Chapter 2 - Liberty or Chaos

As the huddled mass of reporters, cameramen and news crews approached, Pepper promptly hopped into his car and shut the door. Wolf looked over at Fox and glanced at their black hovercar nearby. They looked back together at the approaching crowd, then the hovercar again.

"Go! Now!" They both bolted for the car, the doors opening remotely before they reached them.

"I'm driving!" shouted Fox as he rushed towards the opposite door. Wolf nodded and leaped in the passenger seat as his door closed behind him. Fox dove over the front hood and swung around into the driver's seat. He grabbed the keys from Wolf and stabbed them into the ignition.

One gecko man in plain clothes yet with a camera made a sudden stop. "Get to the car, they're making a run for it!" He swerved around and headed for his vehicle as Fox desperately started the ignition sequence. Pepper's car shot off the plaza, and zoomed away past a nearby building above the trees. He was gone in less than a second.

"Fox hurry!" shouted Wolf as he watched the reporters. But he noticed something peculiar, they were backing off, several of them rushing towards their cars that were parked some distance away.

"I don't like how this looks," he said to himself. Finally the car started up with a soft hum as it rose from the plaza. Fox swung the steering wheel around as he saw several other cars rise from the plaza. But they weren't the cars of news crews, no, they were of a different breed. The paparazzi, those that itch for getting the next front page picture no matter what it takes, the ones who merely snivel in their independent work of celebrity hunting and clandestine camera attacks, they were hunters, and they were out for the kill.

"Alright Wolf hang on!" The car lurched forward as Fox slammed the pedal as hard as he could. The hovercar whined loudly and zoomed away, brushing by the glass façade of a nearby skyscraper. Wolf pulled out his phone and began to dial.

"What are you doing?" asked Fox frantically as he zoomed around the skylanes past other hovercars. He was speeding incredibly fast now.

"Well I'm going to take the day off, so I'm letting Cecilia know."

"You're taking your first day off?" asked Fox.

"Oh come on, do you want me to spend time with you today or not?"

"Alright alright! You've made your point!" bantered Fox as he waved one hand and had the other on the wheel. Wolf dialed on the phone as Fox looked in his rear view mirror. Several cars were speeding just as fast they were, weaving around traffic to get closer to them. They were closing in fast.

"Shit." Fox nudged the pedal a little harder as the car sped even faster zooming by a hovering traffic light that switched to red. He passed a sign indicating they were near a major skyway. With a stressful scowl Fox banked to the left around a large truck and zoomed through the entry tunnel to the freeway, rushing through the blue tinted glass tube with a whooshing sound. They zoomed out of it and now they were on the main skyway, a double level hovercar freeway that weaved through the city and outer suburbs several hundred feet above the ground. Other traffic was going at a fairly high speed as well, but not as fast as Fox and the paparazzi cars.

"Cecilia? Hi!" Wolf spoke into the phone as he gripped the dashboard. The car was weaving around traffic, inciting other cars to honk as they passed by. Wolf held on tightly for support. "Yes Cecilia, I'm taking the day off, so I need you to take my calls."

Fox swerved hard around a massive hovertruck as a paparazzi car swung up around the left side of them. Fox glared over at them, one man was driving, the other, a gecko in the passenger seat, had the window rolled down and was pointing a large camera at them.

"No no, Cecilia you're not listening to me. Take...my...calls. It's not that complicated Ok?" The car banked hard around another as they sped along the skyway at incredible speed. Wolf glared at Fox as he held the phone with one hand and the dashboard with another. "Do you have to go so fast?...No Cecilia! Just take THE calls! What is there to figure out?! I'm going! Have a nice day!" He snapped the wireless phone closed and placed it in his uniform pocket.

"Alright, what the hell do these bastards want?" Wolf looked out his window to the right to see another hovercar zoom past them, then slow down to match their speed as they swung around other cars in the traffic. The driver had one hand on the wheel and a camera in the other.

"That's what they want, they just want our picture?! Well gee, they could have just asked, I mean..."

"YES!" shouted Fox as they frantically dodged through traffic trying to lose the other cars, "Of course they want our picture! If they can take a good one and sell it to a tabloid or magazine they can make thousands and thousands of credits. Our faces are more valuable then you think Wolf!"

Wolf glared at him incredulously, then back in his rear view mirror to see the paparazzi cars having a hard time keeping up. Another one quickly matched speed and zoomed along their side.

"Alright, I've had enough of this shit, Wolf do you have your seatbelt on?" The double level freeway entered a portion that was encased completely in glass in the heart of the city. He looked at Fox with fear in his eyes and yanked his seatbelt making sure it was tight. He nodded quickly in response. Fox looked down over the side window to see another skylane directly below them that had traffic going in the opposite direction. He glanced back at the paparazzi car which had a guy holding a camera out the window. Fox looked back down at the skyway below.

