Reunion
EDIT: Errors and things...
Venator
Chapter 2: Reunion
Venator: A person or animal that hunts.
******
Corneria, the gem of Lylat, it had stood unshakable during the Lylat wars and the most recent aparoid invasion. Their general however, an amazing old hound by the name of Pepper, weakened from his ordeal, had retired. Luckily his long time old friend, Peppy, had taken up his mantle. The hare was as good as the superannuated bloodhound, putting Corneria on the straight and narrow.
Hunter respected the hound and the hare; it wasn't easy keeping one planet, let alone the entire system, safe. No doubt they had more than their share of grey fur from it. He could hardly keep his own person safe and couldn't imagine having to do that for millions of others.
The lupine turned his gaze and thoughts of the world he used to call home. He was here for his little bro, and once he was done, he would leave this place and its...memories behind.
Guiding his wolfen mark IV down to the surface, he took a secret lane that would bypass the pointlessness of flight control, a well-earned favor from one of his contacts. Hunter hated having to announce himself just to set down on the planet, so he didn't.
Hunter landed his fighter in the starport, opening the canopy and leaping out agilely. Once his boots hit the concrete, he righted himself and looked around. There were a few other pilots hanging around, he knew none of them so he only gave them a quick once over, checking to see if they would be any trouble.
He had landed his ship in the smaller section, reserved for fighters and other craft of similar size. Now that he was grounded, he pulled up his comms bracer and keyed in a number. As it beeped, he headed out from the small hanger and into the wider starport area. He had a vehicle stored here, it has been in storage for a few years so he hoped it still worked, otherwise he would be taking a cab...and he detested cabs.
Just as he reached the storage area, his call went through.
"Wolf here." A gruff voice said in answer.
"Hey brother, I'm here. Where did you want to meet?" Hunter growled as he used the code he had memorized and the storage door slid open vertically.
"Hunter, that was fast!" Wolf exclaimed in surprise. He had contacted his older brother only two days prior.
"Yeah well I was already close to finishing up my contract. Besides, you're my brother, I promised mom I would always look out for you." Hunter replied as he ran a paw over his old ride, an obsidian Phoenix Arms assault bike. Technically it wasn't street legal, but he cared little about that. Besides he had paid to have the weapons concealed so no cops would even know.
Wolf was quite before he responded. "Yeah...you did." It was not a pleasant thought, their mother. Wolf cleared his throat. "Yeah well, I need you to head over to the café on Terrier Avenue, you know the place?"
"Yeah I know of it, why so close to the military headquarters? I thought you still had a bounty on your muzzle?" Hunter asked as he straddled his bike keying in the ignition sequence. He had not left a helmet with the bike, but that didn't matter. He had his all in one helmet. He wore it when on...assignment and when piloting his Starfighter.
"Well...after I helped Fox with the aparoids, I was let off with a lite warning, hey I'm even finding descent work now with the government! I guess that puts me one step ahead of you huh?" Wolf's voice came over as joking.
Hunter shrugged his shoulders; unnecessary considering it was a simple voice call. "Maybe, but you know me, I only caused a few problems."
"Yeah...whatever, a few." Hunter could hear his younger brother rolling his one good eye.
"See you soon bro." Hunter said with a smirk as he ended the call and gunned the reactor for his hover bike and shot out of the storage room with a roar of the turbines.
******
As he glided across the streets, Hunter felt a little nostalgic of his younger days when he walked theses streets with his gang. Why, he couldn't tell. They weren't exactly good memories. It was a good hour from the starport to the café.
The café was just outside the main headquarters for the cornerian military. It was built for off duty workers and guards, and soon it shifted to include mercenaries and other employees of the government. He himself had only ever been there once. And that was something he was not allowed to speak off.
Hunter brought his bike to the side of the building and parked it beside a red and black car, his brothers. The lupine propped his bike up and took off the helmet he had been wearing and belted it to his waist and then the wolf walked around his brother's car and headed for the double glass doors leading into the café.
The automated doors opened by themselves and he walked inside.
The café was just as he remembered it, small well lit and full of military types.
He hated the café.
