A/N: It's here. After about two months of planning (even when FC was still going), countless ideas, and a brief vacation, it's finally here.

Before you guys start throwing praise at me, I can't accept all of it. I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Wingcommander WhiteWolf here on FF for essentially creating this story. I wouldn't be writing this if he wasn't here. He came up with most of the ideas, and a major, *major* part that this story that it completely revolves around. Again, I think he deserves more thanks and praise than I do.

As said before, this is a sequel to First Contact, and being a sequel it takes many things from the first installment. If you guys are rusty in your knowledge of the events of FC, I would brush up on them first before I'd continue. If you're lazy and don't want to take the time and do so, then just wait until I'm done rambling so that you can take it from one of our main characters very soon.

So, I hope you guys enjoy the sequel, and trust me; you will be confused, but that will be cleared later. I'm extremely open to feedback, so anything you guys want to say about this story please feel free to let me know. Any feedback (except for flamers) is greatly appreciated.

I know the genres above say Sci-fi and Drama, but there's a bit of everything in this story that cannot be listed, such as suspense, romance, hurt/comfort, and many others. This has a bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Also, fair warning, this story can and will contain ideologically sensitive material, so read at your own discretion. This story is rated T now, but that may change if I deem it necessary to raise the rating.

Again guys, I hope you enjoy the sequel to the most successful story I've had on this site. Here's hoping we can exceed those numbers eh? Wishful thinking... I'll shut myself up now so you can enjoy the first chapter of Star Fox: Veria. Take care fellas!

Chapter 1: Hard to Believe (Prologue)

Can you believe a huge war started because of a simple accident?

Can you believe millions perished because of one little screw-up in a human satellite's construction?

Can you believe so many others tried to enact revenge for their loved ones, but instead made the death toll higher?

I know I can't. I still can't. And that was six years ago too!

Damn… it's hard to believe that was six years ago. Seems like yesterday.

Seems like yesterday one unfortunate and unintended mistake was turned into ammunition for a very brutal war. Granted, a simple mistake shouldn't merit open warfare, but when millions die because of it, the action very well could be considered an attack. Scratch that, it was considered an attack. For the longest time most of the greatest, well-respected, and honored Cornerian Defense Force officers believed the human's satellite that malfunctioned and plummeted to the surface, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion and vaporizing most of Corneria City was an attack, and retaliatory actions were the first option on a very short list of resolves. They didn't take any accident claim into consideration, and just stormed in and returned the favor.

It was the worst mistake they could've ever made.

Yeah, we destroyed Earth cities and killed millions too, but what was the justification for it? At least the humans had a solid explanation for how and why our kind died, but how can we explain why we killed their kind in a believable way that doesn't make us seem like impulsive and heartless bastards? They would be stupid to accept the "impulse" explanation. And there's no way they would take the blame for causing the satellite to malfunction, because they didn't cause it to in the first place. It wasn't intentional.

Man… If I had a credit for every time I heard that phrase, I'd be rich.

Sometimes it just felt like talking to a brick wall in trying to explain what went wrong. They were just too caught up in their blind rage and blood lust to even give two shits about people trying to stop them. I would know – I tried. My brother tried. Everyone that had a singular functioning brain cell in between their ears tried to get the war to stop.

It took one incident to make them realize what they were doing was not the right idea.

I'm not talking about how we managed to talk some sense into them on that last day. That was a miracle in and of itself. What I'm talking about is the last attack by the humans that almost compromised the main framework of the CDF entirely. I can still hear the whirring and screaming of that colossal gun to this day. One shot from that ship was all it took to completely obliterate three of our most fortified cruisers.

My father – bless his soul – lost his ship in that attack. Hell, who am I kidding? He lost his life that day. It's still heartbreaking just thinking about it. He could've prevented all of that if he would've just listened.

I still remember watching from that window on the other Destroyer six years ago, after the Great Fox was hit and destroyed… watching my father go completely insane… watching him put a gun up to my brother's girlfriend's head… and… watching my brother shoot him to protect her.

I miss the old dad. Not the insane and enraged one, but the kind and compassionate one. Why'd he have to change?