"Alright...HANG ON!" Fox shoved the steering wheel forward as the hovercar dipped wildly. It passed below the traffic and directly into the skylane below them which had speeding oncoming traffic.

"HOLY HELL FOX! NO!" Wolf grabbed the sides of his seat. The oncoming traffic banked wildly and swerved around their car with horns blaring as they weaved between traffic coming head on.

"Warning - you are not in an authorized skylane, please turn your vehicle around," chimed the car's computer. Wolf clenched his one good eye shut and grabbed the dashboard with two hands. "You crazy bastard! FOX!"

A taxi cab dropped sharply downward instead of to the side to get out of the way, its horn screaming. The yellow painted vehicle slammed into the bottom and screeched along the glass tunnel wall with a shower of sparks, its bumper bursting off and flying into the traffic zooming mere feet above inciting more cars to swerve around in the chaotic pandemonium.

"Shit sorry!" Fox looked back and chuckled as Wolf covered his face. "We're ok Wolf! Just hang on! And yeah! Keep that eye covered!"

Olivia stood at the podium and continued to listen to what the Macbethian president had to say. He was a short brown mole like the rest of the planet's representatives and was standing on his balcony behind his shorter podium.

"Well, right now the planet of Macbeth has run up a deficit of around 350 billion credits due to damages and other ulterior expenses," he paused and looked down at his papers slowly. His voice was quiet and meek but still had a firm quality as he spoke. He took another moment to read his notes carefully and then raised his head to meet the microphone again. Olivia nodded as he continued. "I believe we need to set up relief funds to assist with these expenses. These costs are not entirely our fault."

"That is an excellent idea Maclar Prole." Olivia nodded and looked down at her notes again, "Tell me, were you related to the late Dordon Prole?" He smiled softly and looked down, "Yes. He was my brother." Olivia straightened her black coat, "He was a great man, and it's good to know the planet of Macbeth is in the hands of a Prole. We'll work on setting up that relief fund as soon as it's possible," she added. The decorated and uniformed mole raised his chin in confidence as well. "Thank you, The Chancellor of Corneria is most gracious."

"Wow, this is boring," muttered Falco as he watched them exchange more conversation from across their balconies. "Are they just going to keep talking about boring shit like money and dead relatives?"

"Quiet!" urged Katt as she tried to listen.

Max leaned forward towards her seat, "Hey! Isn't she great?" He gestured toward Olivia as she spoke.

"Oh I know!" replied Katt."

"Hey...buddy," Falco turned around and looked at the calico feline behind their seats. "You can sit back, no need to carry a conversation right in my ear."

"Sorry Falco," Max frowned and sat back. His attention returned to their cardinal leader at the podium.

"Yawn, snore, boring." Falco sighed. "I wonder what Fox and Wolf are doing right now..."

"STOP THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!" screamed Wolf as held onto the dashboard for dear life. There were still two paparazzi cars following them and weaving through the oncoming traffic as well.

"These people are insane!" growled Fox as he kept his eyes locked on the traffic ahead. He rigidly maneuvered his way around and between the speeding cars.

"Can we please go back up one level to where the cars AREN'T COMING AT US FOX?!" Wolf turned his head away from the horrifying sight in front of them.

"Warning - you are not in an authorized skylane, please turn your vehicle around."

"Is there a way to shut that damn computer up?!" shouted Fox as he glanced in his rear view mirror at the receding traffic to see a paparazzi car flash its headlights and zoom closer to them.

"Shut it up!?" bellowed Wolf. "No I think you should LISTEN TO IT!" A massive cargo truck roared around them, its horn screaming as Wolf did the same. Several smaller cars whipped around them as well with their headlights flashing.

"Warning - you are not in an authorized skylane, please turn your vehicle around."

"Alright, Wolf hang on again!"

"I'm already hanged on!" he shouted stressfully. The hovercar jerked upward and glided into the skyway above which had traffic going in their direction of travel. Before Wolf could catch his breath the car swung up hard to the right and flew over an adjacent vehicle as their car barely scraped against the glass roof of the freeway's encasing. They rushed past a holographic sign indicating an exit from the skyway was coming up. Fox swerved into the far right lane and held the steering wheel tightly as the car boomed out the exit tunnel from the skyway.

The calamari leader of Zoness stepped up to his podium and smiled at Olivia from across the chamber. "I'd just like to say that it is an honor to be standing here and that I'm confident Corneria, like Macbeth, is in the right hands." Olivia nodded and smiled. "Thank you Chancellor Leto."