As he looked around with his piercing red eyes, he spotted his brother and a few of his old friends in the back. With the first genuine smile in a long time he made his way over there. As he closed in one of the people at the table stood up and met him halfway.
Hunter grabbed the scaly clawed paw and looked into the eyes of one of his oldest friends. "Leon, you grimy bastard, it's been a long time."
The chameleon smiled toothily and squeezed the paw in his grip firmly. "Well, I never thought Wolf could get your ass to come back here."
The wolf and lizard were old, old friends. That crazy lizard had been a part of Hunter's old gang and was older than he was. The pair had been quite the team back in the day. They had gone their separate ways after...the event, and had only seen each other occasionally since then. In fact, as a favor to Hunter, he had joined Star Wolf and watched over his younger brother.
Leon led his friend back to the table and Hunter smiled as he saw his other friend.
Panther Caroso.
Panther was young, and he only knew him for a few years. The arrogant feline got on his nerves frequently but he was an alright guy when he needed to be. But his flirting was a little over the top. He nodded at the black feline and then rolled his eyes as he saw the rose he carried in his paws.
I mean seriously, who carried a _rose _everywhere they went? It boggled Hunter's mind. He would have asked the feline, but he got up and headed over to the restroom.
Finally there was Wolf.
Wolf was an enigma to his older brother. He used to such a sweet little kid, and Hunter blamed himself for his transformation. He had tried to shield him from his unsavory activities but had failed. At times he could still see that innocent little pup that asked him where his brother went all the time, and the rest he was the ruthless no nonsense merc with a grudge against Fox that bordered on an obsession. He almost lost his eye in a dogfight to that vulpine and had to get a device that helped him see. And still he had insisted on trying to one up his competitor, no matter how many times Hunter had advised him against it.
Personally he could care less about Fox Mccloud and he certainly did not like what he did to his brother. But Fox had done nothing wrong, unless being a better pilot counted. So Hunter could not and would not do anything to hurt him.
Hunter sat beside his younger brother at their booth, sitting quite a few inches taller than him. His brother was 6'2 while he himself was 6'6. Their father had been taller, but they didn't like to talk or even think about him.
"So Wolf, who do you need taken care off. And you better not have brought me all the way over here to tell me to go after Fox again." He warned, flashing his fangs in a menacing smile.
Wolf shook his head in denial. "Nah, I've decided to leave Fox alone for now. I actually just wanted to see my brother."
Hunter frowned. "Seriously?"
"What is that bad?" Wolf demanded.
"No, but you do know why I don't come back here right?" Hunter claimed, looking to Leon knowingly.
Wolf looked confused and searched the faces of the two older males. "No...why?"
Hunter sighed and squeezed the bridge of his scarred muzzle. "Those cartels that have a bounty on me are here. And if they knew I was back, they would do their best to kill me. I have been waiting until the heat died down. But you called and so I answered."
"Jeez, why didn't you tell me before?" Wolf asked with a worried frown. His older brother was the most important person to him. He had taken care of him after their father had abandoned them and their mother had died. And someone wanted him dead, and he had unwittingly brought him to the world that those persons were waiting on.
"I didn't want you to worry about me. I can take care of myself." Hunter replied.
"You still should have told me, I might have been able to do something."
"Not this time brother. I'll be back; I have to make a quick call." Hunter said, getting up from the table and heading over to the restroom to place his call.
He stood outside the bathroom and typed a number into his comm with a long claw and the device began to connect him. Once it went through he spoke up. "This is Venator, can you hear me Sam?"
A youthful voice answered. "Hey Venator, what brings you to Corneria?"
"How do you now that?"
"It's all over the underworld, the deadliest hit man in known space arriving on the capital who wouldn't know. So what are you doing here? Are you on business?"
"No, just checking in on my brother, thought he had a job for me. Turns out it was just a house call."
"Sounds nice."
"Not if you have a bounty on your head!" Hunter snarled quietly looking to see if anyone had noticed before continuing. "So, that means the cartels are aware of my arrival?"
