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More from Rath_Raholand
Sorry for taking so long to update. I suck muchly. Firearms are hard to draw. That is all =3
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http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9236633/1/Shattered-Utopia
Respite.
It was slowly welling up inside me as I made my way across the battlefield, past the massacre, to the temporary fortified base on the far side where General Pepper was waiting for me. I don’t know why, but the closer I got to the base, the more at ease I felt, like I was moving somewhere safe, despite knowing this small base would pretty much be nothing short of an eggshell under Wolf’s foot if he attacked it. Really, it was likely he was just fucking with them, trying to make them go insane by making it known he’s a god compared them and then just let them run around wondering when and if he’ll suddenly appear to finish them off. Seriously, the odds of this situation were just ridiculous, pretty much just suicide for whoever went out there. But if there was ever anyone who would be more than willing to go out and fight, put there life on hold to try to save Wolf no matter how long it takes, it’d be me.
After all, he did the same thing for me all those years ago. Of all the people I’ve met in my lifetime, only two are truly saints; Wolf O’Donnell, the badass mercenary leader hardass who people can seldom guess has a heart of gold, obtaining Sargasso for no other reason than to make a sanctuary for the outcasts, and Leon Powalski, the original saint who also put his life on hold for a noble cause; taking in and caring for a teenage, budding saint Wolf. When it all comes down to it, if it weren’t for those two, Lylat would be nothing but Andross’ playground. I paled in comparison to both of them. They were the real heroes.
My thoughts were interrupted by the radio tower of the base giving me clearance to land. I responded a roger and moved to hover a landing pad and set my arwing down, opening the canopy and starting to hop out, but stopped as I remembered the statue that Granny Claire has given me, resting on my dashboard. I turned back and grabbed it, putting it into one of the cargo pockets of my pant legs. I made my way into the base and was greeted by several soldiers running around, one of them escorting me to Pepper. While we walked, I took a look around at the people stationed here, particularly the soldiers who would actually have to leave and go out into combat. It was obvious they were scared. All of their comrades who had been sent out in the first few waves to engage Wolf were mercilessly mowed down under Wolf’s fury, none making it back alive. Their fear was thoroughly justified and I was suddenly happy that I could be down here with them instead of floating around space somewhere. I didn’t hold myself in high regard, but all of them saw me as a hero, as loosely as I could personally use the term to describe myself, so perhaps my presence amongst them and being out in the field with them would help them find their resolve and raise morale.
“Ah, Fox! I’m glad you could make it. I was just talking with Director Lindman here. He’s here representing the rest of the Board.” Pepper said, and I couldn’t help but pick up in the hint of annoyance in his voice during that last part. “He’s insisting they proceed with dropping the Package, but I’m trying to convince him it’s too early and that Star Fox is mobilizing to attempt to resolve the issue.” Yep, definitely a lot of annoyance. Mr. Lindman adjusted his glasses and approached me, offering his hand to shake, which I took half-heartedly.
“Mr. McCloud, I’ll get right to the point. From what I’ve seen, Star Fox stands no chance against this threat. A few ragtag mercenaries and two social delinquents against a force that can wipe out over 100 men just like that? I hardly see the logic of this move. It’s simply suicide and I have to wonder what kind of leader willingly squanders lives when presenting with an alternative method that would save lives.” he said in a snide, all-knowing tone that made it sound like he regarded himself above most people.