The squid pursed his lips together and glanced at his notes. "It's painfully clear that the damage to Zoness is significant. However, this is not the first time we have faced planet wide devastation." Everyone nodded thoughtfully, bobbing their heads as they remembered back to the past when the planet was poisoned by Andross' polluting workshops and weapons factories. "Nonetheless, this destruction is different." He looked around slowly, gaining everyone's attention. "As we all know, the main capital island was 90 destroyed by a planetary assault beam. One way to put it would be to say our planet's government was essentially decapitated." He paused again and glanced back at his dolphin advisor who nodded for him to continue.

"Blah blah, bleeh blah," muttered Falco as he watched Olivia and the calamari speak. Katt glared at him and made a low growling noise from under her throat, characteristic of felines and highly intimidating. He sheepishly smiled at her. "I love you Katt."

"Oh don't you start," she whispered hotly.

He laughed out loud, loud enough that his bellowing echoed off the high marble ceiling and caught everyone's attention. Olivia turned around and looked over at him as everyone did the same.

He quickly realized what he had done and glanced around the faces looking at him. He made a short cough to clear his throat and stood up slowly. "Excuse me," he began with a smile. "You may all unquestionably continue," he added slowly and assuredly as though he were some dignitary with the same precedence they are garnered with. And with that he bowed and sat back in his seat as Olivia continued to stare with a confused furrow on her brow.

Max leaned forward towards Falco's seat. "Smooth one buddy."

The middle finger made a second appearance from the avian.

"Right, thank you...Mr. Lombardi." Olivia adjusted her collar and returned her attention to the Zonessian leader. "Well, Chancellor Leto I would hope that now as we're recovering, you have managed to keep all provinces on Zoness in check and under the main Zonessian government."

Fox and Wolf's hovercar rushed through a red-light and past a large satellite dish on top of a smaller building. A patch of green between a cluster of shops and trees in the distance caught Fox's eye as he steered the car towards it. Wolf slowly opened his eye, still gripping the dashboard, his knuckles white under his fur. "I'm going to suppose that we made it through in once piece, considering that I'm still here?" he asked sarcastically. Fox nodded with a grin as the car landed softly in the open field. The engine whined down as Wolf undid his seat belt and opened the door, roughly kicking it ajar. He stumbled out into the grass and fell forward, but quickly caught himself. Fox looked around, they were in a park with a nearby pond and a café in the distance. There were a few people having a picnic close by as they exchanged glances at the sports car that had landed nearby. A small robin girl was flying a kite a few feet over. She looked at Wolf, blinking a few times before giving him a small smile. He smiled back at the child and rubbed his neck in pain. "Fox, remind me to never ride in a car with you again."

"Not all the Zonessian provinces are in check Chancellor Leto," a voice shot out in the chamber as though coming from nowhere. A tall strong looking tiger slowly stepped up under the light one balcony over from the Zonessians. He was one of the ushers, or at least dressed officially like one in a deep black uniform. He removed the headset from his ears and tossed it to the floor.

"You!" shouted the calamari leader. "I thought we took care of you!"

Several guards were already advancing on the tiger. Olivia shook her head and raised an arm calling them off. They stood back slowly and gave the tiger his space.

"I'm sorry, but...who are you?" questioned Olivia with dignity in her voice from her balcony. Katt glanced at the tiger carefully, and stood up, walking over to Olivia's side as she spoke. "Chancellor, I believe he is from the Tigrinian province on Zoness," she carefully suggested.

"The Tigrinian Federation to be exact," corrected the tiger. The calamari leader folded his arms and looked away in disgust. "Allow me to properly introduce myself," added the tiger. "I am Xavier Zan, leader of my federation of people on Zoness."

"You don't have a federation of people!" spat the calamari from the other balcony. "You're people are a part of a province in the Zonessians states under OUR government."

"Chancellor Leto, please," coaxed Olivia as she curiously looked at the tiger. "Mr. Zan, I'm sure you're fully aware that each populated planet in Lylat is derived under one government. Not two, not three, but one." She spoke softly, she saw that he was aggressive and didn't want to set him off. Katt looked over at her, unsure of how the situation could turn. She looked back at Falco's seat, he had his head leaned against the balcony's railing and was fast asleep. Max was paying careful attention as well, hoping Olivia would know what to do.

"Ah, and why is that Great Chancellor of Corneria?" questioned Zan with a partially mocking tone. He held almost a playful smile but his eyes remained harsh. The leader of Zoness had already had enough and was no longer listening. He took his seat as a sign of disrespect and merely stared at Olivia with beady eyes as the tiger continued to speak. "I mean, the people on our island province wish solidity in their independence as a state. And with that comes a full Lylat recognit..."

