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Fox was flying to Corneria in his arwing alone. He was still mad at Krystal for trying to pull off something like that. She must've planned to use his feelings of guilt to her advantage of wanting to have sex with him. He couldn't believe it. He almost fell into her hands, all for letting his emotions get to him. He'd never thought that Krystal would try to trick him into going for her kill. She didn't care about how he felt about blaming Star Wolf, she just wanted to have sex with him. He felt disgusted with her. He could've just finally tell her that he was gay, but he was scared of being hated by his other friends for it.

Well, his younger friends of course. The only one who he ever told about his sexuality was Peppy. The rabbit was his second father after all, and he was glad that Peppy was supportive of this part of him. He felt safe that way. Although, he may have to tell the others about this, but he's not sure that he's ready for that.

Fox found a landing shuttle to park his arwing. He landed, and climbed off his ship to get on the ground. He almost forgot to take the keys before leaving the shuttle. He went off to take a walk, he had almost forgotten what it was like to have a nice, relaxing walk on the planet that he saved. He wished that he asked Falco to come along, just to talk to him about what was bothering him, but he would have to tell him that he's gay to clear things up.

'GOD! Why can't I just tell them.' he thought harshly. He wants to tell them that he's gay, very badly. He wants them to accept this part of him very badly. He wants-BAM!

"Ow," an unidentified voice has said. "That hurt."

"Sorry." Fox said to the person he bumped into. "Didn't see ya there."

"It's alright. I wasn't watching where..." The voice trailed off.

Fox was now looking at the source of the voice. A young monkey, probably in his early 20s, that he had never seen before. He looked like one of those apes that were seen on Venom years ago.

"Are you new around here?" Fox asked.

"Yeah," said the monkey. "I'm Dash. Dash Bowman, and you are?"

"Fox," he said. "Fox McCloud."

The monkey's eyes lit up. He had heard about the legendary Fox McCloud that defeated Andross, but he had never thought of meeting him in person.

"Fox McCloud? The hero of Lylat? For real," Dash asked.

Fox couldn't help but give a small smile to the young ape. "As I live and breathe."

Dash returned a small smile and said, "Gee, and here I was thinking that I wouldn't be lucky."

Fox became confused for a moment. "Lucky? What do you mean?" The ape gave a small shrug and placed his hand on the back of his head whilst sighing.

"Well," he started. "I come from Venom, which became a very bad environment to live in. There were a lot of people losing jobs, homes, loved ones, it was becoming terrible. I was growing sick and tired of living on that garbage of a planet and wanted to start a new life somewhere."

This had Fox very shocked and concerned. He was shocked that he met an actual Venomian that wasn't on the verge of being part of a war, and he felt really concerned about Dash when he told him how things on Venom were like when Andross ruled over. He had no idea that Andross was hurting his own people while he was hurting the entire Lylat System.

Dash continued, "I was moving from planet to planet over the last few years, wanting to start a new life. But, due to the history of the Venomians that occurred in the Lylat Wars 5 years ago, nobody would trust me as I was one of the Venomians myself. I was treated as an outcast, never to belong wherever I went."

If Fox could ever be on the verge of tears, he would cry right about now. First, finding out that Wolf and Leon were innocent, then Krystal almost using his guilt to her advantage, and now Dash's heartbreaking story. This was all becoming too much for him to bear.

"God," Fox breathed. "Dash, I-I can't believe that you had to go through that..."

"It's alright," Dash sighed. "I've been through worse."

"Like what?"

"I... I'd rather not say anymore." Dash looked like he was about to cry, but he shook it off. "Anyway, I'm trying to find at least one planet that would grant me open arms for a new life. So far, Corneria's my next stop."

"Well, I hope that you'll find your chance soon," Fox remarked with a comforting smile on his face.

"I think I got lucky so far," Dash replied with a smile. "I just met you, and you didn't judge me one bit. Thanks!"

"You're welcome, Dash," Fox said.

Fox was starting to feel a little better at the moment. Despite what happened this morning, he was feeling glad to have some company to help him feel at ease. He could see a new friend in Dash.

Suddenly, there came the sounds of airship screams coming from a distance. Fox and Dash looked up to where the noises were coming from, and the sight of what they saw made Fox's blood feel cold.

One of the ships he recognized was the Wolfen. Wolf O'Donnell's ship. Star Wolf was coming to Corneria, again.

Okay, he was not prepared for this.

At that moment, all three ships landed near where Fox's arwing was. When their occupants descended, and saw the arwing, they knew that their rival was close.

"I think Fox will be nearby. I can feel it, you guys." said Wolf, making a smile in which he showed malice.

"Well, maybe before going to the meeting with General Pepper," Leon started. "I think we should visit our 'old friend'. He should already know about our chance of redemption by now."

"Maybe I'll be lucky to see Krystal around here." said Panther while holding a rose. "I'll show her that I'm much better for her than Fox."

