Grown to Love

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Leon and Falco had run down from the watchtower and ran around the base, reaching the south side. "Peppy?" Falco called out, trying to see in the dark. "Falco? That you?" The hare's voice could be heard. "Peppy where you guys at?" Voices were heard being mumbled and soon the fire from Slippy's flamethrower lit up the darkness. Falco and Leon smiled as they saw the three standing next to each other. The walked up to them. "Alright guys," Falco started. "It's clear that you guys have been spotted and they're getting suspicious about what's happened to the guards and watchtowers. Fox told us that at this point, we have to force our way into the base. We're continuing with the plan but we'll just have to move on a little differently. Let's go." They nod and make their way to the watchtower on the south end of the building and get to the top. They enter the base and find that there were soldiers and guards already making their way toward them. The five men gasped lightly and quickly pull their weapons out. The soldiers cry out as they run at them and the five did the same, quickly fighting back. Commotion was clearly heard through the vents as people ran the opposite direction from where Fox and Wolf where headed. Fox let out a sharp sigh. "We're running out of time. We got to get to Pepper." He looked ahead and saw nothing but darkness. He hesitated and continued crawling forward, taking a right when reaching a fork in the path. He soon came across a vent protector. He looked down and saw Pepper right under him. "We're here." He whispered to Wolf. He crawled forward and turned around so that both he and Wolf could look down into Pepper's office. "Do we drop in now?" Wolf asked. "No not yet. We have to wait until the others get to the front of his door." "How will we know?" Wolf looked up at Fox as he questioned. "We just will." Fox replied. They waited for what felt like hours. It remained silent for so long that Fox started growing anxious. Then they heard it. "Freeze!" A voice from outside of Pepper's office shouted. "I said freeze!" Shots then started firing. "Now." Fox said. Wolf punched the protector of the vent and it quickly fell to the floor, right behind Pepper. The crash from it startled Pepper and he turned around and backed away, quickly looking up. Fox and Wolf quickly jumped down from the vent and faced Pepper. They dropped their homemade guns and pulled out the hand guns Wolf had from before. They aimed it towards Pepper and he quickly raised his hands up. "Enough General." Fox said as he gripped the gun. Pepper smiled lightly and exhaled slowly. "Fox McCloud. Is this really what it's come to?" "Shut up." Fox spoke sharply, stepping forward. The smile faded from Pepper's face as the gun was brought closer to his head. "We don't want this anymore Pepper. It's time to end this nonsense. Wolf isn't a villain. You just see him like that because he was forced to work for Andross. Andross is no more and Wolf is a good guy." "A good guy?" Pepper asked angrily. "The boy was never good. His father was a terrible one and it brought out the negativity. It had Wolf grow up to be a child of destruction. He showed it at a early age and I knew that if I hadn't taken him in earlier things would've ended horribly. And I thought correctly. I took him into the CCA too late of an age. I couldn't correct that boy when Marcus was finally caught in his mischief. It's the whole reason Wolf fleed and ended up working for Andross, the reason he's screwed in the head. It's all because I failed to see that Marcus's work on Venom wasn't at all what we thought it was. If I had caught that mutt earlier, Wolf could've been taken into better care if I'd seen it sooner. This would've never happened if I'd just seen it sooner. Now he's a threat to us all." Fox growled loudly and barked, dropping the gun and launching himself towards Pepper, grabbing him by the collar of his uniform. "The only reason he's "a threat to us all" is because you wouldn't listen to what my dad and Peppy suggested! If you had let Wolf stay with us this would've never happened! Maybe Marcus was a shit father towards Wolf and maybe you failed to see his actions but this isn't Wolf's fault! Stop blaming him!" Wolf grabbed Fox by the shoulder and pulled him away. "Fox," his voice was calm and low. "Enough. I don't care what he has to say about me. I just want him to know." Fox breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. He released Pepper and stepped back, picking the gun up. "Ok..." he said, still angry. "Pepper, listen to what we have to say." Fox said after a moment of calming down. "All we want is for you to see Wolf as a new person. He isn't who you think he is. He wants to live a normal life here on Corneria again. He doesn't want to be known as the leader of Star Wolf. Please, let everything start over. Maybe even let the other Star Wolf members start over, give them a chance o change. Let