Author Notes: This was a new idea i've been working on since I've had a spout of the writer's block with CoF2...This fic will be prone to sporatic updates, so please don't send the hitmen if there isn't and update for a while LOL. Anyhow, hope you enjoy it.

The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ SkullFox

…Intro…

His team lay dying with him, the last remnants of the fight against an evil that threatened the universe itself. Why had he not killed the animal when he was given the chance? Had his better nature cost him everything he cherished? The chestnut-furred vulpine slowly dragged himself across the cold stone floor. His arms ached from the constant fighting, and the wound that poured blood from his chest felt as though it was on fire, but if he was going to die, it would be at her side, the blue-furred vixen that lay gasping for the breath that her own vital wounds robbed from her. The pain however, seemed to leave her delicate face as his paw graced her cheek. She smiled as her own shaking paw brushed the fur of his cheek…

"Fox…I'm…I'm sorry…" she gasped. "I…I…never stopped loving you."

His tears fell as sharply as the rain around them. "No. I'm sorry….this…is all…my fault."

As he watched on, the vixen tried to utter something to him, but her words were shut out by a final gasp for air as the light slowly left her eyes. His tears would never stop falling as he watched the love of his life fade from existence. The once bright light that shone from her eyes faded into a bull blue haze, and he could no longer feel the warmth he'd known and expected from her soft body. Stroking her long blue hair, Fox McCloud lay his head on Krystal's and closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him back to her side, along with the rest of his team. They'd all be together forever, in death…

~It is not the way things are meant to be, Fox McCloud~ He could hear a voice in his mind.

~Remember well this day…for it will not be the last you see of it~

~Let us all hope and pray that you make the right decision~

Corneria

July 16th, 3105

15 years ago…

Fox shot upright in his bed. The dream was so vivid and real that he could have sworn he'd been there. He could still feel Krystal's fur, smell her scent on his body, but as he looked about he came to the realization that he was home. His bedroom had not changed a bit since he was younger. He looked to his wrist only to find a small wristwatch instead of a communicator like the one he'd been begging his mother for…mother. He recalled his mother's accident when she was killed by the bomb, but he could smell her scent all around him, on his blankets, and in the air around his room. He was flabbergasted. Was that all really just a dream? Could there be such a thing as a 15-year dream? Then again he never recalled his dreams when he woke, but this one was like a memory scorched into his still aching skull. He slowly crawled to his feet and looked at the small digital calendar that he had always kept at his bedside…

9:08 am, Saturday

He quickly rushed to the bathroom connected to his small bedroom and glanced into the mirror. His wasn't the face of a hardened mercenary. It was the face of a 13-year-old kit, barely of age to start at the flight academy. He slowly ran his fingers through his adolescent fur it was much lighter in color than he recalled from the dream, and there was no scar along the side of his muzzle. His chestnut-colored fur was much lighter, and his physical build was much smaller than the 'him' from his dream…

"What the fuck?" he said to himself. "Was that all just a dream? It couldn't be, nobody dreams of over 15 years...do they?"

His mind was torn away from his thoughts as an angelic voice rang in his ears causing tears to roll down his cheeks…

"Fox! Breakfast!"

He quickly rushed out of the room grabbing a white tee shirt as he rushed out into a familiar looking kitchen. He closed his eyes as he smelled the waffles he'd always loved so much as a kit. As he opened his eyes however, his attention turned to a familiar form standing in the small cooking area, a tall vixen whose fur was a pure as virgin snow. Her hair was slightly long and tied with a small blue band. She turned to the kit with a large smile, her light blue eyes seeming to sparkle. Fox couldn't believe his eyes as he rushed over throwing his arms around her, causing her to nearly drop the plate of fresh waffles she carried. He rubbed his head against her stomach lovingly, causing Vixy to chuckle…

"My, you're affectionate this morning," she said. "I thought you were still mad at me about that communicator thing."

The young kit shook his head wiping his tears on her shirt. He wasn't even sure if the dream was real or not but it still felt as though he'd not seen her in years. "I'm sorry mom," he sniffled. "I love you."

The vixen sat the plate of breakfast aside as she reached down to hold him. "Aww…I love you too, sweetie."

He was wrong, this wasn't a dream, it had to be reality. He'd almost forgotten how she looked, smelled, or even felt. He didn't want to cry, as he was almost certain that it would worry his mother, but after the dream he'd had there was no way he could look at her and manage to keep a straight face. It was as he stood there in her arms that Vixy patted him on the head, pulling away from him a bit...

"Now go sit down before your food gets cold," she said looking at her watch. "Oh…no. I'm late for work. Sorry Fox, I'll take you to that game after work okay?" she said rushing off to her room.

