FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"You cannot be serious."

The giant Gila monster crouched down and looked underneath the snack machine. He blinked twice as he reached underneath the machine and extended his arm forward. Dailan grunted twice before he leaned forward, his face nearly touching the glass screen. He shut his eyes as he began to feel the soft piece of dessert. Dailan exhaled as he finally clutched the circular object and pulled it out. He frowned as he gazed at it, taking note of all the dust and hair clinging to the object.

"Great."

Dailan stood up and spotted a rat and shirtless bulldog walking down the hallway. The latter was eating a greasy cheeseburger while the former was rubbing his distended stomach.

"Gotta tell ya, Volcano, that chef sure knows how to make a mean chili dog!"

Volcano's reply was a series of mumbles as he tried to talk with a full mouth. The two creatures continued to walk down the hallway until they reached Dailan. Volcano gulped loudly and stopped while the rat chuckled and grinned.

"How's it goin', Dailan? Ya already got your meal in?"

Dailan blinked. "You're looking at it."

"All you're eating is a stale doughnut with hair stuck to it?" asked Volcano.

The rodent chuckled. "Could be worse, y'know! Least there's no mold growin' on it!"

Dailan put the slightly soiled doughnut into his mouth and started to eat it. He chewed for a moment before he replied with his mouth full. "Y'all know I'm trying to cut back on all this junk food. 'Sides, isn't it better to eat light before going on a mission, Remmy?"

The black rat started picking his nose and sniffled. "Nah. If I'm gonna die before a sortie, may as well die with a full stomach!"

Volcano bit into his cheeseburger again and started chewing. "I got a reason for not eatin' so much 'fore a mission," he said, before gulping hard. "It's much less 'hazardous' that way, and I get to come back to base and celebrate by stuffing my face."

Remmy took his finger from his nose before he folded his arms and grinned. "You mean you prefer coming back to base with your pants still white."

Volcano scowled at the rat while Dailan began to chuckle. The chubby canine stuffed more of his burger into his maw before he mumbled something again. As the Gila monster finished up his doughnut, he looked at the two creatures and swallowed.

"So what would you guys want it to be?"

Volcano blinked. "Want what to be?"

"Your last meal. If we take part in this attack on Fortuna and don't make it back...what do you want your last meal to be?"

Remmy snickered. "That's rather morbid."

"Yeah," said Volcano, as he shoveled the rest of his meal in his maw. "Don't you know asking questions like that's gonna jinx us?"

Dailan shrugged. "Just curious I guess."

Volcano chuckled. "Uh...dang, that's a tough one. Well...huh. Can it be more than one meal?"

"Nope. Imagine you're on Death Row about to get executed. What's your last meal gonna be?"

"Oh. In that case, pancakes."

Remmy raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Volcano grinned. "Peach pancakes. Half a dozen of them. All neatly stacked on a plate with vanilla sauce drizzled around them. All of 'em are as big as my head, and they're all so warm and fluffy that they melt in my mouth when I bite into 'em. Heh, used to eat that all the time as a pup. Couldn't stop asking my grandma to fix more of 'em, even when my gut was ready to explode. Haven't had peach pancakes in a while, now that I think about it."

"They don't make 'em the same way your grandmother did, do they?"

Rex sighed heavily and shook his head. "No. No, they don't."

Dailan flicked his eyes at Remmy and blinked. "What about you?"

The smelly rat shrugged. "I wanna treat Manny and Dumper to that restaurant down in Corneria. It's The Dark Lagoon or something like that. They have all this seafood and Cajun dishes there; I always wanted to try the Jambalaya with the red beans and melted goat cheese mixed with it. The three of us actually went there one time."

"So what happened?"

"We got banned."

"Why?" asked Rex.

Remmy chuckled. "Have you smelled the three of us? They said we needed shoes, and that our 'ambiance' was making the staff and other customers nauseous. Manny made a scene, some shouting occurred--"

"And then you got back at the restaurant by defecating on the floor, right?"

"Don't be silly, Rex. I'd never do that."

The bulldog blinked. "Oh."

Remmy smirked. "I snuck in the kitchen and took a dump in a pot of stew."

The black rat laughed when he saw the disgusted look on Dailan and Volcano's faces. "Hey, they had it coming! And I wanted to add a little more 'flavor' to it."

Dailan cleared his throat and scratched his head. "Right, so I can see why no one ever eats anything you cook for 'em..."