"Pssh, I wouldn't put it past them to already know where you are. Killing the entire inner ring has a way of putting you on their shit list." Sam snickered.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." Hunter growled. "Do I have time to head into hiding?"
"You should, it takes time for them to move. But then again, they might have started as soon as you touched the ground."
"Thanks for nothing." Hunter snarled, ending the call and leaning against the hallway wall that lead into the bathrooms. He had hoped that they would have forgotten about him by now. It had been over a year. But it would seem that they had a abysmal resentment of the lupine.
He heard the bathroom door open and straightened himself out to look over.
Panther stepped out, drying his paws with a towel and smiled when he saw Hunter standing there. "Hunter." He greeted in his smooth jazz tone.
"Panther." Hunter inclined his muzzle in his direction. "How has it been these past few years?"
Panther shrugged. "Wolf is a little harsh, but he is better than the other guys I used to work for. They never treated Panther with any respect." Occasionally, the feline would relapse into his third person dialogue, but it was rare. Hunter never knew why he had been like that, and frankly he didn't care.
"Yeah, my little brother can be quite bossy and rude. But hey, he learned from the best." Hunter chuckled.
They took some time to catch up before heading back to their table. When they left the hallway, they spotted something strange. There were six more furs than last time. Hunter paused and grabbed the handle of his blaster before he realized who they were.
It was the Starfox team. What they were doing at wolf's table was anyone's guess.
He had only ever seen them from a distance or on the screens. He liked to keep aloof of their type, media showboaters.
Fox was sitting with his friends on the far side of the table. They all looked uncomfortable, but it also looked like he was trying to be friendly to his longtime rival. Wolf on the other hand, had his arms folded across his chest and was staring at Fox with a grimace.
Hunter shook his muzzle and grinned, Wolf could be so stubborn sometimes. Anyways, it was about time that he disappeared. The cartels were probably already planning something and he needed to lay low for a few days before trying to head back to his ship. With that the large ebony furred wolf bid panther goodbye and moved to the exit.
******
Wolf stared across the table at Fox who was trying to start up a pleasant conversation. The orange vulpine had walked in a few minutes ago with his little collection of friends and decided to come and ruin his brother's reunion. "I was in the middle of something you know Fox." He grunted, interrupting the vulpine friendly tirade.
Fox frowned as he was interrupted and Falco's beak twisted into a grimace. "Yeah, what could you possibly doing that would be of so great importance." The avian demanded.
"A family reunion." Wolf retorted with a growl, placing his paws on the tabletop and sinking his claws into it.
"You have family?" Slippy exclaimed in surprise before clasping his hands over his mouth.
Wolf almost lashed out but calmed himself down. His brother was nearby and he didn't want to get in trouble. "Yes, surprisingly enough, I have a family." He barked sarcastically.
Fox rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and looked to all of his friends. "Well, we kinda thought you didn't."
"Whatever." Wolf shrugged.
"So, who are you meeting?" Krystal asked curiously, the blue vixen sat with her paws folder in her lap.
"Why do you care?" Wolf fired back.
"Jeez, you don't have to be such a jerk." The black speckled lynx retorted, equally as fierce, flashing her golden eyes.
"Okay." Wolf okay with a sigh, surprising them. He never apologized. Whoever he was meeting must have been really a really important family member. "You'll see him when he comes back. He went to the bathroom." This made them even more curious.
That's when panther showed up, flashing a flirtatious grin at the three females before turning to wolf. "He told me to tell you goodbye. He has to lay low for a few days." He frowned sadly before looking to the exit, just seeing the figure of his older brother heading out through the doors.
"Hunter, wait!" He shouted, wiggling out of his seat and heading over to the exit. Curious at this strange side of Wolf, the Starfox team ran after him.
They exited the building to see wolf running towards a figure just starting to reach a hover bike at the side of the café. As they neared they got a better picture of this relative of Wolf and they were stunned.