Wolf and Leon stared at Panther with a look that resembled discomfort and annoyance. After a few seconds, they decided to forget his last comment. The three of them started walking, and it didn't take long to find Fox. He was with a monkey that they didn't know, but seemed familiar somehow.

"Well, look what we have here, if it isn't our 'old friend' Fox," said Panther.

"Looks like you've been having some time off since our last meeting." said Leon.

"And I see that you've made a new friend," Wolf said looking at Fox, then looking at Dash. "You're very lucky to meet us. We are the Star Wolf team, and it is very likely that you will meet us again around here, more often. So, feel lucky to be one of the first people to know."

Fox didn't say anything, since seeing Wolf face-to-face after the dream he had a few hours ago, the lupine made him have confused feelings being this close to him right now.

"Oh, looks to me that he's speechless. I see that he's finally realized our greatness compared to that of his team," said the chameleon.

"And, well, if you must, or if you haven't been informed, General Pepper is giving us the opportunity to atone for our past mistakes," the panther informed.

Unable to speak, Fox just nodded. He still felt a little strange with Wolf's presence.

"We have to go now, pup." said Wolf. "But, don't forget, we'll see each other again much sooner than you think." He brought his face closer to Fox, making his typical smile before leaving with his team.

Once they left, Fox sighed. He didn't know what this was due to, but if he had some more time he would've responded. But, now he was speechless, and Dash was worried enough to ask.

"Did something bad happen, Fox?" the monkey asked.

"No. Why?" Fox breathlessly asked.

"Well, you kept quiet during their appearance as if they intimidated you."

"Nothing happened. Things happened earlier and... I don't want to talk about them right now, okay man?"

"Oh, that's fine."

"Well, Dash, wanna go have a drink?" Fox asked, bringing his smiling face back. "I know a very good place around here where you can buy the best soda brands in Corneria."

"Sounds great." said Dash. "Haven't had one since I was young."

"Let's go, then."

After that, the fox and the monkey began to walk through one of the streets in the city.

In another part of the city, General Pepper was already prepared for his meeting with the Star Wolf team. He was calmly observing the broken city through the windows of the top floor of the building that he was inside of. He'd never believed that a day like this would come. The day some of Corneria's greatest enemies were pardoned for their crimes. He almost didn't want it to be true, but from the information that he received, he knew that it was his duty to help them have the redemption for being blamed for a crime that they never committed.

He never believed that he would have to go through such a situation when he became a general, or when he was a part of the Cornerian Army. If only he could change things in the past, avoid having to send off James and Peppy to investigate Venom, none of this would be happening at this time. As with Fox, sometimes General Pepper wanted to have Pigma face-to-face with him and finish him off with his bare hands for everything he's done. Despite his age, even if nobody else knew about it, he would still have the strength and the skills from his younger Cornerian Army days to have to face Pigma on his own account.

Between one thought and another, he suddenly heard someone knock on his door.

"Come in," General Pepper said, turning to see who it was that made him smile.

"General, Star Wolf has arrived. They're waiting at the reception," said the newcomer, who's actually Bill Grey.

"Thank you very much, Bill. I'll come down right this minute."

Pepper walked in front of Bill, gesturing the canine to join him. They walked in silence until they reached the elevator.

"So Bill, I've read your letter about this new intern. You've met him in person. So, can you tell me a little more about him?"

"Well, he's a good boy. He's obedient and a team player. I've personally seen him in training, and I can assist in that. For some inexplicable reason, he can tell when someone is feeling upset about something. It's kinda strange, but he seems to remind me of Krystal from the Star Fox team."

"It doesn't seem strange to me. The reason that he reminds you of her is Sabre is Krystal's older brother."

"What?! How do you know."

"Well, the investigator, who is my childhood friend, Miles MacArthur, discovered the truth about Star Wolf's innocence, also did investigations on Sabre and found out everything. Including how he and Miss Krystal got separated."

"Does Krystal know that her brother is alive?"

"Yes. I've informed her and she's happy. She wants to have a meeting with him, but she wants to surprise Sabre when she visits him. So, until further notice, don't report anything to him. Understood?"

"Yes sir, yes father!"

"That's the right spirit, my son!"

Pepper shambled Bill's head like his son. Something that was a secret from everyone else, being Pepper became Bill's foster father and has raised him. Turns out that, back when Bill was a kid, Pepper took him under his care. General Pepper was a sterile, so he couldn't produce any kids of his own. That's why he never married, but he wants to have a family. One day, he found Bill abandoned by a fence when he was a baby. He picked him up, and offered him a home. When he became the right age, he enrolled Bill into the academy, but presenting himself under a false name so that no one would recognize him. When Bill graduated with honors, he entered the Cornerian Army. But, to avoid bad comments from others about favoritism, they kept their secret and would have a professional relationship in front of others. So, all these years, they've remained very secretive, and nobody has discovered anything. Yet.

They finally reached the ground floor of the building, at the reception desk was Star Wolf, all with serious and uninteresting looks.

"Well, here we go," General Pepper sighed, approaching them with Bill by his side.