A large crowd assembled inside each one of Andross' ships, as his fleet started to ascend towards Corneria. They were neatly tucked away in the Meteo asteroid field, and this was the day that all of Andross' visions would come to reality. At least, that was the plan, anyway.
Wolf stood inside the command room, with a window looking down upon the minions gathered in front of a large viewing screen, as they awaited their emperor. The anticipation and tension in the air was sharp, and Wolf paced around nervously as Leon sat back, unaffected by the ruckus occurring in front of them.
The two hadn't really talked to each other much since Andross began his plans to take control of the Lylat System a few months ago. There was too much tension, too much bloodshed, too much death. Leon didn't say anything, but Wolf could tell what he was thinking. The two didn't really say much about the missions, or anything at all when they were alone. Leon kept mostly to himself, focused on the mission, not engaging in any conversation outside of what was required.
Wolf hated this. He wanted things back to where it was before, when they were kicking the Cornerian Army's butt and not thinking too much of the consequences. But they couldn't turn back now. Not while they were so close to victory, as Andross kept proclaiming.
The lights dimmed in the large room where the minions had assembled, and the crowd started to hush as the video screen charged open to life. Andross' face stood large amongst the crowd, peering over everyone in an intimidating manner.
"My loyal subjects," Andross boomed, echoing through the chamber. "Today marks the dawn of a new era, one where we will rise above all who dare to stand in our way."
Wolf felt a surge of adrenaline listening to Andross, his heart pulsating and his muscles tensing up, as his eyes remained transfixed on the screen. The Emperor's words fueled a fire within Wolf, igniting a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in a long time. He remembered what he had gone through from the slums of Corneria to today, and where he was now. He remembered his life growing up, his betrayal from the Cornerian Army, dealing with Algy's death, all leading up to this moment. There was no turning back, not after what he had accomplished - and what was still left to come. The time had come when Wolf would prove how wrong Corneria was for getting in his way.
Beside him, Leon remained stoic, his expression unreadable as always. Wolf caught a glance at Leon, taking him out of his trance, as he gave Leon an annoyed glare. Do you have to be so damned serious all the time? Wolf asked himself.
"Together," Andross continued, his voice booming with conviction, "we will conquer the galaxy and usher in an age of prosperity that will be unmatched in history! Nobody will ever need to be hungry or die in vain again! We will defeat the corrupt Cornerian Army, and nobody will stop us!"
The crowd erupted into cheers, fists pumping in the air as they roared their allegiance to their emperor. Wolf felt a surge of pride rising inside of him, any lingering doubt washing away in that moment.
Wolf saw Corneria approaching on the radar, and soon the minions assembled to their ships, motivated in their plans to take down Corneria at all costs. The Star Wolf team would follow behind them, clearing the way for the team to swoop in and take out the remainder of the Army, and claim their victory.
Keeping track of the minion's progress on the monitor inside his Wolfen, Wolf saw the minion fleet descend quickly onto Corneria, ambushing everyone in sight without mercy. He could sense the panic settling in amongst the Cornerian Army pilots as they struggled to defend themselves against the minion fleet - pilots who were likely in the same recruitment class as him, pilots who were far inferior to him, who got to the Cornerian Army by nepotism and sycophancy more than anything else.
As the minion's ships bombarded Corneria's surface, Wolf couldn't help but feel a sense of triumph, having helped lead the fleet towards this moment.
Then the signal came from his radar, and Wolf nodded his head. He darted his Wolfen out of the ship, with his teammates trailing back behind him.
Descending downwards onto Corneria's surface, he could see the wake of the destruction brought onto the planet. The streets were ablaze, the sounds of chaos reverberating in a terrible symphony of war. Most of the people living down there had either started defending themselves or joined up with Andross' minions, given the Cornerian Fighters were quickly being overwhelmed by the fighters plowing their way through. Wolf was pleased to see those who joined Andross' cause, knowing that they would help turn the tide of the new war.
"Good… our words have not been in vain. The people have listened to our call!"
Wolf's Wolfen soared through the air with precision, weaving in and out of enemy fire as he picked off the remainder of the Cornerian fleet, one by one. As explosions surrounded him in all directions, Wolf felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins, relishing in each hit. Each target he got was one step closer towards galactic domination, and he was soaking in every moment of it.
After checking the location of where his teammates were, Wolf noticed that they were all heading towards the center of Corneria City, where the majority of the carnage was taking place. Pretty much every building had been levelled, and the streets were filled with wreckage and debris. But there was no time for Wolf to keep track of the haunting scenes of destruction; he had a mission on hand.
"Captain," Leon shouted on the intercom. "General Pepper is within the area."
"Good," Pigma snickered in reply. "We'll make dog meat out of him!"
Wolf brushed this sly remark aside and focused his attention on the General's flagship. There were a few Cornerian Fighters remaining nearby, but there was hardly anyone left defending the planet. With a smirk on his face, Wolf maneuvered his Wolfen towards the General's flagship, closing in alongside the rest of his teammates.
Wolf could sense the terror coming from the Cornerian fighters in the area. "What's the matter, scared?" Wolf mocked.
General Pepper then got onto the public intercom. "Whoever you are, you won't be able to get away with what you've done today!"