Wolf was a tall guy, but this lupine was taller. He had matte black fur which showed on his paws which were wearing a pair of fingerless plated gloves. His claws were an inch and a half long, and he had a wild mane of fur on the back of his head stretching down to his shoulders. The duster was open, showing a heavy breastplate attached to his bodysuit and he had a weapon similar to wolf's, holstered to his thigh. But it was much larger than his. His muzzle was heavily scarred and his left ear was in pieces. His eyes were a bottomless intense crimson and yet they regarded wolf with warmth and concern. He was holding a helmet in his paws and looked like he was about to put it on when Wolf intercepted him.
******
Hunter was walking away from the café when he bumped into some raggedy clothed bear. He apologized, but the bear kept going, giving the ursine a bemused look, he turned to his bike and walked over to it. He sat down on the cycle put his paw on the ignition and was ready to put on his helmet when he heard the voice of his younger brother.
"Hunter!"
He shifted his gaze to see Wolf running towards him. He took his paw off the ignition and looked to his younger brother. "What's the problem little bro?"
'Where are you going?" Wolf demanded worriedly.
Hunter sighed and stepped off of his bike, turning to Wolf. "I have to get going, the cartels already know I'm here. I have a very small window of opportunity before they make their move. I have to be hunkered down before then."
"You could have at least said goodbye in person!" Wolf retorted angrily. He had not seen his brother in years and now he was trying to leave without saying goodbye.
Hunter looked up from his brother and saw Starfox heading over. "I wanted to leave, because of your friends. I don't like their type, famous showboats. Besides, I don't like it when others find out about me. It makes it that much harder to move around."
Wolf nodded slowly in understanding.
"Good, now don't worry so much little bro, I'll be back in a few days, and then we can spend some time together, just like we used to." Hunter placed a paw on his brother's shoulder and squeezed comfortingly. "Now go, talk to your friends."
The both of them chuckled and Wolf turned away. He headed back and was stopped by Fox.
"Who is that?" He asked inquisitively, looking over the lupine's shoulder. That wolf looked like his father, or perhaps older brother. It was weird; he always thought that Wolf didn't have family. He never talked about them. But then again, they weren't really friends so why would he.
"Don't worry about it." Wolf replied before moving to head into the café.
Hunter watched his brother and smiled. He was a good kid. He looked back to his bike and placed a paw on the ignition, standing next to his vehicle. Wolf could take care of himself.
Hunter pressed the ignition.
*
Wolf was walking back to the café with Starfox when he was thrown to the ground by a concussive wave of heat and smoke that would have seared his back if not for his fur and clothing. Coughing and groaning, he clawed himself to his feet and looked around as the Starfox team rose unsteadily to their own.
Where his brother's bike should have been was a smoking crater and his car had been flipped over with patches of fire running across the pavement.
Alarmed, he desperately began to search for his older brother calling out his name and trying to pierce the veil of smoke. By this time the patrons of the café were streaming out. Many of them were off duty soldiers and so were holding onto sidearms as they searched the area. Leon and Panther came running out of the café making a beeline for Wolf who had found his brother.
"Hunter! HUNTER!" The lupine shouted, shaking his brother who was lying in the bushes near the side of the road, a few meters from where his bike had been.
The older wolf was breathing erratically and was missing his right leg at just below the knee. His duster and breastplate had saved him from the worst of the shrapnel but his left eye was a mess, closed tightly and bleeding heavily. The breastplate was pushed in a few inched meaning he most likely had a few cracked or broken ribs.
By this time the Starfox team had recovered their wits and rushed over to the howling Wolf. They were a little unnerved. They had never seen him like this. Never, not once in all the years they had known Wolf, had he cried. But he was now as he shook the wolf in arms.
The lupine in his arms groaned and said something softly, Wolf placed his ear down and the other repeated what he said. No hospitals.
The cartel would be waiting there to finish the job if he was still alive. Yet, he needed medical attention otherwise he would die. Wolf didn't have the resources to treat this kind of injuries, but he knew someone who did.
He looked up to Fox who had been staring at the pair with an unreadable expression. 'Fox, I know we aren't exactly friends, but I need you to help me. He can't go to a hospital, and you have the facilities aboard your ship to take care of him. Will you help me?" He pleaded.
Fox kneeled down. "I will."
When the ambulance finally arrived, there was no one to take. All they found was a flaming crater and broken car.