“You shouldn’t question my leadership without knowing me, Lindman. I am squandering no lives here. Star Fox and the remains of Star Wolf will be going out into the field alone once they arrive and we are all briefed. No one knows how Wolf works better than we do. I am technically not the leader of anything anymore, as Star Fox has unofficially disbanded, leaving us simply called that for peace of mind in the people and that’s all we could ask for. My ‘team’ isn’t doing this because I ordered them to as their captain. They’re doing it because I asked them to as their friend and also because Wolf is their friend as well. Hell, I really wouldn't have even had to ask; they would have been at my side before I knew it. As for the remaining members of Star Wolf, Panther Caruso and Leon Powalski, their leader is in need and they’ll be damned if they aren’t gonna run out there first chance they get. They’re far more suited for dealing with Wolf than even I am. Their loyalty to their leader I dare say is probably on another level of fierce far above that of my own team. It’s because while Star Fox was spoiled as heroes for the longest time, Star Wolf had no such luxury, having to rely on each other for everything, had to be perfectly in sync or else everything would come crashing down for them and there would be no government to help them out. They had to be more than Star Fox, the perfect team. They won’t let you just kill Wolf without attempting to help him first. I won’t let you just kill Wolf without attempting to help him first. He’s my entire world, the biggest part of me that you, or anyone else, are never gonna ever take away from me.” It took me a few seconds to realize I had been steadily raising my voice and starting to spit venom. I also found myself in my commander stance, my legs spread grounding me to the spot with my hands clasped behind me, something I only did when I had to pull rank or when I was pissed and had to drive home a point. Less than five minutes with this guy got me this wound up; I could definitely sympathize with Pepper now. He had to deal with these idiots almost daily. He nervously adjusted his glasses and idly fixed his suit, obviously looking for the courage to dare respond to me after that. It was almost laughable; if he thought I was intimidating right now, he’d be in a corner shitting himself if it were Wolf standing here.
“Mr. McCloud, I don’t care about your personal relationship with O’Donnell, nor do I care about how he and his team of cons managed to keep themselves alive while terrorizing the system. The fact of the matter is, he’s spent the last few days doing nothing but slaughtering our men, so as far as I’m concerned, that monster is nothing but the lowest scum that needs to be wiped from the face of the planet.” he said coolly. This asshole was seriously provoking me.
“If Star Fox had not run around playing prissy little games with Star Wolf for all these years and actually captured them, all this could have been avoided, we would have simply but those criminals to death and been done wi-” I didn’t let him finish; instead, I let his face meet my fist. He cried out and tumbled back against the wall, his glasses broken and his face swollen and bleeding. Good. I kneeled and grabbed him by the collar, drawing his sniveling face close.
“Let me make something clear. No one disrespects Wolf O’Donnell in front of me. That man is nothing short of a hero, a real hero. If it weren’t for him, you and all your fucking piece of trash colleagues would be history, or worse, under the control of Andross because Star Fox would have fallen apart and not been able to save your sorry asses. He selflessly devoted himself to fixing my fucked up mind after Venom thoroughly trashed it during the war. I’ve been here for Lylat because he was there for me, and by extension, all of Lylat as well. Wolf O’Donnell is twice the man you could ever hope to be. So why don’t you just run back to your safe, cozy little exec office and let the men talk? You fuckin’ pansy son of a bitch.” I shoved him back against the wall and walked over to sit down in front of Pepper’s desk as Lindman scrambled up as fast as he could and booked it out of there.
“Goddamn, Fox. Well, there goes my bonus this year.” he said, looking at me from his large leather chair on the other side of the desk. Aw shit. I didn’t think about that. Lindman might not be able to do shit to me since I’m not associated with the military or anything he has his sticky fingers in, but thinking about it now, he’d probably stab at Pepper for this as punishment.
“Damn… Sorry, sir.” I said, rubbing the back of my head. I blinked when he suddenly laughed instead of chastising me like I figured he would.
“Don’t be sorry, Fox. That was better than any damn bonus, that’s for sure!” he said with another chuckle. Just then, Falco entered the room with Krystal in tow. As sad as I was to not see Peppy and Slippy amongst them, I knew there was a reason. General Peppy was probably busier than even Pepper with all that was going on, particularly dealing with the Directors who honestly did nothing but run around in a panic like little kids and try to find whatever they can to hide behind in times of crisis and as for Slippy, he was on Aquas living peacefully with his new wife.
“Hey, was that Lindman that we just passed on the way in here? The fuck happened to him, his face like exploded.” Falco asked, strolling over to take the seat next to me.
“He was disrespecting us, Star Wolf and trashing Wolf.” I said plainly, feeling justified with my actions. I couldn’t help but grin a little when I heard Krystal try to stifle a giggle. She knew more than anyone how awkward I could sometimes get depending on what people said or didn’t say about Wolf.
