Rita's Story

by Rita-LaShette

I wrote this AGES ago. It's not fully finished, nor will it be (probably). Focuses on Rita LaShette and her role in Fox McCloud's life and the StarFox team.

1. Part One

Rita's Story: Fire, Ice, and She Who Dreamith of Life

By Rita LaShette (a.k.a. Michaella "Kyla" DeYoung)

~*~

"He's going to look just like his father." Said Peppy Hare, looking down at the

four day old Fox McCloud. Vixy McCloud smiled as she rubbed her newborn son's ears.

"Don't insult the poor kid. He can't defend himself yet!" laughed James McCloud

as he took his son from Vixy.

"James!" his wife chided. Peppy just shook his head and laughed. James was a

very handsome fox, though he didn't like to admit it.

Fox continued to be the center of attention for the next hour or so. As is started to

get late James took his son upstairs to the nursery for the night.

James had been in the nursery for about five minutes, when someone began to

pound on the front door.

Vixy sighed. "I hope that whoever that is out there doesn't knock the door in

before I get there." She half-ran to get to the door.

"Sounds like they're being chased by the living-dead." Commented Peppy.

The banging stopped as Vixy reached the door. "Hello?" she said as she opened

the door. She looked out into the night, but no one was there. As she turned to close the

door she heard a small noise like a squeak. She looked down at the front step, where the

sound had come from.

"James! JAMES!" she screamed.

James and Peppy came running. "What's wrong?" James asked his hysterical wife.

Vixy bent down and scooped up the loosely wrapped bundle that was on the step.

"Look!" she held it out so her husband and Peppy could see what it was.

"Holy sh." James stared down at the baby vixen who was now nestled in Vixy's

arms. After a moment her gave a nervous laugh. "You would think that this is something

that only happens in cheesy movies and bad novels."

Peppy just stared, wide-eyed, at the tiny vixen. James absent-mindedly closed the

door, as all three stood silently looking at the baby. The silence was broken when Fox

began to cry.

"Peppy, call the doctor." Ordered James as he ran to calm Fox.

Vixy sat down in a chair, and began to remove the ragged and dirty blanket that

covered the baby. The girl was very small, even for a baby. She already had hair, it was

the reddest hair that Vixy had ever seen, and it made the baby's orange fur look pale in

comparison. She had white fur from the top of her muzzle, down her chest, to just

between her legs and on the tip of her tail. The fur around her upper eyelids was also

white.

The baby opened one ice-blue eye to look up at Vixy. She made a small

squeaking noise, then she gave a feeble cry.

Peppy could be heard arguing with the doctor over the phone in the kitchen.

James came downstairs and stood next the chair where his wife sat. "She looks like a

newborn." He said looking at the girl in Vixy's lap. Fox wiggled in his father's arms and

began to cry again.

"I don't think he likes the competition." Said Peppy, entering the room. "The

doctor said to take her to the hospital's ER. He'll meet you there."

"In a minute." Vixy picked up the baby girl and headed for the nursery.

"What?" said James and Peppy in unison.

"She hasn't been fed. She's going to need to eat soon." Vixy's voice left no room

for any argument. "And, she need something decent to wear instead of this ratty thing." ~*~ Fifteen minutes later, Peppy held the content baby girl (who was now wearing one

of Fox's Arwing print pajamas) as James maneuvered the car into a parking space. Vixy

held Fox, and James took the girl as they walked into the ER, where the doctor was

waiting for them.

"So this is the baby?" he asked, taking the girl from James.

"Yeah." Said James as he quickly took her away from the doctor.

Vixy kicked his ankle. "Getting a little over-protective, are we?"

"Hey! At least I'm not the one who." he was cut off as the doctor cleared his

throat. ~*~ The doctor stared at the computer read-out. "She seems to be healthy, but her

mother probably didn't take very good care of herself during the pregnancy. You've

definitely got a survivor there, but she'll probably have stunted growth."

"You mean she'll be a runt?" interrupted James.

"Not necessarily." Answered the doctor. "Small, but not a runt." He looked at the

read-out again. "I ran a DNA test on her."

"And?" asked both James and Vixy.

"Nothing. No matches. Nothing's even close. No mother. No father." He set the

read-out down. "I think that she's most likely the child of some homeless drifter, who

either wanted her to have a chance at life, or didn't want to bother with her."

"Could it be possible that someone. scrambled. her DNA?" asked James. DNA

scrambling had been developed about 5 years earlier, but was easy to detect so it was

hard to use for criminal purposes. It was also still in the developmental stage.

"A DNA scramble would show up in the test. You still couldn't tell who the

parents are, but you would know that someone's trying to hide something."

James looked down at Fox and the girl, who were both in his arms now. He didn't

understand how someone could just abandon their own child like that. He smiled as Fox

reached out and tried to grab the girl's nose, only to have the girl grab his instead. Fox

snorted, and she let go. "The ladies are already after you, Fox." Said James. "In another

18 years you're gonna have to beat them off with a stick." Both babies looked up at

James. Fox made a face, and the girl let out a gentle coo like all baby's make. He laughed.

"So, Vixy, what do we do?" he looked up at his wife, who had a smug look on her

face.

Vixy smiled. "Well." ~*~

"Ack!" Vixy stood in the middle of the living room trying to get both of the kits

into one place. Fox was exploring under the coffee table, and Rita (the vixen who had

been left on the doorstep) was crawling toward the kitchen.

"It's so much easier to keep track of them when they're not mobile." She muttered

as she picked up Fox and went to grab Rita. The vixen giggled as Vixy scooped her up

with her free arm. "You seem to think this is fun." Both of the kits giggled as she carried

them up to the nursery.

She set Fox down on the floor so she could change Rita's jumper. The tiny vixen

squirmed as Vixy tried to put her arm into the jumper's sleeve. "Maa." protested Rita.

"I know, I know. You don't like having your clothes changed. You're definitely

going to be a tomboy when you get older." Vixy finally managed to get the jumper onto

the squirming kit.

She felt a tug at her skirt. She looked down to see Fox standing, clinging to her

leg. He looked up at her and whimpered. "MAA!" screamed Rita.

Fox tugged harder at Vixy's skirt and whimpered again. Vixy sighed. "One's

talking and the other one's walking." The two kits had been doing this for about a week

and a half. The doctor had told them that Fox would probably be the one to walk first

because he was a lot stronger than Rita was, but he was surprised that Rita was starting to

talk before she'd begun attempting to walk.

Fox let go of his mother's leg and took a few steps before losing his balance and

sitting down with a small thump. "Still not getting very far, huh?" She picked him up and

set him in the crib next to Rita.

"Faas!" cooed the girl as she rolled over to Fox. He grabbed her nose. Both kits

giggled as she returned the gesture. .

"I'll still don't know why you two do that." Vixy smiled down at the kits. The

nursery door opened a bit and James poked his head into the room.

"Not asleep yet?" He asked his wife.

"Nope. Rita's still being difficult about having her clothes changed." James put his

arm around Vixy and kissed her forehead.

Rita let go of Fox's nose when she saw James. "Daa!" James tickled Fox and he

let go of Rita's nose.

"Why do they do that?" he tickled Fox some more. He stopped tickling the kit and

Fox crawled over to Rita and curled up next to her. Rita yawned and curled up so that her

head rested on Fox. "Now that's cute." James watched the kits as they fell asleep. ~*~ Rita sat next to Fox on the living room floor. She watched Pigma though narrow

suspicious eyes. Pigma was sitting on the couch talking with Peppy and James. He was

also stuffing his face with food. Fox didn't like being ignored by Rita, so he decided to

grab her nose to get her attention. She didn't move.

Fox let go and whimpered at her. She narrowed her eyes even more at Pigma.

James had been watching the kits out of the corner of his eye. "She doesn't seem to like

you much, Pigma."

Pigma snorted as he stuffed more food into his mouth. "Suspicious little thing

ain't she? Probably gonna grow up to be one of those annoying old bags that nag at you

constantly."

James narrowed his eyes at his friend and wingman. "She not normally like this."

Pigma leaned closer to James to grab a bag of chips. "DAA!!" shrieked Rita.

"Nope. She definitely doesn't like you." James got up and picked up the upset

vixen. He sat down on the floor next to Fox, who crawled into his lap next to Rita. Fox

then gave Pigma a dirty look.

Peppy laughed. "I don't either one of them likes you much."

Pigma shrugged and reached for another bag of chips that were next to Peppy.

"Pebbie!" yelled Rita as Pigma got closer to Peppy.

James began to laugh. "She seems to be a tad bit over-protective." Peppy handed

the bag of chips to Pigma.

"PEBBIE!" Rita yelled louder. Pigma was beginning to find Rita's behavior

funny, and he decided to have a little fun with her. He got up and picked up Fox.

"Well, at least you're a quiet one!" Pigma cooed at him. Fox wrinkled his nose at

the swine, and Pigma laughed.

Rita was beginning to tremble in James's lap. "Pud Fas dowd!" yelled the tiny

vixen. The adults stared at her.

Peppy broke the silence. "I didn't think that they could put sentences together at

that age." Pigma laughed again. James just stared at her.

"Riyah." Said Fox, squirming in Pigma's grasp. Vixy poked her head into the

room.

"They're both talking now!" she had a huge smile on her face as she came the rest

of the way into the room.

Rita was getting very red in the face by this time. "PUT. FOX. DOWN!!!" she

screamed again. Pigma almost dropped Fox in his surprise. James's mouth hung open as

he stared at the girl. Peppy and Vixy just stood in wide-eyed shock.

Fox squirmed away as Pigma placed him on the floor.

Rita crawled out of James's lap and over to where Pigma stood. She glared up at

him, then growled as she bit his ankle.

Pigma screamed and she let go.

Rita made small spitting noises as she crawled back over to Fox. He had a look of

disgust on his face as he stared up at the still screaming Pigma. Rita butted at him with

her head and Fox rolled onto his back. She curled up half on top of him in a protective

manner.

Pigma stopped screaming and gawked at the kits. "What in the."

Vixy clapped her hands. "Oh, how cute!"

James stared up at his wife. Slowly he began to smile. "I guess Fox won't have to

beat girls off with a stick when he's older. They'll be lucky if they get past Rita."

"Mine." Said Rita as if confirming James's statement.

