Leave a review if you'd like, and as always; enjoy the chapter!

Consequences

~Cyrus hands would not stop shaking, and he felt fear the likes of which he hadn't felt before. Even when he sat comfortably within Paolo's bar, even when he held Paolo's most famous mix drink in his hand; the thought of the run in with Star Fox haunted him. "Them." He said to Paolo while trying to calm his nerves. "The Star Fox team. THE Star Fox team. Fox McCloud, of Star Fox. He locked on to my fighter, and nearly ended my life right then and there."

Paolo had been listening to Cyrus's story about saving the fleet while trying to calm his nerves. "Kid, they ain't shot ya down." He said to Cyrus. "You still alive, breathin' and kickin'. Ya got there one of my special mixes. Should help ya take the edge off and calm them nerves of yours."

"Did the money ever get transferred into my secondary?" Cyrus hastily asked.

Paolo looked through his PDA and a list of accounts appeared. He noticed one account had an increase of 250,000 credits and he smiled. "Yea kid." Paolo responded. "Two fifty been added. Quite the deal ya brought in witcha."

"Great…" Cyrus said in his relief.

Despite giving Cyrus the news of the funds being transferred, Paolo felt off. He looked at Cyrus and sighed as he felt depression sink into his system. He reminisced about all of the past jobs that he passed to Cyrus for completion, and thought about all the times he made drinks for him. "Hey kid, I need ya to listen to me for a sec." He softly said. "This uh… This gonna be important."

Cyrus looked at Paolo with worry as the look in Paolo's eyes made Cyrus feel uneasy. "Paolo?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"That fleet ya set free…" Paolo said. "Those 'ultranationalists'. They ain't no ultranationalists. They be bounty hunters, like ya self. Ya know who ya just pissed off kid?"

Judging from the look of worry in Paolo's eyes, Cyrus had realized he made a tremendous mistake. "No…" He softly said. "That… That's not possible… Hive?!"

Paolo reached under the bar counter and placed a blaster on top. Cyrus looked at the blaster and his eyes widened. "King and Hive sent me the message, and they ain't happy 'bout what ya pulled kid." He said. "He said that the job was an act of treason by an unknown client that ain't gone through Hive, and now he declared ya a Renegade. He's sendin' the Hive clippers after ya, and placed a bounty on ya head. But, between you and me. I think whatcha did was right thing to do. Ya saved them people, 'bout a couple thousand of them too. Knowin' King, he'd bust a cap in every one of them and sleep like a cub that same night."

Cyrus looked down at the blaster and noticed that it pointed towards him. "Paolo, what are you-"

"Let me finish kid." Paolo interrupted. "In about three minutes, I'm going to take this here piece and put a round into ya skull. This is assuming ya don't take the piece from my hand and knock me cold."

Cyrus sat up straight and looked at Paolo dead in the eye. "In that time, I'd also make sure to not warn ya that a bomb been planted under your ship." Paolo continued. "And, knowing my unwaverin' loyalty to King, I'd also be sure to not mention that even if ya do make it outta atmosphere, there gonna be a Hive frigate sent out by King carrying 'bout a dozen fighters waitin' to blow your sorry ass into next year."

"I don't suppose you'd ever mention if I had any back up at all?" Cyrus asked.

"Well, in the sixty seconds I have before I kill ya… yea actually. That shady ass client that you took that last job from? He sent me a message too. Said that all you is need to do is make it outta the planet and into orbit. Said that he'd take care of ya from now on."

Cyrus set down his mix drink and sighed. He lowered his head and felt sadness enter his system. "Damn it Paolo…" he softly said.

Paolo reached for his blaster and finished what was left of Cyrus's mix drink. "Kid, of all the clippers that King's been throwin' around, you always been my favorite." He said in a cheerful and reassuring tone. "Been a long time since I picked ya and we did good you and I. I ain't trading that time for the world. Shit, I been any older; I'd practically say you was like my own kid."

"What's King going to do to you once he finds out you helped me escape?" Cyrus asked.

"Well knowin' that self-righteous piece of shit? Odds are he gonna make me close up shop for good. Might be time for me to kick the can one last time."

"So… he'll end up killing you…"

"Yea, sorry kid. Now times up. I've done my part in takin' care of ya. Now ya gotta go out and take care of ya self."