“He certainly had that coming. It’s almost ironic that Lindman is responsible for all the shortage of finances all over the damn place. He’s always throwing money at the next big thing he thinks will make him the most money to invest in.” Falco said.
“What kind of man would simply jump around at whatever happens to be shiniest and no doubt leave a mess behind him?” Krystal asked, taking the seat on the other side of me.
“A piece of shit like Lindman.” Falco and I said in unison.
“All right, let’s put Lindman aside for a moment, shall we? Now, the remains of Star Fox are here, but where are remains of Star Wolf?” Pepper asked, eyeing Falco and Krystal.
“They said they’d come as soon as they could. Apparently they were busy with something else. They said it shouldn’t be too long.” Falco answered. Pepper nodded and rubbed his chin.
“Very well. In the meantime, might I suggest you all gather some intel from the troops? Any information will help you and seeing Star Fox here might help bring up morale. These soldiers are in dire need of a beacon of hope.”
We nodded and got up to go out walking around the base, talking to whoever we came across. Krystal was the most consoling out of all of us for obvious reasons. Her telepathy gave her a pretty big edge on really feeling what others were feeling. We split up eventually and spent about an hour listening to the men just talk. We didn’t ask a lot of questions, we just let them try to calm themselves down and vent with words. I was glad to see a lot of them loosen up simply at the sight of us mingling with them. By the time we returned to Pepper’s office, Leon and Panther were walking in ahead of us. As soon as we were all present, Pepper started the briefing right away. It was about ten minutes of intel and we all made note of pretty much everything. I was already aware of most the info from my talk with Pepper earlier that day when I was aboard the Great Fox. The gist of it was that Wolf would appear whenever he wanted to basically and manage to wipe out any opposition he was faced with. Pepper did, however, give out information that was new to me, such as a rundown of all the types of equipment and artillery that had previously been used. Naturally, all the soldiers had been equipment for long range combat with assault rifles, cannons, rocket launchers and tanks. He also told us that it seemed the less men on the field, the less aggressive Wolf was and the more he relied on hand-to-hand. Then it was perfect that only five of us were going to be out on the field. Perhaps Wolf himself would make it somewhat easier for us to deal with him. Once Pepper finished, I filled everyone in on everything I knew and what I had found out from Granny Claire, though I opted to not mention the statue and what she had told me about that. It seemed like something that would need a lot of explanation and I hardly understood much about it myself.
“All right, it sounds like favoring hand-to-hand is a key factor in attempting to get an advantage. We should have at least three of us up close doing the close to mid-range combat and the other two be support as long-range but be able and equip to suddenly get up close. It should mix it up nicely.” Leon stated from his spot leaning against the wall in the corner.
“I agree. If what Pepper says is true and Wolf responds to range, at least two of us keeping our positions random should help, if only a little.” Panther added with a nod.
“All right, so it’s gonna be three up close and the last two at long range but getting in close at random. Who’s gonna be where?” Falco asked.
“Fox, Krystal and I shall be up close. I figure the faster the three up close are, the better. You and Panther will be our range. Panther’s sniper eye is a treasure. I’m sure you can impress me, bird.” Leon answered as-a-matter-of-factly.
“How come Krystal is up close? I know she’s good, but-” I started, but Leon cut me off.
“Her bionics has improved quite a bit. Not to mention she brought along her staff. Its abilities are similar to those Wolfus uses and with her improved bionics, I’m willing to wager she can probably keep Wolfus on his toes. Isn’t that right, my dear?” Krystal smiled and patted the staff strapped to her leg.
“I could certainly try my best to at the least. I think now is the perfect reason to thank you again for the polearm lessons.”
“Of course, my dear. One must utilize the full capabilities of their preferred weapon for maximum efficiency and I was happy to help out.” Leon answered, finally looking up from his corner to look at her.
“You gave her polearm lessons?” Panther questioned, his face inquisitive.
“Yes, I did. I figured with all the nonsense that seems to happen to us, it’d be for the best since she prefers her staff. The combination of it and her bionics make a wondrous weapon.” Panther hmmed for a moment, running a finger along his chin.