James started to laugh. Peppy just shook his head and smiled. ~*~ The teacher glared down at Fox and Rita, then she focused her stare on James

McCloud. "So you're telling me that these two are both your children, but the girl isn't

related?"

James sighed and crossed his arms. "That's correct. She was abandoned on the day

she was born, so my wife and I took her in as our own."

The teacher made a face. "Then why didn't you adopt her?" her voice had a

condescending tone to it which was beginning to make James angry.

He sighed through his teeth. "We didn't adopt her, because we had a feeling that it

would be better if we didn't." the teacher gave a smug smile. James frowned at her and

quickly added, "Not that it means we don't love her, because we do. Legally my daughter

or not she will always be my little girl." He gave the teacher a really nasty look that

wilted her smug look.

"Just out of curiosity, where did you come up with her name?" asked the teacher,

who was now a little flustered.

"Rita Vixy LaShette." Said James. "Rita is after two things; the Terran actress

Rita Hayworth, and the Beatles song 'Lovely Rita'. Vixy after my wife. And LaShette was

just a name my best friend came up with at random. He's a telepath and thought that he

was picking up. signals. or something like that." he trailed off. Explaining how

they'd come up with Rita's last name was not easy. In fact it was just plain confusing.

They were going to give her the last name of McCloud, but Peppy had felt

something strong. He couldn't explain it, after all he was a telepath not a psychic. But this

urge had been really strong, and he felt that it was telling him that the girl should be

called LaShette.

After a little researching he found out that LaShette wasn't a common name in

Lylat, or anywhere else for that matter. In fact it was an ancient Cornerian phrase that

could be loosely translated as 'fire and ice'. James said it fit because of her 'fiery' red hair

and her ice-blue eyes.

So they named her LaShette. Though no one could figure out if there was a

reference in the name other than to the color of her hair and eyes. ~*~ Ms. Hotohori, the teacher whose class Fox and Rita had been assigned to, pointed

to a chair. "Rita, you can sit next to Katt." The pink kitten smiled at the vixen. The

teacher pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the table next to a gray puppy. "Fox,

you'll sit next to Bill." The boys exchanged glances.

Rita and Katt were already chatting away excitedly, ignoring the boys on the other

side of the table. Bill perked up an ear and began to wag his tail. "Hi, I'm Bill!"

"I'm Fox." The boys began to talk. Soon the girls joined into their conversation

(well, what you'd call a conversation if you were a 5 year-old). By the time lunchtime

came it was apparent that the four were already good friends. ~*~ James sat across the kitchen table from his long time friend, Beltino Toad.

Beltino's son Slippy sat next to his father. Blueprints were spread over the table in front

of James. The sounds of Fox, Rita, Katt, and Bill playing in the backyard drifted in

through the open window.

He pointed to a section of the prints. "So this is where the bridge is? And the

living quarters are here?" he said pointing to a different section.

"Yep." Beltino continued explaining parts of the blue prints of what would be

the Great Fox. Slippy sighed and stared out the window to where the other kids were

playing, while the adults talked.

Rita burst in the back door with Katt close behind her. Spying Slippy staring out

of the window they walked over to the table. Rita leaned on the table, upsetting some of

the blueprints. "Wanna play?" she asked Slippy. Katt nodded encouragement and smiled

broadly.

Slippy looked up at his father. "Go ahead." Beltino told him. The girls half-

dragged Slippy out of the house to where the boys were waiting. Soon the sounds of kids

playing continued, only they were a little louder than they had been before.

James and Beltino continued to discuss the plans, only stopping to make minor

changes here and there.

By the time they had finished going over the plans it had become rather late.

Katt's mom had picked her up a few hours ago, and Bill's parents had just left with him.

Fox, Rita and Slippy were asleep on the couch in the living room.

Beltino picked up his sleeping son. "I'm glad they got along so well. I was afraid

that Slippy would be to shy to play with them." James just smiled as he tucked a blanket

around the two sleeping kits.

"That girl is different from other kids." Beltino said suddenly.

James gave his friend a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

The frog shrugged. "I don't really know. something about her just feels.

different." he trailed off.

James was silent for a moment. "I've felt that too." he said in a barely audible

whisper. "But, it doesn't feel like it's a bad kind of different." ~*~ James watched as Rita knocked down yet another opponent. The kick boxing

instructor sighed next to him. "I've never seen anything like this before. She's 9 years old

and she's taking down 15 year olds. It's amazing!"

James continued to watch her. He thought back to the previous year. It had not

been a happy one. Vixy had died when the family car had mysteriously blown up in the

driveway. Both Rita and Fox had taken it very badly, so James had decided to enroll them

both in kick boxing lessons to get them to concentrate on something positive.

He hadn't expected Rita to do so well. Fox did well too, but Rita was practicing

with kids almost twice her age. and winning, after only a few months of training. It had

shocked him and the instructors. Rita was small even for a girl her age, and it looked

funny to see such a small girl take down boys who were more than twice her size. One of

the instructors compared her to a compact car 'cute, compact, but has a heck of a lot of

power'.

The instructor sighed as Rita KO'ed one of the other students. The student quickly

came to and glared at Rita, who was apologizing profusely. "How does she do that?" the

instructor walked onto the floor and announced that practice was over for the day.

Rita ran over to James and began to stuff her things into her gym bag. The

instructor followed behind her and motioned to James that he wanted to have a word with

him.

The instructor looked a little embarrassed. He looked at his feet for a moment,

then quickly announced, "We want to start instructing her in private lessons." He said

motioning to the other instructors. James began to protest, but was cut off. "At no extra

cost of course! We believe that she has a lot of potential, and the best way to tap into that

potential is by private instruction. We wouldn't pass up this opportunity for anything." He

smiled sheepishly.

James sighed and smiled to himself (he loved to hear praise about either one of

his kids). "It's fine with me, if it's okay with her."

Rita began her private training the following week. ~*~ Rita sighed as she walked out to the kick boxing floor. Only two more weeks until

I'm 16, she thought to herself. She gently slapped the side of her face and mentally

reamed herself for not concentrating.

It was the final match for the Cornerian Junior Women's Kick Boxing

Championships. Rita had easily gotten here, but so had her opponent.

It looked like it was going to be a close match. Rita's opponent was a lot bigger

than she was, so it at least promised to be an entertaining match.

Rita's friends from the Academy cheered her on. She said that this was the last

time she was going to compete in an event like this, because she wanted to be a pilot, not

a kick boxer (and she was off to a really good start, she was second in her class in the

Academy, right behind Fox).

Somewhere in the stands someone yelled to her, "Kick ass, sweet thing!" Rita

recognized the voice of Wolf O'Donnel. Ugh. why won't he leave me alone, she cursed

to herself. Wolf seemed to have developed an infatuation with her after meeting her once

a few weeks ago. Rita, on the other hand, seemed to think that Wolf was a jerk who

thought with his balls and not his brains.

The match started.

It was soon apparent that while her opponent had the size advantage, Rita was

much quicker, therefore; she landed more hits than she received. The other girl, Manda

Harris, decided that she was going to have to take out Rita with force.

She did a sweep kick in hopes of tripping Rita, but Rita avoided the kick by back

flipping across the mat. Didn't know I could do that! She thought.

Manda soon became tired, and Rita finally took her down. The other Academy

students erupted into cheers. Rita just sighed and smiled at her friends.

Fox was waiting for her outside the locker room. He practically tackled her and

gave her a big hug while lifting her off of her feet. Katt and Bill came running, followed

closely by Slippy. They all started talking at once. "That was so cool!" "You were great!"

"My roommate's the Cornerian Junior Women's champ!" "You go girl!"

Rita rolled her eyes. "At least I never have to do that again!" They all stared at

her. She laughed. "I want to be a pilot! Not a kick boxer!" They all smiled and began to

talk excitedly again.

They were interrupted when a tall blue avian pushed into the center of their group

and lifted Rita off of her feet. "Congrats, fuzz ball." Said Falco Lombardi giving her a

quick peck on the cheek. Katt stared up at the avian with a look of complete infatuation in

her eyes.

"Thanks. Now, put me down, feather head." Rita playfully kicked at his knees.

Falco put her down quickly then began to act like she had hurt him. His acting

was purposely terrible. "Ooh! Ooh! My knees! I'll never walk again!" he used a sarcastic

half scream as he fake limped around the hall. "You've maimed me for life!" The others

were practically rolling on the floor in hysterics.

The laughter quickly stopped as Wolf O'Donnel walked up to the group. Rita hid

herself behind Fox and Falco.

Bill growled at the intruder. "What do you want?"

Wolf eyed Bill suspiciously, then decided to ignore him. "Rita, babe, good job."

He elbowed past Fox and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't call me that." She jerked her arm free of his grasp and backed away from

him. Falco stepped between them with his fists balled up, ready to punch Wolf.

"What's all this?" came a deep voice behind Rita. James walked up to the group

with an inquisitive look on his face.

Rita threw her arms around his neck. "Dad!" James raised an eyebrow at Wolf and

Falco, who still looked like they were about to fight.

Wolf thought for a moment, then decided to back down, for now. "Catch ya later,

babe." He said as he walked off down the hall.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!" Rita yelled after him.

"Whatever, babe." Was his response.

Rita screamed in frustration. James still stood looking at the group, waiting for an

explanation. "Well?" he prodded. Fox explained the situation quickly, and James nodded

as he listened. When Fox had finished, James turned to Rita and said, "Be careful around

him, Ri. I don't like the sound of this."

"How do you think I feel?" she grumbled as she hugged him again.

James hugged her back. He then smiled and turned to the others. "Anyone up for

ice cream?" ~*~ Fox and Rita were home from the Academy for the weekend. It had been two

weeks since the kick-boxing match, which meant it was close to Rita's 16th birthday.

Fox's birthday had been three days ago, and Rita's was the next day.

James walked into the living room where the two were playing video games. He

was carrying a small package wrapped in a pretty burgundy (Rita's favorite color)

wrapping paper.

He waited until they finished the round they were on, then paused the game. "I

was going to give this to you tomorrow, but I just got a call from General Pepper and he

has a job he needs me to do so I have to leave tonight." He said handing the package to

Rita.

She carefully unwrapped the package and took out a small box like the one's

jewelers use to keep necklaces in. She gave him a questioning look. He just motioned for

her to open it. Inside was a small round gold pendant on a gold chain.

Rita nearly fainted. "It's beautiful!" she gasped, staring at it.