I wanted my father to understand the truth, but… I didn't want him to die like that. I may not have expressed it during the last few days of the war, but I loved him. He was my father. He was that perfect father every kit dreamed of before the war started. After that… I hate to admit it… but I didn't love him. I couldn't love that madman because of the terrible things he did. The things that he would never want me to do. The things I will never follow him on.

Truth be told, I wanted to follow in his footsteps for the longest time. After the war, and after everything started to look upward for us, I did try to follow through. I enlisted in the flight academy as soon as I was of age. I graduated with honors; paralleling the records set by my own father a long, long time ago. I had the life of a fighter pilot set before me, and all I had to do was follow through.

But… I got to thinking… That's actually not what I wanted to do with my life.

I had seen too much death and destruction to go into that profession that essentially revolved around killing and destroying. I had seen enough death to try and fight. I needed something else to do that I actually wanted to do, that didn't involve me risking my life to take others'.

That was when Uncle Vince stepped in.

Man, where do I even start with him? He's… in all honesty, the third greatest person that has ever come into my life. As soon as I told him I didn't want to follow through with my career as a fighter pilot, he offered me an opportunity. He had me enroll in classes that would help me realize the potential I had in technology and development. Engineering, they said. I thought it was interesting, and since Vince does it for a living, I thought why not?

The instructors there were honestly impressed with how well I understood and exhibited the knowledge I gained. I was a natural. I was learning everything taught to me in no time flat. I was practically a master at the engineering arts in just two years. What took most people four years or more to learn and understand, I had done that, and then some in only two, and I loved every second of it.

I was making Vince happy, and that was the least I could do for him because of how he took care of me after the war. Ever since my father died, he took me under his wing. He sacrificed so much to care for me like I was the son he never had. Doing what he wanted me to do was the least I could do to repay him for his sacrifices.

And right now, finally turning nineteen a few months prior to today, I can officially work for what Vince does for a living. As a matter of fact, I was stationed in his branch of technology as soon as I was employed by the CDF research and development department, literally the day after my nineteenth birthday. Vince is a great mentor, and I'll admit I've learned quite a bit from him in the few short months I've been working with him. I couldn't imagine what I would be doing with my life if he wasn't in it.

Then again, I mentioned that he was the third greatest person that has come into my life. Who's first and second?

Obviously Wolf is number one by a long shot, and that in and of itself is a story and a half, but who would take second place then?

…I'm going to go see her right now… …Just as soon as I figure out where this last piece goes…

\/##########\/

Cornerian Defense Force HQ

The red-orange fox's nose was practically within centimeters of a small chip he was carefully implementing into his transmitter. His nose twitched as he cautiously wired that chip to the rest of the device, and as soon as he closed the protecting flap over the piece of equipment he heard a faint voice shout out behind him from the doorway of the lab.

"Fox! It's closing time! Pack it up!"

"Alright, gimme one more second Vinny," Fox shouted back, then tightened the screws on his transmitter. He wound the thick leather strap back on his wrist, then pulled the main screen up and poked at an option on the holographic screen. He stood there for a few extra seconds with an expectant stare – just waiting for something to happen, but the transmitter did nothing, even after he poked the intended option a few extra times.

Groaning in dissatisfaction, he pulled the sleeves of his long white lab coat back over his furry auburn colored arms as he trotted towards the door. "I just needed one more piece, Vince," Fox whined, hopping up the short set of stairs. "I'm so close to finishing this."

"You've been overworking yourself all week, buddy," Vince chuckled, patting the orange tod's back. Even though it had been six years since the war, Vince seemingly hadn't changed at all in that long period of time. The only thing that was changing on him was his age and his clothes, and the fact that he had resulted to wearing a pair of thin framed glasses that combated against his slowly deteriorating vision. In all honesty, he looked really good at forty years old. There wasn't a single gray fur on him, and he still kept his lean stature and his same short spiked up white hair. He could have been mistaken for someone in their late twenties – minus the glasses. He was still that thin, fragile scientist everyone came to know and love.

"I know, but I'm sooo close to finishing this project," Fox moaned with a grin. If you thought Fox looked like his father when he was thirteen, he was even more so now that he was a young adult. He had the same height, surprisingly the same weight, and roughly the same voice as his late father. Sometimes Vince would get mistaken for talking with James because of how similar Fox looked and sounded to him. It still baffled the arctic fox on how the orange vulpine managed to grow taller than him in only a few years. He was easily two inches taller than Vince, and Vince wasn't short by any stretch of imagination, although Fox outweighed him by over sixty pounds of pure muscle.

