; - A Star Fox fanfiction

Escalation

Fox sat up in his bed. He looked out the window of his apartment at the grey horizon, the clouds lit up in gold as the sun rose behind the mountains. It was eerily quiet. Memories of the previous night echoed in his head...

General Pepper had been giving his speech. Fox was on edge, desperately trying to force his mind away from the memories the General was digging up. There was a clash, a clatter, and murmuring as Fox fled the scene. He couldn't remember why; he just remembered running, running out of the hall into the night air under the rain. He ran, and ran, and ran. He continued running until his lungs ached and his calves burned. Then he sat down... and began to sob.

He blinked, bringing himself back to reality. He shook his head softly and stood up, looking at himself in the mirror. He was still fully dressed, but his pants were muddy and his shoes almost ruined. Flat, green eyes stared back at him, lifeless and cold. Fox just turned and stripped off his clothes, throwing them aside and digging out a pair of sweatpants and a black tee. As he changed, his mind wandered...

"There you are..." he heard a soft, feminine voice say.

"Go away Kat..." he snarled.

"Fox, don't do this. I'm here to help... we're here to help."

He looked up through his foggy, tear-stained vision and saw Kat and... he couldn't believe it... "Fara..?" he choked.

"Nice to see you, after all this time," she smiled. Her eyes were jades that sparkled softly in the city lights. "Do you mind if I sit by you?" She didn't wait for a response. She took a seat next to him under the tree and sighed. "Rough night, huh?"

Fox nodded as Kat sat down next to Fara.

"I wasn't too enthused about coming either, but my dad insisted," she laughed quietly. "I showed up a bit late. I wanted to come say hello after the ceremony, but I guess that didn't work out as planned."

Fox remained silent. What was he supposed to say?

A rough cough shook him from the memory. Fox jumped a little and looked over to the couch where a certain blue bird was sitting up and holding his head, cursing under his breath. Apparently, he had wandered into the kitchen. He remained silent as Falco sighed and wandered to the bathroom, closing the door with an abrupt click.

Fox shook his head and began making the morning coffee. He stared blankly at the clock that blinked "5:13" in light-blue numbers above all the buttons on the coffee machine. It was too late to go back to bed, but it was still damn early. What am I supposed to do with my day..? As the coffee brewed, the memories came back. It was impossible to stop his thoughts from flying away from him...

Fara's car hummed softly. Kat checked in the rear-view mirror to see Fara looking out the window. Fox rested on her lap, staring blankly into space. The rain created a static noise that kept Fox's thoughts at bay. That was, until Fara broke the silence.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

"Yes, Fara... I'm sure..." Fox replied, but then he hesitated, "I mean... I don't know..."

Kat turned left at a green, yielding first to a car that whizzed past. She mumbled something and shook her head. Silence fell again.

"It's the memories, right? It feels like you're back when it all happened, reliving the horror... I didn't do much fighting, so I can't say I know how it feels, but I do know this: you'll be okay."

You'll be okay... Fox blinked, startled by the subtle ding of the coffee maker. He pulled out a mug from the cupboard and poured out some coffee into it, watching the dark liquid swirl and bubble. The warmth seeped through the ceramic and into his paws. It felt nice, like he was holding hands with someone. It gave him a sense of comfort he had long missed.