James took it out of the jeweler's box and fastened it around her neck. "I thought

that you were old enough to have a nice piece of jewelry." He patted her between the ears

like he had done since she was a little kit. "Take good care of it."

"I will." She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you so much, Dad!" James smiled as he returned her hug.

"I have to go get things ready now." He patted her ears one more time then ran

upstairs to call Peppy and Pigma.

Rita snuggled closer to Fox. "So what'd you get me for my birthday?" She asked

jokingly.

He grabbed her nose and laughed. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow." Rita

returned his gesture and giggled. "Weeb willy godda stob doing dis."

"Stob doing whad?" Rita giggled again. ~*~ Fox sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "They've been gone for almost a week.

I don't like this at all." He kicked the back Rita's chair.

She threw down her pencil in frustration. "Stupid trajectory problems." she

muttered to herself. To Fox she said, "Dad can take care of himself. I wouldn't start

worrying for another couple days." She sighed. "Then again, I don't have a very good

feeling about this."

Fox eyed her. "Wha'd'ya mean?' he propped his feet on his desk as the instructor

came into the room. The instructor gave Fox a dirty look and he quickly put his feet back

on the floor.

Rita shrugged. "I dunno. I've just been having weird dreams."

Fox didn't have time to question her further; the instructor had started class. ~*~ Later that day the flight class had just landed their ships in the hanger. They had

come in early from their flight exercises due to a sudden rainstorm. Fox, Falco, Katt, Bill,

Slippy, Fara, and Rita walked out of the building chatting happily.

"Shoot!" Rita slapped her forehead. "I left my jacket. I'll catch up with you in a

few minutes." She ran back into the hanger and grabbed her jacket out of the ship she had

been using. All of the cadets and instructors had already left the building, and the sound

of Rita's footsteps echoed off of the hanger walls.

As she climbed down from the ship she suddenly felt uneasy, like she was being

watched. She listened for a second, then decided that she was just being paranoid.

Rita gasped as a pair of hands closed around her waist. The owner of the hands

nuzzled her neck, and she caught a whiff of cologne. The hands gripped tighter as she

struggled to get away.

"Calm down, sweetheart." She recognized Wolf's voice.

"Let go of me, Wolf." She slapped at his hands. He ignored her and moved a hand

higher.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'll be going away for a while." He kissed the side of

her neck.

She struggled harder. "Good! Now let go of me." She was starting to get

frightened. Wolf moved his hand higher so that it was just below her breast.

"I'll come back for you when things settle down." He kissed her throat, and she

began to get panicky.

"Let go of me!" she swung at him, but missed. "I don't want you to come back for

me! Go away, and leave me alone!" he caught her wrist as she tried to hit him again.

"I'll come back for you." He repeated. "I love you, Rita. Let me show you how

much." his voice trailed off as he forced Rita onto the floor. He covered her mouth as

she tried to scream.

Wolf let go of her momentarily to try to unfasten the buttons of her shirt. Rita

used the opportunity to plant her elbow in the side of his face, and then she sprang to her

feet and ran.

Ran faster then she had ever run in her life, but Wolf still caught her. He dragged

her to the floor.

She began to panic even more as she struggled in vain to get away from him. Her

baser instincts kicked in, and she clawed and bit at him in a blind fury. Wolf was

momentarily stunned at this primal outburst, but he quickly regained his senses and

bashed Rita's head against the floor.

She struggled to stay conscious, but the blackness swallowed her almost instantly.

She came to abruptly a few moments later. The smell of Wolf's cologne was strong in her

nostrils. She felt numb and her head ached as her vision refused to focus as she lay

helpless.

Using all of her determination, Rita was finally able to bring her knee up with one

swift motion. right between Wolf's legs. He screamed in rage (and pain). Rita rolled out

of his grasp, as Wolf was momentarily incapacitated.

Rita got to her feet, somewhat unsteadily, and placed a kick under Wolf's chin,

then kicked him a second time in the crotch so she would have time to get away.

She heard Wolf yelling that he'd come back for her as she half-ran half- stumbled

as fast as she could away from him. The last thing she heard him say was, "Someday you

WILL be mine!" ~*~ General Pepper sighed again as a hard rain began to fall. He sloshed through a

mud puddle that had just formed. Peppy Hare walked beside him with his head down.

Pepper was about to say something, but his words were knocked out of him as

Rita crashed headlong into him, knocking them both to the ground. Pepper was back on

his feet in an instant.

He was about to yell about being careless, when he realized who it was. Slowly he

noticed that the young vixen was missing several buttons from her shirt, and she had

blood on her face and the back of her neck. Peppy knelt down beside her and scooped her

up his arms.

Oh, God, thought Pepper, this is not good!

It dawned on Rita that Peppy was carrying her. "Peppy? Where's dad?" she asked

between sobs, "Where's dad?"

His silence didn't comfort her. ~*~ Rita lay in the hospital bed, unmoving. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling, but she

wasn't really looking at it. Peppy had finally told her that Pigma had betrayed them, and

that James was dead.

The doctors said that it had been too much for her, and that she'd gone into shock.

She hadn't moved or made a sound for about 3 hours. She was oblivious to Fox's shouts

and screams of protest, anger, and finally sorrow in the hallway outside of her hospital

room.

Fox slowly walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to her. "Rita?" he

gently took her hand in his. "Ri?" She lay unmoving as he caressed her cheek. "Don't

worry, Ri, we'll make him pay. Somehow." He curled up next to her and rested his head

next to her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her slender body as he began to cry.

Rita slowly wrapped her arms around his body, but still made no sound. The nurse

came into the room and was about to protest, but General Pepper silenced her with a

warning glance. ~*~ Fox sat next to Rita on the couch in the living room of Peppy's house. Rita was

curled up into a tight ball; she stared out into the room without really seeing it. Peppy

called to them that dinner was ready, and Fox stood up to go to the kitchen. He gently

nudged Rita and she followed him like a well programmed robot.

Peppy sighed as they sat down at the table. Rita had gone through the last 3 weeks

as if she were in a trance. She had done everything as if it were a reflex. she ate, slept,

and stared off into the distance, and she hadn't said a word in those three weeks either.

Fox sighed as he poked at his spaghetti with his fork. He hadn't been well in the

last three weeks either. He had lost his father, and his best friend was walking through

life like a zombie. Peppy was trying hard to ease the pain for him, but he just wasn't

James.

Peppy noticed Rita staring at her plate with her now usual blank stare. He gently

touched her arm, "Eat, Rita." The young vixen obediently began to eat. He sighed and

stared at his plate. It didn't look appetizing to him, but he choked it down anyway. ~*~ Rita lay in the bed in the guestroom that Peppy had set up for her. She stared at

the ceiling. A car passed on the street outside and the lights moved across the ceiling as it

moved away from the house.

She blinked.

Another car passed and she followed the light on the ceiling with her eyes. Very

slowly a malicious grin spread across her face, and she began to giggle quietly to herself. ~*~ Peppy noticed a change in Rita at breakfast the next morning. She jabbed at her

waffle ferociously until it was nothing but a mangled mess on her plate. she giggled

quietly the entire time. Fox stared at Rita, a look of anxiety on his face. Peppy quickly

took the fork from Rita before she decided to use it on something else.

She suddenly stood up, knocking her chair over in the process. After throwing her

plate across the kitchen she ran from the room laughing hysterically.

Fox sat frozen for a moment, then he got up and ran after her. Peppy followed him

just in time to see Fox tackle Rita in the living room. She struggled momentarily then lay

limp in Fox's arms. The young vulpine picked up his friend and carried her up to her

room.

Fox gently caressed her hair as she lay sleeping on the bed. Occasionally she

twitched in her sleep, and Fox would rub her behind the ears. He yawned and curled up

next to her on the bed. Gently wrapping his arms around her waist he fell asleep.

Peppy watched all this from the doorway, and wondered if they would ever be

able to lead their lives sanely again. He worried that he would have to have Rita

committed to a hospital for the mentally ill if she didn't improve soon. After that

morning's incident he felt that she had gotten worse; that she'd gone insane.

He didn't want to send his best friend's little girl to a "nut house", and more

importantly, he knew that would hurt Fox more too. Rita was the last "family" that he had

left, besides Peppy, but Fox was closer to Rita. They had been inseparable since they

were newborns.

He decided to wait a few more days before he made a decision. Maybe this was

just going to be a bad period before she snapped out of it. Maybe she would never snap

out of it. Only time would tell. ~*~ Rita slowly opened her eyes as the sunlight shone in her face through the window.

She lay still for a few moments, then a sly smile spread across her face. Rolling over she

found that Fox was asleep next to her. Fox snorted as she grabbed his nose and gently

pinched it. "Wakey, wakey." she giggled.

Fox's eyes shot open as he heard her voice. He sat up abruptly and hugged her

tightly to his chest. He cradled her in his arms and softly repeated, "Thank God, thank

God."

Rita briefly wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his hug. Then she

pushed him away and got out of bed. As she walked over to the closet she announced,

"We're going back to the Academy tomorrow." She began to undress, but stopped and

gave Fox a pointed look.

He got the hint and left the room.

Fox wandered into the kitchen, where Peppy was attempting to make blueberry

pancakes. The hare dropped a handful of berries into the batter as Fox flopped down at

the table.

"Rita wants to go back to the Academy tomorrow." Fox stated. Peppy dropped a

handful of berries on the counter. The berries scattered across the kitchen. Peppy gaped at

Fox.

"What?"

"He said that I want to go back to the Academy tomorrow." Rita leaned in the

doorway of the kitchen. Peppy gasped as he saw the cold look in her eyes.

The aging hare sat down in a chair abruptly as he felt a wave of complete

malevolence emanate off of the young vixen. Fox squirmed uncomfortably in his chair,

and Peppy could tell that he felt the anger from Rita too.

The feeling that came from Rita wasn't evil by any means, but it was a horrible

essence. The essence of a young woman who been hurt badly at an age where she

couldn't cope. and she wanted revenge for the life that had been prefect, but now lay in

shambles around her.

Peppy sighed as the wave of malevolence eased off of his mind. Studying Rita he

realized that she would never be the bright and bubbly girl she had been before. The girl

that sat before him now was bitter and cold, yet something in her prevented her from

being evil.