"Just watch us," Wolf snickered. The Wolfens then opened fire at the flagship, as the Cornerian fighters nearby returned fire. They were able to land a few hits onto Star Wolf, but the damage to them was minimal.
The remaining Cornerian fighters flew past the flagship and started firing at Star Wolf with little regard to their defensive position.
The Cornerian fleet's leader was steadfast in his resolve. "Husky Unit, don't let anyone through!"
"Wanna bet?" Wolf chuckled as he shot some missiles down their way. He picked the Cornerian fleet off, one by one, with his teammates helping out with him.
Wolf could hear the shouts of the terrified Army pilots losing their way, but Wolf was too entranced in the mission, too focused on chasing down the General's flagship to even notice.
Then he managed to lock onto the flagship, and promptly sent a bomb hurling towards it. Wolf dove his Wolfen out of the way in time as the flagship exploded in a furious fireball, causing everyone to cover their eyes with how bright the flash of fire had become.
"Looks like we win today, General…" Wolf chuckled, a satisfied grin on his face.
Wolf rose his Wolfen up to where he could see a wide view of the decimated planet. The Cornerian fighters had either been defeated or surrendered, and the fighting had come to a standstill.
Wolf knew this was a decisive victory, one which the Cornerian Army had little answers for. He flew over the smouldering flagship again, making sure there wasn't anything left in the crash site.
"Nothing left in there," sighed Leon. "Let's go back."
The team flew back to their ships, their minds exhausted, as Wolf could only gaze at the wake of devastation he helped lay down on Corneria. For a moment, he felt sorry for the innocents effected by the chaos, but Wolf remembered all that he had gone through and thought to himself,
They deserved it.
Andross would finally make things better, he thought. Any lingering doubt that was present in his mind was quickly fading away. Andross would make things better than before. The team was merely expediting things, pushing progress along to advance society as a whole, ethics be damned.
As they docked inside Andross' ship, the team all breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't know about you guys," Andrew exclaimed, "but I sure could use a shower and some rest!"
Wolf rolled his eyes at Andrew's nonchalance at the day's events, as if today were merely routine. In fact, the whole team was strangely unconcerned with their wider impact - Andrew went to the showers, Pigma went straight to the bottle, while Leon sulked on the bridge, overlooking the planet as it laid in ruins.
Wolf walked over to Leon, trying to gauge him in conversation. "Impressed?"
Leon sat still, not changing his reaction. "Why should we be impressed? We had a job to do and we went and did it."
"Don't you see? We've changed the course of history as we know it!"
"Hmph." Leon scowled, not listening too carefully to Wolf's words.
Wolf got in front of Leon and glared at him directly. "What's gotten into you lately? You've barely reacted to a word I've said in the last few weeks! Especially since we signed up with Andross."
"No reason to," Leon sighed, glancing away at Wolf. "There's nothing we can do now to change things. I've accepted our fate."
Accepted our fate? Wolf scratched his head, trying to understand Leon's words. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
"It means we're now the number one target of the Cornerian Army, Wolf!" Leon jumped out of his chair, surprising Wolf as the chameleon suddenly sprung to life. "Don't you see? We've got a target on our backs now, after what we've done!"
"The Army is in ruins now," replied Wolf, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort Leon. "They're not going to get in our way again."
"Maybe, but there's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. We both know that. Even if the General's gone, surely there will be someone else that will take up the reins and vow vengeance against us for what we did."
"We'll take them on the same way we took on the Army today," assured Wolf.
Leon looked away as he thought to himself deeply. "I just don't want to get into the same tricks the Army used against us. Constantly suppressing the opposition and all that. I just don't want to be going around in fear all the time."
"There's no need to fear, Leon! Andross will protect us in battle! You know that!"
"That's not what I meant. I mean that it's hard to relax after what we've done out there. Seeing all that destruction gets to me after a while. You even alluded to that yourself after Macbeth."
Wolf shook his head, remembering that mission as well. "This is different. We actually took out some of the top leaders in the Cornerian Army today."
"Not them, stupid… we must have bombed the entirety of Corneria City. Was that really necessary for the mission? I don't know about you, but I'm starting to have second thoughts on teaming up with Andross. The more I listen to his rambling speeches, the more I start to wonder what his goals are. I wanted Venom to be equals to Corneria, not have them ravage every single corner of the galaxy!"
"You can't have second thoughts now," Wolf exclaimed. "We can't back down."
"I know… that's what's scaring me the most. Because I can't come crawling back to Corneria, and I surely can't turn my back on Andross. Why couldn't we make riches off shipping expensive cargo like we used to? This is getting out of hand."
Leon sighed as he leaned against the wall of the ship surrounding them, shaking his head. "I'm not leaving the team, Wolf. I'll stick by you to the end. But the less I think about the consequences, the less depressed I get about all this. So perhaps it's best if we not talk about this anymore."
Leon left without another word, heading towards his quarters, leaving Wolf bewildered and confused at his conversation between his teammate and friend.
Leon entered his quarters and planted his face onto the bed, not wanting to think too much to himself. All he wanted to do was get his mind out of whack and get at least a couple of hours of shut-eye…