"What is this project you've been working on anyway?" Vince asked, readjusting his glasses for the umpteenth time this day. He had been wearing them for over three years now, but he still couldn't get over the weird feeling of having those spectacles perched on his muzzle.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Fox explained with a smirk. "You'll get to see it when it's done."

"You truly are a great inventor, Fox," the white fox chuckled. "Not letting anyone else see your work until it's complete."

"It'll be worth it, believe me," Fox assured, removing the pure white lab coat and revealing a dark blue short sleeved V-neck. It was noticeably small, so it showed off every toned muscle in the vulpine's body very well. It was honestly impressive to see how fit the vulpine was considering the fact he was locked in a lab for eight hours a day, maybe even more in some instances. You would think he'd be out of shape with his line of work, but he was far from it.

He sighed and slicked his cream colored mohawk back into place, then gave a subtle sheepish grin at the arctic fox. "Hey, I'll catch up with you later," he announced, inching closer towards another hallway as the duo entered the main lobby.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Vince asked tauntingly, smirking all the while.

"Just to see my girl," Fox replied instantly. "I'll be back home before sundown, I promise."

"Alright, just remember you need to pick up Jake, m'kay?"

"Yeah, I'll make sure to get him," Fox affirmed, then spun around and trotted down the hallway. "See you later, Uncle Vince!"

"Take care kiddo," he heard the white vulpine shout before he wound the corner.

The CDF HQ was the very first building to get repaired after the human satellite explosion. Instead of fixing up the damaged portions, they decided to completely renovate the area that was devastated after a stray skyscraper toppled on top of it. While reparations were still in progress, they managed to alter the construction slightly to squeeze in more space for extra docking bays and more barracks, and the latter option was where the orange vulpine was heading towards. Well, towards the mess hall of the barracks in question at least.

He pushed open the door of one of the many mess halls of the CDF HQ after draping his lab coat over his shoulder, and almost instantly afterwards he saw the vixen he was searching for, sitting at a round table with three other female soldiers. The one he had his sights on was rather small and slim, but she did not lack beauty by any stretch of imagination. Her dull blue-gray, almost slivery coat of fur with a texture that resembled sand wrapped around her cheeks and face, but was abruptly cut off by a sleek granite black color for her pointed slender muzzle and ears. Those two pointy ears stuck out of full her head of shimmering wavy silver hair that flowed beyond her shoulder blades like two black traffic cones – increasing her ability to stand out in a crowd. Another thing that stuck this particular vixen out was her piercing red-orange eyes that damn near mirrored the pigment in Fox's fur, something the vulpine in question has never seen before on another living person except for her. Smiling, he trotted up to the table and slipped into the open seat next to the silver vixen.

"Fox!" she yipped, tightly wrapping her arms around the vulpine. Fox grunted as she applied more pressure, then suddenly felt the vixen sneak in a quick kiss on the side of his muzzle, making the vulpine turn redder than his fur.

"I missed you too Arcene," he chuckled sheepishly, letting the vixen rest her head on his shoulder. "How've you been doing?"

"Oh, I'm great!" Arcene replied in her somewhat deep, but always energetic and bubbly voice. She just seemed to jitter with excitement everywhere she went, especially with the vulpine sitting next to her. "We just had routine training exercises today. No different than any other day."

"Don't you ever get bored of training?" Fox asked. Arcene almost immediately shook her head, shaking her silky slightly curled locks in the process.

"It's a bunch of fun! I love helping people, especially the little kits. And besides, I've never had to pull the trigger on anyone anyways."

The tallest of the three female canines nearly choked on her water, then once she had a full gasp of air she laughed out loud softly. "Don't worry, Corporal Grau, you will."

"Well, of course you would think that DJ," Arcene retorted. "You fought in that war."

"And there's another war on the horizon," the shepherd DJ replied frankly, munching on some suspicious looking morsels on her tray.

Arcene cocked her head. "What do you mean there's another war coming?"

"Do you really think the Verians won't try and launch an attack?" DJ questioned. "They're still pissed at us because of what we did to the humans, and if these peace talks keep falling through we've got another fight on our paws."