Remmy rubbed his nose and sniffled noisily. "But in all seriousness, we were pissed. We had the money for it; we even promised not to pass gas or belch out loud until we left the building. But they still wouldn't let us eat there just because we stank so much."

"So why don't you make it simple and take a shower?"

"Because this is who I am--who the Rot Squad is, Dailan. We don't like showering or rubbing soap or shampoo in our fur, especially with all the chemicals or whatever it is they put in soap nowadays. We're not ashamed of how we look or the bodily odors we give off. We shouldn't have to pretend to be something we're not or-or obey some silly rules all to get something we want. If people can't accept us for who we are, then screw 'em."

Volcano chuckled and patted the rodent on the back. "Relax, buddy. Least we accept you!"

"So long as you don't wake us up by farting in our faces," Dailan muttered.

Remmy smirked. "Don't tempt me."

Volcano turned and looked at Dailan. "So what about you? What do you want your last meal to be?"

"A blueberry snow cone."

Rex and Remmy stared at the Gila monster with confusion. "That's it?"

"Yeah. No giant meals, no special arrangements, no unique garnishes--none of that. Just a snow cone."

"You're on Death Row about to die and that's all you want?" asked Remmy.

"Yeah. Cause I'm about to die, so why bother? 'Sides, I get to spend the afterlife eating whatever I want for the rest of eternity. A snow cone's just like a little 'appetizer' for me."

Volcano snickered. "I think we need a li'l more than some flavored ice to satisfy our stomachs."

The three mercenaries chuckled for a moment before Remmy looked at one of the clocks and blinked.

"I'm gonna go find Manny and Dumper. Something tells me we'll be heading out in an hour or two."

"Yeah. I should probably check out the bar," said Rex. "Hopefully I won't find Doogan down there sleepin' in his vomit again."

"All right. I'll see you guys later then.

The pilots all nodded at each other and went their separate ways, hoping the rest of their teammates were ready for the impending battle.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fox reached behind and flushed the toilet. After hearing the water swirling around inside the bowl, the vulpine stood up and pulled his trousers back up. Fox exhaled and shut his eyes as he rubbed his head, still thinking about the future of his team. He knew there was no way to get the elephant out the room until he shoved it outside himself. He knew his teammates felt the same way; they had to do something about Falco today, if not right now. Fox heard someone enter the bathroom and sprint throughout the room. He was just opening the stall door when he heard someone vomit. Fox raised an eyebrow and looked at one of the stall doors after hearing the violent retching and splashing. The vulpine blinked and walked towards the sinks as he tried to drown out the noise. He turned the faucet up as much as possible so the water could muffle the vomiting, but he still heard the coughing and retching even as he started to wash his hands. By the time he finished, one of the stall doors opened, and the vulpine spotted a familiar Saint Bernard dragging his feet across the floor.

"Hey, Terry," Fox said. "I, err, I guess the nerves are getting to ya?"

Terry nodded and blinked as he walked towards one of the sinks. He leaned forward and started to wash his mouth out with water as Fox dried his hands. The vulpine tossed the paper towels into the trash just as Terry finished up and turned off the faucet. He spat into the sink twice and breathed heavily, just as Fox walked over to him.

"It's no big deal. Heh, Slippy still gets nervous before a big mission! Poor guy used to throw up all the time before we headed out on a sortie. 'At least it didn't happen in your Arwing!' I'd always tell him."

Fox chuckled and paused. He looked over at Terry and saw the dog still breathing heavily, his ears lowered and his tail limp.

"It is just nerves, right?"

Terry closed his eyes. "What scares you, Fox?"

Fox scratched his head. "Sand scorpions. You ever saw one on Titania? Those things can get as big as an aircraft carrier!"

Fox laughed again, only to stop when Terry scowled at him. The vulpine blinked and frowned. "I fear what every other team leader fears: losing my squadron."

Terry grunted. "Failure. I can understand that."

"No, not failure. Loss. If I fail a mission, I walk it off. I tell myself that we can rectify our mistakes later. But losing any of my teammates?" Fox shook his head. "I don't...I'm not sure how I'd be able to handle that."

"You were fine when Falco broke away from your team when you were saving Sauria a couple years back."

"I guess. But it still bothered me when he left. I didn't notice until after he came back that I was a bit...snarkier than before. I was trigger-happy, impatient sometimes, kept whining that I wasn't getting paid enough to do my job. Though I suppose having someone like Tricky constantly follow me around didn't help my mood much."