As Fox sat there taking a bite of his food, something about the date of this day suddenly struck him. His eyes shot wide open, and the square of waffle on his fork fell to his plate. Vixy walked back into the room to find that Fox was no longer in the dining room, rather she ran into him on her way out the door, where the young vulpine gave her a one armed hug. She kissed him on the forehead…

"I thought I heard someone at the door," he said with his right paw behind his back.

"Well…" she said walking toward the hover-car that sat in the driveway. "I'll have something special for you when I come home. Love you."

As the light-red vehicle started up and rushed off, Fox recalled this day in his dream as he pulled his right paw from behind his back, staring at a small square device with a number of small wires dangling from it. He squinted at the device with a mixture of rage and morbid curiosity before looking off to the car still disappearing from sight. If it had all been a dream, how did he know that this was the day she'd die? How did he know where the bomb was, and how to disarm it? He couldn't understand what was happening. If everything had truly been a dream...then why did this day pan out the exact same way it had in the dream? A tear streaked down his face as he realized just how close he'd come to losing her again. His breathing became panicked as the impossibility of his dream having happened slowly fell down around his thoughts. What if it was all reality? Maybe he could change it all for the better if it was. His father, his team, Krystal, if it was all true, he could save them all. Had he stumbled onto some sort of galactic rewind of some kind? Or was this some kind of a second chance? A chance to wipe his slate clean and start over and for once in his life, or lives, do it all the way he should have from the start? At the moment he decided that there was far too much on his mind, all he wanted to do at the moment was get the device that threatened to take his mother away out of his sight...

Chapter 1: Pain

-An inevitable part of who we are and what we are. Pain sculpts us, empowers us, and destroys us all at once. The inevitability of pain is that which we fear in life; pain of death, pain of loss, pain of sorrow, and for some...the pain of knowing-

Fox still found it hard to believe as he lay there in his bed of some 15 years ago. It was like something out of a fairytale. He felt as though he'd lived every moment of this before, but it was different this time around, as his mother would have been dead were he not familiar with what could have happened. He still wasn't certain whether or not to believe his own thoughts. His mind practically screamed at him that this was his chance to make everything right, but what was everything? None of it had happened…there was no real way of telling if it was indeed going to happen. What would happen if it didn't? With the way he still felt about Krystal, he doubted he could go the rest of his life without hearing her voice. The thought that she might not exist at all made him feel incredibly depressed. He slowly got dressed before making his way downstairs to the kitchen, happy to find that there was already a pot of coffee. When he was young in his dream he had never really drank coffee, but he had the oddest taste for it now. It wasn't until after he had his cup of the steaming liquid that he realized that he wasn't alone…

"What are you doing up so early?" a familiar voice asked.

Fox froze as he turned to see a much older image of himself sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of him. "I…um…I've been working on getting up early for the Academy."

James chuckled to himself sipping at his coffee. "Good habit to fall into," he said. "When did you start drinking coffee?"

Fox of course took this time to find a seat across from his father. It was so hard to not simply lunge at the old vulpine and embrace him. He felt as though he'd still not seen his father is so many years. He hardly believed the fact that he was sitting right here in front of him. It was as they sat there that Fox thought about something, something that he believed might help in the near future, something he'd have never thought of doing before, though he refused to say it to his father, at least not yet. He wondered what James' reaction would be were Fox to tell him that he may have seen everything that he had. It was as he sat there that James noticed how quiet his son was being…

James sighed. "You feeling okay, son?" he asked. "You're acting really strange."

"Yeah dad…" Fox replied. "Just a really weird dream."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Fox smiled. "No…I'll be alright. It's really just a stupid dream…it's just that it felt so real."

It was as his father sat there that Fox thought about what could happen soon. He knew about the possibility of the approaching Lylat Wars if his dream proved real and Pigma's betrayal that would lead to his father's death. He wanted to tell James, but what was he going to say? That he'd seen the future? Prevented his mother's death? He wasn't even sure he believed it. Who would believe that he'd already lived his life once?