"Verians?" Arcene echoed confusedly. DJ groaned in disbelief and slammed her forehead onto the table, causing her tray and the surrounding trays to clatter slightly. Fox suppressed a laugh, then turned to explain to the seemingly oblivious vixen.

"Veris Alpha, the massive class M planet not too far away from us?" Fox said in a tone to try and jog the vixen's memory. Arcene shook her head, and Fox chuckled even more as he rubbed his forehead. "Basically, the Verians are a very ancient specie – a dragonoid race. They've been around this system for millennia, and they show for it because of their cutting-edge technology and impressive military tactics; something we've always shown pride in ourselves. They're heavily oriented around royalty and older styles of government and military, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous, and as a matter of fact they may be stronger than us in terms of military. They've got a strict honor system in regards to the Lylat System, and because of what we did to the humans they're… not too fond of us right now."

"And they're gonna kick our tails if we can't figure out a way to get back on their good side," DJ grumbled, still with her forehead implanted into the table. "Look at their soldiers and weaponry," she said with a worried inflection as she flicked her head up, shaking the soot-filled hair out of her eyes. "We'll get flattened if we start a war with them."

"Alright, settle down DJ," Fox nearly chuckled, setting his arms on the table. "Don't freak the poor little girl out. We'll be fine. If they attempt to attack, we'll prove to them we aren't someone to be messed with."

"Okaaayy," the tall shepherd cooed with a smile, standing up out of her seat and grabbing her empty tray. "But when war breaks out again, you know where to find me."

Fox shook his head and chortled softly as DJ and her two friends walked away from the table. He then turned back to the silver fox and gave a warm and tender smile which instantly melted her inner fears.

"Don't worry Arcene, we'll be fine," the vulpine assured, embracing her thin but curvy frame tightly. "She's just paranoid. Now, are you done with training for today?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked as she backed off of the tod.

"Well," Fox started, blushing up a bit more than he'd be comfortable with. Arcene noticed his discomfort and stifled a giggle, mainly because she thought it was so cute and adorable that he was still somewhat shy around her despite the two of them being together for a rather long interval of time. "I know I've been putting a lot of time into my work as of recently, but since Vince made me close up early today, you wanna go do something while I've got the time off?"

"Oh my god, Fox, I'd love to!" she squealed with a wide smile. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, first off, I need to pick Jake up, but after that you just want to chill at my place? Just us two?"

Arcene giggled slightly. "It won't be just us two with Vince and Jake home, but I accept your offer. …I haven't seen Jake in forever; how is he?"

"He's alright," Fox answered, standing up and waiting for the sliver vixen to pack up her belongings into a small bag sitting under the table. "Still has trouble walking, but that's not his fault. His birthday was last week too. Can you believe that little dude is five already?"

"Seriously?" Arcene gapped with eyes wide. "Seems like yesterday you brought him in and explained how…" she trailed off as she noticed the vulpine's uncharacteristically down expression. She threw the bag over her shoulder and nuzzled closer to him, purring slightly for good measure. "I'm sorry Fox, I… I didn't mean to bring it up."

"No, you're fine," Fox assured, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I can't see Jake without thinking of him either. I feel bad for the little kit too; he never got to see his real father, and he doesn't remember his mother either."

"Wait, is Ashley ok?"

Fox scoffed in disgust. "I honestly couldn't care less with what happened to her. As far as I know she's still in the CDF, but when she's off-duty you can find her at the nearest strip club, whoring herself to other emotionally broken people hoping one will give her the slightest bit of affection. She didn't care about Jake, and in fact she put him up for adoption almost as soon as she had him. I was lucky Vince and I visited the hospital when we did, 'cause who knows what would've happened to the poor little kit. He may only be my half-brother, but my brother cared for me even when he wasn't a blood relative, so I figured I'd take a page from his book and take care of Jake."

Arcene shuffled her feet slightly and wedged herself underneath the tod's arm. "You're a great brother to him, Fox. He's lucky to have a sibling like you."

"Thanks Arcy," Fox grinned, tightening his hold on the vixen. "Here, I'll explain a bit more about 'em on the way to get him. Come on."