Fox exhaled. "But even then, I knew Falco was alive. I wasn't brooding over the fact that I couldn't save him one day, or that he perished under my command. He just up and left us and I had to deal with it."

"Hmph. I see. So we both fear the same thing: loneliness."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't exactly say loneliness--"

"But it's the same thing. You fear one day, everyone you love and care about will die, and you'll be left alone."

Fox stared at Terry's frown and blinked. "Are you talking to me, or yourself?"

Terry flared his nostrils and stood straight up. He turned and looked down at Fox, suddenly feeling awkward that he brought up the conversation in the first place.

"I was in the hangar recently, fixing up planes, performing tune-ups, all that good stuff. There was all this noise around me--engines roaring, people banging hammers down, blowtorches welding metal together, crates being lifted--I couldn't hear myself. But I couldn't...I couldn't hear people either. Just the planes. I felt like I was the only one inside of a hangar filled with hundreds, probably thousands of people, Fox. Merwin gave me crap about how I seem to care about planes more than people, but then this happened..."

"You don't fear loneliness. You fear that one day, you'll be lonely and you'll be okay with it."

Terry nodded. "I thought I already was. I lost my sister several years back. Tried to force her to stop seeing her abusive boyfriend--and naturally, he ended up slashing her throat. I was upset for a while, but then I got over it. My parents died. Got over it. I joined the military, made many friends, lost many friends. Got over that too. And now I've just told myself, 'Hey, people die. That's how life is. Get over it and don't bother.'"

"But you're not over it. If you were, you wouldn't be puking in the toilet."

Terry exhaled as he put a hand over his face. He shook his head. "That day's coming, Fox. I really do believe that one day soon, everyone I still care about will either leave me or die. And then I'll just get over it, continue on with my lonely life."

"Terry, the only way you'll be lonely is if you _choose_to be lonely. The people you care about may die one day, sure, but if you didn't bond with them while they were still alive, and you don't attempt to bond with anyone else after they're gone, then you've no one to blame but yourself."

Terry took his hand away from his face and grunted questionably when he felt warmth around his mid-section. The canine looked down and was surprised to see the vulpine hugging him.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Fox smirked. "What's it look like?"

Terry stared at the vulpine questionably and blinked twice. He looked down at the fox's wagging tail before he slowly embraced the fox as well, still feeling discomfit over Fox's abrupt gesture. He thought it was odd that he was being this close to the vulpine, but he knew it'd be even more awkward if he refused to hug him back. So Terry stayed still, feeling the fox's warmth and rubbing his back for a brief moment. He was about to open his mouth to say something when the bathroom door whooshed open and a smelly brown rat walked inside.

"Whoops! Didn't know I was interrupting you queers!" sneered Manny.

Fox turned around and scowled at the rat while Terry gritted his teeth. "Get out," the vulpine growled.

"Why, Fox? You can't suck off your lover with someone watching?"

Fox grinned. "Least I have a lover."

Manny stared at Fox and slowly started to scowl at the vulpine. Fox chuckled as he folded his arms.

"Where's yours?"

The brown rat blinked and started to grit his teeth. He stared at the duo for a moment, spat on the floor, and then stomped out the bathroom shouting obscenity at them. Fox shut his eyes and huffed.

"I hate that freaking rat."

Terry shrugged. "Could've been worse. Least he didn't pee on the floor again."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Got it! Testing the laser in three...two...one..."

Everyone in the tunnel all stared at the iguana as he sat still in his Ethereal Serpent with a newly-fitted cannon positioned on the underside of his ship. The creatures watched as the cannon began to glow, and then released a long stream of lethal orange energy that seemed to crackle like lightning. The orange beam hit one of the targets positioned at the end of the tunnel in less than a second; Darwin sat in his Serpent and observed the carnage with a straight face. But when he started to aim at the other targets, he noticed he didn't have to rapidly press down on the trigger to fire the laser continuously. All he did was tilt the joystick in the direction he wanted, and the orange laser slowly moved diagonally across the tunnel, destroying anything in its path. Darwin tilted the joystick around until he destroyed six targets; once the targets were destroyed, the orange laser beam abruptly cut off, and Darwin heard the weapon cooling down. He quickly popped open the canopy and hopped out his Serpent, grunting as he landed on the floor. He wiped some dust off his flight suit as Lennert and a few other mechanics rushed over to greet him.