Peppy realized that 'something' was sitting next to her, and he prayed that nothing

would happen to Fox, or he knew that Rita would go completely insane. and possibly

become evil. ~*~ Katt stared as Rita continued to do her homework at an amazing pace. The young

feline decided to repeat her last comment; "Fara says that she want to date Fox."

Rita slammed her pencil down on the desk, "She'd better stay away from him

unless she wants me to rip her arms off!" Katt gaped at Rita, then nodded nervously. "No

one goes anywhere near him." Rita muttered as she turned back to her assignment.

She's gone completely off the deep end, Katt thought to herself. Sighing she

glanced at the calendar. Graduation was only two weeks away, and Fox was losing his

lead in the class to Rita, who seemed to have gotten a wild determination to do her best.

in everything. The determined vixen now easily defeated even the once despised

trajectory problems. ~*~ Fox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Graduation was in two days, and he

held his final score in his hands. He quickly tore open the envelope and glanced down at

the paper. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Second place!!!" he yelled.

Bill was startled by Fox's yell and fell out of his chair. "What?!" The gray canine

got up off of the floor and glanced at the paper in Fox's hand. "Then who in first place?"

Falco and Slippy crashed into the room in mid-argument.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Falco made a fist with his wing and threatened Slippy. The frog immediately

stopped arguing.

The avian walked over to Fox and Bill and patted Fox on the back. "Tough luck."

"Huh?" Fox quirked an eyebrow at Falco.

"Was just over at the girls' room, Rita had her score and she's in first place." Falco

looked at Fox's paper and inhaled sharply. "She beat you by 20 points?!"

They all gaped at Falco. "WHAT!?!"

Fox glanced down at his paper again then stomped out of the room.

He met Rita halfway down the hall. She gave him a sheepish grin, "Sorry", she

said giving Fox a hug, "I had no idea that I'd gotten that far ahead of you. I didn't even

think it was possible to get ahead of you."

Fox sighed and hugged her back, "I'd rather lose first place to you than anyone

else." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "It proves that Dad was the best, when

both of his students graduate at the top of the class." They smiled weakly at each other,

then hugged again. ~*~ Fox sighed and looked at Rita. "You're sure?'

"Yes." She answered.

"Absolutely sure?" His voice had a pleading tone to it.

She sighed and folded her arms. "Yes, Fox, absolutely. You've got Falco, and

Slippy, and even Peppy. You'll do fine without me. Besides, I said that I'd help out if you

ever needed it."

Fox grabbed her shoulders, "But, Dad would want you on the team!"

She buried her face in Fox's chest and sighed. Looking up she said, "I'm sure he

would, but I think I can be of more use to you doing. other things."

Fox lowered his eyes and let a breath out through his teeth. "Just don't get

yourself killed doing your. 'other things'".

Rita ruffled his hair. "Relax! It's not like I'm going to be the first female spy in

history!" She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know you're going to

be a great leader. just like Dad."

"You're changing the subject." Fox muttered.

"By the way," Rita ignored his last comment, "you look really good in that

uniform." She gestured to Fox's green StarFox uniform.

He decided to let it slide. "Thanks. You too." Rita wore a burgundy copy of the

StarFox uniform, even though she wasn't an 'official' part of the team. Fox insisted that

she wear it while she was onboard the Great Fox.

"So. when is Pepper getting those new Arwings to you guys?" Rita pushed a

strand of red hair out of her eyes.

"In a few hours." Fox shook his head and sighed. He ran his hand through his hair

and stared at his feet.

Rita cocked her head to the side and watched him. "What is it, Fox?"

"I just wish you'd change your mind." He continued to stare at his feet. He

looked up at her suddenly, and before she could react he kissed her. "Be careful, Ri," he

said as he walked down the hall.

Rita stared at him in shock as he walked away. "I will." she said softly to

herself. ~*~ Rita pulled Katt into the shadows behind a pile of boxes in the landing area. A

group of Venomian troops ran past their hiding place, oblivious to the fact that their

targets were hiding in the shadows.

Katt waited until all of the troops had passed then whispered, "What are we going

to do? Our transport was destroyed! How are we gonna get out of here?"

Rita held a finger up to her lips and pointed to an unguarded Invader class ship

nearby. Katt nodded in understanding. They carefully looked around to see if there were

anymore troops or guards nearby, then they ran to the Invader.

There was a soft click in the hallway behind them. Rita turned and saw a

movement in the shadows of the hallway. "See if you can get this thing going. I'll make

sure we aren't gonna die anytime in the next two minutes." She took out the blaster that

Fox had insisted she carry, even though she was a rotten shot with one. For once she was

glad she had it though.

Katt quickly examined the Invader and began to hotwire it deftly.

Rita carefully walked to the entrance to the hallway and the shadow moved again.

"You get prettier all the time." Stated a voice that was very familiar to her.

She aimed at the shadow. "Wolf." She spat out the word as if it were poison.

Wolf stepped out of the shadows. "I said I'd come for you. You didn't have to

come to me." Rita noticed that he now wore a patch over his left eye. "I guess you must

have really missed me."

"You are so delusional, Cyclops." She aimed the blaster in the general direction of

his head, and prayed that she wouldn't have to actually shoot it.

Behind her Katt gave a small yell of triumph as the Invader powered up. "Come

on, Ri! We've gotta get out of here!" Katt waved frantically at her friend to hurry up.

Rita took a warning shot to distract Wolf and ran over to the Invader. Wolf yelled

as he realized that she was getting away, "Not this time!"

The women crammed themselves into the one-person fighter and prepared to take

off. Wolf realized that he'd have to wait until another time to get his 'love', and he ducked

back into the hallway to avoid the blast as the fighter took off.

Warning alarms blared through the base as the fighter attempted to get away. Katt

shoved Rita away from the controls and frantically maneuvered away from the base.

Enemy fighters chased after them, but Katt doubled back and flew into their ranks. The

other fighters soon became confused and started to shoot each other down.

She quickly exited the fray and flew away. A lone fighter soon started to pursue

them. Wolf's voice came over the radio, "Why are you running away, Love?"

Rita tried to shove Katt away from the controls. Grabbing hold of the controls she

tried to aim the blasters at Wolf's ship, but Katt shoved her back. "I'm flying if you don't

mind, Ri-Ri." She hissed.

Rita smacked the side of Katt's head. "How many times do I have to tell you not

to call me that!" Katt smacked her back. "Fine, Pinky, just get us out of here before they

realize we're getting away!"

"Where do you think you're going?" taunted Wolf.

Rita grabbed the controls from Katt again and fired at their pursuer. A lucky shot

hit his wing and it blew up. Wolf swore over the com then turned back to the base,

"You'll be with me soon, My Love!" He promised as he flew away.

The girls were silent for a moment, then Katt yelled, "PINKY! Who are you

calling 'Pinky'!?"

"Having a bit of a delayed reaction are we?" Rita's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"At least I don't have neon orange hair!" Katt retorted.

"It's not NEON! At least orange is a natural color for fur, PINKY!" Rita pulled on

Katt's hair. Katt pulled Rita's hair in return. They bickered all the way back to the

Cornerian base. ~*~ General Pepper paced behind his desk. "So, you failed to get the information on

Andross's new base?"

Katt and Rita pointed at each other, "It was HER fault!' they said in tandem.

Pepper sat down in his chair behind the desk and folded his hands on the desk. He

narrowed his eyes; "I don't care whose fault it was. You get a transport destroyed, and

you failed to get the information we needed. AND you cause a stir by coming back here

in an ENEMY fighter!"

Rita slammed her fist down on the desk. "Did you WANT us to stay there? I'm

sure they would have found us VERY ENTERTAINING!" Her eyes flashed as she

remembered Wolf.

Pepper was surprised by Rita's sudden outburst. When she had been a cadet he

remembered her to be a bubbly young vixen, who was always in a good mood. The

woman who stood before him was two years older and very bitter still about her near-

rape and the loss of her 'father'.

He sighed, "Point taken. You're dismissed."

Katt sat down on his desk. "Just one thing, General." She purred, "Mind if I keep

that ship I brought in?" Rita glared at her. "I mean WE brought in?" Katt stuck her tongue

out at Rita. "After all mine was destroyed last week."

Pepper sighed. "Fine. Just leave me alone."

Rita sighed and dragged Katt out of the room. They began bickering again as they

left the General's office. ~*~ Fox looked up from the book he was reading as a loud crash suddenly sounded in

the hallway outside the rec room. An angry voice that was unmistakably Falco's spat out

a string of obscenities. Rita opened one eye part of the way, then pulled her pillow over

her head, and went back to napping on the couch.

"Argh!!! Get away!" yelled Falco. The only response was the sound of Katt

giggling.

Fox sighed and went back to reading his book. He had only read half a sentence

when another loud crash interrupted him. He growled and tossed his book down on the

coffee table. "Can't they be quiet about that?" he asked, obviously ticked.

Rita mumbled something unintelligible from under her pillow.

"Care to repeat that?" Fox asked as he sat down on top of her legs.

She threw the pillow at his head, but he caught it before it hit. "I said: I think Katt

needs to try a different tactic." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "What?" she asked.

"You and Katt were always such good friends. Why are you two at each other's

throats all the time now?" Fox tried to lie down beside her, but she flipped him onto the

floor.

"Things change." she muttered.

Fox stared at her. "What happened, Ri?"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Rita." He got up and pulled her into a sitting position on the couch.

She jerked her arm away from him. "I don't butt into her love life. I don't see why

she tries to run mine." She growled.

Fox got a look in his eyes that Rita had never seen before. "You. have a

boyfriend?" It sounded like he was trying not to choke.

She gaped at him. "What?! No!" she tried to get up but Fox pinned her down.

"She seems to think I need one though!" she crossed her arms and tossed her head

haughtily. "I don't know how many times I've had to find an excuse to get out of some

stupid blind date that she's set up."

Fox let out a sigh of relief, and rested his head on her knee. "For a second there I

thought you were trying to hide something from me."

Rita scratched behind Fox's ear. "I wouldn't do that." she half whispered as Fox

wrapped his arms around her legs. ~*~ Falco burst into Fox's room. "Safe," he sighed as he hid in the closet.

"Ungh?" Fox groaned as he lifted his head from his pillow. "What's going on?"

He asked sleepily.

Falco shushed at him from the closet. "She might hear you." He poked his head

out and listened carefully. The sound of someone walking in the hallway made him

quickly duck back into the closet.