“Shouldn’t you have recruited Wolf to help you out with that? I think we all know he can handle a pole far better than the rest of us.” he said with a purr. We all quietly chuckled at the inside joke as Leon smacked Panther on the shoulder.
“Yes, yes, you still awestruck feline. Now, back to business.” he said, shaking his head.
“The armory is still heavily stocked. You’re free to take whatever you need from it. However, before you move out, I suggest resting up for at least a little while. Some of you look rather tired.” Pepper said, looking over all of us. I thought about it a moment and figured it’d probably be best if we were at our max.
“Understood. All right, we’ll all be up and assembled at the armory at 0500 hours.” I said, nodding to them as I got up to make my way out.
Falco and I made our way to the barracks alone after Leon vanished and Panther charmed Krystal away to wherever. Being back in a bunk in the barracks reminded me of my cadet days back when I was an army brat. Eventually I found my thoughts on Wolf again and sighed. Why did this have to happen to him? He’s been so fucked all his life and he had finally got some stability and peace of mind, only to have it thoroughly fucked again. And that wasn’t even the worse part. If we managed to save Wolf, the real shit would come after. The Directors would have a fuckin’ field day with Wolf after all this. If they didn’t push to have him put to death, they’d at least try their hardest to make sure he was locked up for life. Again. Fuck… just, fuck.
Before I knew it, my commlink alarm was vibrating, waking me from a slumber I don’t remember falling into. Must have had my mind too busy plotting how to make a mass murder of a board of directors look like an accident… I threw myself out of bed, showered, got myself dressed and made my way to the mess hall. It was 4:50 when I got there, so I got something light and ate it as I jogged to the armory. When I got there, turns out I was the last one there. Very leaderly.
“All right, let’s get this done.” I said simply as I moved inside. Pepper wasn’t lying when he said they were well stocked. I’d say they were overstocked personally. I already had my blaster, so I grabbed a belt of throwing knives, three combat knives, a pair of brass knuckles, some grenades and a trap field device. Krystal had her staff and she grabbed two blasters and a flash grenade as back-up. Leon had on his favorite trench coat, so I knew there were all assortment of concealed weaponry on his person, particularly his favorite assassin blades. Panther and Falco both grabbed an AX6 sniper rifle and then went for personal choice, Panther grabbing a DX540 heavy rifle, favoring it for its gatling power, a 680-Series rocket launcher and strapped two belts of incendiary throwing knives about his waist while Falco grabbed two DR-89 combat rifles and a FFLG-400 shotgun. Seemed Panther would be our heavy while Falco would be our medium. I looked us all over when we were done and nodded.
“Goddamn, any enemy would shit themselves if they saw us comin’ out packin’ all this heat.” I said with a chuckle. “All that looks pretty damn heavy, Panther. You a bodybuilder in another life?” He had the sniper and heavy rifles strapped on his back and the rocket launcher strapped behind him about his waist. He glanced at me and chuckled with his usual purr.
“I am indeed much more physically capable than I may appear, but that’s not the secret.” He gestured to objects affixed to the weaponry and I whistled. Ahh, LGX Float Systems, nice. That shit was rare, but having them was a wish come true for heavy artillery users. The System was a complex mechanic that Space Dynamics created for the military that made heavy weaponry much lighter. With it, you could do what Panther was doing; carry around multiple types of heavy artillery. I was about to say something else when we all suddenly heard the base alarm go off and a sudden rush of people run by. We made our way out of the base and found Pepper there with a few colonels.
“Wolf has been spotted; he’s emerged from the prison, but hasn’t made a move yet. It seems like he’s waiting for us as usual.” Pepper said, turning to face us. I nodded and we started moving out to the battlefield. It was finally time to get this done and I found myself experiencing a feeling I hadn’t felt in years; that building tightness in my chest, the adrenaline pumping the way only one person in the universe could cause.
The thrill of facing Wolf in battle with our lives on the line.
Fox McCloud, Wolf O'Donnell, Falco Lombardi, Krystal, Leon Powalski, Panther Caruso © Nintendo
Art, Story ©
Rath_Raholand
--> HD <--
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9236633/1/Shattered-Utopia
Respite.