"How long was that?" Darwin asked.

"Five seconds," replied a jaguar technician.

The iguana blinked. "Is there any way we can increase the duration?"

"Not without burning out the laser completely. It'll take some time to recharge, but if you use it too much, you might render it inoperable. And the last thing you need is to fly around enemy territory with a smoking laser cannon."

The iguana nodded. "Good enough. Leave it on the ship anyway; I'll make sure I don't spam it too much."

"Whatever you say, sir!"

Darwin watched as all the technicians and mechanics walked out of the tunnel, whilst Lennert glared at them and hissed behind their backs.

"Felines. What do they know about configuring weapons?"

The green reptile looked at the black monitor's scowl and sniffed. "Let 'em do their job, Lennert. That's what they're paid for."

"Exactly! They're no different from us! They're mere mercenaries only in it for the money! They clock in, sit around and do nothing, then clock out and get paid. You really wanna trust those vile cats over our own kind?"

"Those 'vile cats' were there when they repaired the hydraulic leak from your starcraft. And they were there to replace your wing after you flew too fast through a canyon. So yes, I do trust those 'vile cats.'"

Lennert snorted. "Yeah, you just wait! Someday, one of 'em's gonna 'tweak' our engines or lasers so we crash into a mountain or can't fire when we're being chased in a dogfight."

"I'll let you know when that day comes."

Darwin started to walk away from the monitor lizard before he could carry on with his conversation. Lennert trailed behind the green iguana anyway, exiting the tunnel and entering one of the many circular corridors throughout the CCC. The two reptiles started to walk around the metal halls, passing by other pilots and some medics preparing themselves for the mission to come. Darwin blinked as he looked at the communication device on his right arm while Lennert hissed noisily and giggled.

"Lotsa ruckus goin' on out here. Almost seems like everyone's preparing for the final battle!"

"This mission is very important, Len. If we find this base we'll be that much closer to foiling all of Andrew's plans. With any luck, we might discover coordinates that'll lead us right to him."

"Tch! You think it'll be that easy?"

"You'd be surprised. I always hear about these new 'highly-trained' mercenary pilots who claim they can destroy their opponents before anyone has time to blink. But it's all bark and no bite; that Golras we fought was tougher than half the rival squadrons we've been up against."

"Sure, you say that now, but what happens if we run into the so-called Fireflies on Fortuna?"

"Star Fox, Star Dog, the Spunk Skunks, the Rot Squad--they're all coming along to help us if we run into trouble. We're gonna have several other pilots aiding us, we got troops on the ground, support from the CCC--we'll be fine, Lennert."

The black tree monitor hissed. "Sounds like General Pepper's got it all figured out, huh?"

Darwin nodded. "We already lost the convoy on Katina. The least we could do for Andrew is deliver some well-deserved payback."

Lennert chuckled. "Good enough for me!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was almost time. The bird could feel it now. At any moment, hopefully soon, that alarm would blare throughout the CCC, and all the pilots would quickly rush to their aircrafts and fly down to Fortuna. Falco wasn't sure what he'd do until then. Maybe he'd head to the gym, let out more frustration on the punching bags instead of the wall or his teammates. Perhaps he'd head to the bar--although even Falco knew that getting inebriated before a sortie so dire wouldn't be a good idea. Nevertheless, Falco felt like he could use a drink--maybe five--before he headed out with his so-called team. He kept thinking about them and their new "treatment" of him ever since Katt died. They knew what they were doing. They knew he hated it. Yet they still treated him like a child who lost a race and wouldn't stop pouting about it. "Hey, Falco, let's eat some pizza together to make you forget your dead friend!" says Slippy. "Hey, Falco, stop being such a jerk and straighten yourself up!" says Fox. "Hey, Falco, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to, even though I secretly don't care and just want you to stop scowling at me whenever I say hello to you!" says Krystal.

Screw 'em, he thought. He didn't need them. The second all this mess with Andrew was over, he was going solo again. He managed to do it after they "defeated" Andross back on Venom; he could do it again as soon as Andrew was gone and the universe was safe again. Until then, he'd just tolerate Fox and the others the same way they forced themselves to tolerate him. The blue bird rubbed his beak as he walked around the Great Fox and started to head towards the cockpit. Guess they're all hiding from me now, the bird told himself. Falco eventually reached the Great Fox's cockpit and stood in front of the door. It whooshed open softly, and the falcon blinked after he saw his teammates either sitting or standing and looking at the feathery creature solemnly. Falco stepped inside and huffed.

