Author Note: I appologize to all who have been reading my story and expecting the updates. Due to my squadron, I have been extremly busy including two back to back deployments to the middle east. I will put forth all effort to put the updates as fast as possible. ~Fallensoulfox~

Chapter 1

Dr. Skyler looked over the bloodied vulpine with a calculating gaze, smirking to himself at the possibilities of what this particular subject may yield. The fox was strapped to a medical table in a cross like fashion, his body stripped of all clothing except his underwear to keep him decent. One year, one long and painful year he had been here, his body screaming in protest, ready to give out, save for his damnable will to keep on living. He couldn't even remember half of the shit that they had pumped into him, but he could sure as hell feel it. The vulpine had grown at least a foot and gained several pounds of solid muscle, all traces of body fat had long been erased. His head hurt constantly, like someone had taken a jackhammer to his brain and left it on, it was driving him nuts. His body also sported several new scars from the 'fun battles' as the good doctor called them. It was more on the lines of constructive mass murder, placing several of his experimentation subjects in a confined room together, telling them that only the last one standing will be allowed to leave the room and continue to live. It sickened him to think what he had to do to survive those encounters.

"So, what shall we begin with today, hmm?" Dr. Skylers voice broke through the vulpine musings like a knife, fear gripping his heart but he did not show it to this bastard. No, all he showed him was pure, unbridled rage, ready to rip the bastard apart in an instant. "Ah, I know." the sickening grin on the avian face made the foxes skin crawl, " I believe that you are due for a new batch of mental stimulants today."

"You sick son of a bitch, JUST KILL ME ALL READY DAMN YOU! I WILL NEVER DO WHAT YOU WANT , SO JUST KILL ME ALL READY!" the vulpine screamed at the top of his lungs, a years worth of torture and experimentation on his body finally causing him to snap at his captor. What was unexpected by both parties though was the walls of the room cracking, several file cabinets imploding, and numerous tools shooting away like bullets, impeding themselves deep in to the reinforced concrete walls. Dr. Skylers personal shield was the only thing that saved him from a gruesome end by impalement, his guards weren't so lucky. Several more quickly burst in to the room but the vulpine was completely drained from what ever he did.

The avian smirked 'Well now, things are finally getting interesting'

-Location: Lylat system, geosynchronous orbit over Kew-

-April 15, 2:30PM GST-

-Present day-

Fallen's eyes shot open, his breath coming in labored gasps, a cold sweat covering his face. He growled under his breath, running a paw through his short hair, the same damn dream again. He hated it, every night he always had the same dream, a constant reminder to him of the torture he suffered. Slowly he stretched as much as the cramped quarters of his fighter would allow, trying to relieve some of his sore muscles. The vulpine was well built having clear muscle definition across his body; he was tall too, easily taller than most foxes. His fur was a deep crimson color, the hair on his head white, cut low in a military fashion. But his most distinguishing factor was his face which he sported two scars, one across his left eye, another crossing his muzzle just below his eye line. His eyes normally would be a deep emerald green; however they had a slight blue glow to them, a result of his powers. One would guess that his left eye would be blind from the scar but his it still worked just fine. He looked at Kew, the dusty planet reminded him a bit of Titania, but the small patches of green made it distinctly different. Fallen glanced behind him at his partner who was still asleep in the fighter's backseat. The black fox was surprisingly sprawled all over, taking up all the room possible. He sighed, and then tightened the straps that held him to his seat, angling the Raptor for atmospheric re-entry. Fallen still couldn't believe he actually stole this ship from the people who experimented on him for four years, it was quite possibly the most advanced fighter in the entire galaxy. Its design was a unique mix of that of the Arwing and Wolfen fighters resulting in a fighter with abilities that outstripped both. The Raptor had six wings, two from its sides with four g-diffuser wings like the Wolfen that formed an X shape. It also had the Arwing Mk II pointed nose but that was protected by the two blade like extensions that extended over the cockpit like the Wolfen. It was painted in a glossy black paint, giving it a mirror shin, with its edges painted silver.

The ship pitched once letting him know that they had contacted the atmosphere before the g-diffusers took over, sending his partner right into the cockpits windshield face first. The black fox covered his nose, which most likely had been smacked pretty well, before looking at Fallen, "A warning would have been nice, you know?"

