Although the stars against the black abyss were plentiful, Fox McCloud still felt he could count more of his mistakes across his eighteen years of existence than the glistening speckles against the black.

Except these were not the variety of stars one would associate with suns, and this was not the kind of black synonymous with space travel. These were the stars in the vision of a being with a battered and broken skull, and the black was that of a cold uncaring dungeon where even the walls had been crafted to inflict the truest of pains when an individual was thrown violently against them.
Every now and then the beam of sickly orange light from the ceiling would sway just far enough to catch a glimpse of Fox McCloud's broken face. The fresh crimson patches of abuse dappled his head in various places, and half of one ear and been not-so-cleanly removed by his tormentors.

Being of the vulpine race, Fox's muzzle had been easy to disfigure with its protruding nature, and he was sure by now his captors had broken it in at least three places. The pain had become so unbearable, so unbelievable that it had become an abstract concept that no longer seemed capable of affecting him. He was going to die here, and that had long since been accepted.

"Who supplied you with the nova?"

There it was, that question again. It was followed by the same lack of response by Fox – the same lack of response that had been the single cause of the unrelenting torment hurled in the young man's direction. Even if Fox had been able to reply through his buckled jaw, it would have been another one of his abundant mistakes to give in at this point. He looked up at his tormentor, some kind of staunchly-built simian with a face containing an amount of scars that rivalled the quantity of Fox's facial lacerations.
He was fairly clever, Fox could tell that much. While the other two Venom operatives had doused Fox in all the pain they could muster, the leader of the crew had been a little more strategic, deciding on the timing of hits more carefully. He also had an astute pronunciation of his words, he didn't sound like another one of these... dumb apes, Fox concluded.
Finally in reply to the beast, Fox administered a fresh splotch of blood and drool on the big man's boots.
In response, the ape smiled a little, as if to suggest he admired the young vulpine's spirit. Fox then saw it dissipate from his face – the game was over. He turned to one of the inferior grunts.

"Very well."

It was too dark to see in detail, but the one who approached was wearing an appendage similar to an apron, like he was some out-of-work chef seeking employment in a very different industry. When the lesser ape was close enough, following the command of his leader, the trademark stench of unwashed simian fur crept into the unwelcoming nostrils of Fox's muzzle. He spluttered a cough before looking up to see the ape had retrieved an apparatus from somewhere in the darkness. It was a lengthy prod, no doubt electrically charged. Being obsessive about their chosen art, these apes had probably discovered the ideal amount of voltage to send through the prod to give their customers the most vivacious wake-up calls.
Fox tried to relax his muscles before the prod came any closer. If he thought he had moved on from the notion of pain, he would soon be relearning it.

But the prod halted.

The ape holding it murmured.
"Dear little foxy, this is the part where you stop acting like a tough guy. We're Venomians. We can keep you alive for as long as we need to."
Their leader instantaneously objected to this.
"Give him a jolt to get his brain focussed. Let's be fair and let him know what he's dealing with."
The smaller ape shrugged. Before Fox knew it, the prod had been jabbed into his jaw.

The following sensation, albeit excruciating, was unlike anything Fox had ever felt before. It was over quickly, but it was only afterward could he form a visualization for his agony. He imagined an endless stream of thick sharpened blades travelling up and down all parts of his body, tearing his skin as they commuted. After the encounter with the prod, there was a scream, the first in a considerably long session of this torment.

Upon hearing this, the three apes all exchanged looks in the dark, obviously sharing the sentiment that they were getting somewhere. Undoubtedly they simians would be able to see each other more clearly in the dark than a mere vulpine could, but Fox could almost sense the communication between them. He was good at that.