"So what happened now? Did I leave the seat up on the toilet by mistake?" the bird asked.

"This is not the time for your mordancy, Falco," said Peppy. "We're merely here offering you help you don't realize you need."

Falco folded his arms and scoffed. "So, what? This is like some intervention?"

Fox gestured towards one of the chairs. "Sit down."

"No."

Fox blinked. "Stand up."

"No."

Falco sat down. Fox shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, Falco, I'll bite. What is it you want then? You plan on staying with this team constantly brooding for the rest of your life or until you leave us again?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Krystal glared at the bird. "You're not the only one here who lost someone they loved. Every single person--"

"ROB is a robot," Falco pointed out.

Krystal huffed. "Every single person--and robot--on this ship has lost someone they cared about, someone they loved. And yes, it was hard to accept our losses--but we got through it. You wanna know how we did it?"

Falco huffed. "With strength and perseverance, and the delicious, cuddly power of friendship. This is the real world, Krystal, not some kids show about ponies or some crappy video game about a blue hedgehog."

"You're wrong, y'know," said Slippy. "I've played several video games that don't involve a hedgehog that are still just as crappy."

Falco looked at the frog's awkward smile and pointed at him. "See that? That right there--_that's_what bothers me. All you jackasses think it's nothing but a joke to you--like it doesn't matter, like Katt's death is some necessary loss that I should get over."

"Th-that's not what I was saying!"

"That's what I heard."

"All I did was make a joke..."

"Then maybe you should stop making jokes, Slip! You're not funny; you're not entertaining; nobody laughs at what you say and you're not capable of making anyone feel better! You're just some tiny insect buzzing around everyone's heads; everyone tolerates you cause they're tired of swatting you away! So just sit in a corner somewhere and shut up!"

Slippy thought about saying something else, but all he did was blink and lower his head. Fox looked at Slippy's disheartened face before he stomped towards Falco and snorted.

"Your Arwing is still in the hanger bay. You're more than welcome to leave this team if you hate being here so much!"

Falco scoffed. "Just like that? I blurt out one insult and you go from trying to help me to immediately telling me I need to leave?"

"We can't help you if you don't let us!" shouted an irritated Krystal.

"Now let's just relax, everyone," said Peppy as he lowered his hands. "Falco's right, Fox. We're here to help, not to send him away."

"And just how are you gonna help me, you old fart? You gonna slip antidepressants in my morning coffee?"

"Your proposal is very clever, Falco. I believe Terry Johnson still has a few pills," ROB added.

Peppy sighed. "He was joking, ROB."

"I was not," the robot replied.

Falco huffed. "Let's face it, Fox. You probably want me taking pills anyway. At least that way I wouldn't be screwing up your team's performance."

"This isn't about our team's performance! This isn't just about me! This isn't just about you! We're concerned, Falco. We're worried about you and we're just trying to help. It's that simple--I don't understand why you keep turning this into a negative, into something you know it isn't! It's like you want to be broody just to piss us off for your own amusement," said Fox.

Falco paused for a moment before he flared his nostrils. "You realize you're a hypocrite, right?"

"How?"

"You all keep standing there trying to act like you know what I'm going through. But none of you lost someone like Katt before. Oh, sure, your father died, and Krystal's an orphan, but none of you have lost someone you are or used to be in love with or someone you had a 'special' relationship with, did you?"

"I get the feeling you're threatening me, Falco," Krystal stated.

Falco glared at the blue fox and smirked. "Now who's being metaphysical?"

The falcon sighed heavily as he stood up from his chair. "When Krystal dies after you were so close to saving her, and you see her Arwing explode, or you see her bleed out in your arms, then come talk to me, Fox. Otherwise, there's not a single person in this room who knows what I'm going through."

Everyone in the cockpit stared at the blue falcon and the snide smirk on his face. He stood still for a moment, and then turned around and started to head for the door. Fox started to grit his teeth and made a fist with his left hand. He stepped forward, his boots clomping on the metal floor.

"Stop," he snarled.

"Just leave me be, Fox. Got my own crap to deal with now. There's no point--"

"It's your fault she's dead."

Falco's eyes grew wide. He turned around and stared at Fox. "What?"