"Sorry Echo didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep." Fallen cracked a grin as Echo flipped his middle finger at him, snapping his own restraints into place, muttering some threats under his breath. They had been partners since they both escaped Kaloron together, which worked out in the end. They worked well together, even if they liked to joke around with each other to the point of annoyance.

"Well next time, wake me up. I'd rather not have a broken nose, thanks." Echo removed his hand, checking for blood. Satisfied that there was none, he went to work pulling up navigation charts and maps on his screen, "The client said they were in Kew City, right?"

Fallen nodded, "Yeah, they said to meet them at a bar in the lower district. Funny thing is, they chose Joe's place of all the bars." Echo laughed keeping his attention on the navigation, leaving Fallen to pilot. He remembered the offer clearly; all they had to do was take out a smuggler on Papatoon. Easy enough. Or so he would have like to have thought. The smuggler turned out to be a crime boss who had over a hundred men waiting for them, better yet, they were all former military turned mercenaries but it's not like it really helped. Fallen had too much of an advantage when it came to ground combat, especially close range. He forgotten how many of those poor souls he had cut to ribbons with his sword, or the others who were on the receiving end of Echo's amazing gun play, but he did remember the scumbag that was the leader. A fat cat, named Tyson Lind, the grey furred tabby obviously was not expecting all of his men to die so quickly. Fallen had driven the point of his sword through the tabbies chest, watching as he died, slowly drowning in his own blood. He had taken the job for the simple fact he had once met Tyson Lind, he had hired them once before for a job and then had the nerve to try and have them killed afterward.

Kew City was a slum compared to the more civilized planets like Corneria or Kataina, drawing bounty hunters and the like from all over. This of course meant there was plenty of opportunity for work for bounty hunters like himself, some jobs from governments, while others from more questionable backgrounds. Without a word he piloted the Raptor into an open spaceport slip, taking care to avoid landing on anyone else's ship. Opening the cockpit, Fallen jumped out, his feet kicking up a small dust cloud from impact. Echo followed a moment later holding Fallen's sword and a small box which held a body part body part he took from Lind. He took his sword, a custom blade that had the width and slight curve of a katana but the length and double edge blade of a long sword, strapping it to his left side, and then began to walk to the city. The lower district was the most dangerous place on Kew, but it was one of the best to get what you needed, legal or not.

The bar that their client was waiting for them in was one he was familiar with; he had been there several times. Of course it was also the same one he was captured in by Dr. Skyler's men, Fallen wondered if all the damages that had been caused during a fight he started last time had been repaired yet. He pushed the thought away as they approached the door, opening it without a second thought. The vulpine smiled, Joe liked to keep the place clean, despite its location. The hard wood floors where clean swept, the tables wiped down, hell he even polished the bar counter. There weren't many people here yet, only a few of the tables and bar stools were occupied.

Fallen and Echo made their way to the bar, sitting next to a blue vixen that he could have sworn he had seen before. Joe noticed him a second later, "Fallen! I guess this means the job went well?" The old bulldog set a glass of whiskey in front of him and one full of rum in front of Echo.

"Yeah, damn bastard failed to warn us about the fucking army of goons the guy had waiting." Fallen motioned to Echo, "Both his blasters got destroyed, along with one of mine." Fallen glanced over at the vixen next to him, she was Cerenian that much he could tell. It was pretty rare to see Cerenian's now days, even rarer to see one on Kew, they tended to stick more toward the tropical planets like Surria after their home world was destroyed. Her cerulean eyes seemed hallow, and her almost purple hair reached down to her shoulders. He also noticed a small faint scar on her muzzle just above her lip.

He turned his attention back to his drink, Hey, Echo? Fallen was thankful he could speak to Echo telepathically without need of worry of someone eavesdropping. The two were linked mentally, probably due to Echo being his clone, allowing them to talk or show each other things without having to be near one each other.

His partner's ears flicked, yeah?

Do you recognize the girl next to us? I can't help but to think I have seen her before.