It was slowly welling up inside me as I made my way across the battlefield, past the massacre, to the temporary fortified base on the far side where General Pepper was waiting for me. I don’t know why, but the closer I got to the base, the more at ease I felt, like I was moving somewhere safe, despite knowing this small base would pretty much be nothing short of an eggshell under Wolf’s foot if he attacked it. Really, it was likely he was just fucking with them, trying to make them go insane by making it known he’s a god compared them and then just let them run around wondering when and if he’ll suddenly appear to finish them off. Seriously, the odds of this situation were just ridiculous, pretty much just suicide for whoever went out there. But if there was ever anyone who would be more than willing to go out and fight, put there life on hold to try to save Wolf no matter how long it takes, it’d be me.
After all, he did the same thing for me all those years ago. Of all the people I’ve met in my lifetime, only two are truly saints; Wolf O’Donnell, the badass mercenary leader hardass who people can seldom guess has a heart of gold, obtaining Sargasso for no other reason than to make a sanctuary for the outcasts, and Leon Powalski, the original saint who also put his life on hold for a noble cause; taking in and caring for a teenage, budding saint Wolf. When it all comes down to it, if it weren’t for those two, Lylat would be nothing but Andross’ playground. I paled in comparison to both of them. They were the real heroes.
My thoughts were interrupted by the radio tower of the base giving me clearance to land. I responded a roger and moved to hover a landing pad and set my arwing down, opening the canopy and starting to hop out, but stopped as I remembered the statue that Granny Claire has given me, resting on my dashboard. I turned back and grabbed it, putting it into one of the cargo pockets of my pant legs. I made my way into the base and was greeted by several soldiers running around, one of them escorting me to Pepper. While we walked, I took a look around at the people stationed here, particularly the soldiers who would actually have to leave and go out into combat. It was obvious they were scared. All of their comrades who had been sent out in the first few waves to engage Wolf were mercilessly mowed down under Wolf’s fury, none making it back alive. Their fear was thoroughly justified and I was suddenly happy that I could be down here with them instead of floating around space somewhere. I didn’t hold myself in high regard, but all of them saw me as a hero, as loosely as I could personally use the term to describe myself, so perhaps my presence amongst them and being out in the field with them would help them find their resolve and raise morale.
“Ah, Fox! I’m glad you could make it. I was just talking with Director Lindman here. He’s here representing the rest of the Board.” Pepper said, and I couldn’t help but pick up in the hint of annoyance in his voice during that last part. “He’s insisting they proceed with dropping the Package, but I’m trying to convince him it’s too early and that Star Fox is mobilizing to attempt to resolve the issue.” Yep, definitely a lot of annoyance. Mr. Lindman adjusted his glasses and approached me, offering his hand to shake, which I took half-heartedly.
“Mr. McCloud, I’ll get right to the point. From what I’ve seen, Star Fox stands no chance against this threat. A few ragtag mercenaries and two social delinquents against a force that can wipe out over 100 men just like that? I hardly see the logic of this move. It’s simply suicide and I have to wonder what kind of leader willingly squanders lives when presenting with an alternative method that would save lives.” he said in a snide, all-knowing tone that made it sound like he regarded himself above most people.