"YOU ARE NOT INDEPENDENT!" shouted the calamari leader as he stood up abruptly from his seat. Falco quickly shot awake, "I'm up sweetheart!...Oh." He paused and looked around as everyone was awkwardly staring at him again. "I'm ok, everything's cool here...please continue," he stated loudly raising a hand at everyone.

Max leaned forward in his seat. The middle finger made a return from Falco before he could speak.

Murmurs began to draw from the crowd, clearly seeing the trouble this unique conflict proposed. Olivia glanced at Katt who looked back at her with worried eyes.

"This isn't good," the cardinal leader said barely above a whisper.

A short raccoon advisor and two rottweiler guards quickly rushed up to her, "Chancellor Cardus, I strongly suggest that this...this Xavier Zan character be escorted out of the building immediately. Perhaps even off the planet." He looked intensely stern, worried at the same time, speaking harshly as she looked down at him with an equally stressed and worried expression. "He poses a threat to our stability," he finally said.

"I recommend it too," added Katt just as firmly.

Olivia looked back at the tiger across the balcony who was bickering with the leader of Zoness. They were yelling at each other about incessant nuances such as border disputes and trade and even mocking each other's cultures. The tiger remained dignified and held his chin raised as the calamari leader of Zoness simply let his emotions pour forth in anger and frustration as he shouted at the tiger. A shorter dolphin advisor to the calamari tried to calm the leader down but he had none of it and brushed him off, continuing to shout. The crowds around them grew louder as they listened to the continued squabbling.

"Alright that is enough!" shouted Olivia, not using the microphone as she stepped up to the railing on her balcony. "Guards, you may escort Mr. Zan to the nearest spaceport. I'm sure he'd like to get back to his federation." The tiger looked around with a smile as several canine guards approached him from behind, entering through the double doors to his balcony.

"I warn you Chancellor Cardus..." he said softly. "All that we seek is representation. We are our own people on Zoness, our own culture." A guard grabbed his arm and began pulling him back from the balcony's railing. The tiger smiled and laughed, "I warn you! Blood will be spilled on your soil for not acknowledging our sovereignty!" he shouted and struggled, more guards taking hold of him. He was strong, but not strong enough to handle the burly canines. He stopped resisting and allowed them to take him away in silence. However, before the doors closed he shouted one more phrase, but it was not in a language they could understand. It was in some native tongue that was foreign to Olivia, her advisors and even the calamari from Zoness himself who still held an enraged crease on his brow.

"What'd he say?" asked Falco absently, still groggy as he rubbed his face and stirred from his seat.

"Death to you all..."whispered Katt. Olivia swerved around to meet her eyes. "What?" she demanded harshly.

"He said...he said death to us all." Katt looked away as Max approached them. Olivia stared at her, Falco doing the same. The delegates were already ushering out to leave, to return to their homes, their own planets. "Well...that didn't go too bad," said Max after a moment of silence. Olivia lowered her head as the calico put an arm around her.

"Didn't go too bad?!" shouted Wolf before he took a sip of his coffee, raising a hand at Fox, "We almost got killed! How can you say it didn't go too bad?!" They were still in the park, sitting on a bench overlooking a duck pond. A few tall buildings nearby draped over the area under a clear blue sky, casting shadows and highlights from the glimmering glass facades, one skyscraper pasting a brilliant reflection on the pond in front of them.

"Since when did you get so jaded?" asked Fox taking a bite of his corndog. "I mean, I don't remember you being a thrill seeking type, but I don't remember you being the uptight type." He muffled his words between his chewing as Wolf looked at him in revulsion. "Uptight? I am not uptight!" he said in disbelief, watching Fox chew.

"Oh yeah? I think that uniform is getting to your head," Fox pointed at it with his corndog stick. Wolf looked down at the formal blue fabric and gold arm cuffs. He didn't say anything, merely huffing at the thought of his suggestion.

"That's not my car you know!" started Wolf, pointing at the black hovercar that was sitting under a tree nearby. "Pepper got that for me when I got the job. I don't think he'd be too happy to know that you joyrided and almost totaled it in the process."

Fox laughed wiping crumbs from his muzzle, "Oh come on. It wasn't joyriding I was just getting us away from those media hounds."

"Right, and that really required the high speed pursuit in oncoming traffic."

"Ok...maybe it was a little joyriding," Fox grinned at him. "Was it good for you?"

"You can go to straight to hell."

"Hey!...Corndog?" Fox held out the half eaten snack towards his face, still grinning.

"Either I've gotten uptight or you're aging in the wrong direction." Wolf shook his head and finally broke a smile.