Echo glanced down the bar at the vixen that just had her glass refilled, Yeah, she looks like that bounty hunter, Kursed I think. Remember, we stole a bounty from her and she practically destroyed our non-visual comms. with her cursing at us both in Lylatian and in Cerinian.

Fallen grimaced slightly, he remembered that little encounter and the large headache that he had afterward. Unfortunately, the vixen next to him noticed, "What is your problem?"

"Nothing just could help but ask myself where I had seen you before." The vixens ears flicked and her eyes narrowed, she moved closer to him, trying to get a good look at his face. Fallen faced her fully, he could see the shock in her face, though only brief, when she noticed his eyes; it was something he got, a lot.

After a moment she looked away, "Sorry. Thought you were someone else for a second. You sound just like him." Fallen raised an eyebrow at this, "Boyfriend?" The vixen took a large drink from her glass, "Ex actually. Last time I saw him was during the war." Fallen nodded, the poor guy most likely got shot down somewhere, leaving her all alone. He watched as she took another drink, wiping away tears from her eyes, "We both said something's that never should have been said, and he tried to apologize over and over but I wouldn't listen to him. Now he's gone, leaving me without a chance to apologize."

Fallen shook his head, "Then you're giving up too easy." She looked back at him, "I lost the one I loved during the war too." The vixen scoffed, "I highly doubt that it was the same. Nothing could compare to what I did to him. I destroyed his life."

She noticed how Fallen's face immediately hardened, "Your right, it doesn't compare. I doubt I could match that but there is something you should remember." he glanced at her sidewise, "There is always time to ask for forgiveness, even if it takes time the time you die. If you love this guy, you keep searching for him, no matter what, anything else is just a distraction." Fallen held out a paw to her, "Names Fallen by the way, you?"

She took it, "Kursed, judging by your gear, you two are bounty hunters too." Fallen nodded, noting her choice of uniform. It was a black pilot jump suit with patches of dark blue or violet on the shoulders and waist. She also wore calf high boots, a blaster strapped to her left leg, and what looked like a holster for some sort of collapsible staff in the small of her back. The sound of the bar door opening snapped his attention to the door as a well tailored spaniel walked in flanked by two bodyguards, one a large tiger, the other a brown scaled lizard almost like Leon save for the blood red scales that striped his face. Fallen stood, along with Echo, and walked over to them, "Right on time Mr. Elzer."

The spaniel nodded, "Mr. Fallen, Mr. Echo, I am glad we can finally meet face to face. I would assume your presence here means the job is done?" Fallen nodded, motioning Echo to hand over the package to one of the bodyguards. The lizard took it, only opening it slightly before closing it quickly, the color in its face slightly drained.

"You wanted proof that he was dead." Echo teased, noticing the lizard's reaction to the contents. The spaniel leaned toward the box, opening it slightly like the lizard, and cocked an eyebrow at what he saw but said nothing. He simply waved a hand to the tiger, who stepped up, handing a large briefcase to Fallen, "There is a bonus in there for the speedy work, I hope we can hire you for another job again."

As the group turned to the door, the spaniel froze as Fallen's blaster was planted square into his back, the sound of it charging making the two guards reach for their own blasters, only to be stopped by Echo who held both of Fallen's daggers to their throats. Fallen leaned forward till he was even with the spaniel's ears, "Next time you hire us for a job, don't give us half assed Intel." He grinned, "Not that we minded killing all hundred of those guards." The vulpine shoved the older dog forward who now had a very stricken look to his face, obviously shaken by the threat, nodding in rapid succession. Fallen nodded to Echo who released the two guards, but not before stripping them of their blasters. The guards were also shaken at how easily they were nearly killed by a fox almost half their size. It only took a minute for them to recover, escorting the shaking dog out of the bar, keeping a constant eye on Fallen and Echo.

Kursed watched the scene play out with interest; she found Fallen and his partner very interesting. At first glance to her, they only seemed like green rookies, but just now, she saw real skill. Both he and his partner obviously knew what they were doing very well, and judging by the way that Fallen held his blaster and Echo the knifes, they had military training. She watched their client leave the bar in quite a hurry, stumbling over his own feet to get away from the crimson fox. Fallen spun his blaster on his finger a couple of times before holstering it during the third spin into a holster on his right thigh. Kursed looked over at Echo who was inspecting the blasters that he had stripped from the bodyguards with a frown on his face. She could sense the disappointment coming from the black fox at the weapons but he holstered them anyway into the two open holsters under his arms.

