General Pepper felt pity for Fox. Upon hearing his outburst of denial, he was certain
that Fox was starting to grow some sort of guilt over blaming Wolf and Leon for his
father's death. He could hardly blame him. If it hadn't been for Pigma, Wolf and Leon
wouldn't be pinned as murderers in the first place. He could only hope that Fox would
have the time to recover.
The pop-up for a new transmission had popped up on the screen. Pepper shook his
head, and got ready for this next call. He knew exactly who it was.
Wolf's image has been popped up onto the screen, with his black tank top showing,
and an expressionless look on his face is just enough to cause some nerves to the
canine.
After a few seconds, General Pepper spoke nervously: "I trust that you know what we
found out?"
The lupine looked at him, "Yeah. To think that someone would find out already."
"We're going to have you and Star Wolf come to the city and have a talk about this,"
said Pepper. "It's best to discuss this in person at this point."
"I don't find that a very good idea, General," Wolf replied. "For all we know, you could
be planning a trap to capture us on the spot."
"I'm being honest with you, Mr. O'Donnell," Pepper replied with a sincere tone in his
voice. "We know that you two are innocent in James' death, so we won't have to go
after your heads anymore."
Wolf only looked at the canine with distrust. He was for certain that the old coot would
just backstab them and turn them in to the authorities the moment they have their
guard down. He was sure that they've got a big rep to have them locked up anyways,
so he's not taking any chances.
"I'm not taking any chances, Pepper," he finally said. "We still did a major amount of
illegal things on our part."
"Which is why we're going to fix that," said Pepper. "You three will be put into some
counseling and rehabilitation to make up for your other crimes against the Lylat
System. Most of them would be the repair of some minor damage that you've done in
the past, but it'll be a small walk in the park."
"How do you know that we can be trusted though," Leon pointed from behind Wolf.
"For all we know, people would just be afraid of us and say things wherever we go."
"If you wish to be trusted by others, and be forgiven for your wrongdoings," Pepper
said before taking a small sip of coffee. "You've got to earn it."
Fox was asleep in his room. He was having a dream about him and his father.
In the dream, James was showing Fox a huge dark sky full of beautiful stars and
constellations. There were some that looked like people, some that looked like objects,
and some that were strange symbols that he knew nothing about. There was a
shadowy figure climbing up the hill they were on, climbing with one step at a time.
The man's face came into the view of Fox; it was Wolf.
When he came close to Fox, he had a sweet-looking smile on his face when looking
down at him. This made Fox's heart skip a bit, as this wasn't something seen from
Wolf.
Without any further hesitation, Wolf knelt down to have his face in contact with Fox's.
Soon, they were looking at each other, two emerald eyes meeting one crimson one.
This made Fox a little … happy? For some reason? He didn't know, but he felt relieved of
a weight that held in his heart.
Their faces started to get close together. Closer. Closer. Fox closed his eyes…
…and he woke up, back in his room when he heard a beeping sound coming from his
comm..
He was groggy over having to be woken up, and his eyes were a little dry from the
crying. He picked up his communicator and read the message. It was Krystal. She
wanted to talk to him about something important.
'Great, just what I needed,' he thought to himself. He doesn't want to deal with her
right now. It's not that he doesn't like her or anything, but she's started to drive him
crazy as of late. Fox has known Krystal since he saved her at Dinosaur Planet by
Andross' rebirth, and they've started to become good friends since then. But now she
had started flirting with him lately after the defeat of the Aparoids. At first he was
flattered, but over time it started to bother him. He knows now that she has a crush on
him, but he doesn't want to date her. He can't date her. He's gay.
He used to date a vixen friend of his from his academy days named Fara Phoenix for
about a week. But, things start well. They got into some discussions about the other's
hobbies, then about their future plans, and finally about sex. When they first tried to
have sex, but Fox couldn't become aroused over her for some reason. It was like she
wasn't his type.
When his father had died, things got worse for the both of them. They didn't talk at all,
Fox distanced himself from her and his own friends, and he's been depressed for a few
days too. One day, Fox decided to go for a walk until he came to a bar that wasn't
what he was told by his father. For one thing, a bunch of guys were wearing nothing
but jockstraps while serving drinks. He then realized that he was in a gay bar, and he
slapped his forehead for walking into that. But, he suddenly felt appealed by the male
bodies of place, and he was starting to get horny.
During that night in the bar, Fox interacted with several boys who approached him to
talk. He noticed that some wanted to have something with him at that time, but when
he told them that he had just lost his father, everyone understood and did not force
him to do something he did not want. When he saw that the time passed, he realized
that it was time to go. The men whom he had spoken to gave him their numbers. In
case he wanted to talk about anything, he would just have to call them.