The footsteps stopped outside the door. A light knock rapped on the door. Falco

almost stopped breathing. "If it's Katt then I'm not here." He crawled as far back into

the closet as he could, which wasn't really an easy task since Fox threw his dirty clothes

on the closet floor. and he hadn't done laundry in a while.

The knocking came again, but a bit louder this time.

Fox grumbled as he pulled himself out of bed and stumbled over to the door.

Another knock, then Rita's voice. "Fox? Are you there?"

He opened the door and Rita quickly walked into the room. She shut the door in a

hurry. "I've gotta talk to you." She whispered as she leaned back against the door.

Fox sensed that something was very wrong with her. She looked as if she had just

woken up from a really bad nightmare. He urged her to continue.

A loud crash in the closet made her jump. She let out an exasperated sigh as Falco

fell out of the closet with a thud.

"I was just leaving." The avian said as he tripped over a pair of pants.

Rita crossed her arms and stared at him. "I won't even ask what you were doing in

Fox's closet." Falco rushed past her and ran into the door. "It usually a good idea to open

the door before you walk through it." She laughed as Falco rubbed his beak, then exited

the room.

Fox turned to his friend and rested his hands on her shoulders. The much smaller

vixen stared up at him and sighed. "What were you going to say to me?" he asked quietly.

"There you are!" Came Katt's voice from the hallway, followed by the sound of

Falco yelling. Then the sound of someone running at top speed down the hallway echoed

through the halls of the Great Fox.

Both of the vulpines sighed and Rita covered her eyes with her hand. Fox just

rolled his eyes. "This is getting old really quickly." He mumbled.

Rita gently wrapped her arms around Fox's middle and buried her head in his

chest. He gently stroked her hair and hugged her close to his body.

The words, "I don't want to lose you," came muffled from Rita as she continued to

hug Fox tightly.

It took Fox a second to realize what she had just said. "Huh? What do you mean?"

He forced her to look up at him.

A single tear ran down Rita's face. "I had a really bad dream. it seemed so

real." she trailed off.

Fox squeezed her closer for a moment then said, "But it was just a dream, Ri. It

wasn't real." He wiped away another tear as it ran down her cheek.

She blinked and looked up at him. "I want to go with the team on your next

mission." Her voice was steady.

He smiled broadly. He'd been trying to get her on the team since James had died.

"Yeah! Sure!"

Another tear ran down her cheek as she buried her face into his chest. He doesn't

realize that he's in danger. Maybe I can prevent it, she thought. Fox remained oblivious

to Rita's distress from her dream. He was too happy to have her along on their next

mission. ~*~ ". and we have to enter the base here." Fox pointed to a location on the holo-

map.

"This mission is suicide!" Falco crossed his arms and glared at Fox. "We're a

group of pilots, but Pepper seem to think that we're a group of spies!" he continued to

grumble as Peppy gave him a dirty look.

Rita fidgeted. "I have to agree with Falco on this one."

"What!?" Falco's beak dropped open.

"I think it's a very bad idea." She continued.

Everyone stared at her in open-mouthed surprise.

Slippy finally spoke up. "Danger Woman doesn't think it's a good idea! When did

that ever stop you?!" his voice got higher as he spoke. "Sheesh, Ri! Talk about irony!"

Rita yanked Slippy's baseball cap down over his face. "When it's just my life on

the line I don't really care, but when it's the lives of my friends. then I care." She stated

simply.

Fox narrowed his eyes at her. "Rita, if you don't like the idea, then you don't have

to go along." He said.

Rita turned to leave the room, then stopped and put her hands on her hips in a

manner that said 'don't mess with me'. "I'm not letting you go in there by yourself, Fox.

I'm going to be so close to you in there that you'll think I'm your shadow! I have a bad

feeling about this, and I don't like it one bit. But if you insist on going in there, then I'm

going to make sure that you come out of there alive!" She tossed her head and walked out

of the room with an air of finality.

Peppy watched her leave as the others stared after her, mouths still hanging open.

"Why do I get the feeling that she already knows what going to happen when we go in

there?" He asked half to himself.

Fox turned around to face Peppy so quickly that he almost fell over. "What do

you mean by that?" His voice was low and angry. "Do you think she's defected to

Venom, and is spying on us?" He sounded angrier by the second.

Peppy sighed. "I'm not accusing her of anything." He stated. "I know she's not on

the enemy side." He tapped his forehead as a reminder that he was a telepath. "She hates

Andross too much to do that. It's just that this mission has her scared about something,

and I don't think that she even fully understands why she's so worried about it."

"What?" Fox looked confused.

"I think that she may have the ability to predict future events, but she doesn't

realize that she can." The hare explained.

"What?" Fox looked a bit more confused. Falco and Slippy stared at Peppy,

completely baffled.

Peppy sighed. "I think she might be psychic." He stated simply.

The others blinked at him. Falco was the first to start laughing. Fox and Slippy

joined in a few seconds later.

"Very funny, Peppy!"

"That's a scream!"

"Rita? A psychic? HA!" ~*~ Rita sat on the edge of her bed. She stared down at a picture in her hand and

sighed. The picture was of a picnic when she had been very young. James stood to one

side and had his arms around Vixy; both of them were smiling broadly. In front of them

stood Fox and Rita. Fox was grinning and had his arms around Rita; mimicking his

father. Rita was laughing happily.

Rita put the picture on her nightstand. She got to her feet and began to pace the

room trying to clear her thoughts. "No good living in the past." she muttered to herself

as she picked up the picture again. Sighing she placed the picture in a drawer. "I've got to

find some way. Anything. Was that dream true? Or was it just a nightmare?" She

flopped onto her bed and buried her face in the pillows.

Crying she drifted off to sleep. ~*~ Rita stood in what looked like a docking bay. But it was twisted and deformed.

Fox stood to her left and was shouting up at someone. She couldn't see who it was, but

someone stood on a catwalk near the far wall. That was who Fox was shouting at.

The figure on the catwalk moved it's arm and pointed something at Fox. A loud

bang echoed eerily off of the walls. The sound was warped and sounded unreal to Rita.

Helplessly she watched as Fox was thrown backwards. a large scarlet stain

slowly spreading across his chest.

She screamed and ran toward him, but her steps were heavy and it was difficult to

move, almost like she was trying to run through a vat of glue. The figure from the catwalk

appeared beside her and grabbed her arms.

It was Wolf.

She screamed louder as she struggled to free herself from his grasp. Fox's body

lay a few feet from her, unmoving, blood was pooled around him.

Wolf said one word, "Mine!" then he laughed. The laugh was distorted and ugly.

Rita sobbed and cringed. ~*~ Rita's eyes snapped open. She was drenched in sweat. "That dream.again."

She stumbled out of bed and ran to the bathroom. After splashing cold water on her face

she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Dark circles showed under her eyes. "I've lost it." she grumbled to herself. "I

need to get sleep. I'll be useless if I don't get some rest."

She splashed some more cold water in her face then went back to her room.

Peppy stood in the shadows and watched Rita enter her room. Strange dreams.I

wonder if they are visions or just the product of her over-active imagination.Whatever

they are, they're worrying her a lot.

He turned and entered his own room. "She's determined to save Fox, if these

dreams of hers are real. I just wonder how she plans to stop it." He sighed and crawled

into bed. "Now, as long as no one else has a nightmare, maybe I can get some sleep."

He mumbled as he turned out the light. ~*~ "So far so good." Fox muttered peering around a corner. Rita nodded, but she was

still worried. "Would you stop breathing down my neck, Ri?" he hissed at her.

She shook her head. "I'm staying close to you."

Fox grumbled something unintelligible about ". women being so paranoid."

Fox nodded at her and they ran quickly down the corridor, then ducked into a

doorway. After determining that the coast was still clear, they ran around the corner into

a large storage bay.

A chill ran down Rita's spine. It looked familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on

the reason why. A balcony ran across the opposite wall of the bay.

Fox looked around cautiously. Falco, Slippy, and Peppy appeared in another

doorway along the wall to Rita's right. Fox pointed to a large crate and mouthed the

words, "That's it." He nodded and they all moved carefully closer to it in case there was a

trap.

Fox lowered his blaster and carefully looked over the crate. "Hmm." he said.

"This was just a bit too easy."

Someone laughed. "Indeed, StarFox!" came Wolf's voice.

They quickly spotted him standing on the balcony. Rita got another chill. It was

getting more and more familiar to her. Peppy tried to put his hand on her shoulder to calm

her, but she shrugged it off.

"So it was a trap!" Fox shouted to Wolf. "I thought so! That was WAY too easy."

He stepped around the crate to get a better view of his rival.

Rita began to panic mentally. Her dream was acting itself out in front of her.

Time seemed to slow down as Wolf raised his arm. In his hand was an old

fashioned pistol.

As he pulled the trigger on the pistol, Rita did the only thing that she could think

to do to save Fox's life.

She jumped in front of him.

The impact of the bullet threw her backward knocking Fox down as she fell. A

deep scarlet stain spread across her chest. Fox quickly sat up and held her in his arms.

Wolf dropped his pistol and screamed in rage. "It's your fault, McCloud! She

wasn't supposed to get hit! You were supposed to die! You! You!!!" He quickly

disappeared through a doorway.

Peppy crouched down next to Fox. Fox sat on his knees holding Rita's still body.

He said nothing and continued to cradle his best friend in his arms.

Peppy examined Rita as best he could. "It just missed her heart, I think. We need

to get her out of here and to a doctor. NOW!"

Fox didn't move. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Because she'll die if we don't!" yelled Falco.

Fox shook his head. "Why did she get in front of me?" he lowered his head to hers

and nuzzled her gently. "Don't die, Rita. Don't die."

Realizing that they weren't going to be able to get her out of the base if they didn't

move soon Falco took Rita from Fox's arms and carried her toward the exit. Peppy

dragged Fox to his feet and Slippy followed behind.

Surprisingly, there were very few guards, and they got out of the base easily.

However, it was going to be difficult to get Rita back to the Great Fox.

Peppy ordered ROB to bring the Great Fox closer to their location. It was close

enough that they could use the short-range transport to get her on board. Fox stayed by

her side the entire time, not wanting to let her out of his sight in case she should die when

he wasn't looking. ~*~ Rita lay on the surgical table in the Great Fox's medical bay. Peppy gently applied

a wad of gauze to her wound, which was still bleeding profusely. He had put her on the

life support system that was onboard, but there was little else he could do. The life

support system wasn't even really that. It was more of a system to be used when someone

was less severely hurt (like a bullet to the leg or arm). Unfortunately this was the best he

could do, besides pray that she would live long enough to get her to Corneria.