Soon his father left the house, heading for the base. He explained that General Pepper had called him in for something or other. After James had left Fox found himself in his room feverishly writing in a small red notepad he'd always kept on hand. Its pages now went over in detail every event he'd gone through in his dream from his mother's death, which he'd already stopped, to the death of his team and himself. It carefully outlined each event to the point of day. He realized that if the dream did turn out to be some sort of divine premonition or second chance at life, he'd be able to stop all of the most horrible things in his life from ever happening. As he went over the outline, he noted two important events within the next two years; the Lylat Wars beginning, and his father's death. What was worse, there was nothing he could think of to stop his father from going off to fight Andross. He only hoped that his mother's death was the key to that event, and since she was no longer dead, James would have no reason to go to Venom in search of revenge. He thought about everything that could happen, and he plotted out that most of the most important events of his younger years would happen within the next 5 years if at all. He would join the flight academy, lose his father, take over Star Fox, and Fara Phoenix would lose her life. He thought that perhaps there was a central point to all of this, a point at which all of these events were set into focus. He cared a great deal for the fennec vixen that he'd loved all throughout high school, but it was odd. He was in love even now, but with an animal that, for the most part, he'd never even met. It was a haunting idea. The blue-furred vixen's figure haunted his mind even now…why was it he was cursed with this thought that his dream could be reality in disguise? Was there something important that he needed to change? Again, his only real thought was whether the vixen of his dreams was indeed living at all. Or would he be forced to see her within the fringe of his own mind forever?

He sighed as he realized that it didn't matter, he would always love her. He decided against telling Fara. He knew she'd never believe him, but he really didn't want to hurt her. Then again, what else was he to do? He loved Krystal, and he didn't want to drag Fara along in a relationship when his heart was elsewhere. He decided that he would keep Fara happy for now. He would end his relationship the same way it had the first time…this time he'd make certain that the vixen's life was spared by the harsher reality his dream painted. He slowly sighed as he looked to the clock by his bed. It was July 17th, a Sunday, the Sunday that signified the next day would begin his days in the Flight Academy with Fara and Slippy, and where he'd meet Falco. Unfortunately, it also meant that he had only two more years before his father was supposed to die. He wondered a bit…if he saved his father from his fate, what would it cause to change? It was because of his father's death in the dream that he took up Star Fox to begin with. Was James McCloud's death the one event that led to him meeting the love of his life? The weight of everything hit him all at once…this was a curse indeed…could he give up his father's life for hers if it came down to it? If James had never died, the wars would have been so much easier for Lylat to fight, but if James never died, there would be no reason for Fox to take over Star Fox. It was as he thought about this that he placed his paws over his eyes and threw himself onto his bed. A teenaged mind was not meant to deal with this type of stress. As he lay there however, a welcome sound broke the silence of his room…a small com system sitting on his nightstand gave off a light tone. He quickly pressed a small button on the white, cylindrical object…

"Yes?" Fox said.

"Hey, handsome," a familiar, almost angelic voice answered.

Fox chuckled. "Hi, Fara. What's up?"

"Oh nothing…" she chimed. "Just wondering why my boyfriend isn't at the place we were supposed to meet over 30 minutes ago."

Fox slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh shit…." he said. "I'm sorry…I've had a lot on my mind recently. I must've forgot."

Fara audibly sighed. "Don't worry about it…it's alright."

"Listen…" he said thinking to himself. "I'll make it up to you, okay? Next week…I've got a lot of confusing crap to sort out."

"Do you need some help with anything?" the vixen asked.

Fox looked about the area of his room. "No…to be honest I don't think you'd believe me if I told you the truth. Listen, give me the rest of the week to sort out this issue I've got…and I'll think of how I can make it up to you okay?"

"Fine…" Fara replied. "But you'd better make it good."

Fox thought for a moment. He didn't like leading her on. "It will be…I promise. I've got something important to tell you anyhow."

As the two hung up, the tan-furred fennec placed a paw over her heart. Something important. What did he mean by that? There was only one real scenario that circled her head. It was actually one she'd dreamt of many times before. She often dreamt of living a happy life with Fox on Papetoon with a loving family, which often simply started with three simple words that she'd always wanted to hear him say to her. It was as she sat there finishing the drink that she'd ordered and a short meal, seeing as she believed it to be rude to come to a diner of any kind without ordering something, that a tall, well built, dark-furred dingo approached her…she instantly recognized the animal that had been staring at her the whole time she'd been there…

"Can I help you?" she politely asked.

The scruffy-furred canine smiled a bit. "I just couldn't help but notice you were here alone…"

Fara smiled politely. She had no idea that he was only interested in her. At first she'd thought he was some sort of stalker or something. "I'm sorry but…I'm seeing someone. Have been for a long time now."

"Really?" the dingo asked. "Well it's nice meeting you miss…"

Fara noticed his pause as he extended a friendly paw to her. "Oh…Fara…Fara Phoenix. You?"

His smile seemed oddly different as he shook her paw. "Andre…Andre Smith," he said. "Sorry to have bothered you miss," he said walking out of the building.