my team live in peace once again. Peppy doesn't deserve to be out through this stress and I don't want to drive my father's work into the dirt. All we ask is that you give us all a chance to start over. It's that simple. All this violence just to ask you this." Pepper looked down at Fox and sighed heavily. He folded his arms and placed two fingers between his eyes. He thought silently for a long time before exhaling sharply. "Ok Fox. You've won me over. Maybe I was too harsh on all of you. Maybe I should've listened to you all. I'm willing to let it go. To start anew." Both Fox and Wolf smiled in sheer amazement. Pepper held his hand out and looked at Fox. Fox took it and shook it quite briefly. "I'm sorry Fox," Pepper said. "I've been a terrible friend. I should've known better then to turn Corneria's back on you." "It's fine Pepper. I'm just glad things will start over." They released hands and Pepper held his hand out to Wolf. Wolf looked down at it and smiled as he reached for Pepper's hand. As he reached out for it, the walls around them blew up. Concrete flying everywhere and debris forming around. The three flew apart from each other and the five outside the office flew back too. A ringing went through Fox's ears as he slowly sat up in the debris. His eyes focused on everything around him. There was fire and lights lighting up the dark of night and smoke flew up into the air. Fox watched in a blur as everyone who'd been inside the base was running, limping, and helping one another out of the debris. Screams where barely audible to his ears as the ringing still continued. He got to his feet and looked around, not seeing any of his friends. "Wolf..." his voice was muffled to his own ears as he stumbled about and searched for his friends. "Peppy...Falco...Slippy..." Fox breathed heavily and saw someone laying unconsciously between two large pieces of concrete. He ran over and saw it was Peppy. He turned him over and placed his hand on the old hare's, now dirty face. "Peppy?" Fox's hearing started to slowly return to normal. His breath started to quicken and he felt tears building in his eyes. "Peppy!" He cries out. The hare coughed and slowly stared to open his eyes. "Fox?" Fox smiled slightly and wiped away his tears. "Oh thank goodness you're ok." He stood and held his hand out. Peppy took hold of it and he got to his feet. "What happened?" Peppy asked as he looked around and observed the destruction. "I'm not so sure. We've been attacked though." "By who?" A loud hum sound emerged from the sky and both Fox and Peppy looked up and saw a large battle ship entering the atmosphere. "Is that?..." Fox squinted to see amidst the dark. His eyes widened. "N-No..." the ship grew closer, blowing the smoke away as it hovered over the Now destroyed base. A hatch opened up and it lowered to the ground. Two primal animals stepped down and Fox had Peppy stand behind him. "Andrew." Fox growled. Peppy's vision focused and his eyes widened as well. "Andross?!" The evil scientist Andross stood behind his nephew as they both made their way towards the two. "Fox McCloud." Andross said in a low voice. "Where are my manners? I do apologize for this mess but your general wouldn't take my kind words as a warning." "What're you doing here?! We beat you! You were a goner after what I'd done to you." Andross scoffed. "You think I'd lose so easily to the kit of James McCloud? Bah! I knew exactly how to overcome your fighting skills. You aren't as smart as your father." Fox clenched his fists together and he bared his teeth. He reached for his gun but it wasn't there. His heart raced and he turned towards Peppy. "Find the others. Find Pepper and get him to assemble any and all remaining soldiers." He choked on his words. "Find Wolf." Peppy struggled to find words. Fox didn't let him speak though. He gripped Peppy's shoulders and held back the knot in his throat. "Go!" He shoved him and Peppy started running. Andross smirked and leaned to his nephew. "Go find Wolf and the others. I'll take care of McCloud." "Will do Uncle." Andrew pulled out a gun and ran off. Fox watched as he did so and then looked back. "What do you want Andross?" Fox asked as he slowly started walking toward the tall ape. "I want my elite team back. I want my elite team back and to dig General Pepper's face into the dirt. He ruined my dream. My empire would've been beautiful." "Your empire would've been hell." Fox stopped in front of him. He looked up and glared at him. "You would've made everyone a mindless monster. I'm going to give you a chance to call this all off and to go back to Venom. We'll maybe even let you off without a fight. But you need to call this off now."  