Author Notes: Well, this took longer than we expected but, Crafty has been a bit busy lately, so editing has been a bit hard. Anyhow, I've been working on the next chapter but, i can only hope i get it up and running soon cuz I'm about to relocate and at the moment i don't have the internet at my new place. I'll set it up and hopefully i'll be able to get out the next chapter asap. Anyhow remember to R&R, i hope you enjoy the chapter as i'm trying to make this fic more interesting that CoF was. Until next update Laterz...

The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ SkullFox



……Chapter 7……

A small ship headed toward a desolate location in the midst of the Dan'jas system hung in the small moon's orbit. Its crew had recently stumbled onto an isolated distress frequency. It was odd however, as the frequency only lasted several hours before it finally vanished. They had stayed in orbit for the night in debate on whether or not to even bother, but the captain of the ship's better nature would not allow her to leave anyone stranded on such a small planet. The insides of the small ship were never really decorated, as the vixen in charge of the team didn't like staying away from home for too long all at once. The drab surroundings often made the others crave home too. The team's captain was a light red, nearly pink furred vixen. Black fur covered her paws up to her wrists, with similar patches of black fur that reached from her feet halfway up her shins, as well as a smaller marking on the tips of her ears and tail. The black fur that covered her muzzle stretched up at a singular point between her eyes that vanished perfectly into her long ebony hair. At the moment her only clothing in her small room was a black lace bra and panties as she pulled the tight fitting bottoms of her flight suit up to her thighs. However, she quickly jumped, practically out of her fur as she felt a strong paw grasp the cheek of her buttocks. Jumping up, her back ran into something solid, but she chuckled to herself as a pair of strong gray furred arms wrapped around her shoulders…

"John, we've talked about sneaking up on me like that," she said in a light voice turning to face the rather muscular lupine that held her. "I've kicked you before…remember?"

The gray furred wolf was of a stout build, though a bit shorter than the vixen in his arms. His left ear was half missing from a fight he never really cared to talk about, his shoulder length hair was held behind his head in a small tail, and his forehead was marked with a small white diamond shape. Jade reached around the wolf pulling him closer to her causing him to hiss in pain…

"Hey take it easy babe," he said trying to pull away a bit. "My ribs are still a little tender."

The vixen smiled. "Well that's too bad. Cuz you know the others won't be awake for about another hour or two…" she said swirling a claw through his chest fur.

John chuckled. "Now that you mention it…it really doesn't hurt that much."

By the time their lips met she'd forgotten all about getting dressed. The two weren't given a lot of time together since their engagement, and now seemed like a prime moment for the both of them. Jade took a needed breath as their muzzles parted before smiling back to her lover…

"I was hoping you'd say something like that."

***

"Sis?!" The young dark red vixen's voice echoed through an unknown space. "John? Tylor?"

The surroundings were all too familiar to the young vulpine; she'd seen this scenario played out over and over, but something told her that it had to be different this time. She prayed silently to herself, hoping that it wouldn't be the same. The landscape was just as it always had been, pitch black with a torrential downpour overhead. She found herself standing in the same place as she always had, just inside the team's ship waiting for something. Suddenly a pair of footsteps caused her ears to perk up until a shadow fox of some kind stepped into the doorway. He was almost as tall as Jade, and his build was much larger than John's. Tears instantly began to cascade down the young animal's face as she watched the horrible thing turn its head towards her. The hideously sadistic smile that scaled across its face was enough to make her entire body freeze in fear. As the animal stepped forward, the young vixen fell back onto her back, forced to simply close her eyes as the animal lumbered toward her…

***

A loud giggle fell through the hall from Jade's room, "No…John, stop it. I have to get dressed now. John, John no….ahhhhhahahahaha. John put me down!"

The wolf did as he was told, setting the half nude vixen on her feet. It only took her a moment to notice that her bra was gone. She sighed after looking to her bare breasts…

"John, give it back," she said holding out her paw.

John shook his head. "Nuh uh," he said holding his paw to her chest as she tried to reach for the undergarment.

"John, that's enough of this…" she finally said sighing hard as she placed her paws on her hips causing John's eyes to lock onto her breasts as her motion caused them to bounce slightly. "John…if you ever intend to see me naked again, I'd suggest giving it back now."