***

Fox looked around his room. The walls were slowly beginning to look like the room of a conspirator of some kind. Every piece of paper that was pinned to his wall was just a small list of events that may or may not happen along with very detailed drawings, some of animals that the dream had depicted, some that made him smile every time he looked at them, while others brought his blood to a boil just seeing them on his wall. He didn't really understand it, however. He'd never in his life shown any signs of artistic prowess before, yet the drawing that he looked at of a lovely blue-furred vixen captivated him simply by its sheer likeness. It was as he sat at his desk that he heard a familiar sound, the low hum of a hover car moving into the driveway…

"Fox?" his mother's voice called.

"Yeah, mom!" Fox called back from his room only to have the pale-furred vixen rush in.

"Come on honey…" she said waving him through the door. "We gotta go," she said, Fox noticing a stream of tears in her eyes. "It's Fara…she's in the hospital."

***

It was as Fox sat there in the lobby of the cold hospital that the thoughts that coursed through his mind caused him to wipe the tears from his eyes. He tormented himself. There was no way of knowing this was going to happen. It hadn't in his dream. Maybe it was only a dream, but then again his mother died in his dream, and he'd intervened causing the event to change. It was as that thought dawned on him that he realized something. If his dream really was reality, then this was indeed his fault. He recalled what had happened in the dream. After Vixy's death, he became stricken with grief and refused to leave his room. After calling, Fara would decide that he needed anything but to be alone and would rush over to the house to comfort him. If this was a relapse of the dream he'd had, then this was a direct result of the choices he'd made. He held his head in his paws as the stress and guilt slowly overwhelmed him, while his mother stood a short ways off speaking with a feline doctor. She was clearly trying to keep the news from Fox, but he could hear them clearly…

"Thank you for coming, Mrs. McCloud," the feline physician said. "We couldn't reach the poor dear's parents, and you were on her emergency contact list."

"It's no problem doctor…" Vixy replied. "How is she?"

The feline was a bit taller than Vixy, though her build was much thinner. "Well…" she said looking over the clipboard in her paw. "She's suffered no long-term damages, well none that we can see at least."

"What do you mean?" Vixy asked.

The feline sighed. "Well…ma'am, often times rape victims develop psychological problems, and the younger the victim is, the easier it usually is for them to develop these problems. I'm not certain if it will help her right now to see your son, but right now she just needs to be around family and friends," she said. "She's seeing a specialist at the moment that's been dealing with these sorts of cases for a long time, and she's already filed a report with the police. Hopefully they'll catch this guy and put him to justice quickly."

Fox was still forced to stay in the lobby as Vixy vanished into the young vixen's room. He couldn't stop blaming himself. Dream or no dream, had he just gone to her side, it wouldn't have happened this way. It was as he sat there that he could feel a familiar burning sensation that built up in the pit of his stomach. As a trail of tears rolled down his cheeks, he could feel the pain of his claws digging into his palms as his fists seemed to ball up on their own. He could feel the blood that wet his palms and trickled down to the white tile floor. It wasn't long before Vixy entered the room only to find the vulpine's seat empty and a short trail of blood across the tile floor leading to the door of the hospital…

The white vixen ran her fingers through a small spot of blood on the armrest of the seat. "Fox?"

***

Fox found himself at the restaurant that Fara had been waiting at before she was attacked. The people there knew him well because the two had dated there many times before and it took only a short while to find out what had happened. The owner of the diner was quick to follow every instruction that the young fox gave them. Luckily enough however, he'd gotten whatever it was he needed…a name. The name alone led him to a small apartment building on the same small side of town the two had lived all their lives. The worst possible part was the fact that this animal had lived so close to them. Fox had seen him around several times before. He looked like a nice enough person and seemed to be just an average working animal.

From the alley that Fox stood in, he could see the dingo clearly standing there in what he only could guess was his kitchen. He admitted that he still loved Krystal, and even though he had no real proof that she even existed at this point, something inside made him wanted this animal to pay for hurting someone so close to him. Though he didn't see them together in the future, he still did see her as being a part of his life. She wasn't only his girlfriend at this point, but one of his best and oldest friends to boot. He took a deep breath before wandering through the building, finding it quite easy to find the animal's apartment. He noticed during this time that his senses and instincts were not in the mindset of a young animal. He was fully aware of what he was doing, his eyes seemed to scan every inch of the area he crossed creating elaborate escape routes in the worst case scenarios, but what frightened him the most was the burning desire he had to end the animal's life and the fact that he had no desire to stop himself. He sighed as he looked to the silenced pistol in his paw. He was certain that at this point James wasn't even aware that Fox knew how to use a firearm properly. Then again had it not been for his previous life, he was certain that he wouldn't have known. He donned a straight expression before gently knocking on the door…

"Who's there?" the animal inside asked rather kindly.

