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Starfox: Liberation

Chapter 5: Stressful Downtime

Part 1

Even after he had done the right thing, even after he'd saved the day for those individuals he would soon come to know as Star Fox, Alaric was not at all happy. Simply put, all he'd wanted to do since coming into the bar was to get his drinks, finish them and go find a hotel where, in a real bed, he could sleep the rest of day away. Truly, he hadn't wanted to have to come close to curb stomping some drunken idiot; an idiot who had been trying to take advantage of some female blue fox or beat up the little toad with her.

Still, in the end, as it'd been clearly demonstrated to everyone in the tavern a moment ago with his shouting, Alaric had been nearly forced to curb stomp a drunken idiot. And that in turn for some reason... had left him with a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth, truth be told. A taste he tried to ignore by sipping his already bitter beverages at hand.

Still no matter how much he drank, Alaric now found himself in a bad mood. No, he wasn't naive about reality. Yes, deep down, despite the generous few of them he'd met up to this point, he had guessed that not all Lylatians could be good people. Every race had its darker aspect. Nevertheless, lord almighty, he had at least hoped that he would not find the "exceptions" during his short stay here on Fortuna. But he had. And on the first day to boot! Ugh! That was the real kick in the pants for him. Could he not just enjoy himself for a second in his troubled life without some problem hindering him?

Growling to himself, doing his best to not let his angered heart fire up too much, Alaric focused on finishing his last spitfire. After that task was completed, he would next concentrate on leaving this bar. Hopefully, he wouldn't meet any more drunken "undesirables" on his way out. Hopefully, tomorrow would sing a different tune. At the moment, the best he could honestly wish for was to remain alone. He wanted to drink undisturbed.

Yet, as it turned out, his wishes were not meant to be. Not when he next heard the combined scuffling of numerous wooden chairs as they were dragged across the abused wooden alcohol stained floorboards towards him. After the said dragged chairs were situated near him, they admitted the presence of seven individuals. Coolly, Alaric took a stock glance at his newest unwanted companions to join him at his table.

Interestingly, there was an orange fox, a blue and red bird, an old looking hare, some type of feline with long ears (one of which had a large gold piercing), a stark white spaniel with a pink bow on her head along with spring in her actions, and the sapphire vixen, shy toady combo he had just stepped in for. For a long time, there was silence at Alaric's table. Then, when realizing he wasn't going to be left alone by his newest companions, the human began the conversation reluctantly.

"Ah, it's you. And...friends of yours?" He grunted towards the blue vixen and her toad of a fellow, nodding to them. Still, despite his greetings, he was not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. His tone probably made that clear. "Hmf, what do you all want?"

The first one to speak up on everyone's behalf was the rusty, orange furred male fox. With a clearing of his throat and twitch of his ears, the said fox greeted Alaric cheerily, "Hi, ahem, the names Fox Mccloud. I just wanted to offer my thanks for you helping my friends out back there."

This Fox McCloud's tone was friendly and warm. On a side note, Alaric noticed that the vulpine's muzzle was pasted with an infectiously winning smile. Hmf, no doubt this Fox had used the act of "smiling" to great effect before. Yet, as the leader of Star Fox was about to realize, Alaric was not one so easily swayed nor befriended.

"You're thanking me for bullying a drunk? Uh huh, well don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly doing you a favor, he was just getting on my nerves." He replied dismissively, wanting to go back to his earlier solitude. He couldn't do that, mind. Not with all of the staring he was getting from his newest company; mostly from the females who he pointedly avoided eye contact with. Heh, avoiding their eyes only made them want to stay and figure him out all the more.

Either way, Fox McCloud or whoever looked a bit discouraged by the response to his gratitude. Regardless, he persevered. Keeping the smile, he went on speaking with the uninterested Alaric, "Yeah well, I feel like I owe ya' for that. here, to better show my thanks, how about I get you another drink?"

Another drink, eh? For free? Hm. Looking at his two recent bought beverages, Alaric actually considered it. Hey, maybe another one would be alright. And just because some stupid asshole ruined his day, that didn't mean he should attempt to ruin these friendly Lylatians' either. After all, spreading hate had been his

At this thinking, feeling a bit more open, Alaric glanced around at his companions. His eyes fell a second longer onto the cerulean vixen where, in turn, her muzzled curved up into a soft smile. What strange timing for her to grin like that. It was almost like... she had read his mind and sensed his good intentions.

"If you're buying..." Alaric admitted to Fox, shrugging non-caringly, "Then I suppose I could stick around for another."

"Hey, hey, fantastic! Stay put, hot shot. I'll be right back." Fox laughed, looking pleased.

The leader of Star Fox got up to go get the owed drink. This, in turn, left Alaric and the others to sit in awkward silence. Having had such a rough past up to this point, the human hadn't really interacted with large groups all that much. Unless, of course, you counted his men back during the war. Yet, he considered that a different thing altogether. He had spilled blood for them as much as they had for him. They'd been his brothers. But these Lylatians... he had no clue as to how to interact with them. Like their eyes suggested, what did they want from him? What was he supposed to say or do?

