which is what most people in his old tribe did to express themselves with each other.

Some of the adults in his village had an open relationship with each other, regardless of their age or gender. Those late members didn't really care for settling down really, but it was a part of their everyday lives. Even his own parents did it too, though they always tried to be careful. As for some times they weren't, he and Krystal had a ton of brothers and sisters to take care of.

Heading back to the present, Sabre was doing a few barrel rolls that Bill taught him. It was the signature move that the Star Fox team always used for many generations up to now. He felt really excited from experiencing this new move and couldn't wait to show Krystal when he takes flight with her in the sky one day.

Thinking of Krystal again, he began to remember the time they lived together in the tribe. Sabre used to be an early child his entire life, and was the light in the eyes of his parents. But when he was 5 years old, his mother, Kenya, became pregnant and gave him the news that he was gonna become an older brother. Sabre didn't understand what the meaning of those words were, being at a very young age, but because he was gifted with telepathy he could sense a small being forming in his mother's womb.

When he was 6 years old, his younger sister, Krystal, was finally born. Upon meeting her for the first time, Sabre had a lot of mixed feelings. When his sister put her hands on his little nose, he began to feel that from that day on he would protect her from danger and not let anything happen to her.

…

Meanwhile…

Bill was remembering various things from his own childhood. Even though he was a very happy boy throughout his life he still felt two big gaps.

The first one, the fact that he didn't know his biological parents. Although he had General Pepper, who adopted him, he always wanted to know who, how and where they were, if they're dead or alive somewhere, and why they abandoned him. He always had these questions for many years and even though he didn't ask them very often anymore, he was always looking for answers for them. But, so far, he wasn't able to find them. But he never gave up, and he knew that one day he would get the answers he was looking for.

The second thing was a bit more complicated. Since he loved his father, Pepper, very much and had always admired him, considering the facts of him being the leader of the Cornerian army and for wanting to be like him, sometimes he could feel alone despite his dad being around. Pepper's job of being a general kept him away from him throughout the day, and they could only see each other in the morning when they had breakfast, and every evening when he returned home. They only had the weekends and the holidays to spend time together.

This feeling of loneliness made him a little envious of his friends, Fox and Lucy, as they always had their own parents with them while he didn't. Even when they go out on walks, Bill always felt bad because sometimes he saw either Fox being carried on the shoulders by James or Lucy being carried on Peppy. Bill wanted to experience that feeling with Pepper in public, but his adopted father always told him why they couldn't. It was because of fear that certain people might hurt him by seeing that he was the foster child of a fairly known significant person. And, although Bill doesn't know about it, Pepper is keeping a secret out of fear that he would lose him forever.

Even if it was a problem they had to deal with, the two of them always had a good time together when Pepper had free time. They both always watched movies together, camped out in the living room sometimes, and Pepper would tell Bill stories about when he began to be part of the military. There was even a time when Pepper took his son for a ride in his own flagship when he was 10, and it was a really great day for him. He couldn't imagine a better life than he has right now without the presence of his foster father.

As he continued to fly, they flew near the main tower of the base where he could see General Pepper watching him from the window with proud eyes showing. He recalled a time before enlisting in the army, his foster dad taught him to fly a ship using his own flagship for training. Bill was a quick learner and even exceeded his expectations. That was why, when the new recruits arrived, they had commissioned Bill to train them. Sabre was not the first to train and he would surely not be the last, but everyone he trained in the past learned very well from him and were excellent pilots who worked with him. They were also part of his squad, so the wolf would also be able to join his squad for sure too.

After a long time of training, and losing track of time, they realised it was already noon and their stomachs had started to growl a little.

"Well Sabre, that's it for today. What do you think about getting lunch together?"

"Oh, of course," Sabre replied. "I'm craving something really heavy right now."

"Well, you're lucky," Bill said. "The cafeteria has a menu with a large amount of food that would be to your liking."

Hearing that part made Sabre's mouth water. If the food in the base was the same as the hotel he was staying at, then there would be delicious dishes for him to try. Whether he had some before or not.

When they finally landed, they left the Cornerian Fighters in the garage as they left. Plus, Sabre had to be sure to take out the keys. Bill led the wolf to the base's dining room, just in time to see a number of soldiers heading to have lunch too. There was a huge line around the lunch counter picking out what they wanted to eat, so they could head to their tables to enjoy their food. Sabre took a couple seconds to observe the size of the large room. It was like a huge ballroom where elegant events could be held, and there were several tables for all the soldiers to sit at.

"You go find us a table," said Bill. "I'll order lunch for the both of us."

Sabre nodded and sat at a table to wait for Bill to come back. While he was waiting, he looked around the dining room to see the other dogs that were here, males and females. He didn't see Miyu or Fay anywhere though. He supposed that maybe they had the day off and are doing other things right now.

A few minutes have passed, and Bill approached Sabre with a tray in his hands.

"I hope you like what I brought," he said. "It's one of my favorite foods on the menu."

He sat down and placed the tray on the table. The wolf smelled the delicious food. 'I will definitely like this,' he thought to himself. Not just the food he's about to eat, but also his new life in the army.

Here ends the eighteenth chapter. I hope you liked it.