Fox silently cocked his weapon. "Telegram, sir."

"Telegram?" he could hear the animal ask.

"Yes sir. Says here it's from a secret admirer."

At first he wasn't sure the animal would buy the ruse, but after a moment he could hear the door as it was unlocked. A few moments later, Fox stepped out onto the cold streets, stopping in a nearby alleyway that was a shortcut to the hospital. As he walked he slowly broke down the weapon he held into its primary components, discarding each small piece into separate garbage receptacles until he came out into the open streets again…

***

It was only a small time before Fox found himself in the hospital again. There was however, no sign of his mother. It wasn't very long before his personal phone rang. It was so much easier to speak with someone using a personal communicator like the one he'd asked his mother for. Just speak, no awkward devices to use…

"Yeah mom?" he answered the thing.

"Fox where did you go?" her voice replied.

"I just needed some fresh air mom," Fox replied. "I'm back at the hospital right now to see Fara. I'll be home soon, I hope."

Vixy sighed. "Alright dear. You just had me a little worried for a moment there…I thought you might end up doing something you'd regret."

Fox sighed. "No mom, I'm fine," he said. "Listen mom…there's a chance I may stay here overnight."

"That's fine dear," Vixy replied. "Your father will be back tomorrow. If you're still there when he gets back I'll send him to pick you up in the morning on his way from the star dock."

"Alright…I'll talk to you later then mom…" Fox said. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie. Bye."

As Fox hung up, the same feline doctor his mother had talked to approached him. She took a moment to study the rather well built young vulpine before tucking her clipboard under her arm with a bright smile…

"You must be Fox."

Fox looked about nervously for a moment. "My dad's famous but not that famous."

"No dear," she smiled brightly. "Actually, Miss Phoenix has a bad habit of talking in her sleep."

Fox chuckled a bit. "Hah…she's got more bad habits than a little sleep talking."

"Either way…I think she'd like to see you. She just woke up about twenty minutes ago," the doctor replied. "Just take it easy alright…I'm really not supposed to let you in after visiting hours, but I think it's safe to make a small exception this time."

Fox nodded before heading down the hall. It was as he walked along the halls void of most everything but a few stretchers, a stray wheelchair, and a few machines that he recalled the endless amount of time that he'd spent hooked to the machines in his dream. He stood by the door that he knew lead to the injured animal. He questioned himself about showing his face to her…it was his fault that it had happened. If he would have showed up there instead of staying in his room trying to piece things together, it never would have happened at all. He gently knocked on the door, secretly hoping there'd be no answer. However, he wasn't so lucky…

"Come in…" a weakened voice answered.

Fox sighed a bit before walking into the room. The animal lying in bed was much different than the vixen he was used to seeing, but she still managed to wear a fake smile. Her left eye was swollen slightly, and there was a stitched cut over her right eye. Fox made his way to her bedside where he took a seat in a nearby chair…

"How you felling?" he asked.

"Not so hot…"

Fox found it hard to even hear her voice. "Look…" he said looking to the floor. "This is my fault. If I didn't call off that date…this wouldn't have happened."

Fara's voice was a bit weak, but she still managed to say, "Fox…you know that isn't true. He would have hurt you too…"

Though she tired desperately to hide it, he could see the tears behind her eyes. She was assaulted in a way no person ever should be. Fox wasn't sure why she was trying to hide it, but she was, and from him of all people. Then again he could imagine that she had quite a shaken trust in men at the time. She seemed to even be hesitant just to talk to him really. He took a moment before sitting on the side of her bed…

"Fara…I'm not gonna pitch you some bullshit about knowing how you feel right now," Fox said. "Because there is absolutely no way I could understand…but I know that it can't be healthy for you to hold whatever you're feeling in right now," he said laying his paw on hers only to have her pull it away.

Fara's tears were no longer held back. "Why did this happen Fox?" she asked. "Did I do something to deserve this?"

Fox turned to face the teary-eyed vixen and slowly hugged her. He could feel her hesitate for a moment before accepting the gesture and returning it, sobbing into his chest…

"You didn't deserve this Fara…" he said stroking her hair. "Nobody deserves this. This is just a part of civilization that people pretend isn't there," his own tears fell as he laid his head against hers. "I swear…I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

He felt horrible. She was still his friend, and at the moment he was doing all he could for her just by being there at her side. He wasn't certain whether or not she really was going to die like she had in his dream, but he did know that he'd do what he could to stop it. It was true that he loved Krystal, but he also loved his friends. He wanted so badly to make her stop crying, but found that the only thing he could do was sit there with the vixen in his arms…

Outside of the room a familiar feline doctor stood watching the room through a window that led into the hall, with a wolf dressed in a security guard uniform…

"Should I tell him that visiting hours are over?" the guard asked.