"Soooooo....what's your name stranger?" The exotic feline actually asked after a long silence. She in fact didn't ask with suspicion but with an interested if not playful voice. Honestly, her voice had been a purr as she'd played with her ebony head-fur, twirling it around in her clawed fingers. Unknown to Alaric, his experienced looks as well as stoic disposition made him an intriguing prospect of information for the lynx as she, keenly, watched him with her golden slitted eyes.

In turn to being asked his title, the human mulled over the decision on whether or not to tell them. In the end, he saw no harm in it.

"My name? I, am Alaric Vladislav." He answered. Due to his gruff voice, his company all looked at him with enchanted gazes, it was rough and held just an almost unnoticeable accent.

"Alaric Vladi - er - Alaric Vladislav? My, that's certainly an interesting name." The snow white spaniel remarked with a lively voice. Just from a quick glance at her, Alaric could already be clarified that she was the flighty type of woman. Or, at least, she was very positive. He would wait to find out which held true.

"In the end, interesting or not, it's a name." Alaric muttered neutrally. Personally, he cared little for it, too much shame associated with the moniker.

Next, the rather exotic if not confident bird leaned towards him. "So, Alaric, if you don't mind me askin'... where did you learn to fight like that?" The avian inquired, interested to know how one could learn to fight with a sword in this day and age.

"Military service. Indeed, my service in the military served to teach me many things. Things including my proficiency with the sword like you saw a moment ago." The human replied vaguely to the ace pilot of Star Fox. In all honesty, his professionalism with his sword was a skill he was not often proud of. It had a dark history to it, one he wished to forget. But he refused to let himself forget. For if he did, it would be a disservice to all the lives he had ruined with the dreaded blade.

"Huh. You're a military man, eh?" The avian muttered thoughtfully. Now that it was thought about, the human definitely had the appearance of one. "What unit did you serve under?" Evidently, the bird did not know human titles and wanted to hear one. Most Lylatian ones were not very original. They usually had names associated with the species of the unit commander.

"I served under a unit... I wished I was not part of." Alaric sighed with a depressed grimace.

That question had really been uncomfortable for him, reinforcing his unwanted memories and reminding him of the real reason he was here. At seeing his savior upset, the toad suddenly jabbed the avian with a retributive hand.

"Bah! Look what you did Falco. You've gone and upset the guy!" The amphibian berated the named bird. Ah, so that was his name? Falco.

"Jeez Slippy, how was I supposed to know?" Falco fired back defensively rubbing his injured side, he was starting to regret sitting next to his amphibian friend with his new found confidence.

Hm, so the toad's name was Slippy. How very... what was the right word? Fitting?

"It is quite alright, no harm done. There's no reason for bickering. I have had many years to come to terms with it." Alaric waved off dismissively.

In all honesty, about his militant past, Alaric never had and never would come to terms. There were far too many things that could not be forgiven. Still, the blue vixen in the corner frowned deeply at him. He wondered if it was something he'd said? Again, why did it feel... like she'd read through his words and seen the truth? Why did it feel like she could read his mind?

"Phew, there we go. I'm back guys!" Fox announced loudly, two drinks in tow, one for himself and one for the human undergoing a random interview. The leader of Star Fox set down one of the welcomed purchases in front of the man and retook his seat near him.

"Thank you. For the drink, I mean." Alaric said kindly at getting his promised drink which took a swig of, "Fox, wasn't it?" Letting the smooth yet strong liquid satisfy his parched throat, all this talking was not common for the quiet man.

"That's right." Fox replied, sounding encouraged, "That's my name. Good to see it hasn't left you yet."

Thoughtfully, quietly humored by Fox's words, Alaric looked to the assembled group ahead of him. Now that he had gotten the drink they felt they'd owed him, there was something passing through everyone's minds: what would they all do now?

"Er, I beg your pardon but what brings someone like you here to this wonderful world of Fortuna?" The hare asked from his seat inquisitively. He was curious to know what brought a human to Lylatian space. As it been said beforehand, Solarans (as the Lylatians dubbed them), usually were not fond of venturing away from their own turf.

"I stopped here to load up on supplies before heading out to Katina. I'm looking for a lost research ship." Alaric responded simply, spouting his rehearsed story with ease. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched with budding curiosity as the vixen began to look intently at him. Lord, once more, judging by narrowed green eyes, it was as if she could detect him covering up something. And then, out of nowhere, Alaric was quite literally punched in the face when the said vixen asked him something he had not expected.

"It would not happen to be called the Undying would it?" She questioned out of the freaking blue, her soft, silky, smooth voice gracing the inwardly shocked human's ears and also making him uneasy at once. How... had she just asked that question? Little had been said. Nothing had been even remotely hinted towards Alaric's secret purpose in Lylat Space.

"Hmf. A random guess on your part. Still, it actually would have something to do with the Undying." The human finally admitted grudgingly, not hiding anything from his inquisitive crew, "How would you know that though, miss?"

How could these strangers be so well informed? Even though he acted cool about this situation, Alaric was apprehensive now. There was something in the works here, it could be fate that led him to these certain Lylatians. That or something much more sinister. he couldn't lower his guard for even a moment.