Cyrus closed his eyes and he smiled. He felt a feeling of warmth and comfort within his heart the likes of which he hadn't felt before in his life. "Thanks Paolo." He softly said.

Paolo quickly pointed the blaster at Cyrus's head. Cyrus grabbed the blaster from Paolo's hand and he delivered a powerful cross to Paolo's temple. Paolo fell on top of his counter top unconscious, and Cyrus quickly fled the bar. He looked around his surroundings on the street outside the bar, and noticed no suspicious characters in sight. However, that didn't stop him from running to the star port where his fighter is docked. As Cyrus ran, a call came in on his ear piece. "Who is this?" He hastily asked.

"It seems that your decision has brought about some dire consequences." The Black Sun agent said over the communicator. "Your organization has-"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! I was close to being done with this life! One job from you and now I've been marked as a Renegade. Do you even know what that means in my line of work?!"

"To be honest, I could care less. But right now, my interest is to get you out of Titania alive and in one piece."

"You have completely ruined me! Why should I trust you?"

"Because, Cyrus, I am the only chance you've got at surviving today. Now, after you've disarmed the explosive underneath your fighter, I've got back up coming to bail you out of the system. Just get into orbit and I'll take care of the rest."

Cyrus ran through the doors of the star port, and he quickly ran towards the hangar that housed his fighter. He quickly found the explosive device planted underneath his fighter, and disarmed it. After climbing into his cockpit and igniting his fighter's engines, he brought the Seeker into the air and quickly sped away from Kor City.

Cyrus breached the atmosphere in a matter of moments, and he quickly noticed numerous hostile contacts approaching him. He noticed a Hive frigate on the far end of the system, and he activated his fighter's weapons systems. "If you've got a plan, now would be a very good time!" He said into his communicator. "Any time now!"

"I forwarded a set of coordinates to your computer." The Black Sun agent responded. "I'll cover your escape."

"Cover?! Cover me with what? I don't see any friendly ships in the area!"

Immediately after his statement, Cyrus noticed eight new contacts appear on his radar. Eight black fighters quickly came from hyperspace near Cyrus's Seeker and formed up on his wing. Cyrus looked to his sides and quickly recognized the eight fighters that surrounded him. "That's impossible." He thought. "Star Fox blew these ships up already."

The Archangel, Nightshade, Black Mist, Night Hawk, Executioner, Swarm, Havok, and Shadow sped in front of the Seeker and engaged the Hive fighters approaching. "My fighters will clear the enemy." The Black Sun agent said to Cyrus. "Now if you'd be so kind to get your ass out of there now!"

Cyrus sharply banked his fighter to the side while the rest of the Black Sun fighters engaged the Hive fighters. Before he would make his jump, Cyrus became shocked at how quickly the Black Sun fighters destroyed the enemy. The last sight he saw before his fighter shot out into hyperspace was that of the Hive frigate being destroyed.

The blue hue of hyperspace did little to calm his nerves, and his thoughts raced within his mind about the things that had just happened. His damnation from Hive, the Black Sun fighters cutting down the enemy with little to no difficulty; his eyes widened and he hyperventilated within his cockpit. Sweat fell from his brow and fear consumed him. "What is happening?!" He asked himself. "Why?! Why now?! Why is this happening to me?"

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes to try to control his thoughts. As he did, so did memories of his past. Moments after he lost his sight while looking into the spotlight of the Cornerian police VTOL, he brought his head back into the car and rubbed his eyes. Carter continued to drive in the seat next to him, and he reloaded his blaster. "I'm on my last mag." He said to Carter. "Are they coming to help us or not?!"

Carter pulled his blaster out from behind him and handed it to Cyrus. "Grab mine and get that bird off our ass." He said. "And make it fast! Hive won't want company when we reach the-"

The Cornerian police VTOL suddenly exploded within the sky, and the chasing police cars exploded as well. Cyrus and Carter looked behind them and noticed a white and black fighter quickly fly above their car. "You two are in so much trouble." A feminine voice said over their communicators.

"Kaitlyn?!" Cyrus and Carter said in unison.

Within the fighter, an anthropomorphic white furred vixen donning black and white flight armor looked down upon the getaway car. "I'll keep them off your back." She said into her communicator. "Head towards the rendezvous, there's a Hive shuttle waiting to get you two off world."

Though Kaitlyn saved them both, Cyrus and Carter both felt a feeling of dread fall over them. "If Kait is here, then King must be pissed." Carter said to Cyrus. "Tell me your sister is here on her own accord. Please?"