“You shouldn’t question my leadership without knowing me, Lindman. I am squandering no lives here. Star Fox and the remains of Star Wolf will be going out into the field alone once they arrive and we are all briefed. No one knows how Wolf works better than we do. I am technically not the leader of anything anymore, as Star Fox has unofficially disbanded, leaving us simply called that for peace of mind in the people and that’s all we could ask for. My ‘team’ isn’t doing this because I ordered them to as their captain. They’re doing it because I asked them to as their friend and also because Wolf is their friend as well. Hell, I really wouldn't have even had to ask; they would have been at my side before I knew it. As for the remaining members of Star Wolf, Panther Caruso and Leon Powalski, their leader is in need and they’ll be damned if they aren’t gonna run out there first chance they get. They’re far more suited for dealing with Wolf than even I am. Their loyalty to their leader I dare say is probably on another level of fierce far above that of my own team. It’s because while Star Fox was spoiled as heroes for the longest time, Star Wolf had no such luxury, having to rely on each other for everything, had to be perfectly in sync or else everything would come crashing down for them and there would be no government to help them out. They had to be more than Star Fox, the perfect team. They won’t let you just kill Wolf without attempting to help him first. I won’t let you just kill Wolf without attempting to help him first. He’s my entire world, the biggest part of me that you, or anyone else, are never gonna ever take away from me.” It took me a few seconds to realize I had been steadily raising my voice and starting to spit venom. I also found myself in my commander stance, my legs spread grounding me to the spot with my hands clasped behind me, something I only did when I had to pull rank or when I was pissed and had to drive home a point. Less than five minutes with this guy got me this wound up; I could definitely sympathize with Pepper now. He had to deal with these idiots almost daily. He nervously adjusted his glasses and idly fixed his suit, obviously looking for the courage to dare respond to me after that. It was almost laughable; if he thought I was intimidating right now, he’d be in a corner shitting himself if it were Wolf standing here.
“Mr. McCloud, I don’t care about your personal relationship with O’Donnell, nor do I care about how he and his team of cons managed to keep themselves alive while terrorizing the system. The fact of the matter is, he’s spent the last few days doing nothing but slaughtering our men, so as far as I’m concerned, that monster is nothing but the lowest scum that needs to be wiped from the face of the planet.” he said coolly. This asshole was seriously provoking me.
“If Star Fox had not run around playing prissy little games with Star Wolf for all these years and actually captured them, all this could have been avoided, we would have simply but those criminals to death and been done wi-” I didn’t let him finish; instead, I let his face meet my fist. He cried out and tumbled back against the wall, his glasses broken and his face swollen and bleeding. Good. I kneeled and grabbed him by the collar, drawing his sniveling face close.
“Let me make something clear. No one disrespects Wolf O’Donnell in front of me. That man is nothing short of a hero, a real hero. If it weren’t for him, you and all your fucking piece of trash colleagues would be history, or worse, under the control of Andross because Star Fox would have fallen apart and not been able to save your sorry asses. He selflessly devoted himself to fixing my fucked up mind after Venom thoroughly trashed it during the war. I’ve been here for Lylat because he was there for me, and by extension, all of Lylat as well. Wolf O’Donnell is twice the man you could ever hope to be. So why don’t you just run back to your safe, cozy little exec office and let the men talk? You fuckin’ pansy son of a bitch.” I shoved him back against the wall and walked over to sit down in front of Pepper’s desk as Lindman scrambled up as fast as he could and booked it out of there.
“Goddamn, Fox. Well, there goes my bonus this year.” he said, looking at me from his large leather chair on the other side of the desk. Aw shit. I didn’t think about that. Lindman might not be able to do shit to me since I’m not associated with the military or anything he has his sticky fingers in, but thinking about it now, he’d probably stab at Pepper for this as punishment.
“Damn… Sorry, sir.” I said, rubbing the back of my head. I blinked when he suddenly laughed instead of chastising me like I figured he would.
“Don’t be sorry, Fox. That was better than any damn bonus, that’s for sure!” he said with another chuckle. Just then, Falco entered the room with Krystal in tow. As sad as I was to not see Peppy and Slippy amongst them, I knew there was a reason. General Peppy was probably busier than even Pepper with all that was going on, particularly dealing with the Directors who honestly did nothing but run around in a panic like little kids and try to find whatever they can to hide behind in times of crisis and as for Slippy, he was on Aquas living peacefully with his new wife.
“Hey, was that Lindman that we just passed on the way in here? The fuck happened to him, his face like exploded.” Falco asked, strolling over to take the seat next to me.
“He was disrespecting us, Star Wolf and trashing Wolf.” I said plainly, feeling justified with my actions. I couldn’t help but grin a little when I heard Krystal try to stifle a giggle. She knew more than anyone how awkward I could sometimes get depending on what people said or didn’t say about Wolf.
