Chapter Three - One Step Toward Death, Two Step Toward New Life
#4 of Alex's Journey to Become Star Fox Team
First off all I don't own any char in Star Fox series, however I do own Alex Bandicoot. Etc-etc-etc (We all know the drill if we don't own other chars).
Chapter Three - One Step Toward Death, Two Step Toward New Life
‘Dark, it's so dark... and cold... am I dead, this is what death felt like?' I asked in my own thoughts or at least it was since my thoughts rang out like I was talking with my mouth. ‘Am I floating or falling, why I can't see everything not even my own hand?' again I asked since I didn't felt any solid ground behind me or on my face or anywhere. ‘If this is death than I don't mind staying here, since no one will come crying for me after all.' I can't feel my own body or at least my soul move when I told them to, because every move that I make made me tired without reason. Even thinking makes me tired as well. ‘Oh well, since I'm so tired maybe I better hit some hay. It's been so long that I haven't got any decent sleep either, good night then.' I slowly close my eyes or at least I felt like closing my eyes and doze off soundly.
"Rise and shine, my boy," ‘Who...?' I asked myself since there is a voice, a male voice, so close to me. "You don't want to miss the first sun rise, are you?" ‘Sunrise...? But I was about to fall asleep.'
"That's right, big brother. You're the one suggest all of us to see the first sunrise on the New Years Eve," said another voice and this time a female voice. ‘Big brother...? Do I have a sibling...? What are they talking about, who are they?'
"Come on, Alex. Wake up, you promise Alyssa and us remember?" three voices near me and the last voice was a female. ‘Alex...? Alyssa...? Sound so familiar to me, where did I hear the names before?'
"Come on, wake up sleepy head." ‘Man they are so persistent, why they want to wake me up when I'm about to take a nap?' their voices were so annoying that I have to force my eyes open. What I saw the first time when I open my eyes was a small light with three people lining in front of me all dress up and ready to go. The weird part is that they were in a sphere. ‘Huh...? What is this thing?'
"You finally awake, my boy. I thought that nothing can wake you up since you are a heavy sleeper yourself," said a voice again almost the same voice from the first one.
I looked at the source of the voice and it was a grey male bandicoot, somehow he is so familiar to me but where? "Who are you?"
"What, don't you remember your old man after a long year?" he asked with a gesture of disbelief and a smile. ‘It's true that I don't remember him, in fact I don't remember a thing since I got here. Furthermore did he just say my old man?'
"Wow... something must have hit your head while you were out there." ‘Out there, what did he mean by that? My head are just fine, thank you.'
"No you're not fine to me boy." ‘What... how did he heard what I'm saying?' "For starters I can hear you clearly since you are the one that saying it out loud. Secondly I am your father or at least I was your father."
‘Was my father? Then you are...' "Dead, yes that is true for a jump start." I was completely shock by the news that here standing right in front of me was my dead father.
‘So does this mean I'm really dead, am I already in the afterlife?' "Yes and no," he said while rubbing his back head with his left hand. "You feel like you are dead, but you aren't just yet."
‘What does he mean by that; ouch my head is killing me even though I'm dead.' "I see, so that is what happened. Your memories were lost because of a shocked, for example like you were surprise of what you saw or experience and unable to bear thus you shut yourself up."
‘I don't get it and like I said I don't remember a thing. If you said that my memories were gone because I can't bear the explosion then where are my memories?' "Why don't you look behind you?"
I turn and looked at my back and saw hundreds of small light orbs. I was wondering what it was since one of it's near me before. ‘What are those anyway?' "Why don't you see for yourself and tell me what happened."
I comply what he told me and touch the nearest orb. By the time I touch the orb, a sudden light brush right in front of me and then it went dark. After that I heard voice, "That is his name... right then, from now on your name will be Alex Bandicoot." It is the same voice that the male bandicoot had.
I open my eyes in a blink of shock. It was a strange experience, but thank to that I can finally remember my own name. ‘I remember my name now. My name is Alex Bandicoot, isn't that right?' I asked to the male bandicoot and he responds me by nodding. ‘So that was a memory fragment of myself, I wonder what are others have from me?' I move myself and obtain each and every orb that scatter around, and thus my memories were completely recovered.
I turn around and look at the male bandicoot that still standing quite afar from me, "Father...," I spoke first and started to shed tears. The bandicoot that happens to be my father nodded with a smile yet sad expression. "It's been a while, father. How are you doing now?"
My father lowered his head for a moment and began to replied, "Well, you might say that I've been through a lot and here I am enjoying my afterlife with my late families."
I can't take it anymore; here I am standing right in front of my father that had passed away a year more. I can run to him and hug him tight, expressing how much I miss him and felt guilty for everything that happened to the family. At least that was my intention until my father yelled at me to halt. I asked my father the reason why did he stop me.