The leader simian came forth again.
"It doesn't get any better. In fact, it gets worse. Trust me, I know."
Fox, palms spread out on the flinty excuse for a floor, using the strength left in his arms to support the rest of his body weight, said nothing. The ape continued, "Who are you trying to keep safe? Some thug?"
Fox would have laughed if he had the energy. Some thug.
"Just tell us where you got the nova, and I promise, I will kill you quickly. You will feel nothing."
Fox conjured up a grizzly, weak voice.
"Promise, huh?" he uttered sluggishly. He looked up briefly and could see the shape of the ape's head nodding under the dim ceiling light.
"I may be Venomian, but I am a man of my word."
Fox put on the best smirk he could under the circumstances, and said,
"Just some thug."

He was struck across the face without hesitation, like the ape had heard his words before he had spoken them. The bludgeoning resonance bounced off the walls as Fox hit the floor hard. The sound was vanquished by the imminent admonishment of the leader ape.
"I'm trying to help you. You all crack, I have seen this a thousand times. The only question is how much you want to endure. You have nothing to prove because your end is always going to result in the same way."
Quivering on the floor, Fox retorted.
"I just like making it difficult. Maybe I don't like you."
"Who's having the more difficult time here?" the ape shot back. He sighed and addressed his two grunts. "Leave us."

And with that, the two inferiors left out a door with screechy hinges where some light shone through briefly. Fox relished in the short-lived luminosity, twisting his neck so one side of his face could be blessed with it before the end. The door closed with a hollow bang.

"You don't fear death, do you little fox? In fact, you almost hunger for it. You came into this region in a freighter built out of garbage cans strapped with enough nova to put a hole in the side of a planet" the ape said, pacing back and forth in front of the downed animal. "You weren't expecting to go back, were you?"
The ape kneeled and leaned in close, until Fox could feel the brush of his breath against his gashed scalp. "You thought that maybe you could do what the Cornerians could not, and end this war. You thought that maybe you could do... what your father could not."
Fox felt his hands clench to form fists and he his unaligned teeth clench in whatever which way they could. How do they know who I am? I haven't told them anything...
"Who are you? And what do you know about my father?" Fox spat out at the ape.
"Now, now" the ape said serenely, "This is the interrogation of Fox McCloud, not I. You will tell us where you got the nova, and you will inform us of all parties involved. I don't imagine the Cornerians put you up to this, but it would not surprise me in the least if they had provided you with the contacts, hmm?"
"I'm not telling you anything. I meant that the first time I said it, ape" Fox said. He rolled onto his side. "Kill me."
"Get up" ordered the ape with an unimpressed groan. He reached out and snagged Fox by the collar of his olive green flight suit and shoved him back against the wall. He sighed at the fox's resilience.
"We will kill you, you need not worry. But you've just made this tenfold harder on yourself" the ape said. "Before I come back, my men are going to beat and torture you to within an inch of your life. You thought you'd seen the worst of it? You thought we had nothing left? This is just the beginning; this is me being merciful. Now you've angered me." From the back of his utility belt, the ape grasped something that had a rattle to it when summoned. Before Fox's eyes dangled an antique bear of metal bindings. The ape shifted around behind Fox and clicked one of the rings closed around his ankle, and the other end was linked to some anchor point in the wall. The pressure of the binder stung sharply, cutting into Fox's skin.
"Good luck" the ape said before leaving.

As the door closed behind him, Fox heard some muffled communication outside the room, as the walls were not particularly thick or sound-proofed. However the exchange didn't feature the familiar voices of the other two captors – instead this was a new voice, and not one of the simian race. This was the rugged bark of a canine voice. Judging by the raised tone of the conversation, the situation outside had seemed to take a turn for the worst, especially when it was followed by the jolt of laser fire. Someone had fired of a shot. Fox felt the slight vibration through the floor and walls and felt a kick of adrenaline bring him to attention. What the...?
There was a thud, like a body hitting the ground, and then the door was opened once again. Fox could only see the silhouettes of the new entrants, and the one in front was certainly a canine.
"Fox McCloud?" the front one spoke. Upon hearing the canine speak, the young vulpine knew these peoples' intentions were not to injure him any further.

As the three new figures approached him hurriedly after his lack of reply, all Fox closed his eyes, and knew nothing but darkness.