“He certainly had that coming. It’s almost ironic that Lindman is responsible for all the shortage of finances all over the damn place. He’s always throwing money at the next big thing he thinks will make him the most money to invest in.” Falco said.
“What kind of man would simply jump around at whatever happens to be shiniest and no doubt leave a mess behind him?” Krystal asked, taking the seat on the other side of me.
“A piece of shit like Lindman.” Falco and I said in unison.
“All right, let’s put Lindman aside for a moment, shall we? Now, the remains of Star Fox are here, but where are remains of Star Wolf?” Pepper asked, eyeing Falco and Krystal.
“They said they’d come as soon as they could. Apparently they were busy with something else. They said it shouldn’t be too long.” Falco answered. Pepper nodded and rubbed his chin.
“Very well. In the meantime, might I suggest you all gather some intel from the troops? Any information will help you and seeing Star Fox here might help bring up morale. These soldiers are in dire need of a beacon of hope.”
We nodded and got up to go out walking around the base, talking to whoever we came across. Krystal was the most consoling out of all of us for obvious reasons. Her telepathy gave her a pretty big edge on really feeling what others were feeling. We split up eventually and spent about an hour listening to the men just talk. We didn’t ask a lot of questions, we just let them try to calm themselves down and vent with words. I was glad to see a lot of them loosen up simply at the sight of us mingling with them. By the time we returned to Pepper’s office, Leon and Panther were walking in ahead of us. As soon as we were all present, Pepper started the briefing right away. It was about ten minutes of intel and we all made note of pretty much everything. I was already aware of most the info from my talk with Pepper earlier that day when I was aboard the Great Fox. The gist of it was that Wolf would appear whenever he wanted to basically and manage to wipe out any opposition he was faced with. Pepper did, however, give out information that was new to me, such as a rundown of all the types of equipment and artillery that had previously been used. Naturally, all the soldiers had been equipment for long range combat with assault rifles, cannons, rocket launchers and tanks. He also told us that it seemed the less men on the field, the less aggressive Wolf was and the more he relied on hand-to-hand. Then it was perfect that only five of us were going to be out on the field. Perhaps Wolf himself would make it somewhat easier for us to deal with him. Once Pepper finished, I filled everyone in on everything I knew and what I had found out from Granny Claire, though I opted to not mention the statue and what she had told me about that. It seemed like something that would need a lot of explanation and I hardly understood much about it myself.
“All right, it sounds like favoring hand-to-hand is a key factor in attempting to get an advantage. We should have at least three of us up close doing the close to mid-range combat and the other two be support as long-range but be able and equip to suddenly get up close. It should mix it up nicely.” Leon stated from his spot leaning against the wall in the corner.
“I agree. If what Pepper says is true and Wolf responds to range, at least two of us keeping our positions random should help, if only a little.” Panther added with a nod.
“All right, so it’s gonna be three up close and the last two at long range but getting in close at random. Who’s gonna be where?” Falco asked.
“Fox, Krystal and I shall be up close. I figure the faster the three up close are, the better. You and Panther will be our range. Panther’s sniper eye is a treasure. I’m sure you can impress me, bird.” Leon answered as-a-matter-of-factly.
“How come Krystal is up close? I know she’s good, but-” I started, but Leon cut me off.
“Her bionics has improved quite a bit. Not to mention she brought along her staff. Its abilities are similar to those Wolfus uses and with her improved bionics, I’m willing to wager she can probably keep Wolfus on his toes. Isn’t that right, my dear?” Krystal smiled and patted the staff strapped to her leg.
“I could certainly try my best to at the least. I think now is the perfect reason to thank you again for the polearm lessons.”
“Of course, my dear. One must utilize the full capabilities of their preferred weapon for maximum efficiency and I was happy to help out.” Leon answered, finally looking up from his corner to look at her.
“You gave her polearm lessons?” Panther questioned, his face inquisitive.
“Yes, I did. I figured with all the nonsense that seems to happen to us, it’d be for the best since she prefers her staff. The combination of it and her bionics make a wondrous weapon.” Panther hmmed for a moment, running a finger along his chin.