"You weren't fast enough to save her. She was right there--you could've gotten to her in time. But you didn't. She's dead because of you, Falco. ...That what you want me to say?"

"Fox," said Slippy quietly.

Fox stepped closer to Falco. "You want me to tell you that you were sloppy out there, that your poor performance put your life in danger, got Katt killed? Who knows, maybe it did? And now, you just can't accept the fact that she's gone."

"Shut up," Falco barked.

"You'd rather stand here and constantly whine and mope that it's your fault, and instead of admitting that there was nothing you could've done, you prefer to go around lashing out at everyone around you!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Katt's dead, Falco! You can't change the past and you can't bring her back! So stop mulling over her death and get the heck over yourself!"

He should've known what was about to happen next. But Fox was still surprised when the falcon tackled him so fiercely he almost hurt his solar plexus. The blue bird shouted as he shoved the fox against one of the railings with a metallic thud. He stood up and towered over the vulpine, moments before he made a fist with his left hand. Fox quickly jerked his head to the left; Falco punched the railing and yowled. Before Falco had time to take his hand away, Fox punched the bird in the torso and throat, causing the bird to cough and groan. Then the vulpine kneed him in the groin and brought the bird to his knees. He finished off the bird with a fist to his temple, and Falco grunted as he collapsed onto the floor. Fox panted a few times as he looked down at the bird and exhaled.

"All right. C'mon, get up. We're done."

Falco took a few deep breaths and turned to look at Fox. The vulpine was standing in front of him offering a hand, almost as if he forgot the fight even took place. Krystal, Slippy and Peppy approached the two, hoping the fight was officially over. Falco reached up and clutched Fox's hand. And then he used his other hand to punch Fox in the groin.

"Falco, no!" shouted Krystal.

Krystal rushed behind the blue bird and tried to grab him as he stood up. Falco quickly jerked his arm backwards and elbowed her in the jaw. As Fox was groaning and holding his crotch, Falco tackled him again. The two creatures toppled over the railing and fell onto the lower level with a few hefty thuds. Fox groaned and grabbed the back of his head while the furious bird recovered and rushed towards him. He kicked Fox in the muzzle before he had the chance to get up and threw himself on top of him again, snarling and trying to peck his eyes out. Fox held up his arms as he defended himself from Falco's punches. He grabbed Falco's left arm and tried to punch him again, but Falco shoved it away and continued his assault.

"Get off him!"

"STOP!"

Falco ignored everyone around him. He kept punching the vulpine until Fox saw an opening and hit him in the beak. He reached up and shoved the bird with both hands, giving him enough time to stand up and rush towards Falco. He ran towards the feathery beast and side-stepped him when Falco tried to punch him again. Falco jerked his head around and shouted when Fox kicked him across the jaw. He could taste blood in his mouth and his beak felt like it was crooked. That's when the bird felt multiple hands grasping him from behind and restricting his movements. Fox felt the same sensation as well; he grunted and snarled as he tried to fight off Krystal.

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" Falco roared.

Krystal grunted as she tried to keep Fox under control. "It's over, Fox. You don't need to keep this going!"

"There's no other way he'll listen, Krystal! Sometimes you just gotta beat some sense into someone!"

"That's not going to make either of you feel better!"

Falco chuckled. "I beg to differ."

Peppy shouted when Falco jerked his arms upwards and ran his right elbow into his nose. Then the bird shoved Slippy against the wall and sprinted towards Fox. Fox broke away from Krystal and the two mercenaries clashed once again. Both creatures were grunting and swearing as they locked together and tried to shove the other one backwards. Fox was in a tackling position, his head lowered as he tried to move the bird backwards. He punched Falco in the ribs a few times, hoping to get the falcon to falter. But the bird snarled as he jerked his arm down and pressed a thumb against Fox's left eye socket. Fox gritted his teeth until Falco started to press down harder. The vulpine hollered and swore; he backed away and placed a hand over his left eye. Then Fox grunted when Falco slammed him into the wall and began to choke him. He tightened his grip around the vulpine's throat, watching as the beast gagged and tried to suck in more air. It wasn't until Slippy grabbed him from behind that he finally stopped.