The wolf pouted like a kid who'd just gotten in trouble and handed the small piece of clothing over. She reached over pulling him close to her caressing the side of his head against her chest. He had no trouble admitting that she was a very dominant female in a relationship, even if she didn't act the way she did now in public. Jade sighed a bit as she stroked the back of his head…

"You know I love you right?" she asked.

John chuckled embracing his vulpine lover. "I don't think we'd be getting married if you didn't," he said. "I still don't think Eva likes it though."

Jade took a moment to think as she began to stroke John's hair. "I know…she thinks that if we get married I won't be around anymore, that I'll abandon her just like dad did."

John finally stood up pulling a bit away from the vixen. "I'll talk to her about it as soon as we get back to the ship."

Jade smiled before drawing herself closer to the lupine for a kiss, when an absolutely horrible scream shot through the halls. The vixen seemed to instantly toss her bra aside pulling on a slightly short white thin-strapped tank top before rushing out of the room with a large pistol in her paws. Rushing down the halls, John's body met with that of a bangle tiger who was knocked into the wall. The medium-build tiger made it to his feet and shook his head…

"Who the fuck was screaming?" he asked.

John rolled his eyes and rushed off down the hall. Clearly if Jade and himself were already in the hall, only one other individual could have possibly screamed. It was as John burst through the younger vixen's bedroom door that he sighed in relief. There on Eva's bed, her sister cradled her crying form, trying her hardest to comfort her. The youngest member of the team had been having strange nightmares for weeks, and fortunately this seemed to be one of the milder cases. John could hear a soft melody coming from Jade as she attempted to soothe the tormented mind. Though John loved hearing the vixen's singing, he slowly moved back into the hall pushing the tiger along the way with him…

***

A loud roar crashed through the landscape as the small ship pulled in to a safe landing. The land was barren and much like a wasteland with jagged cliffs and rock faces scattered across the land. There was a small, dead looking forest a short ways away composed of trees that were blackened and gnarled by the planet's harsh environment. It only added to the somber atmosphere of the place as the darkness was caressed by the sound of the rain that fell from the putrid sky. As the machine's engines slowed to a stop, the four animal crew stepped out into the rain, each wearing a black body suit and helmet, armed with assault rifles, and their gear marked with an Omni brand logo. Their suits were mounted with several small lighting systems as visibility on the dank little plant was quite low, enough to give one a good start as the disgustingly orange sky was split by random arcs of lightning. One of the animals turned toward the others as the communicator inside his helmet came on…

"Alright, whoever sent that signal is here somewhere…" Jade's voice echoed through the other animals' helmets. "…fan out, give me a four mile perimeter around that crashed ship over there," she said pointing to the destroyed ship that still lay smoldering in the distance. "You see trouble, you know the word…don't open fire until I say so. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am," the three behind her replied fanning out into the area.

It was after she was left alone and headed toward the small, disturbing looking forest that she felt something odd. It was an eerie feeling, like someone breathing on the back of her neck. The startled animal instantly shot about with her rifle at the ready, only to see that there was nothing there. Jade took a moment to clear her head. Her instincts had never failed her before, but there was something about this place she didn't like…

"Systems check…report," she suddenly said.

"Tylor here, my geo-sync is acting fucking weird. What the hell is this rock made of?" a voice replied.

"This is John, I'm getting the same issue. My geo-sync isn't giving me any coordinates on this place at all, not even and atmospheric readout," another said.

The last voice was that of another female. "Hey guys, you remember that dreams I told you about?" Jade's younger sister said.

"Not this shit again Eva," Tylor's voice said.

There was a stall for a moment. "Come on Eva…" Jade said. "…shit like that just doesn't happen."

"I'm serious Jade…" Eva's voice replied seemingly a bit shaken. "…this place is where it all happened. I've had that dream every night for over a week…I'd know this place anywhere."

Jade thought to herself for a moment before closing all but one channel. "John, go with Eva and make sure she doesn't lose it. I'm a little worried about her."

"No problem babe. She's just a little paranoid, that's all. At least this'll give me time to talk to her," John replied.

"Thanks handsome," she said. "And John, there's something we need to talk about when we get back to the ship…alright?"

"No problem," John replied. "Anything to hear that voice of yours, sexy."

Jade smiled, blushing a bit at the pet name. "Good, then let's get to that crash site and look for any survivors."