Fox gently dragged Arcene along with him as the couple slipped out of the mess hall and began a long trek towards the lot where the vulpine had parked his car. Fox still got a chuckle out of how the vixen walked next to him. Since Fox was just a quarter-inch shy of six feet tall, and Arcene had just scratched the surface of five foot seven, she tried her best to not look overly diminutive next to the vulpine. What she did was since she couldn't prop herself on the orange fox, she tried to stay in the air as much as possible. Because of the vixen's exceptionally high vigor and endurance, she was constantly jumping and moving her feet, which always made Fox laugh at just how much energy she actually had.

"Arceeeene," Fox groaned, wrapping his arms around her stomach to try and stop her bouncy movements. "Chill out; you've got way too much energy."

"Sorry, I just get really hyper when I'm around you," Arcene answered, letting the vulpine practically carry her down the hallway.

"You're always hyper," Fox corrected. "How do the trainers even put up with you during training?"

She shrugged and broke Fox's hold. "They say high energy and endurance makes for a good fighter. I can't sit still enough to do actual distance warfare, but close quarters fighting is my forte."

"Come on; you couldn't hurt a bug."

"As if," she scoffed. "I almost broke one of the trainer's wrists during a sparring match last week."

"And then what?" Fox asked tauntingly. "You stopped and asked if he was ok, then took him down to the infirmary, right?"

Arcene opened her muzzle, but slowly shut it as she lowered her head. "Yes," she mumbled in defeat.

"See?" the vulpine chuckled. "All that energy is great, but you need to get some muscle and toughness behind it for it to be useful."

"But Fox, I'm not going into actual combat," Arcene started, grabbing one of his arms and tightly grasping it against her chest. "I'm training to be a combat medic, remember?"

"Yeah, with your jumpiness and inability to sit still for more than a few minutes; good luck."

"Hey, I've got enough control," she argued, drumming her paws on his auburn colored arm. "Like I said, I just can't stand still around you. You make me too happy and excited."

Fox smiled and wrapped his other arm around the silver fox. "Aww, I love you too Arcy."

Arcene grinned even larger as she suddenly spun around and hugged the taller vulpine wholeheartedly. Fox stopped to allow the affection, then once she picked her head up he pressed his nose against hers. Arcene knew what was coming next since he had done this countless times before, so she cracked her muzzle open just slightly, and without a moment of hesitation Fox attacked her lips with his own. It was a very gentle kiss since they were still in public, but it was a loving action so that's all the vixen wanted. Fox relished in her warmth for a few extra seconds, then eventually backed away with a large, yet sheepish grin creasing his muzzle.

"Alright, you've had your fun," Fox chuckled, scratching at his neck. "We really should get going."

"I'll race you!" Arcene shouted before bolting off at top speed, nearly slipping on the glossy floor when it came time to turn down another hallway. Fox laughed to himself while shaking his head as her black and white-tipped tail disappeared around the corner, then took his sweet time in chasing after her.

Fox calmly trotted through the main lobby and out the reconstructed front doors, then walked across the parking lot to his father's old parking space – occupied by his father's old car. He was extremely puzzled on how the car was already running, and how Arcene was waiting in the passenger seat with her arm hanging out of the window, her sand textured silver fur getting rustled by the spring breeze.

Fox instinctively patted his left back pocket on his pants, then sighed as he approached the car. "How'd you swipe my keys?" he questioned with a smirk.

"I'm not gonna reveal my secrets," she giggled in a rather seductive voice, twirling her hair with her clawed fingers. Fox grinned back, shook his head, then walked around the car and slipped into the driver's seat. Since he didn't have to worry about starting the vehicle, he immediately pulled the car out of the parking space, and in no time flat was on city streets with all of the windows down.

Fox couldn't keep a straight face as he saw Arcene's hair and ears flapping in the wind. She had a pleasured smile on her granite black muzzle as she relaxed in the glow of the sunlight seeping in through the open window. Every black or silvery colored fur on her body was well defined by the sunlight, and her deep orange eyes seemed to compliment the sky outside perfectly.

It was an instance strikingly similar to this current moment years ago that Fox instantly fell in love with the vixen. Minutes after he had just graduated with honors from the Cornerian Flight Academy, Fox was making his way from the assembly hall to the old black sports car that he had inherited from his father, still with his ceremonial apparel on. Just as he had unlocked his vehicle, he saw the silver vixen struggling with her own vehicle with the hood up. Fox, being the helpful vulpine literally anyone could count on, was almost immediately back out in the parking lot and to the girl's rescue.