Fox stood beside the table and held her hand gently. He hadn't spoken since they

had got her onboard. Carefully he pushed a lock of her hair out of her face. Peppy noticed

a line of matted fur down Fox's face, where tears had been running. He decided that it

would be best to leave Fox alone. ~*~ Rita slowly opened her eyes. Everything was gray around her, but it looked black

in the distance. "Almost as if I'm in a gray room looking out at the night through a glare

on the window." She was surprised that her thoughts were spoken, even though she had

not opened her mouth.

She mused over this for a moment. Slowly she realized that she wasn't standing on

anything. As soon as the thought occurred to her a floor appeared under her feet. It was

gray like everything else. "Odd." again her thoughts were spoken.

"Where the heck am I?" She slowly turned in a circle. It was the same all around

her. all gray. "I feel like I'm trapped in a bubble." She grumbled.

She tried to walk forward to the edge of the 'bubble' but it moved with her. "What

is this? Some sort of force field?" she made a short disgusted sound.

Behind her something flickered to life. She spun around to face it so fast that the

hem of her long gray gown slapped at her ankles. She found herself face to face with a

ball of yellowish light.

Quickly she backed away from it, only to step on the hem of the gown, which was

a bit too long for her. She landed with a soft thump on the 'floor'.

The light hovered closer to her face, and floated in mid air at eye level. It seemed

to beckon for her to follow it. Cautiously she got to her feet, never taking her eyes off of

the light. It began to move away.

Rita followed it, not quite sure why she did so. "Well anything is better than all

this grayness. Maybe it knows a way out of here." She thought as she began to follow the

light. ~*~ A medical team was waiting for them when they got into orbit around Corneria.

The team was on a transport that was scheduled to take the team down to the planet.

Several doctors on the team moved Rita from the medical bay on the Great Fox

into a temporary medical facility on the transport. They immediately started to try to

stabilize her condition, though it looked like a futile attempt.

Another of the doctors had sedated Fox, after he had almost strangled a doctor

when he was told that Rita had very little chance for survival. Fox was now asleep in a

bunk in the back of the transport.

Falco stared down at his sleeping commander. "He's not taking this too well is

he?" For once the avian sounded concerned, and his voice lacked its usual sarcastic tone.

Peppy sighed, "She's the only thing left that he can really call family." He folded

his hands in front of him in a monk-like fashion. "They've been together all their lives. I

never thought I'd live to see one without the other." A single tear ran down the hare's

cheek.

Slippy fidgeted nervously, but said nothing. ~*~ Rita felt like she had been walking for hours. Still all she could see was gray all

around her, and the light in front of her. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic in the

little "bubble" of grayness. To her it seemed like she was trapped in a small gray room,

that had curving walls that met above her to form a curved ceiling. The "floor" was non-

existent, except where she placed her feet to walk.

The grayness didn't look solid though, it was like a mist surrounding her. "I don't

like this. I don't even know if I'm going anywhere. I feel like I'm trapped on a treadmill. It

all looks the same, nothing ever changes." She said out loud to the light. "Don't

suppose you really care though, huh?" she addressed the light again.

The light just continued to move forward. Rita followed it, still unsure why she did

so. She kept walking, walking, walking. ~*~ Fox paced in the waiting room in the hospital. The others watched him pace back

and forth across the floor. Nurses came in and out of the room, but stayed as far from him

as they could. He didn't look like he'd take an intrusion into his personal space very well.

In the emergency room the doctors worked in desperation to save Rita's life.

Although they gave their best efforts her life was slowly draining away.

The doctors were getting more frantic. They tried everything they could, and then

they would try it all again. Nothing was working.

The heart monitor that was monitoring Rita began to show her pulse slowing.

"We're losing her!"

The monitor flatlined.

"Oh, God!"

"Quick! We've got to try to get her back." ~*~ Rita tripped on something in the grayness. She fell forward, unable to stop

herself.

She carefully lifted her head. In front of her was a staircase made entirely of

black marble. It went upwards as far as she could see.

Getting to her feet she looked behind her. There was no sign of the grayness that

she had been in for so long. She now stood in what looked like a large ornate dining hall

out of a fairy tale, except that it was entirely black.

"Creepy." she muttered to herself. The light urged her to follow it up the

staircase.

Rita suddenly felt very tired. She sat down on the steps and buried her head in her

gown. Quickly she jumped to her feet. Her gown had changed too. It was no longer the

plain gray robe she had been wearing, but was now a black ball gown.

"What the heck is going on here?" She tugged at the silk folds to make sure it was

real.

The light ran into the side of her face to get her attention. It beckoned her to

follow it up the staircase again.

She folded her arms and tossed her head back in defiance. "Why should I? I don't

want to." Her voice was petulant.

The light sighed. The noise startled Rita and she tripped over the hem of her dress

again as she backed away.

"Whoever's in charge here should stop making these dresses so long. I'm not that

tall." She grumbled as she picked herself up.

The light hovered closer to her face. "You must follow me." It said.

"So you DO talk!" Rita pointed an accusing finger at the light.

"Oh do stop being so childish!" The light smacked Rita in the forehead.

"Get away!" She swatted at it.

"Would you listen to me for a moment! Thank you!" Rita sat down quickly on a

step. "Now you've got two choices. One you can follow me up those stairs and get back to

your life and loved ones. Or, two, you can stay here. I must warn you that if you stay here

you will never see that young man. oh, what is his name. Fox. Yes, it's Fox. You will

never see him again if you stay here."

"Why? I don't understand what's going on here!" Tears streamed down Rita's

face.

The light sighed again. "I will put it this way.you stay here you will die. If you

come with me up those stairs then you might live. But you must try to make it all the way

up. I warn you that it will not be easy, but fighting for your life never is." With that the

light began to hover up the staircase.

Rita sat staring after it dumbly for a moment. Then she got to her feet, and began

to walk up the endless stairway following the light. ~*~ There was a small jump on the heart monitor. Shortly following it came a few

more. Then a regular beat began to pulse across it, it was weak, but at least it was there.

"We've got her back!"

"Try to stabilize her."

The doctors began their frenzy again, just as they had almost completely given up

hope. Fox now sat in a chair, his chin propped up in his hand. His eyes stared into the

distance as if he saw something there that no one else could.

A doctor entered the waiting room, and sat down beside him. The doctor cleared

his throat. "Mr. McCloud?"

Fox continued to stare into the distance.

"Mr. McCloud?" The doctor gently touched his arm.

Fox jumped out of the chair with a start, almost hitting the doctor in the process.

"Sorry." he mumbled as he began to pace again.

"Mr. McCloud, I."

Fox quickly whipped around and faced the doctor. "Rita? How's Rita? Is she

alright?"

The doctor raised his hand to silence him. "She's alive." Fox nearly collapsed in

relief. "We were able to stabilize her. However," he cautioned, "there is still no guarantee

that she will live."

Fox nearly tackled the doctor. "Where is she? I want to see her."

"We don't allow." the doctor began, but decided not to finish. Fox had a

determined look in his eyes that left no room for argument. "Just like your father.

Follow me."

The doctor led Fox to a darkened room. Rita lay in a bed near the middle of the

room. IV's and tubes ran everywhere. There were several IV's in her arms, and a heart

monitor sat next to the bed quietly beeping out Rita's pulse like a metronome.

Fox sat down in a chair next to the bed. "We've done all we can." Said the doctor.

"Only time will tell the rest." He turned to leave the room. Halfway to the door he

stopped and added, "She must be very strong to have lived this long. I think she might

have the will to survive." Saying that he exited.

Fox gently took one of Rita's hands in his, careful not to bump any of the IV's

loose. "Ri? Can you hear me?" He gently stroked her fingers in a soothing manner.

"Rita." a tear ran down his cheek.

Wiping the tear away he stared down at her. She was so pale, and her breathing

was shallow. "Why did you jump in front of me? Why?" his voice cracked with emotion.

He lowered his head on to the sheets beside her and sobbed. "Why did this have to

happen. I don't want to lose you. You're all I have left."

Carefully he stood up and gathered Rita's long red hair into his hand. Gently he

tied it into a braid as he had done may times when they were young. "You don't want to

get your hair tangled in any of these tubes now, do you?" He continued to talk to her. ~*~ Rita stumbled up more of the steps. Each step was getting harder and harder to

take, and the long black ball gown only made the trek harder.

She felt like she had walked for days on end with no rest. It had been easier at

first, but after a while she had started to hear mocking voices behind her. Soon after the

voices came faces had appeared at the sides of the stairway. They were hideously twisted

and grotesque like faces in the mirrors of a fun house, only these faces jeered at her as

she tried to climb the stairs.

Finally she grew so weary that she collapsed on the stairs. The voices and faces

mocked her louder, "You can't make it!" "Give up!" "Come with us!"

She struggled to pull herself up, but could not get back on her feet. Desperately

she crawled up the steps pulling herself with her hands. The light came to rest in front of

her. "Rest a moment." It said.

"No!" Rita gritted her teeth and continued to pull herself up the stairs.

Her vision blurred and she collapsed again. Instead of feeling the cold hard

marble beneath her she felt a softness. She raised her head and saw that she was no

longer on the stairs, but in a lush garden. The voices and faces were gone, but the light

sat in the grass by Rita's hand.

"You can rest now." Said the light. "You are out of danger now."

"I'm not tired now." She got to her feet and brushed the grass of her cream-

colored summer dress. The grass was soft and cool under her bare feet as she walked

around the small garden.

Flowers of all shapes and sizes bloomed everywhere. Each had a delicate scent

that smelled so sweet to her. "I still don't understand all of this." She said as she smelled

a rose.

The light came next to her and made a soft noise like a hum or a purr. "Don't you

remember? The enemy base? You knew that your friend would die, so you jumped in front

of him. You saved his life by sacrificing your own."

"Oh. I remember." she trailed off as the memory came back. "But what is this

place?"

The light settled in her hand. "This is where your spirit is while you fight for your

life in the real world. This place isn't real. not exactly. Most of what you see came out of

your own mind.It's like you were testing yourself to see if you would live or not. I can't

explain it to you very well, you wouldn't understand."