“Shouldn’t you have recruited Wolf to help you out with that? I think we all know he can handle a pole far better than the rest of us.” he said with a purr. We all quietly chuckled at the inside joke as Leon smacked Panther on the shoulder.
“Yes, yes, you still awestruck feline. Now, back to business.” he said, shaking his head.
“The armory is still heavily stocked. You’re free to take whatever you need from it. However, before you move out, I suggest resting up for at least a little while. Some of you look rather tired.” Pepper said, looking over all of us. I thought about it a moment and figured it’d probably be best if we were at our max.
“Understood. All right, we’ll all be up and assembled at the armory at 0500 hours.” I said, nodding to them as I got up to make my way out.
Falco and I made our way to the barracks alone after Leon vanished and Panther charmed Krystal away to wherever. Being back in a bunk in the barracks reminded me of my cadet days back when I was an army brat. Eventually I found my thoughts on Wolf again and sighed. Why did this have to happen to him? He’s been so fucked all his life and he had finally got some stability and peace of mind, only to have it thoroughly fucked again. And that wasn’t even the worse part. If we managed to save Wolf, the real shit would come after. The Directors would have a fuckin’ field day with Wolf after all this. If they didn’t push to have him put to death, they’d at least try their hardest to make sure he was locked up for life. Again. Fuck… just, fuck.
Before I knew it, my commlink alarm was vibrating, waking me from a slumber I don’t remember falling into. Must have had my mind too busy plotting how to make a mass murder of a board of directors look like an accident… I threw myself out of bed, showered, got myself dressed and made my way to the mess hall. It was 4:50 when I got there, so I got something light and ate it as I jogged to the armory. When I got there, turns out I was the last one there. Very leaderly.
“All right, let’s get this done.” I said simply as I moved inside. Pepper wasn’t lying when he said they were well stocked. I’d say they were overstocked personally. I already had my blaster, so I grabbed a belt of throwing knives, three combat knives, a pair of brass knuckles, some grenades and a trap field device. Krystal had her staff and she grabbed two blasters and a flash grenade as back-up. Leon had on his favorite trench coat, so I knew there were all assortment of concealed weaponry on his person, particularly his favorite assassin blades. Panther and Falco both grabbed an AX6 sniper rifle and then went for personal choice, Panther grabbing a DX540 heavy rifle, favoring it for its gatling power, a 680-Series rocket launcher and strapped two belts of incendiary throwing knives about his waist while Falco grabbed two DR-89 combat rifles and a FFLG-400 shotgun. Seemed Panther would be our heavy while Falco would be our medium. I looked us all over when we were done and nodded.
“Goddamn, any enemy would shit themselves if they saw us comin’ out packin’ all this heat.” I said with a chuckle. “All that looks pretty damn heavy, Panther. You a bodybuilder in another life?” He had the sniper and heavy rifles strapped on his back and the rocket launcher strapped behind him about his waist. He glanced at me and chuckled with his usual purr.
“I am indeed much more physically capable than I may appear, but that’s not the secret.” He gestured to objects affixed to the weaponry and I whistled. Ahh, LGX Float Systems, nice. That shit was rare, but having them was a wish come true for heavy artillery users. The System was a complex mechanic that Space Dynamics created for the military that made heavy weaponry much lighter. With it, you could do what Panther was doing; carry around multiple types of heavy artillery. I was about to say something else when we all suddenly heard the base alarm go off and a sudden rush of people run by. We made our way out of the base and found Pepper there with a few colonels.
“Wolf has been spotted; he’s emerged from the prison, but hasn’t made a move yet. It seems like he’s waiting for us as usual.” Pepper said, turning to face us. I nodded and we started moving out to the battlefield. It was finally time to get this done and I found myself experiencing a feeling I hadn’t felt in years; that building tightness in my chest, the adrenaline pumping the way only one person in the universe could cause.
The thrill of facing Wolf in battle with our lives on the line.
Fox McCloud, Wolf O'Donnell, Falco Lombardi, Krystal, Leon Powalski, Panther Caruso © Nintendo
Art, Story ©
Rath_RaholandCategory Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 720 x 2000px
File Size 1.25 MB
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