After fixing up her car, which just happened to be an unplugged wire to her battery, he turned to face her and saw the same exact expression he was staring at in his car now. He instantly fell in love with that adorable dull sliver furred face, her gorgeous wavy locks, and her piercing orange eyes, along with her picturesque slender body and intoxicating smile. They exchanged names and numbers, and pretty soon Fox was calling her every single day whenever he had the chance. They talked for hours at a time, and eventually they started visiting each other frequently. He discovered that Arcene was quite an intelligent girl in the medicinal department, albeit extremely hyperactive at times. However, Fox genuinely loved her personality, and he thought it complimented her drop-dead gorgeous looks perfectly. They had developed quite a friendship over time all because of a disconnected battery wire.

In fact, the orange tod will never forget the moment they had finally taken their friendship to the next level. It was a day at her house, and just like always, they were just talking and sharing stories like they had done countless times before. This time was somewhat different, however, as Arcene was acting a bit more playful than usual. In no time, the two foxes had found themselves in a rather humorous match of trash talking each other – just trying to see who could make the other crack first with rather harsh but sarcastic name calling. Fox considered himself the victor after she had broken down into laughter at one of his remarks, but his assumptions were proven wrong when she started a playful wrestling match with him, and he ended up losing spectacularly. Fox voluntarily let himself get pinned down by the smaller vixen, and as he was laughing and panting she gloated over her captive with a pleasured smile. Their eyes met, the sparks flew almost instantly afterward, and all Fox remembers afterward was Arcene slowly inching her muzzle towards his and locking herself into their first genuine kiss. In fact, both of them accepted the kiss so openly that they continued exchanging affection gestures with each other for over five minutes afterwards, sometimes with an intensity that was almost feral, and never once did either of them complain. They were officially a couple.

Ever since then, those two have been inseparable. Although both Fox and Arcene found themselves buried up to their necks in work because of their respective responsibilities, the auburn vulpine made it a habit to visit her at least once or twice a week when appropriate. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he had the vixen in his car. It was a rare occurrence nowadays, so he savored this moment for as long as he physically could.

"So, Fox, why's Jake having trouble walking?" Arcene asked suddenly, pushing some stray hairs out of her face.

"Well, it's honestly a miracle he's alive," Fox admitted frankly. "When the Great Fox was hit with that human missile, she hit the ground with so much force that it injured a lot of people, even with the shock absorbers. Ashley got severe trauma because of it, and actually they discovered she was pregnant while examining her. She was in a coma for a while because of the impact, and a combination of that, and the actual trauma itself affected Jake's development."

"Oh my god," Arcene whispered. "Is he fine other than that?"

"Amazingly, yes," Fox answered. "Other than his legs, he's perfectly fine. He's got some special braces to help with walking, but the fact that he's only five years old… it's cumbersome for him to use them."

"Poor fella," Arcene sighed.

"Yeah, but he's a fighter," the vulpine grinned. "He's trying to get better at it. He's got my father's determination, that's for sure."

"I never met your father, Fox," the vixen admitted abruptly, glancing over at him. "If you don't mind, would you tell me what he was like?"

Fox let out a long breath of air through his nose as he let all of his muscles relax. "My father was a brave, hard-working, faithful, and compassionate man. He was everything a father should be. He was actually so compassionate that he essentially adopted Wolf and cared for him like he was his own kit… Damn, that was eleven years ago… It doesn't feel like eleven years… not even close…"

Fox sniffed and switched lanes, continuing his story in the process. "Six years ago, when that human satellite hit, my father took a huge swing in mental state. He went from what I just told you, to essentially the opposite. He changed into an angry, short-tempered, unfaithful mess. He was literally inconsolable for what felt like forever. I think it took me snapping at him and telling him I hated him one day to finally break him out of it, but by then it was far too late."

Arcene noticed tears forming in the tod's emerald eyes, but right as she was going to tell him to stop he just kept talking, his voice noticeably faltering a bit. "He lost his mind. He claimed he saw an apparition of my mother – who died in the blast – while he was on a hospital bed recovering from a mental breakdown. He tried to apologize for how he acted, and Wolf actually negotiated with him and the old General Pepper to finally end the war, but right when we were going to pull out… that's when the humans attacked one last time."