The doctor sighed. "No…just leave them be. Miss Phoenix needs to be around someone who cares right now," she said slapping his shoulder with her clipboard. "Come on Carl…I'll buy you a cup of coffee," she said walking down the halls.

"Oh real original…cops and coffee, huh?" the wolf replied following her. "What next a donut?"

"Why would you like one?" the feline asked as they stopped at the elevator.

The wolf laughed a bit at himself as they stood there. "Actually a Bear Claw sounds pretty damn good right now."

The two shared a brief laugh before stepping onto the lift, which hauled the two down toward their destination, the two happy to be able to relax for a short while before their next shifts…

***

Fara woke up feeling uniquely refreshed. She found that her face was snuggled into a light patch of warm fur under a chestnut-furred vulpine's neck. She yawned a bit as she managed to sit up. Fara was amazed at how little she thought about the attack. Just waking up next to Fox seemed to make everything better. She wasn't sure why, but her mind instantly told her to turn on the television. She for some reason wasn't surprised to see the news. As she watched however she did find a familiar looking face displayed over the shoulder of the news broadcaster. It was the image of the animal that had attacked her…

"Today was a grim day for the Corneria City P.D. as one Detective Andre Smith was found gunned down in his own apartment," the reporter said. "The body was found with a number of bullet wounds to his head, chest, abdomen, and groin. An incriminating note was left with the corpse stating that the Detective was responsible for the assault of the young Miss Fara Phoenix…daughter to the famous Renald Phoenix, who…."

Fara quickly cut off the television as she noticed Fox stirring in his sleep. He yawned as he opened his eyes…

"Morning…" she said.

Fox thought for a moment. "Morning?" he asked rolling his neck resulting in several loud cracks. "What time is it?"

"About 8:30," Fara replied. "Fox…I saw the news. Did you have something to do with that Andre guy?"

"He deserved what he got," Fox replied as he sat up. "It should have happened sooner. God only knows how many people he's attacked before you."

Fara gasped. "Fox…" she said in a stunned voice. "You…killed someone?"

"I found out what he was, and the police would have protected him as much as they could," Fox said standing up. "I've seen it happen before in the news…I knew it had to be done the minute I found out he was a cop, and I knew I wanted to as soon as he laid a paw on you. Nobody treats my friends the way he treated you and lives."

Fara couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd come to see Fox as the kind of person that wouldn't hurt a fly, much less gun someone down, but something about all this stuck out to her. Would he have gone so far if he didn't love her? Would he have stayed in her room with her all night? She could feel something in the pit of her stomach as she thought about this. It was different than what she'd felt since being in the hospital. It actually made her stop thinking about everything else altogether…

"Fox…I…."

"Hang on Fara…" Fox quickly cut her off as he was looking out the bedroom window where he noticed a familiar red vehicle where his father stood impatiently tapping his foot as he eyed his watch. "My dad's here to pick me up." Fox kissed the fennec vixen on the forehead before walking toward the door. "I promise I'll come back and visit. When you're ready to leave call us and we'll come pick you up if your dad still isn't back from his trip."

"Alright…" Fara called out as Fox left the room. "I love you," she finished to herself.

Fox slowly headed down the halls toward the entrance of the hospital. He wondered about what he'd done…did he ever really have the right to take a life because he believed it was the right thing to do? Did anyone have that right? Was crime really that bad in Lylat? It was funny his entire life, he'd never thought about this kind of problem, he had no real idea of how to deal with it, then again he had more problems than he cared to think of at the moment. It was as Fox made his way out into the parking lot that James noticed a saddened expression on the young vulpine's face.

"You gonna be alright son?" he asked as Fox got into the car.

Fox waited until the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot to say something. "Life isn't fair," he stated. "If there was any justice in the world, that guy would have died a long time ago."

James sighed. "You can't think like that, Fox," he said. "It's moments like this that test who we really are, if you stoop to their level just because things don't turn up the way you think they should. I know it doesn't sound right with what happened to Fara and all, but in the end there really is nothing you can do…the damage has been done, and I'm afraid it's damage that will never really go away. It's something she's gonna have to find a way of living with."