"I'm not stupid!"

"I know you're not. but to explain this is to explain the universe, and no mortal

being can understand that." The light purred again.

"Who are you?" Rita asked quirking an eyebrow.

The light floated out of her hand and settled on the grass about five feet away.

Slowly it expanded and took the shape of a vixen about Rita's size and shape. The

yellowish light faded away and an arctic fox stood before Rita. The other vixen's hair was

white with a slightly bluish hue to it. "My name is Yuki."

"Uh." Rita gaped at her. "Is that what you really look like or is this one of those

things where you'll take on what ever shape I'm most familiar with?"

Yuki giggled. "This is what I look like." She held out her hand to Rita. "I am your

mother." She stated simply.

Rita's eyes went wide. "You're my WHAT!?" She backed away from Yuki, and

tripped over a tree root. "Well at least it wasn't the dress this time." she muttered.

The other vixen helped her to her feet. "I know that this is surprising to you."

"No crap." Rita's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I did not want to leave you, but I had no choice. It was to protect you. I wish that

I could say something to assuage you, but I know how you feel about this subject." She

clasped her daughter's hand firmly. "I will tell you all I can about what happened. My

husband and I were so happy when we found out that we were to have a kit. But it was

around that same time he started to work with the scientist named Andross. I don't need

to tell you about him. Over the next few months your father became twisted with the idea

of power that Andross promised him. In return for power Andross wanted you. He said

that your genes were perfect for creating a. a.I don't know what it is! But it would

have been horrible. He said that it would be the ultimate tool to gain power. A living

weapon that would be almost unstoppable, but would look perfectly normal, not like his

other living weapons."

"You mean a bio-weapon?" Rita's voice was barely audible. "That bastard wanted

to turn me into a bio-weapon."

"That was what he called it! Genetics were never my strong point. your father

agreed to let him experiment on you after you were born. I didn't want him to have my

baby, and I wasn't going to allow him to turn you into some sort of tool. I tried to starve

myself so the child would never be born, but that didn't work, you always were stubborn,

weren't you. I was fortunate that he was gone the night you were born, or I don't know

what I would have done. But after you were born I crept out of the house and left you on

the front step of my best childhood friend. I don't know if Vixy would have recognized me,

I hadn't seen her since I was 12. but she always loved children. I made sure she came to

the door, and I left only when she had taken you inside. My husband was waiting for me

when I returned home. He was furious at me. So furious that he beat me horribly and

demanded to know where I'd taken you. I refused to tell him, and ever since he's made my

life a living hell. I wished that I would die, but I could not.Your uncle, Kaji, is the only

reason that I'm still alive today. He is a good man, and has kept me comforted at a

distance. He lives in Corneria City. someday it will be vital that you find him, so this

nightmare can end. Your father MUST be stopped!"(* author's note: In Japanese "kaji" (Ka Gee)

means 'fire', "yuki" (You Key) means 'snow')

"Wait a second." Rita eyed her suspiciously, "You mean you're not dead? Then

how can you be here? And how the heck am I supposed to help stop this psycho you claim

is my father?"

"I don't think you need to know any more." She trailed off then hugged Rita

close to her. "I never wanted you to come to any harm. I hope you can forgive me for

what I did. I know that Vixy will always be your 'mom', but just knowing that you grew up

in a good family makes me eternally happy."

Rita hugged her back. "I'm still incredibly confused."

Yuki placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You

have my eyes." she whispered half to herself. Shaking her head she continued, "You

won't remember any of this when you wake up, at least if you do remember anything it

will be as obscure as a dream that you can't remember in the morning. Even though you

won't remember this I feel that I must tell you something." She looked down at her feet.

Resolutely she looked Rita in the eye again. "Your dad, I mean James not my husband,

didn't die."

Rita felt her knees grow weak. "Dad's still alive?" her voice was faint.

Yuki nodded, "But he is still in danger. Andross is keeping him captive. Who

knows what that mad man is planning to do to him." She sighed. "I wish that there was

someway for you to remember this when you wake."

"The dreams!" Rita yelled suddenly. "What about the dreams!?"

"Dreams?" Sinead looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Rita began to pace nervously in the garden. "I had dreams, before we went on the

mission, where I got shot. But in the dreams it was Fox who got shot. So when it really

happened I jumped in front of him and the bullet hit me instead." Rita talked rapidly.

"Maybe when I wake up I'll have another dream about Dad, and then. then." She

began to cry.

Yuki stared at her daughter. "I didn't know that you saw that. I don't know why

you had those dreams.but you saw it happen before it happened, and you were able to

change it."She looked thoughtful for a moment. "You must have inherited that from me

as well."

"What are you talking about?" Rita wiped away a stream of tears.

Her mother sighed and looked down at her feet again. " I'm a psychic. Not a very

powerful one, but I'm powerful enough to predict what will, or can, happen in the near

future. Of course I'm not always 100% right, but who is?" She looked up again. "You

must have gotten it from me."

Rita shook her head. "Look. er. Yuki.uh.mother.I'm no psychic. Don't you

think that if I were I would have had this experience before? Someone like you, or

something, must have. have. given me that dream. You know, like divine

intervention?" She only sounded half-convinced of her theory.

Yuki crossed her arms and shook her head. "Despite all the stories you hear about

'divine intervention' it doesn't happen. You are the only one that dream, or vision, could

have come from. Like it or not, you have got some power." She got a smug 'I told you so

look on her face'. "It may just be that you are more in tune with what is going to happen

to those you hold dear. Or maybe, you do see other things, but you just dismiss them as

odd dreams."

Rita looked skeptical. "If 'divine intervention' isn't allowed then why are you

talking to me right now? How can you be here at all if you're still alive? If this all came

from my head then that's not possible. I didn't even know you existed before now. This is

all highly unbelievable."

"It is hard to explain this to you. It doesn't matter though, you won't remember

any of this when you wake up."

"Then why bother telling me at all?"

"Consider this like a spirit plane that connects to the 'real world'. Here we are not

physically real, but are here only in spirit. or you could say that our souls inhabit this

world. Only the dead, the dying, and those with certain 'mental' capabilities can come

here"

"You're not making much sense..." Rita muttered.

"Okay, so the reason I can tell you this, and the reason I even bother to tell you is

because. oh, how to explain it.It is like my soul giving your soul new strength and

wisdom. You won't remember it, but it will affect you. You will have more of a sense of

understanding about yourself when you wake." Yuki rested her hand on Rita's arm. "That

is all I can say."

"I still don't get it." the thoughts swam through Rita's head like piranhas

attacking a cow.

Mother embraced daughter one last time. "I love you, Rita. I always will. But you

have your family too, and he needs you as much as you need him." The arctic fox vixen

began to glow with the yellowish light again. Slowly the light contracted into a tiny ball

as it was before. It floated up to Rita and purred at her one last time, then faded out.

She stood still for a moment. "Now what do I do?" her question directed at no one

in particular. "Do I wake up now? Or am I supposed to find my way out of this place

too?"

A hand gently touched her shoulder. "I will show you the way home." Said a

familiar female voice. It was a voice that Rita had not heard in a long time.

"Mom?" She turned to find Vixy standing behind her. Her knees finally gave out.

"What a day," she mumbled to herself, "I keep falling down."

Vixy helped her to her feet, then she embraced her 'daughter' in a warm hug.

"Come with me, my little Rita. It's time for you to go home." She led her to a wooden door

hidden in the side of a hedge. "This is the hardest part of your journey. Follow your heart

and it will take you back to Fox."

Rita hesitated for a moment and looked at Vixy with tears in her eyes. "I love you,

Mom."

"I love you to, Ri. Someday all of us, you, Fox, James and I will all be together. I

promise, but it will not be for a very long time." With a gentle smile she stroked Rita's

hair as she had done countless times all those years ago. "Go now, and follow your

heart."

Rita stepped through the door. Instantly everything melted away into a thick

choking blackness. For a moment Rita thought she knew how the dinosaurs felt when they

got trapped in tar pits. But this was worse, so much worse. She struggled to fight her way

though the blackness.

In the distance she thought she could hear someone talking. It was faint and hard

to hear. She tried desperately to call out to it, but no words would come out. She felt as if

she were trapped. Her arms and legs refused to move and her voice wouldn't come back

to her.

Little by little it sounded as if the voice was coming nearer. It sounded more

familiar to her now. She struggled harder to get closer to it. ~*~ Fox started suddenly. He had been dozing in the chair again next to Rita's hospital

bed. Something had woken him. Looking around he couldn't find anything amiss in the

room.

"Guess I'm just paranoid." He told Rita's still form. "Are you waking up?" He

asked her, "Is that what woke me up?"

"You probably woke yourself up." grumbled Falco from the doorway. "You

were talking loud enough in your sleep." The avian yawned. "You want some coffee? I

was just going to get some."

Fox wasn't listening to Falco, he was watching Rita closely. "She moved her

hand."

"Fox!" Falco groaned. "Don't start that again. You just ended up upsetting

yourself the last time you did that."

"She moved her hand!" Fox insisted getting out of his chair and standing next to

the bed. "Rita?" he touched her cheek softly. "Can you hear me? Rita?"

"Oh good lord." Falco grumbled as he stormed out of the room as quietly as

possible. Fox continued talking to Rita.

Peppy came into the room a few moments later. "Fox, don't upset yourself again.

The doctors are sick of having to sedate y." he trailed off. Quickly he walked to the

other side of the bed and looked down at Rita. "Keep talking." He urged, "I think she can

hear you."

Fox looked up, speechless at what the hare had just said.

"I can faintly sense something from her. It's very, very faint, but it's there." Peppy

explained. ~*~ Fox's voice was so close to her now. And she heard others too. 'Was that Falco?

Peppy! I hear you! Fox!' She tried to scream the words, but they still wouldn't come.

The blackness was thicker now, choking her worse than before. She could feel

pain in her chest, very close to her heart. Even though it was thicker, it didn't seem as

black. It was almost as if someone were trying to light the way for her.

She tried to call out again, but still no success. She continued to struggle her way

closer to the voices. Her right arm seemed to move a bit easier for a moment, then it

became as hard to move as it had been before. ~*~ Rita's right arm moved slightly. Fox and Peppy began to talk louder to her.

"I know she hears us now." Said Peppy with a sigh. "I just hope that she'll wake

up."