Jade walked along the muddy ground she dragged her foot through the wet soil; it upturned into a red muck that resembled blood that had soaked into the sand. She moved about the area making certain that she'd kept her communicator on a one-way frequency that way she could hear her teammates but they could only hear her if she needed them to. A clap of thunder made the animal turn her head to the storming sky. Even through her helmet she could have sworn she'd heard something just a split second before the sound of the thunder drowned it out. She was certain what made her turn her com back on, but something told her that something wasn't right…

"John? Eva? You two there?" she asked.

"Yes…" Eva's voice came back. She sounded as though she'd calmed down a bit since before.

"Tylor what about you?" There was a long pause. "Tylor…Tylor, come in. Tylor this is an order, report now!"

The animal slapped her palm over her helmeted ear as a skull splitting scream shot through her headset. She could recognize Tylor's voice from anywhere…

"Tylor! Tylor what's going on!? Tylor answer me NOW!!!"

His voice was shaken as if he'd been so busy running that he'd not even noticed the voice echoing through his helmet. "There's something out here…" Tylor's voice replied shaking horribly.

"What is it…a survivor?"

Jade could hear Eva's breathing beginning to become panicked. "It's him…I told you guys we shouldn't have come down here…" Her voice trailed off into a dull whisper. "…we're all gonna die."

Jade did her best to ignore the paranoid animal until Tylor's voice came back through the headset. "I'm sorry Eva. I didn't believe you…but whatever this thing is, it moves way too fast to be normal. It tore my rifle right out of my paws and twisted it up like a fucking pretzel…and it was gone before I could get my side arm out." He seemed to swallow pretty hard for a moment. "Jade, I hate to tell you this, but I'm bleeding pretty bad, and I think that……thing…I think it got my leg somehow. I can't run anymore, and thanks to the geo-sync, I don't know where I am. I see trees, but that's just about it."

***

Tylor stopped for a moment resting against the trunk of one of the large gnarled trees of the thick forest. He growled in pain as his left paw was missing up to about half way up his wrist. He'd held out his longest, hoping that he could make it to the ship before the blood loss could get to him, but he realized that as he leaned against the tree that his vision wouldn't serve him any at all now, and his breathing had become incredibly erratic. He leaned against the tree trying to catch his breath, the blood loss making it difficult to even manage to walk anymore. Luckily the tiger had always been raised to be as tough as possible. He was what Jade called a total fuck off, but he was also a great soldier. He could see the signs of shock in himself; his body was shaking violently, his breathing was becoming even more erratic, and he couldn't focus his sight. There was no time to worry though. Something was after him and it was damn near invisible in this darkness. He managed to calm his breathing after about a minute of resting before he swung around the only weapon he had left, a small pistol, the small blue light cutting through the darkness. He expected that the animal chasing him was somewhere nearby, but the light didn't touch anything…

It seemed as though it had come out of nowhere when it hit him, the impact of something striking him across his helmeted face. Whatever it was had completely shattered a portion of his visor, exposing a portion of his orange-furred face as well as one pristine green eye. He looked around for the attacker but it had stricken him and seemingly vanished before he could even get his sights on it. He was happy enough however that he'd been wearing a helmet, as the impact from whatever attack had hit him forced his body against the tree quite violently. As Tylor stood there debating on whether or not running would do him any good, something fell onto the good half of his visor. The liquid was much thicker and darker than the rain that fell and it wasn't until he wiped it away with his fingers that he noticed it was blood. He looked up and managed to roll away from the creature's falling body as it seemed to have somehow gotten in the tree above him. Acting on instinct alone, Tylor fired his weapon at the animal several times, but looked on in shock and horror as the animal bore a maniacal smile as it approached him slowly. Catching the arm that was still firing the weapon. The bloodthirsty animal placed its foot on Tylor's chest forcing him to the ground. The blood curdling scream that tore from the cat's lungs as he felt the bone and sinew of his arm separate from his body. The limb was carelessly tossed aside. The crazed animal reached down talking Tylor by the collar before flinging his helpless body a yard or so away, slamming his back into a tree with force that threatened to shatter every bone in his body. This time the animal quickly rushed up, pinning Tylor to the tree…

It was not an unfamiliar voice, but rather Eva's that came from the animal's lips. "…Kill us all…"

The death was clearly instantaneous as the vulpine quickly reached around the tiger's head grasping the base of his helmet, giving a sharp pull which tore the poor feline's head from the base of his neck, his body violently quivering from the sudden misfire of all his still-living nerves. The wound prayed a fountain of fresh blood into the air, which the sadistic fox sat under, rolling his head from side to side as he felt the liquid pour through his fur…

***

Jade thought for a moment. "Eva, get to the ship and prep it for immediate launch. I don't know who or what Tylor saw, but whatever or whoever it is can fucking stay here," she said. "John, take her to the ship…then come find me. I'm about one click east from there. I'll send up a spotlight so you can find me."