Fox sighed as he took in the small parcel of wisdom his father had given him. It was true there was no real way of reversing what damages had been done. All Fox could do at this point was keep at Fara's side and let her know that she still had someone she could count on. He wanted so badly to tell his father about his dream and the odd coincidences that had come about so far, but the last thing he really needed at the moment was his own father thinking he was losing his mind. However, hiding anything from James McCloud was a much more difficult matter…

"Fox is something the matter?" the older vulpine asked. "You've been unusually quiet lately, and your mother told me you were acting strange yesterday morning…like you hadn't seen her in years."

Fox sighed. "It's nothing dad…really. I've just got a lot on my mind."

James smiled a bit. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really…" Fox replied. "It's just a bunch of stupid shit…"

James's eyes left the road for a brief moment. He'd never heard Fox swear before. "There really is something bothering you isn't there. With the way you've been acting, I'd swear you were thirty years old."

Fox rubbed the back of his neck. "I think you're over-exaggerating things dad."

James smirked. "Oh really?"

Fox finally sighed. "Dad…mom." He paused. "She almost died the other day."

James was so taken that he nearly swerved off the road. "What!?"

"Well I had this dream the other night…" Fox replied. "In the dream, mom died. Amongst other things."

James sighed with relief as he heard that it was actually a dream. "Fox you really scared me there."

Fox looked out the window beside him, "When I woke up I noticed a familiar date on the calendar: July 16th, 3105, the day that mom had died," he said. "I don't know why I did it, but before she went to work, I ran out to the car to check for the bomb that killed her in the dream, and I found it…and got rid of it."

At this point Fox hadn't even noticed that they'd come to a full stop and that his father was looking at him in bewilderment. "Fox…are you trying to tell me that you prevented your mother's death because you saw into the future?"

"I don't expect you to believe me dad…but I had to tell someone. And I'd rather it was you."

James was dumbstruck that Fox would tell him something so potentially hazardous to himself. He and Fox had always possessed a strong bond with one another, but something was seriously wrong, and James made it his business to get to the bottom of whatever was really bothering his son. He watched on as his son made his way into the house. There was no hesitation, no hint of joking in the young one's eyes, he honestly believed that he'd seen his mother's death and prevented it. He'd always prided himself in knowing that neither him nor Vixy had ever had to push the issue of him telling them the truth. Even as a kit he'd always been incredibly truthful. James slowly stepped out of the car and made his way into the house. He wondered if it was possible that Fox wasn't kidding. His oldest friend Beltino had once told James that nothing was impossible. James thought for a moment before heading into his study where he could think things over…

***

Fox sat in his room. He was alone in thought and spirit. There was no way anyone could understand what was going through his mind right now, not even his father, with whom he had the most in common. He sighed as he looked over all his notes from the dream. Fox finally lay his head on his desk wrapping his arms around the back of his head. He admitted to himself that he couldn't handle all of this. Between the dream, it's odd occurrences with his real life, and what had happened with Fara, it was simply overwhelming him. He had no idea how long it was that he was laying there before he could smell something that distracted his mind. There was only one thing that carried the smell that currently graced his olfactory senses…his mother's cooking, in particular, the pleasant smell of pasta that he was picking up on right now. It wasn't too long before the vixen's voice called him downstairs. He was happy to see his family every time he saw them. Unfortunately at the time there was a gaggle of other things on his mind so much that the small portion of food he'd eaten before heading out the door for some fresh air, as he'd put it, was gathering suspicions in Vixy's mind…

As time passed James and Vixy looked about the house, ending at Fox's room, only to find that he'd never come back inside. It was as they looked about his room that the two noticed something…peculiar about the small room. They slowly looked over the pages on the walls. Vixy stopped for a moment looking over a small drawing on the young vulpine's desk, the small drawing of Krystal that had been the center of Fox's attention for some time now.

"Honey…" the pale vixen called. "Did you know Fox could draw?"

James joined her and was taken by the vision in the drawing. "Wow…pretty girl," he said. "He's never mentioned anything like this to me. She could use a little more clothing though," he remarked looking from the drawing to Vixy. "Don't think you could make yourself a suit like this do you?"

The pale-furred vixen simply rolled her eyes as she shook her head at him. Suddenly there was a loud thump from outside, the familiar sound of someone striking a punching bag with a surprising amount of force. The two made their way over to the window of Fox's room where they looked out into a small portion of the property that James had built into a small training area. It was there that they found a young, chestnut-furred vulpine working on a heavy red bag dangling from a small metal frame. Vixy recognized his stance and style in attacking his target. Her gaze instantly went to James…

"You didn't teach him that did you?" she asked.

"No…he's never even asked me to teach him anything," James replied. "You?"

