The horse-drawn carriage bound for Venom Castle trundled through Papetoon Forest as Solar began to set. The driver was determined to reach Venom before nightfall; everyone had heard the rumours. One band of men. Outlawed by Venom and the Sheriff, pilfering his supplies and taxes and passing them on to the poor, needy people of Lylat, starved, parched and robbed by the authorities of Venom. Although extra security precautions had been taken; state-of-the-art locks which could only be opened by the Sheriff's key, hidden safely away in Venom, reinforced wheels and thickened doors, there were still reports of successful attacks on Venom-bound vehicles.

The ape was sweating now. The looming shadows of the trees and shrubbery were beginning to grow in size and number, each one containing a possible band of thieves waiting to spring forward, attack his carriage and cut his-

"No," he assured himself, removing a hand from the reins to wipe the sweat from his brow, "you mustn't think of such things. You will get through this forest unscathed and deliver that chest to the Sheriff!"

"Well..." came a voice from behind him. The driver, now stricken with panic, swivelled around to see a silhouette of a vulpine, a green hat nestled between its protruding ears.

"Wh-what?!" the driver yelled in shock. Before he could wonder how the vulpine had boarded the carriage without a sound, an arrow was drawn and pointed towards the ape's head. He dropped the reins and while the horses slowed to a stop of their own accord, the vulpine spoke again.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to hand over that chest," he asked, his tone one of decency and seriousness and solidity.

"But the Sheriff will have me hanged if I don't deliver these goods!" pleaded the driver.

"I can take care of that;" assured the figure, "I have acquaintances in the village of Corneria who will harbour you until you are assumed dead."

The ape faltered for only a second before composing himself. "Are you certain that I will not be found?"

The fox lowered his bow, only the slightest pang of concern showing through his emerald eyes. "You have my word."

The driver nodded. "Follow me." He clambered to the ground from the stage as he searched his pockets and purse for the key to the carriage. The vulpine nimbly leapt off the roof to the rear of the carriage, where the ape was fitting the key into the large padlock that was protecting the goods. The vulpine sniffed the air and promptly braced himself.

A wry smile was scribbled across the driver's face as two armed sheep bolted from behind the doors and stuck their spears towards the fox's neck. A movement from one of the spears caused the vulpine to raise his paws in the air.

"As I said, the Sheriff would be very angry if his 'goods' were to be misplaced." He gave a low chuckle as he waited for the fox's response.

"Oh, don't worry," challenged the vulpine, obviously unaffected by the spears or the indirect threats from the driver. "We'll make sure those two get back to Venom. Although, there's no guarantee that they'll return in one piece."

That induced a hearty laugh from the ape. "Now it's 'we'? You look pretty alone to me!"

And then he realised his mistake. The corners of the vulpine's smirk seemed to close over his throat as there was a rustling in the trees behind him.

"Take a closer look, my friend."

The two spear-wielders turned to face the avian, the hare and the frog that had burst forth from the undergrowth. The avian was unwaveringly holding a staff of sorts, standing ready to attack. The hare was armed with longbow, drawn and ready to fire, while the frog held a catapult with an odd green-coloured orb in the pouch. The distraction allowed the Fox to knock his attackers out, delivering two sure blows to the back of their heads with the length of his bow. Unfortunately, the driver wasn't so susceptible. Nor was he worried about his fate upon the absence of the chest at Venom Castle it seemed; he was already on the run in the direction in which he came. After dealing with the guards, the fox swivelled around, expecting such of him.

"Falco!" he called, not turning to face his teammate. "Now!"

On the command, the avian drew a knife and sliced a nearby rope, causing rustling reactions to set off in the canopies until a huge log came slamming to the ground just in front of the ape. In the confusion caused, the vulpine was able to catch up with the driver and draw his bow once again.

Shaking, the driver immediately threw his paws up and hesitantly turned to face his attacker. "W-who are you?"

"I," the vulpine replied, "am Fox McCloud."