"She will. I know she will." Fox answered. ~*~ The voices were louder now. She could hear them calling out to her. 'They know!

They're trying to show me the way!' she thought to herself as she continued to struggle.

"Fox! Help me! I'm here!" The words finally came, though it hurt to say them. The

pain in her chest grew worse.

Despite the pain she struggled with a renewed energy to get out of the blackness. ~*~ Fox almost hit the ceiling with joy when Rita uttered a small moan. "She's waking

up! She's trying to wake up!"

Peppy silently hoped that Fox was right. He watched as Fox gently took Rita's

right hand in his hands, and stroked her fingers gently, as he had done countless times

since Rita had been comatose. ~*~ It hurt too much for Rita to call out again. Her throat was raw, and the pain in

her chest was getting worse. She had never felt such pain in her life.

Despite it all she struggled closer. Fox's voice was so close to her now. Peppy's

voice came and went, but Fox's was always there.

She felt someone take her hand. She gripped the hand with all her strength, but

she felt so weak. It was hard to hold on, but she let the hand pull her closer to the light.

It was getting brighter. Not very bright, but the darkness was fading a bit, and it

was losing some of its tar like grip on her body.

Her body felt heavier.

Fox's voice was right beside her, calling her name.

She had no strength. She couldn't move.

Peppy's voice. He sounded worried.

There was light nearby. Figures were silhouetted against it. The pain was unbearable. ~*~ Rita's fingers had gently squeezed Fox's hand for a moment. "She moved! She

squeezed my hand!" He almost shouted in his excitement. In his eyes emotions mixed,

Peppy could see worry, and nervousness mixed in with the excitement. And fear.

They began talking to her more rapidly now. Either she wakes up now or she

doesn't wake up at all, thought Peppy. She's certainly trying to wake up.

Fox nearly collapsed on the floor. Peppy suddenly realized that Rita was looking

up at them. A small half whimper of pain escaped from her.

Peppy quickly ran out into the hall to get a doctor. He ran screaming through the

hallway, "She's AWAKE! She's awake!"

Falco burst into the room none too quietly. Slippy was right behind him. Fox

ignored them both as he listened and watched Rita.

She vaguely gestured at the wound on her chest, ". hurts. awful. pain." the

words were barely a whisper. Her hand rested on her belly, she was too tired to move it

any more.

Fox carefully stroked her braid. "Hang on, Ri. Peppy's going to find a doctor."

She nodded slightly. ".so. tired." she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Fox worried until he took her hand and she gave it a gentle squeeze. "Just rest.

You need it." He said as he bent over the bed and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"but try to get well soon. I miss having you beat me up." He whispered in her ear ~*~ Rita was propped up in bed examining the place where the bullet had hit. "The

wonders of modern medicine." she muttered, "not even a mark. furs just a bit thinner,

but the doc says it'll grow back."

Fox stood next to the bed. "So did he say how soon you'd be able to leave?"

She sighed, "He wants me to stay here for another few weeks. Then I'll be able to

go home. as long as there's someone to take care of me for a while. He doesn't want me

on my feet for a while yet."

"Don't worry, Ri! We'll take good care of you." He bent down and kissed her

forehead.

"Argh! I feel like such an invalid! I've been stuck in this stupid hospital for three

months. not counting the time I was in the coma." She tossed a pillow across the

room. Looking up at Fox she said, "But I'd do it all over again if I had to."

"Like heck you would! I wouldn't let you!"

"I'd like to see you try and stop me!"

"Ha! Easy! I'd just do this!" Fox poked Rita in the stomach.

"Hey, no fair!" she laughed. "You know I'm most ticklish there! Hee hee."

Fox laughed, "It's this year's most wanted Christmas toy. Tickle-me-Rita!" He

had her writhing in laughter as he continued to poke her stomach.

"Ha ha ha. stop it! This is no way to treat an injured person! Ha ha. See if I

save you again! Hee hee hee." She swatted his hand away, and he finally stopped.

Fox sighed as he checked his watch. "I've gotta go. I'll see you as soon as we get

back." He gave her hand a firm squeeze.

"Where are you off to this time?" She asked absent-mindedly rubbing the spot

where she'd been shot.

"Macbeth." He answered as he retrieved the pillow Rita had thrown earlier.

"Good luck!" She said still rubbing the place where her wound had been. "I wish I

could go with you, but the doc says I'm not going to be flying anything for awhile." She

gave weak smile.

He walked back over to the bed. "You'll be up and about sooner than you think.

You always were stubborn." He smiled as he gave her a hug. "I have to go now, but I'll be

back in a few days."

Rita threw the pillow at him as he left the room. "You'd better come back, or I'll

just have to come after you!" ~*~ Fox paced back and forth in the rec room. He was very upset. Finally he lost it

and threw a pile of magazines across the room. "Damn it!" he yelled tossing couch

cushions at the walls, "How could he have gotten away!? How!?"

Rita and Falco cautiously peered around the doorframe as Fox continued his

tirade. "He's not taking this well at all." muttered Falco.

"Glad you noticed, Einstein." Rita elbowed him in the ribs so he'd give her a bit

more space. "I'm not really enthused about this whole mess myself."

"Who is?" Falco's voice dripped with sarcasm.

The war was over. For now. Star Fox had successfully breached all of Andross's

defenses. Unfortunately, Andross had rigged a dummy for them, and had escaped while

they destroyed his telekinetic amplifier. Fox had gone ballistic when he found out that

he'd gotten away.

All of Andross's forces had crumbled when their leader retreated. Only a few

remained and those were the one's that Andross had taken with him. Star Wolf escorted

Andross's remaining troops to a safe place to regroup. It would only be a matter of time

before he rebuilt his forces and tried to take over Lylat again.

Until then the Lylatians were rebuilding their lives and trying to clean up their

homes from Andross's reign of terror. General Pepper was working full time trying to

build up the defense forces to be ready when the time came. He was not going to be

caught off guard this time.

No one knew how long it would take Andross to regroup, but everyone was

making preparations for when he did.

As for Star Fox.

Fox had been stomping around for the last week in a fit of rage. He felt that he

had failed by not killing Andross. Pepper and the rest of the Lylatians felt that he was a

hero for getting Andross out of Lylat. With Andross gone they would have time to build

up defenses and be ready when the mad ape tried again. Many hoped that he wouldn't

return, but that was highly unlikely, unless he died during his exile.

Peppy was glad to have the time to rest after the harsh war. He worried that he

would be too old to help next time Andross struck though.

Slippy was happily helping his father improve the Arwing's design. They had

already overhauled the G-diffuser system so that it was much more effective.

Falco had been enraged after the final battle, but he decided to vent his rage next

time Andross struck. Until then he and Katt were getting to know each other a LOT

better.

Rita had finally gotten out of the hospital for good the day after the final battle.

The doctors had said she was fine to do what she liked, but that she shouldn't push it for a

while yet. The nurses were glad to get her out of their hair. They were getting a bit tired

of her getting up and walking around when she wasn't supposed to.

Fox's rage finally calmed a bit and he slumped into a chair, burying his face in his

hands. Rita gently walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He pulled her

into his lap and rested his head on her shoulder. He sat like that, unmoving, for a long

time.

He stood up, carefully sliding Rita into the chair as he got up. "I'm going to get

that bastard." He hissed under his breath, "I'm going to make sure he doesn't ruin our

lives anymore than he already has." With that he stormed off down the hall.

Rita sighed and slouched in the chair.

"Well. he was calm for a little while anyway." Falco walked up behind her

and flopped onto the couch. "Rooms a frigging mess." he muttered. ~*~ Rita looked up from the book she was reading as Fox slowly walked into the

room. He flopped down into a chair and sighed loudly. "Feeling better?" she asked.

"No." his answer was curt and she could hear the anger in his voice.

She set her book down and looked at him. Finally she said, "You're gonna give

yourself gray fur if you don't relax."

He looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. "McCloud's don't get gray fur." He

stated.

"You will if you don't start stressing out. You're not going to get Andross by

stomping around and being a complete ass. Take this opportunity to practice and get

ready for when, or if, Andross strikes again. The more we're prepared the better chance

we have of kicking his hieny for good." She picked up her book and started to read

again.

Fox gaped at her. She never talked to him like that, at least not seriously, but she

was definitely serious this time. "Pardon?" he asked.

"You heard me."

He got up and pulled the book out of her hands. "It's not like you to get

philosophical on me."

"I'd hardly say that was philosophical." She tried to grad the book, but he held it

out of her reach. "No fair using my height disadvantage." she grumbled as she tugged at

his arm.

He sighed and tossed the book back to her. "You're right you know. I've been a

complete ass lately. I've been going about this all wrong." he walked out of the room

with his head bowed.

Rita followed him. "Look, I wasn't trying to insult you. I was just pointing out

what I observed." she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Gah! I am getting

philosophical!"

He stopped walking and turned to face her. Silently he took her in his arms and

hugged her. "What's wrong, Ri?'

"I've got this feeling like there's something I've got to do, but I don't know what it

is." She buried her face in his chest.

Fox looked confused. "Like forget to turn the oven off or something like that?"

She shook her head and stepped away from him. "No. More like I've got

something important to do, but I've forgotten. Only I don't have anything important to do,

not that I know of." She started to walk away. "It's almost like that premonition stuff

Peppy keeps telling me about."

Fox shrugged and followed her. To be continued. Author's note: I'd like to say that the only reason I ended this like I did is because. I

suck at endings. and it was getting a bit long, so I wanted to cut it short (and I'd never

have gotten it done if I wrote it all out at once!) Rita LaShette, Yuki, Kaji, and Rita's Father (whoever that is!) are all my characters.

Please do not use them with out my permission! I'll probably say "yes", but I like to know

what I'm being used in. Thanks to F.J. McCloud, Ace McLeod, and Chris S. (John Robertson) for proofreading

(most of it) and giving me the encouragement to keep writing! Thanks guys! All the other stuff. StarFox, James McCloud, Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Slippy

Toad, Peppy Hare, General Pepper, Katt Monroe, Bill Grey, Wolf O'Donnell, Leon

Powalski, Andrew Oikonny, Pigma Dengar, and Andross are all property of Nintendo

and are used without permission. Vixy Reinard, and Fara Phoenix were created by Benimaru Itoh, and are probably

property of Nintendo as well. they are also used without permission.