"You know how I feel about him fighting," Vixy replied. She sighed a bit. "Well…we really shouldn't be in here," she said leading James out of the room only to realize that he was still holding Fox's drawing. "James, put it back."

James chuckled as he laid the paper on Fox's desk. "Oh come on, you know it was just a joke," he said as they headed out of the room. "Although I think that little drawing may explain why Fox has been acting so strange." He sighed as they headed downstairs. "Poor kid, thirteen and his love life is already driving him nuts. I'll go talk to him about it, see if I can't help."

"Good I have a surprise for you later anyhow," Vixy replied as James made his way down the stairs.

James froze for a moment as his ears rotated toward the vixen. "The red one or the black one?"

Vixy chuckled a bit. "Is that all you ever think about?"

"Hard not to when I'm looking at you," he smiled walking away.

"And it's the black one," she called as he made his way out the door.

***

James made his way around to the small training area near the rear of the house. He could hear the impacts that his son was making against the large, heavy bag. The place reverberated with the sound. Needless to say, James was curious as to where Fox had picked up the fighting prowess he was displaying against his canvass opponent. Fox was slightly surprised when he'd found that the labored physical regime he normally followed in his dream had exactly the same effect here in his actual life. It soothed his mind, though to a lesser effect than he'd hoped. He paused to wipe the sweat from his forehead when he noticed James standing nearby, who clapped lightly as he leaned against a nearby weight machine…

"Mind telling me where you learned that?" he asked. "When your mother saw you she almost blamed me."

Fox lightly punched the bag three times. "Don't know…" he answered. "Remember that dream I told you I had the other day?"

"Yeah…" James replied. "What about it?"

"When I woke up I knew things…" Fox said. "Things that I shouldn't have known…"

"Like?"

Fox sighed as he found a seat. "How to fight, pilot an Arwing, fire a weapon…and some other things that I don't feel comfortable talking about. I'm having a hard enough time believing it myself…none of it makes any sense."

"Is this about that bomb that you say you found?" James asked.

Fox signaled for the older animal to follow him. "It was funny…when I found it, I instantly knew how to disarm it," he said as James followed him out to an old tree some distance from their house. It was there that Fox removed a small object from a hollowed out knothole in the tree's thick trunk.

James took the square device and examined it closely. "This……was on my car?" he asked. "This is……a bit much."

"You don't know the half of it," Fox said.

"So this has nothing to do with the cute little vixen you drew?"

Fox was a bit annoyed that James had seen his room. "I'd really rather not talk about that."

"Why not?"

"Exhaustive fear of mental institutions," Fox replied.

James thought for a moment. "Fox what are you talking about? What institution?"

Fox finally sighed as he leaned his back against the tree sliding to a sitting position. "That dream that I had, it wasn't any kind or normal dream."

James sat and listened, scarcely finding himself possessing the ability to buy into what his son was telling him. Fox however seemed so convinced, so certain that all of this was indeed happening to him. James wasn't sure what to think. There was no way Fox should have known how to fight the way he was, or how to disarm a bomb. Fox slowly explained everything in his dream, though in minor detail, before James stopped him at a certain point…

"Lylat Wars?"

"If I'm right it should start in about another year or two," Fox said.

"And if you're wrong?" James replied.

Fox sighed. "Nothing…I'm wrong and it was nothing but a paranoid teenage nightmare."

James sighed as he looked at the explosive in his paw. "Fox…I'd feel better if you didn't tell your mother any of this," he said turning away.

"Dad…you believe me right?"

James thought to himself as he looked to the sky. "I'm not sure…" he said. "You've never lied to me or your mother before…but…I need to think…."

Fox was left to his own thoughts as James headed back to the house. His never ending frustrations toward the dream and what it could mean were now nothing compared to the fact that his father probably thought he was insane. He wanted the thoughts to go away, yet he refused to believe that Krystal, the animal he thought of every moment of the day, was no more than some sort of apparition brought on by a childish nightmare. The annoyance boiled to anger, which initially festered into a type of rage that he'd never felt before. He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Could he really have expected his father to believe something so ridiculous just because his son said it was the truth? Fox suddenly let out a scream of frustration as he spun, driving his fist into the tree trunk with a force that caused his index finger to crack along with the bark of the tree. The pain actually made everything fade, the only thing he could concentrate on now was his broken finger. He tilted his head toward the sky as a few tears of pain rolled down his cheeks, hissing in pain as he reset the bone. He turned about leaning against the tree sliding back to his seated position, where he lost himself in his own grief. He missed Krystal, and Falco. He missed the entire life that his dream had shown him. He was happy that his family was alive, but……a happy family is little consolation when you're still all alone……