Cyrus did not respond and sat back in his seat. He held his hand over his ribs as the pain continued within him. "Let's just get through this." He responded. "I can see the park."

After a brief minute of driving, Cyrus and Carter arrived at a small park a few miles from the city. They pulled their hovercar into the park entrance and quickly dismounted. They looked around them and noticed a small shuttle resting within a clearing of trees within the park. As they approached the shuttle, they also noticed a group of bounty hunters dressed in black tactical gear emerging from the shadows. Cyrus looked at Carter and took a deep breath. "We're definitely in trouble."

Cyrus reopened his eyes as his alarm sounded off within the cockpit of his fighter. The memories of the past quickly vanished, and he heard a countdown sound off from his on board computer. Within moments, he arrived within orbit of Macbeth and wondered what he would be doing there. As he flew towards the planet, he reopened his communications line with the Black Sun agent. "Are you still there?" He said into his communicator.

Following his question, Cyrus looked to the side and noticed the eight Black Sun fighters emerge from hyperspace. "Already?" He thought. "They must have made short work of the frigate and the fighters."

"I see you've made it." The Black Sun agent said. "Welcome to Macbeth."

"What am I doing here?"

"I'm sending you coordinates. Bring your ship to a landing and we're going to talk. Face to face."

Cyrus noticed a new waypoint appear on his HUD. At the same time, the eight Black Sun fighters flew off in a different direction. As Cyrus followed his new waypoint, he approached Macbeth from the night side and recognized the landscape below.

The new coordinates led Cyrus to Omnar Crater, where he completed his contract on bringing in Bosner. As he flew over the crater, he looked about the ground below and marveled at the ruins of the old warehouse facility. The aftermath of his destruction left little standing within the warehouse complex, and he felt a small sense of guilt enter his system. "I really did a number on this place didn't I..." He softly said to himself.

Cyrus brought his fighter to a landing near one of the ruined warehouse buildings and powered down his engines. He equipped his mask and his blasters, and kept his short blade sheathed behind his waist. As he dismounted his fighter, he noticed a pair of contacts appear on his mask's HUD. He looked into the sky and watched a pair of fighters descend from the night sky to land in the crater. Cyrus recognized one of the fighters to be the Archangel of the Black Suns, but he couldn't recognize the other fighter before it landed.

Cyrus approached the two fighters as they touched down onto the ground and held his hand over his blaster. As he saw the two cockpits open, the Black Sun agent and a green robed figure wearing a hood over its head dismounted the second fighter. As Cyrus approached the two, he quickly recognized the second fighter as it came into view. His heart stopped for a moment as the sight of the Arwing II resting behind the Archangel stunned him. "This cannot be." He said to himself.

As the two approached, Fox McCloud lowered his hood behind his head and stood tall next to the Black Sun agent. Cyrus also noticed the Black Sun agent remove his mask and he looked upon a silver fox with a scarred face. "Hello, Cyrus." Axios said.

Cyrus immediately recognized Axios's face, and quickly made a connection. "I know you!" Cyrus said as he pointed at Axios. "You're Axios! You used to be one of the Black Suns. Hive has records of you, and your involvement with Star Fox. You're supposed to be dead."

"Glad to see that word gets around, even when I don't want it to." Axios responded. "I'm sure you already know the man to my side."

"What is he doing here?"

"I'm here to lend you a hand in your current situation." Fox responded. "You've been the subject of talk between my team and me. They were wondering why I let you go, and I had quite the time explaining to them why my instincts told me not to shoot you down."

"I suppose you want some kind of a thank you?"

"You can start by taking off that mask."

Cyrus felt briefly wounded by Fox's words, and stood in silence. Seeing that Axios had removed his, and that Fox approached him with non-hostile intentions; Cyrus reached behind his head and undid the straps to his mask. Axios and Fox both marveled for a moment at the sight of Cyrus's face, and felt a new sense of welcoming from Cyrus. "Better?" Cyrus asked.

Fox smiled at Cyrus and crossed his arms. "Good enough for me." He said. "Axios, this is going to be a favor I'm calling in some time in the future. I hope you know this."

"Duly noted." Axios responded.

"Hey, focus you two." Cyrus interjected. "You said you wanted to help me? How exactly do you plan to do that?"