Slippy and Falco shouted as the two toppled backwards onto the floor. Fox grabbed his throat and inhaled harshly as he took a deep breath while Falco started to get up. Fox looked at the bird and made his right hand into a fist. He shouted as he threw another punch at Falco, but the bird swiftly moved Slippy in front of him and used him as a shield. The frog shouted when Fox punched him in the eye so hard he collapsed to the floor again. Fox stared at the wounded frog with wide eyes, giving Falco enough time to kick him in the ribs. The next thing Fox knew, he was slowly moving backwards as he tried to block all of Falco's punches and kicks. Peppy and Krystal were still screaming for them to stop, but it was all background noise at this point. Fox would get one or two punches in, and then Falco would retaliate with another kick to his temple or a punch to his stomach. The two creatures rushed up the stairs and stood on the main level of the cockpit, where they found ROB holding a blaster and pointing it at both of them.

"...Are you serious?" asked Falco.

"ROB, put that...put that down," Fox panted.

"Negative. This weapon is set on stun mode, but I will use it if this childish squabble does not cease."

Falco snickered. "Good. I'll be done shortly!"

Falco knew Fox was tired. He tackled him again, this time slamming him into the wall. He held a hand up to his throat and squeezed before he used his other hand to punch the vulpine in the face repeatedly.

"You...you think you're so dang smart!" He punched him in the eye. "You think you know everything about me, about Katt, about how I'm feeling!" The bird punched him again. "But you don't understand! NONE OF YOU WILL EVER UNDERSTAND!"

Falco raised his arm and shouted. Fox grunted as he jerked his head to the right, causing the bird to punch at the wall instead. Falco shouted and swore, moments before Fox raised his left arm and punched the bird in the throat. Falco gasped and coughed while Fox grabbed the bird and shoved him against the wall. Falco turned around, only for Fox to kick him in the stomach and get up in his face again. He snarled and shoved his arm against the bird's neck, cutting off his air supple. Falco let out a few strained grunts as Fox continued to growl.

"I didn't kill Katt, Falco!" the vulpine snarled. "Those Fireflies did! This isn't my fault or yours! You've no one to blame except for them!"

Falco raised an arm and tried to punch Fox again. Fox smacked it away and used his hands to choke Falco instead. He squeezed until the creature's eyes started to grow wide and his grunts turned into soft gargles.

"You're not angry, Falco. You're afraid! Losing Katt isn't enough for you; you have to push us all away so you won't feel this pain again! You_want_ us to distance ourselves from you because you're afraid of getting too close, because you think it'll be easier to cope with the grief if any of us ends up getting killed! You're not some angry person seeking revenge or someone to lash out at. You're a coward who'd rather be alone than beside his friends who have done nothing but try to help you this entire time!"

Falco started to calm down. Fox blinked and realized the bird wasn't fighting back as much. His arms were almost limp, and the feathery creature was beginning to lower his eyes. Fox panted a few times before he finally released the bird. He backed away from Falco, and the blue bird gasped and started to breathe softly. But he didn't retaliate. Falco merely slid down to the floor and sat with his back to the wall. Fox stared at the wounded bird as he continued to breathe. Then he heard a strange whimper, as if Falco was dying and moaning for help. Fox frowned and lowered his guard. He wasn't looking at the same aggressive bird who just tried to beat him to a pulp a few minutes ago. Peppy, Krystal and Slippy slowly approached Falco and Fox, waiting to see what would happen. Fox heard the same whimpering noise again and noticed that the falcon's eyes were watering.

"I'm sorry," Fox said softly.

The fox looked down at Falco, hoping to get some sort of response. He reached down and extended a hand to help the bird up. Falco slowly lifted his head and sniffled.

"Leave me alone," he croaked.

Falco looked up at all of his teammates as he struggled not to cry. He sniffled and blinked twice as he slowly began to rise. "Just...just leave me alone...please."

No one said anything else. Falco stared at his team for a few more seconds before he turned around and slowly began to walk out of the cockpit. Krystal lowered her ears and started to walk after the bird, but Fox grabbed her shoulder. She turned around and looked at him, only for Fox to slowly shake his head. Maybe he went too far. Maybe he said the wrong words or went about this the wrong way. He didn't seem enraged now, but even Fox knew that depression wasn't a great substitute for anger. He closed his eyes and swore in his mind. Maybe I should go talk to him alone, he told himself. Maybe I should let Krystal speak with him. Maybe...maybe I just don't know anymore. Fox opened his eyes and mouth, but before anyone could say anything, one of the alarms inside the Great Fox went off. It was time for another sortie; General Pepper must've located the base on Fortuna, Fox thought. The vulpine shut his eyes again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Perfect."