"Right, I'll be with ya in five."

Jade thought about what Eva had told them three nights before when she'd woken up in the middle of the night screaming, much like she had this morning. The poor kid had always had strange dreams, sometimes about random shit that nobody believed, but she told the entire team that night that Tylor would be the first to go, though Jade still chose not to believe it. There was something about this place and this situation that sent chills down her spine and tail, causing the fur under her uniform to stand on end. She stayed in place waiting for the warning signs of the ship's launch preparations before she could see the floodlights from the vehicle a short ways across the barren land. She quickly turned on a light that shone a luminescent blue at the end of her rifle and waved it about the air for a moment…

"I got your position," John called. "I'm on my wa…" He suddenly cut himself off. "The fuck is that?"

"John what's going on?"

There was a pause as the animal seemed to be investigating something. "This is……Tylor's…Oh my god."

"What?" Jade asked. "Tylor's what?"

"It's……his paw," he replied as Jade could hear him removing a piece of clothing from something. "I'd know this wedding ring anywhere. Divorced and still refused to take it off. See if you can reach him, he could be in shock wherever he is…"

Jade needed no thought before opening a line to Tylor. "Tylor? Tylor, report…"

There was only static before something came back over the line. It was light at first and broken up before it cleared out. "Tylor? Tylor, report…" It was her voice, but something about it made her senses send a chill of fear through her body.

"Tylor?" she asked a bit confused that the voice sounded a slight bit off. "Tylor are you alright."

The voice seemed to chuckle a bit. "Tylor…tylor…tylor…" it seemed to repeat over and over still using her voice. "Jade…" The same eerie version of Tylor's voice came through the line. "…I'm bleeding pretty bad…Tylor…" The voice said changing back to Jade's voice for that last word. "…I told you guys…" Eva's voice came through this time. "…all gonna die…"

"Who the fuck is this?!" Jade demanded. "Tylor, if this is you I swear to god you'd better hope I never get my paws on you."

"Tylor?" Jade's own voice came from the headset again. "…Sis…" The voice suddenly changed to that of a familiar young vixen. "…all gonna die…"

Jade thought for a moment. "Eva?"

"Sis what was that?" Eva asked in a frightened tone. "Why does it have my voice?"

"Just calm down Eva…" John suddenly said. "It's probably just Tylor playing his stupid ass pranks again."

It was as Jade stood there trying to make sense out of all of this that something bumped into her leg. Still shaken by the situation, she instantly shot her rifle toward whatever had bumped into her. The image of a familiar feline face became lit up by the light of her rifle. The orange fur and black stripes of Tylor's face were frozen in what was clearly the last scream of his life. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Tyler was one of the best fighters she'd ever met, and yet the animal was beheaded. Something or someone would have had to have gotten really close up to do such a thing…and even then there was the matter of overpowering the animal. Her breathing began to show signs that she was holding back the choked sobs that came from looking at the head of her best friend. She'd known him ever since they were both young, they'd grown up together…he was like a brother to her…

"John…" She swallowed. "That wasn't Tylor on the com…"

John voice shot back. "Really? What makes you say that?"

John could hear her choke back a sob. "Because…I just found his head…"

"What?" John replied. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah…" Jade's shaken voice replied.

John could hear her sniffle under her breath a bit. "Look just get back to the ship…we'll figure this out from there," he said. "I know it's hard, but right now there's nothing we can do for him if he's dead."

Jade took a moment to collect herself. She had to get back to the ship, but she turned around only to have the light of her rifle illuminate a vulpine's hideously sadistic smile. Caught so suddenly, the poor animal stepped back falling to the muddy ground with a shrill scream of fear as she fired several shots toward whatever it was. The shots caused John to only increase the speed at which he ran in her direction. There was a moment in which Jade could hear something walking about, but it was so dark that she couldn't see anything. However, the sounds suddenly stopped and were once again replaced by the sound of the rain falling against the ground. It was as she attempted to stand, she realized that something was wrong. Her right leg then buckled beneath her causing her to fall face first to the dirt. A slight burning sensation at the back of her thigh caused her to reach for the spot only to draw back a paw covered in blood…

"John…I'm hit. I don't know what happened. I didn't even feel it."