Once again my father gave a sad look and began to speak, "The reason I came here to see you is to stop you from crossing over."
"What do you mean, father?"
"Like I said before that you feel like dead but you aren't dead yet, you are in the realm of the living and the dead. The only thing that separates it was a small thin line. You can't see it because it was invisible to anyone, even me of course."
"If it is invisible, how can you tell that there are lines that separate the realm, more importantly how can you tell that I haven't cross the line?"
"That, I do not know. I can only guess where the line is. Probably in front of me; back at me; or right where I stand. The point is that I can't let you pass."
"Why shouldn't I, I've got no one else to turn to. I've lost all of the family at that night. There is no point for me to stay alive, beside we can be together again in the afterlife."
My father let out a sigh and began to lecture or at least he was, "Tell me, son. Have you ever heard the word: To gain something is to lose something?" I simply shake my head for an answer. "Well, the God has planned something big for you right now but in order to do that, all of us have to be taken away from you. Even I don't know what His plans are but I do hope that it will give you more happiness than from us."
"But father, I still don't get it. Why it has to be the family, mother died when she tried to hale the robbers that tried to steal from our house; Alyssa has been rape till she's in no condition to live anymore; and you died in a car accident. I'm not like my friends that have a relative or two. I'm all alone in Corneria." I began to sob as my tears started leaking again.
Suddenly a flash pass by the two of them and that make me shock in surprise. I asked what was that, but my father told me, "That is your wake up call. Someone is trying their best to call you back to the land of living."
"But I don't want to go back; I've got no one else that I can hope for since all the families are dead."
"I still remember about the time when you asked me about the Star Fox. Since that time you have become Star Fox admirer and always happy when the name Star Fox pass right through your ear. You also said that someday I will join the military become one of the Star Fox member. Why don't you hold that dream as your hope?"
"But I will be lonely," I said crying and beg to stay with the family. A second flash pass us again.
"No you won't. You won't be lonely in the future; someone will keep an eye on you and I'm sure you will like it. Right now you have to answer that call." My body slowly back away as if some force drag me away from my father. I want to reach him but I can't move my body again. "Your time isn't up yet, hopefully we can all meet again. Until then farewell." A third flash pass by us again and the force had pulled me much faster than before I could barely see my father in the dark but I could have sworn he said something, "By the way, I like your new fur." Then the darkness becomes bright light and I heard a loud bang like before.
The next thing I knew was lots of voices roaming around me. My vision was completely blurred as if I hadn't used it for a while.
"We've got a pulse here, inject him with 1cc adrenalin." I asked myself where I am. But my mouth didn't move or to be precise I can't move my body as if my body was dead.
"Injection is complete, doctor." Injection, when did it happen? I don't feel anything just now, and why it's hard to breathe in here. "Good, now bring the pump, and you ready the oxygen tank." Minute after that somehow I can breathe as if something forced the air into me. After I inhaled enough air, I started to cough by reflex. "We finally got him, set up the oxygen." Finally I can breathe normally; I can sense the cold breeze air running through my muzzle. "You are going to be all right, now take your time and go to sleep." It's true, I feel sleepy all of a sudden probably all the commotion that has been going on. I slowly closed my eyes and drift to sleep.
"Finally, he is out of danger," the doctor kangaroo started to speak.
"Yes, at lease he has survived," Dr. Zachael the blue-sky dragon replied with a small nod. "Although he is the last of the family, and we don't want the whole family died in one day."
"The worst part is that he had no relative, all of their neighbor said so," Kyra the lioness said with a sad face. "His father died in the car accident a year ago and now the whole family was wiped out by a burglar incident. It is truly a tragedy from his point of view."
"Well at least his mother had a close friend that can be trust when in trouble." Dr. Fong the panda replied while checking the Alex's heart beat. He keeps on hearing the heart beat for a moment and then report, "His heart beat is stabilizing, and completely asleep. All we have to do is to look for any reactions in the morning."
"All right then. Kyra will fill up the required paper for Alyssa's death, while the rest of us will take a short nap. Don't hesitate to call us if there is trouble again, Dr. Fong." The Kangaroo left early with another nurse leaving only Kyra, Dr. Zachael, and Dr. Fong in the room.
"I better write the report of her death at the counter, please excuse me." Kyra also left in quite hurry wanting to hide her sad tears in front of the doctors.
"We should stand by at the office. Come on, trainee."
"Yes sir," He replied and then looked at Alex one last time for that day. At first there aren't any differences but when he looked closer, he noticed some changes a little in Alex. "Dr. Zachael, did you notice any different in him just now?"
"What do you mean?" He looked again at Alex and notice something is different from before. "You're right, since when his fur change color?"
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That it for this chapter. Right now, I'm stuck with the next chapter after this and hopefully I can find the idea in a flash-light. I do accept any comment but recently I didn't get any in this series. Hopefully this will lighten the mood a little. Thank you everyone.