The two returned to the bar a moment later, sitting and resuming their drinks as if the whole event never happened. Kursed glanced at Fallen, "You know you just threatened the biggest weapons dealer on Kew right? He's not going to let that threat of yours go so easily." Fallen shrugged, taking a large drink from his glass, before handing it to Joe for a refill, "Yeah, so?" Kursed shook her head, was this guy that dense or just plain stupid? "In other words, as soon as the word hits the street about what just happened, you're going to have one hell of a bounty on your heads." She grinned, "One I could collect on."

Fallen grinned at her statement, "One you could try to collect on." Joe set a new glass of whiskey in front of Fallen, smiling to himself. The two were testing each other; both were experts and knew how to feel one another out, but Fallen had already won the round as he simply looked to his partner, "Hey is it time yet?" Echo looked down at the communicator on his wrist, reading the small digital clock readout, "Yeah, he should be far enough away by now." Kursed watched as Fallen reached up to a pocket in the chest of his body armor, withdrawing a small silver object. With no sense of urgency at all, he extended a small antenna from the top, flicking a small switch she didn't see at first, letting a small red light illuminate. Kursed immediately recognized the object, it was a remote detonator. Fallen depressed the button under his thumb and a moment later, there was a resounding explosion, followed by several others the bar shaking slightly from the power of the blasts. Kursed actually jumped, it sounded like he just leveled an entire city block! Joe also had a worried look on his face, his gaze shifting from Fallen to the bar door and back again. The vulpine however continued to drink, once again as if nothing had happened, while his partner talked on his communicator.

"What the hell was that?"

Fallen looked at Kursed, caught a little off guard by her outburst, "A bomb, well several bombs, what did it sound like?"

Kursed snarled at his smartass answer, "No duh you asshole. I meant who the hell did you just blow up?"

"Victor Elzer, wanted weapons dealer, smuggler, and drug runner. And about a dozen or so of his weapons depots and drug facilities." Fallen's casual answer caused Kursed's temper to flare up, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" But Fallen simply shrugged, "He hired us for a job and while doing that job we got hired to collect his bounty by the CDD (Cornerian Defense Department). They were offering good money for him going six feet under." He jerked a thumb at the silver brief case, "Plus we got paid for Lind by both him and the CDD."

Echo nodded, "Yep comes out to a little over 3.6 mil. Not a bad haul for a job." Kursed was speechless; these guys had just pulled one hell of an act to fool Elzer into thinking that he was safe from them. They had collected three different bounties in one job, an impressive feet by all accounts. Now she understood why he said she could try, Fallen was able to manipulate the situation to his advantage easily. The vulpine pulled a wad of credits from a different pocket and tossed them to Joe, "Here, for my tab and Echo's, plus some extra to pay you back the repair costs to the bar." He nodded to Echo, who picked up the briefcase and stood, fallowing Fallen out of the bar, "See you later Joe."

Kursed looked back at her drink; the guy was crazy if he thinks that he can just walk away like nothing happened. She honestly hoped a bounty went out for him; it would give her the chance to kick the cocky shit out of him. Joe noticed the look in her eye, shaking his head, "Kursed, you're a regular her so I'll give you a piece of friendly advice." His eyes locked with hers, "Don't fight him." Kursed honestly thought the bulldog was nuts, "Why not? He can't be that tough." The bulldog picked up a glass and began to polish it, "I have seen many types of bounty hunters, and most of them are like you. Broken souls hoping to bury a past or run away from pain. But Fallen is different. He is not running, he isn't trying bury his past. He has nothing to lose, unpredictable, cunning, and worst of all, very, very patient." Joe stopped polishing the glass holding it up to one of the ceiling lights, "He, Kursed, it what I would call a soulless husk, searching for his past, fighting for his future. And he will kill anyone that gets in his way." The bulldog set the glass on the counter and turned away, leaving Kursed to her thoughts