"It just so happens that we have." She replied simply. "We were going to go search for it after our vacation. Our General Pepper, defender of Lylat Space, thought it would be a great way to improve relations between our species and your own."

Well, it seemed that the purpose of the Undying was not fully found out. Leave it to the unknowing, generous Lylatians to want to make offerings of kindness with the humans plotting behind their backs. However...this was bad. If this group with Alaric found the Undying before him, they would discover it's true purpose. And that would not end well for either governments. How so? Alaric didn't think that the peoples of Lylat would appreciate humans "exploring" places without their knowledge or permission.

And how ironic this moment suddenly was. Here these rather friendly Lylatians were, out of all of the people in the universe, buying the one man a drink who would be helping the bastards back in Solar accomplish their underhanded dastardly deed.

"Hm, about the Undying... That certainly is, well, pleasantly coincidental." Alaric said slowly. Duh, all truth held to the contrary. It certainly did.

"Is there a problem?" The sapphire vixen asked him next, curious as to why his mood had changed.

To herself, Krystal's interest was peeked. No matter how hard or subtle she tried, she could not read this human individual's mind. His conscience was surprisingly well guarded. Yet, in the least, she could read his emotions and those were ranging from worried to suspicious and then finally to something along the lines of... regret?

"No. There's no problem here. I just didn't expect you Lylatians to care about human affairs was all." Alaric admitted, shrugging. Lord, he was doing the craziest inward dance of his life here. He was putting his charms, words and undercover skills to the test at this table.

"Nonsense. Your human ship was in trouble and so we're more than eager to assist. Why shouldn't we be helping our allies?" Fox wondered, genuinely believing it.

"I did not mean to cause offense." Alaric replied, "It's just, as I said, I had not thought about it."

"It's alright!" The spaniel replied with a bright smile, flashing her pearly white, and wagging her tail, "No harm, no foul."

Alaric released a relieved sigh, he did not want to have to go in any more detail for fear of his true purpose being discovered. He quickly downed his drink, letting the strong alcoholic liquid burn down his throat. Then, he stood up.

"It was nice meeting you all. Truly. Still, I'm afraid I must take my leave." He explained firmly, moving around the crowded table, "If you'll all excuse me, I have yet to secure my lodging for this visit."

Quite suddenly, he was abrupt and to the point which startled the team. He cleared the table space in front of him off anything he might have left behind, grabbed the hilt of his sword, attached to his waist, walked away, dropped a few respectful credits to the bartender whom nodded with gratitude. And then, after a few quick words, he was gone from sight after having stepped out the front doors.

Star Fox watched it all in stunned silence. The human had left so fast that they had not thought of stopping him.

"Aw. What was with him?" Miyu asked, eyeing the exit curiously. She looked a bit hurt. "Was it just me or did he change pretty fast when we told him about the ship?"

"I don't think he liked what he heard." Peppy added thoughtfully, crossing his arms and looking pensive, "About the Undying, I mean. The shine in his eyes sharpened."

"Yeah. His attitude shifted alright. It had to have something to do with that ship. I just know it." Slippy deduced, having an easier time of assessing the situation due to his natural brilliance.

"You're not alone there. I think so too Slip." Fox agreed. "Call it my instincts at work but there something definitely going on here. Something that we don't know and I don't think we would like it if we did."

"Well, this all sounds so very heartening. I say we find him and get him to talk." Falco voiced his opinion, his being very straightforward and tactless.

"We can't just force him to. Not after he helped me and Slippy." Krystal objected. She decided that not telling them about what she felt would be the wiser thing to do at the moment. The whole story was not being told here. It wouldn't be right to instantly label her and Slippy's defender as some kind of shadowy criminal.

"Hey Krystal, sister, you read minds, don't ya'?" Miyu asked, distractedly messing with her golden earring, "What was on his? Do tell."

"I cannot. It was too well guarded for me to get a reading in the time he was here." Krystal lied.

"That's..." Miyu admitted, looking perplexed, "Different."

"That's unfortunate, you mean." Falco muttered. "Having his mind read would have made this a lot simpler."

"Look, look, why don't we just go talk to him again? He seemed like a good enough guy, right? Maybe he would tell us if we asked." Slippy suggested to the group, being the voice of reason. "Not to mention its probably the easiest way to go about this. Easier than firing blasters and taking him into custody, anyhow."

Fox, who had been quietly observing his friends finally spoke his opinion. "Talking could prove to be easier than blasting. It would be better, morally speaking. Okay, we're rolling with Slip's idea. It's the best way to do this."

After his announcement all other options were dropped. McCloud, like his father before him, was the leader this day and his decision was final. Still, there was a certain Avian who rolled his eyes in the background.

"If you say so Fox." Falco said uncertainly. He had his doubts, and would prefer to do it his way.

Regardless, with the matter settled for now, the members of Star Fox turned back to the business of their vacation. Although, as they went about their said vacation, they couldn't help but have some thought reserved for what had occurred. What had been... avoided back there with Alex? What had not been deduced? What was to come?