Fox curled his lips into his muzzle as he continued. "That anger came back. When he crawled out of the wreckage, he was so upset that he held a gun up to Wolf's girlfriend's head. He was going to kill her out of spite. He was absolutely livid towards Wolf for supposedly deceiving him into believing a crazy story that he himself believed in before his ship got shot down. Wolf, he… he had no other choice."

"Wolf killed your father?"

"Wolf didn't kill my father," Fox corrected in a shaky voice. "Wolf killed a madman. A monster. My father was never going to change from his broken state. He was set in his beliefs, and as a close friend once said to me, "everyone has their flaws, and eventually, their flaws will catch up to them"."

Fox reached under his shirt and revealed a golden cross hanging from a thin gold chain, then let the charm glimmer in the sunlight as he let it dangle around his neck. "My father refused to believe him, and then murdered him in cold blood. That moment right there broke my relationship with him. I couldn't tell him I loved him after that, and… even when he was six feet underground when we finally came back home, I still couldn't bring myself to tell him I loved him. I was crying because he was my father, and I couldn't love him."

Fox lowered his head slightly and let a few tears stream down his face. "Just like my friend said… he let his flaws kill him. He let his uncontrollable anger show too much, and… I can't blame Wolf for killing him. I don't know where I would be in life if he survived, honestly. He wasn't that fatherly figure anymore. He just didn't care anymore."

"Fox, you're working yourself up again," Arcene interrupted, placing a paw on his shoulder. Fox suddenly jerked the wheel and pulled the car off to the side of the road, than as soon as the car came to a complete stop he broke down; letting his head fall into the steering wheel and letting quiet sobs surface. Arcene unbuckled herself and hugged the vulpine to the best of her ability.

"It's okay," she assured, rubbing her paw on his back. "You're okay Foxie… You're ok."

"I miss him so much," Fox whispered, choking through tears.

"I know," the vixen responded, continuing her consolation attempt. "It's very hard, yet heartwarming to see you miss your father so much, even when he did the things he did."

"I don't miss him," Fox quickly corrected, a faint trace of a scowl creasing his muzzle. "I… I miss Wolf. I haven't seen him since the war ended, and I… I really miss him. I never… I never told him how much I loved him for… for putting my father out of his misery. He did me a favor, and I pushed him away because I didn't fully understand. I needed him to comfort me and help me through that time in my life, but I made him leave me alone… I haven't seen him since… and I'm kicking myself for it."

"Fox…" Arcene squeaked out, herself on the verge of tears because of seeing the orange vulpine so upset. "I… I'm sorry… I'm sorry I even brought this up."

"No, I'm glad you did," Fox replied, letting his head fall back on the headrest. His fur was stained with tears, and his green eyes were glazed red and covered in welled-up emotions. "You needed to know what my father was like. Maybe that will explain why I do the things that I do, and where they came from. I took a lot from my father, but what I didn't take was his emotions during the last week of his life. I wanted to be different than him."

"And you are," Arcene butted in sweetly, drying away a few of her own tears. "You're amazing, Fox. You're everything someone like me could ever want. I'm just so happy you chose me to share your life with, and I can't tell you how happy I am when I'm around you. You're just… amazing... Fox, I… I love you so much."

The vulpine finally let a smile surface in the midst of countless tears. Running on pure instincts, he impulsively leaned forward and once again pressed his lips against hers. Arcene managed to wrap both of her arms around the vulpine and hugged him tightly while he fought a battle with her tongue. The love and affection continued for a few long minutes, and every second he spent attached to her eased his emotional pain. He loved every second of the vixen's successful attempt at consoling him, and as he backed away he showcased the sweetest smile he had ever managed as a result.

"I love you too."

The face of another day
Searching for the voice of a better way
They say it's a bad time of year to be up in arms
So we're pushing on cause we know in our hearts
It's the only way
To stay afloat with the sharks at bay
Avoid being a casualty of the circumstances
And second chances are shredded day by day

Will your legs fail you
When you stand too straight and tall?
Cause the world's gone mad
The taller you are, the harder you fall

Sail up into the night sky
Until our worlds collide
Tonight we feel alive
Stand up where I can see you
No reason left to hide
Tonight we feel alive

*Four Years Strong – Tonight We Feel Alive*