From that day on, Fox went from time to time to that bar and met up with those boys.
They spent a long time talking to each other until it was time to leave. The more he
felt comfortable with them, he'd realized that he couldn't continue his relationship with
Fara anymore, and that she deserved to be happy with someone else.
One night, he had met her in a cafe and told her that things between them were no
longer working as before. That he tried everything to make the relationship work, but
he couldn't do anything anymore. That he really wanted something to save their
relationship, but there was no improvement. So they should end. Fara was a bit hurt
by that, but she knew that it was true. If they stayed together, they would both
continue to suffer in the long term. Then he got up, told her that at least they could
still be friends, and then left. Although, one thing Fox didn't notice was that Fara let
out a few tears as he left.
Shortly after the breakup, the event occurred where Fox formed the new generation of
the Star Fox team with Falco, Slippy, and Peppy. He therefore no longer had much
contact with Fara or the guys from the bar, since he was very busy on missions.
After that, Fox did not worry about anything related to romance again until Krystal
appeared. He couldn't say that she wasn't beautiful, but he was already clear about his
sexuality, and he did not want the same thing that happened to Fara to happen with
her. Even if it weren't for the fact that she's on the Star Fox team, he would have liked
Krystal to be happy with Panther, who seemed to take a great interest in her.
After getting out of his thoughts, he looked back at his communicator and saw that
Krystal had sent him another message. He had no choice and he decided to get out of
bed to find out what important thing she wanted to talk to him about. He put on the
boots and scarf that he had previously removed. He put the photograph of him with his
father back on the table and left the room.
At least one thing he'd be relaxed about is that Krystal wouldn't flirt with him since in
the time she's been on the team she's never tried to do things like that when it's not
the right time. So, he was sure that at least they would have a normal conversation.
Fox met Krystal in the break room. She was alone at the time. She was looking out the
window at outer space. She turned when she saw Fox's reflection in the glass.
"How good that you came?" Krystal said looking at him quite worried.
"I'm sorry for the delay. I was just waking up when you texted me," Fox said as he
yawned a little.
"Oh, sorry if this was too sudden."
"Do not worry. So what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, to start with, I wanted to tell you that I am sorry that you had to listen to the
information you received about Wolf and Leon. It must have been hard for you to find
out that you've been hating someone who was innocent of your father's death for all
these years."
"Yes," Fox said with a serious look, still hating Pigma not only for killing his father but
for incriminating others. "But I still feel guilty and confused about this whole thing."
Krystal approached Fox and looked him straight in the eyes. "What you are confused
about, I understand. But you shouldn't blame yourself for this. Yes, Pigma tricked us
all, but if you want to feel better, you could give them a chance to make things right.
So, it's your choice."
"Well, okay, I'll try," he said, trying not only to convince her, but also himself.
"I am very proud of you. Everything will be fine," Krystal said, taking a step closer to
him and giving him a hug.
Fox was taken by surprise, because he felt good that Krystal showed him support with
that hug, but, he had a feeling that this wasn't a mere, simple friendship hug. There
was something else there that made him feel uncomfortable at that moment.
At that moment, he could feel how the blue vixen began to gently unbutton his pants,
hoping that he wouldn't notice her. But, unfortunately for her, he had noticed it
instantly. He quickly pulled her away from him gently and readjusted his pants. Fox
was very disappointed and angry at Krystal, but he didn't show it. She knew how he
felt and at the wrong time she was trying to seduce him.
"Krystal, let's get one thing straight. I. Am. Not. In love with you. I only see you as a
friend, and that's that," Fox said, leaving the room, annoyed, without saying a word to
Krystal, leaving her alone again. The blue vixen was in a state of shock by his reaction.
Fox was heading for the ship hanger. That situation left him more stressed than he
already was and he decided to go there to take a break. He knew that no one would
bother him where he planned to go.
Once he arrived, he encountered Falco, who was resting inside his arwing. He could
see Fox when he entered the room with a brisk walk.
"Fox, is everything okay?" Falco asked when he saw the expression that Fox had on his
face.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Do not worry. I'll just go to Corneria for a moment to get some
fresh air. I really need it right now," said the fox, climbing on his arwing.
Falco said nothing more and watched his friend aboard the arwing as he left the Great
Fox.
"Poor Fox. After today's news, he must be very stressed," Falco said quietly, without
knowing the real reason why Fox left.