Andross scoffed, laughing for a brief moment, and pulled his hand back. He swung hard and smacked Fox across the face. The force in the smack had Fox flying. When he landed, he struggled to breathe, gasping hard. He winced as he turned to his back and felt his body starting to shake and he began groaning in pain. Andross made his way towards Fox and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. He lifted him off the ground and held him close to his face. "Don't try to be the hero McCloud. You'll only end up like your father." Fox growled and dug his fingers into Andross's face. He forced his thumbs into the primates eyes. Andross cries out in pain, throwing Fox, and placed his hands over his face. Fox rolled on the ground, landing on his side hard. He struggled to get to his feet. "Leave my father out fo this. If he hadn't done what he did, he'd be here right now and we'd both take you on. You wouldn't have a chance!" Andross adjusted his vision and grimes over at Fox. "I wouldn't be so sure McCloud. Even if he was here you wouldn't have a chance against my empire." With that, soldiers from venom began to drop down from the hatches of the ship. At the sight of all the soldiers, Fox felt his adrenaline kick. "Oh man...I sure hope Peppy found the General..." Fox told himself. He took a deep breath in and started running towards Andross once again. "Your Army is nothing! YOU are my main concern!" He jumped and tried punching Andross in the face.
"Hey wake up!" Leon's eyes fluttered open as he found Falco standing right above him. He sat up groaning and brushing off the debris that sat atop him. "What the hell happened?" Leon asked as he took hold of Falco's extended hand. Falco helped Leon up and exhaled sharply. He heard shouting from afar and looked over to his right. "I'm not so sure but I get the feeling we're about to enter a fight." Leon looked up and saw the large ship. "That's Andross's ship." "What?" Falco turned his head quickly. "He's alive?" "Yes. You fools never fully beat him. Now it seems like he's come to pledge war." Falco glared at Leon. He grabbed him by the neck. Leon gasped. "Lombardi! What the fuck?!" "Are you going to turn your backs on us now that Andross has arrived or are you going to help us fight back?" Leon bared his teeth and tried prying Falco's hand away. The grip around his neck was restricting his breathing to the point that even his tail couldn't move. He winced as he gasped and slapped Falco's hand. "I-I'll help you! I'll help you for now!" Falco continued to glare at the lizard for a bit before releasing him. "Then pick up a weapon. Things are going to get messy. We also need to find everyone else." A rifle sat next to Leon's feet and he quickly bent down to pick it up. "Let's hope they aren't to far. Let's go find them." Leon said as he cocked the gun. They ran off, searching for Peppy, Slippy, and Pigma. It didn't take them long to find Slippy and Pigma. They'd been unconscious several meters away from where they stood. Once they'd gotten them back to a conscious stage, they found Peppy running at them. "Peppy!" Falco shouted. He ran up to him. The hare was out of breath and struggled to think. "Slow it down old timer." Falco comforted him. Alas, Peppy retrieves his breath. "Have any of y'all seen General Pepper?" He asked. They all shook their heads. "Damn." Peppy cussed under his breath. "Help me find him boys. We need his help in bringing about the Cornerian Army. We could be entering a war." Falco grew worried. "Peppy, where's Fox?" Peppy's ears wilted slightly. "He stayed behind. Told me he's hold off Andross while I searched for you fellas and the General. I didn't want to leave him but he wouldn't let me stay. That's why I want to find Pepper fast. I can't bare to leave Fox alone with the mad man for as long as I already have." "Then we'd better get moving." Falco said. "We all need to find a gun and find the General. Help out any guard or soldier you come across. We're spreading out in order to find Pepper. If you see Wolf, tell him to find Fox. He's probably out only hope in helping Fox if he remains alone. Go, now!" At Falco's command, they all dispersed. Left and right, each of them was helping a guard or soldier up to their feet, helping them reach a focused mindset and helped in locating a weapon. They informed what was happening and asked if they'd seen the General. Anxiety grew upon Falco as he continued searching for the General and struggled to do so. In the midst of his search he'd found a rifle and took hold of it. He cocked it and felt relief when there was still ammo. He then continued his search and stopped after a long pause to catch his breath. He angrily stomped his foot. Damnit! Where is he? We can't waste time. Fox needs us. Falco then caught something in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Andrew running. A glare was shot over at him from Falco and the avian quickly ran after him. He stayed distant but followed the ape as he searched around. Soon Andrew came to a halt as he stumbled upon a large pile of broken concrete, pieces as large as boulders. He climbed the top of it and removed the smaller chunks that sat on top. "Found you.." He said to himself with a smile. He put his gun in the holster and knelt down, picking Wolf up from under the arm. He began to drag him down to the ground when Falco stepped out, aiming the gun at Andrew. "Drop the canine." He said. "Falco Lombardi." Andrew replied with irritation in his voice. "What do you want?" "That's none of your business. Now let Wolf go." Andrew raised a brow at the remark. "Now why would I do that?" It then clicked to Falco that the ale was unaware of Wolf being on their side. He had to improvise quickly. "He's on Cornerian land. He's a villain to us just as you are. As a member of Star Fox I can't allow you to take him back. I'm taking him in and I'll take you in too if I have to." Falco shot the gun. Andrew squealed, dropping Wolf as he dodged the bullets. Wolf hit the ground hard and it woke him up. He groaned as he got to his hands and knees, placing a hand in his head. "What the hell?..." he looked up and allowed his vision to focus. He observed the dark of night be lit up by the clouds of smoke that illuminated with red and orange from flames. He got to his feet and breathed heavily as he saw the ship. "Oh no..." he looked to his left and saw Falco holding the gun. "Falco? Where's Fox?" Falco quickly ran over to Wolf, placing his hand over Wolf's mouth. Wolf furrowed his brows and pushed Falco's hand away. "Andrew came for you," Falco quickly whispered. "He might think you're still going against us. He has no idea you and the other two were working with us." "If andrew's here," Wolf said suddenly. "Andross must be looking for the rest of Star Wolf." Wolf then jumped and took hold of Falco's shoulders. "Where's Fox?!" He grew worrisome. Falco stares into Wolf's eyes and squinted slightly. "Wait...Wolf?" Wolf growled. "I was putting up an act! I was with you idiots the whole time. Pigma and Leon needed to trust me though. Now where's Fox!?" "He-He's with Andross." Wolf releases Falco and stepped back. His breath quickened. "No. He's going to get killed. Andross will kill him!" "Wolf!" Andrew called out as he made his way around the large block of concrete he hid behind. "Glad you're awake. Get over here and help me take in this bird. We need to take him out so he can't slow us down. Uncle Andross is waiting. We need to find Leon and Pigma and get back to Andross." Wolf's ears shot back as panic began to grow in his chest. He looked from Andrew to Falco. He then quickly knelt down, spinning around as he stretched a leg out and tripped Falco. He got over him and pinned him down. "Find Pepper and tell him to get the army. I'm going to go get Fox." He whispered to the bird. He got to his feet and ran toward Andrew. "Come on." He replies, changing his tone to sound like the Star Wolf leader Andrew knew. The two ran off. Falco got up, groaning in pain. "This is just bad..." he said to himself. Without waiting any longer Falco quickly returned on searching for General Pepper. Wolf followed Andrew through the now engaging battle. Venomians and Cornerians were coming head to head as the base's soldiers and guards struggled to find weapons. He tried to ignore it, pretending to be unaffected by the screams around him. As more and more Venomians made their way towards the battle, Wolf and Andre made their way opposite from where they were coming from. "What took you so long to find us?" Wolf asked. "When I returned to Venom, Andross was back at headquarters. He told me that he was mad. And I mean mad. He wanted to continue onto the next phase of his plan as soon as we returned but when I told him what had happened, he said that we'd do to General Pepper and order for your guys' release. Well Pepper didn't comply so Andross decided that he'd start the next phase as it is. He wanted Pepper to face his true wrath and come looking for the rest of Star Wolf. This is the start of the next war, Wolf. All Andross wants now is to get the rest of the team so we can lead on the soldiers into a proper war. I also heard Andross has a new "promotion" for Star Wolf. He says it'd do us all good." They then reached Andross and the base of the ship. Wolf felt his heart sink and his breath cut short. His ears shot back and his tail wrapped around his legs slightly. Andross had punched Fox several times in the face as he held him off the ground. Each punch went in slow motion as Wolf watched. It was as if the world had stopped turning. His emotions took him over and he was off running. His claws extracted at full length and he bared his teeth, growling loudly. He jumped and slashed his claws at Andross's face. At that, Andross dropped Fox and backed away stunned. His face was scratched but didn't bleed. "Agh! What the hell?!" He cried out as he felt the claw marks now engraved in his face. He looked over and saw Wolf kneel down to Fox. Fox's vision was horribly blurred and he gasped for air. Wolf held Fox up in his arms and he stared at his bruised face. Tears built up and the knot in his throat had Wolf struggling to speak. "Fox? Can you hear me?" Wolf asked at last. With a gasp between each word Fox winced as he replied. "Wolf..." Footsteps then emerged all around. Peppy and Falco skidded to a stop when they saw Fox in Wolf's arms. "Oh no..." Peppy whispered. "What's going on?" Pepper asked, emerging from the crowd of soldiers. He stood next to Peppy and gasped as he saw Fox in Wolf's arms. A low growl emerged from the dog. "I should've known this was all a trick." "Pepper no! I-It's not what it looks like. I-I didn't do this!" Wolf cried out. Andross smiled as he stood straight up. He slowly clapped and made his way towards Wolf. "Well done Wolf." He said. The lupine turned his head over his shoulder as Andross spoke. "I knew I could count on you. Gaining the general's trust even after all these years. I knew I could trust my most loyal soldier." Wolf growled. He set Fox gentle on the ground and slowly stood. He looked up at Andross with anger now built in his blood. "You bastard. You really think I'd listen to you? The only reason I worked for you is because you tortured me into doing so." His claws extracted again and he held his hands low to his sides. "You hurt me. You hurt Fox. I'm done letting you do this. You can kiss my ass goodbye because I'm never going back to Venom, I'm never going to turn my back against Corneria again, I'm never working for you again!" He started going at it, slashing his claws at Andross. His anger was fueling his adrenaline. Andross simply walked back, dodging the hits. While Andross was occupied, Falco ran up to Fox and dragged him towards the Cornerian Army. "Fox! Talk to me buddy." He spoke as he got close to his face. Peppy and Pepper stooped down and looked at Fox with concern. "What were you thinking boy?" Pepper asked. "I knew something was up. We shouldn't have trusted Wolf. I knew I had reason to not trust him. He was working with Andross this whole time, bringing him right to the base." "No..." Fox coughed. He slowly started to sit up. He exhaled sharply and wiped his eye with his arm. He looked pass the three and watched as Wolf continued to try attacking Andross. "He never was. Andross just came to retrieve Star Wolf. He came to seek out war." He then got to his feet and stood straight up, puffing his chest out and clenching his fists. The three got to their feet and waited for Fox to seek out an order. "If it's a war he wants it's a war he'll get. We'll make sure he doesn't win it though. I'm going to tear that family breaking ape apart myself if I have to. He's taken too much from me and now it's time I take everything from him." Pepper sighed. "You'd better be right about Wolf. I'm giving this kid a chance Fox, and it's all for you." Pepper then posed into a battle stance and cried out. "Ten hut!" The soldiers behind him all got into battle stance and called out as one. "Hut!" Pepper looked over at Fox who's gotten into fighting stance. "Give the orders McCloud." He said. Fox bared his teeth and shouted at the top f his lungs. "Take out all the venomian soldiers! Don't let a single one get away!" He spoke out to The others near him. "I'll go help Wolf. Peppy and Falco will direct the rest of you if need be. And Leon, Pigma." Fox looked over to his right. The two looked over at the furious fox. "You'd better not turn your backs on us here and now. I'll let Falco take care of you however he pleases if you so choose to stab us in the back." Leon scoffed and pulled out two knives from under the legs of his pants. He spun them in his hand and held them tight. "Wouldn't dream of it." Fox smirked and faced the large crowd of venomians now forming behind Andross and Wolf. Andross took a peek to the Cornerian Army that formed and he smiled. He kicked Wolf to the side and Wolf flew back. He rolled and he stuck his claws into the ground to stop himself from rolling more. He got up and growled. Fox ran up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Wolf looked over at him. "Fox. You're ok." The anger left his voice. "Of course I am. Let's not get soft yet Wolf. Let's both take Andross on." The two got into a stance and glared at Andross. "Something I can get behind." Wolf chuckled. Andross folded his arms and chuckled; his chuckle forming into a mad laugh. The two canines glared questionably at the ape. "What's so funny?" Wolf asked. "You two really think you can take me on?" "What makes you think we can't?" Fox said. "Because it won't be me you'll be fighting. It'll be him." Andross looked over at Wolf. Fox looked over at him and Wolf gave a semi-scared look at Andross. "I prepared myself for any outcome O'Donnell. You think I wasn't aware of you and Fox being friends? I couldn't let him get to you so I prepared myself. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this but I won't let anything get in my way." He pulled out a small device from his pocket and smiled menacingly. Wolf quickly took hold of Fox by the shoulders. "Run!" He cried out. Andross presses the button and a shock spread throughout Wolf. He fell to the ground and cried out in agony. Fox stepped back and quickly teared up. "Wolf!"