"Just stay there and I'll be right there….what the fuck was that?" John's voice came through. "Something just ran by right in front of me."

"John…listen to me. If you see it, don't ask any questions…just kill the damned thing."

***

John wasn't sure what was going on. He'd been stricken in the face by what felt like some sort of kick, which shattered a good portion of his visor. Suddenly the thing seemed to appear in front of him. Not knowing what else to do, the wolf released a flurry of shots at the animal that pursued him until a bullet made the sound of metal meeting metal, causing a small shot of sparks to fly from about the animal's chest. John was suddenly taken off his feet as the vulpine's body slammed into him, and he soon found the animal perched on his abdomen. John let out a loud scream of pain as the fox slammed his fingertips into the wolf's chest before sharply pulling to both sides, forcing a large spurt of blood to spray the onto fox's face as he forced John's chest open. Then was as a familiar voice came through the wolf's headset…

"John…John?" Her voice seemed slightly distraught. "God dammit John Emmerson, answer me!"

***

This time the only thing that came through Jade's headset was the sound of static…then a short blast of gunfire. The entire place fell silent, even through the headset that she wore. After a moment Jade could hear the sound of what seemed to be very light breathing. Someone was definitely there. "John? Are you okay?"

"…be right there." His voice finally came back.

She had no idea how long she was waiting there for the wolf to show up, but it didn't take much to realize that something was wrong. John never said anything like, "be right there," without doing just as he said. He was very prompt and hated to be late to anything. Realizing that the wolf wasn't coming, the fear of the worst happening forced the vixen to rush off despite her injured leg. If something were happening to John or her sister, she'd do everything in her power to stop it. It was as she headed toward the still lit up ship that she realized something…Eva hadn't said a word since she'd been left on the ship. It was possible that the youngest member of the team had already taken off her helmet, but that made little enough sense as it was, considering it was a team policy to keep your helmet on at all times, or at the very least your headset…

"Eva? Eva are you there?" Jade called out still half limping on her way. "Eva, answer me god dammit!" she shouted as she ran.

Suddenly the poor animal's legs hit something causing her to tumble to the muddy ground. In a panic, she quickly reached for her weapon turning its blue light toward whatever it was that had caused her to trip, and she had trouble believing what she saw. A familiar body lay in the mud, the light gray furred wolf's face was visible through a destroyed portion of his visor, where a thick stream of blood ran out into the already red mud. His chest looked as though it had been sliced into and pried apart revealing his insides. Jade ran her fingers over his exposed face as she could feel the tears trailing down her face and neck under her helmet. They itched and burned, but she didn't care as she pulled the animal's helmet off.

"Oh, John…no…" she said to her elf pulling his limp body against hers.

There was so much she'd never gotten to say. They were in love, something she let him know every day she woke up, but it still felt like it hadn't been enough. She wanted to wait until they were off of the planet and headed home to tell him that he'd be a father, but now…

She laid her head against his for a moment. "What am I going to do without you? I don't think I can raise a kit by myself…"

It was however that one name that distracted her mind from the heart-crushing loss of her lover. "Oh god…Eva."

It wasn't difficult at all for her to get up. Losing John and Tylor was hard enough, but were she to lose her only sister, she was certain she'd loose her mind. She quickly climbed to her feet the best she could, running toward the ship that waited for her in the near distance. There was little she could do for her team. Two of them were dead for certain and as far as she knew, the youngest one was as well. Whatever the thoughts in her head told her, the only thing that kept her from realizing the tremendous amount of pain in her leg was the fact that she needed to get off of the planet with her life. She was certain she'd already shot the creature once, but for some reason the bullets were of no effect.

The bright-red furred vixen quickly threw her helmet to one side as she entered the waiting ship and rushed to the bridge where she hoped and prayed that she'd find Eva waiting for her. Her paws instantly covered her mouth as she entered the bridge however. A much younger, darker furred vixen sat in the captain's seat, her neck savagely contorted over the headrest where her mouth hung open in an eternally silent scream of pain, her chest and abdomen viciously clawed as well as spattering the screens and terminals in front of her with blood. Jade's eyes instantly welled over with tears as she slapped her paws over her mouth. Tylor, John, and now even her only sister. She was still just a kit when she'd convinced her to join her team so early in her life, and now it was her fault that she was dead. The tears streaked down her face and felt as though they'd never stop. However, an instant thought caused her to jump to her feet rushing back down the halls of her ship. The docking bay was still open and she had to make certain that that……thing wasn't in there with her. Luckily as she found her way to the docking bay there was nothing but a few small ships and the racks that held the team's weapons. However as she looked out into the darkness, something hit her from behind throwing her to the muddy ground where she slid to a halt. As she looked up from the ground she could see the fox, dyed red with the blood of everyone she'd ever loved. A strange fear like none she'd ever known gripped the young vixen as she began clawing at the mud slowly managing to drag herself to the ship as the insane animal seemed to simply stalk behind tormenting her with her own impending death. It was as Jade was nearly into the ship's docking bay that she felt a paw take her by the ankle. She screamed in fear as she dug her fingers into the latticework of the metal floor, pulling against the animal's powerful grip with all the force that she possibly could. She managed to pull herself toward the team's weapon rack where she noticed what looked like a small handgun had fallen to the floor. Jade instantly whipped about firing the tranquilizer gun…the shot fired what appeared to be a small dart, which struck the animal in the chest. Stricken, Jade's attacker released her foot stumbling a bit down the ramp. The fox pulled the dart from his chest, tossing it aside. The animal looked to Jade, before six more shots seemed to hit all at once. This time as he staggered the animal fell to one knee with a paw on the side of his head. Three more shots met the animal's chest and finally his body began to sway a bit before he finally fell to the ground…

The vixen however found she couldn't move. The gravity of everything that had happened today had finally caught up with her. She was alone, these three animals were the only things she had that she could call family, and now there was nothing. She took her time dragging the unconscious animal to the brig of the ship. It was as she looked at the vulpine she pulled into the brig that her face contorted into a fierce snarl of pure hatred. This animal, or monster, whatever it was, had destroyed her entire life without a care for what it had done. She pulled a small pistol, aiming it at the animal. She'd intended to take him in, but the rage was too much to bear. She fired a shot into the animal's chest only to watch wide eyed as the wound the projectile created simply sealed over before any blood could even be spilled. A yell of pain and aggravation echoed through the room as she fired until the weapon emptied. Even after there was no sound from the weapon other than a small, dull click from each depression of the trigger. Jade slowly stepped backward out of the cell before collapsing into a seat where her weapon rattled to the floor. More tears streamed down her face. He'd killed her sister, who'd never lift an angry finger at anyone, John, who'd always done whatever it had taken to keep a smile on Jade's face for nothing more than the fact that he couldn't stand to see her when she was sad, and Tylor, who was an ass sometimes, even a pervert to some extent, but she'd known him her whole life and knew that he really was a sweet person at heart. The fox before her had ruined her entire life, and she couldn't even do something as simple as kill it. As her tears rolled down her face the vixen looked back to the animal that lay there…

"KAI…lock down that cell, electrify the bars, and take all the steps you can to make sure that thing doesn't get out," she said. "Keep a three stage code on the door at all times."

It was after she watched the door to the cell close that she finally broke, covering her face with her paws as her sobs finally found their way out. There was nothing more she could do but send word for help and shed her tears for the lives that were taken away from her…

***

The Nemesis……

Sauira Outer aerospace……

The sound of her shower was little comfort to what Krystal had seen down on the planet. She refused to see anyone. At the moment she found that she could only remain sitting on the cold tiles with her knees pulled to her chest and her head resting on her knees. After seeing it for herself, the violent bloodshed of the Cerinians, she'd left to start a new life…there was left no doubt in her mind that Fox was there. Lia's memories were all she needed to see. How the young vixen had managed to sit through and watch it all happen was far beyond the Cerinian's understanding. It had to be to save the life of the little one that now stayed on the Nemesis until they could find her a proper home. Knowing that one so young had lived helped ease the blue vixen's mind, but her heart was another matter. Learning that she'd have to accept the fact that Fox had killed so many innocent people was simply more than her already fragile heart could handle. It was as she sat there hoping that somehow the waters would manage to wash away her tears that a familiar voice called for her attention. An older white vixen had entered the room to check on her. Not receiving the answer she'd hoped for, Vixy approached the blue vixen's shower only to find her curled up on the floor in her saddened state. As she reached for the poor animal, the water stung at her skin. It felt like ice, the heat having vanished from the water altogether. How long Krystal had been her she had no care of guessing. