Epilogue

It had been a long, grueling search; but Markheim had finally done it. He had discovered the location of Fox McCloud. Thanks to the services of an expert hacker, Markheim had been able to determine that although General Peppy Hare had recently rented an upscale room at the top of one of the tallest Cornerian residential skyscrapers, he still maintained a residence elsewhere. This information tipped Markheim off to the possibility that the General was attempting to shelter a close friend of his from harm. It didn't take much more effort for Markheim to discover that Fox and Peppy were very close friends and former comrades. From that point on, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together effortlessly.

With his target's location almost completely ascertained, Markheim hired a cab and traveled into the depths of downtown Corneria City before paying his driver and stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of the impressive tower that housed the apartment where Fox could be found. Thinking about the prospect of 15 million credits caused a faint, grim smile to appear on his lips as he pushed his way through the building's revolving door and entered the silent, empty lobby. Not wanting to rush anything, the lupine took his time and surveyed the large atrium area while looking around for the elevators.

Soon, his eyes caught a glimpse of a sign with an arrow pointing toward the elevator area. Nonchalantly, he crossed the lobby's tile floor until he reached the outside of the silver-trimmed enclosure, where he pressed the 'up' arrow and waited for the elevator to descend to the ground floor. In time, the mechanical device lowered itself and opened its doors, allowing Markheim to step in and press the button marked 70. The elevator complied with his command and almost silently began its ascent while the lupine unzipped his black jacket and unsheathed a sharp, cruel, serrated knife. He held it close to his side, ready to hide it if the need arose. However, the elevator continued its journey to the top floor of the building, unimpeded by anything or anyone.

After reaching the top floor of the skyscraper, the elevator emitted a faint 'ding' noise and opened its doors for Markheim. Holding his knife at waist level with his right hand, blade at the ready, the lupine cautiously crept down the hallway until he reached the last door on the right. This was it—the reward of a lifetime. Looking down the hall to make sure that no one was looking, he removed a small, putty-like plastic explosive and pressed it onto the door's card reader. The explosive compound was designed for tasks exactly like the one Markheim was attempting to accomplish. Its explosive radius was small, its impact was (for the most part) non-lethal; and most importantly, it was very quiet in comparison to a more aggressive explosive such as C-4.

With a placidness that came from having used the explosive many times in the past, Markheim primed the explosive putty and stepped away from the door. Seconds later, a quick, sharp 'bang' resounded through the hallway as the explosive detonated and blasted a fist-sized hole in the door where the lock had formerly been. With the door's security device in pieces on the floor, Markheim effortlessly pushed the door open and entered Fox's room with his knife drawn.

He had expected to find Fox struggling to wake up in his darkened room after the sudden explosion; but instead, he found that the room's lights were still on. Confused and partially concerned, Markheim nimbly crossed the carpeted floor of Fox's room, dodging the myriad boxes and clothes that still had not been put away. Upon reaching the side of Fox's bed, the lupine stopped cold in his tracks and placed his knife back in its sheath.

In front of him was the very same vixen he had seen for the last time almost a full week ago. It was undeniable that she was Kursed—her fur and hair coloration was identical to that of the rogue vulpine bounty huntress. With a disappointed frown, Markheim looked at her and recalled the last question he had ever asked her.

"If you could do anything at all—knowing that it would be the last thing you ever did—what would you do?"

Kursed had decided.

Without a hint of any palpable emotion, the cold-hearted lupine looked down at the two vulpines locked in each other's embrace with their muzzles only inches away from each other. Both of them were completely motionless, lying in the bed with the sheets covering their bodies below the waist. On their lips were two indelible, satisfied smiles that could never be erased, even in death.

For the first time since he was a young wolf pup, Markheim felt a tear welling up in his eye. As he solemnly looked down at Fox and Krystal, locked together in an eternal sleep, the solitary teardrop slid down his face and dropped to the floor below. "Goodbye, my friend," he whispered. Then, he grasped the silky bedsheets and slowly pulled them forward, completely covering Fox and Krystal so that only the outlines of their bodies were visible.

After taking one last look at the bed, Markheim turned around and looked at his watch. 12:18 A.M.—one hour short of a week since he had found himself sitting next to Kursed in a hospital waiting room on the night that the doctor had given her a week to live.

One hour short of a week.

6 Days and 23 Hours.

AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):

Well, that's it for this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Actually, I'll be honest- I hope you cried; because there's no way that you cried as much as I did while writing this thing. Truthfully, this story was very emotionally draining for me; and I don't plan on doing any more tragedies for a while now.

At this point, I'm almost certain that 50 reviews is a given; so, with that in mind, I'm proud to announce that I will begin working on a very special Fox x Krystal story that will be posted sometime in December to coincide with the holidays! The length of that story will determine when I post it, so stay tuned for more information.

I would also like to extend my utmost gratitude to everyone who reviewed, commented, fav'd, or followed this story since I posted it. Thanks to you, 6 Days and 23 Hours is now the 4th most reviewed Star Fox tragedy ever posted on this site. I am honestly still blown away that you all liked it that much. Thanks.

...And now that this story is over, I will start getting back into the rhythm of writing The Oasis.

Until next time,

-K.S. Reynard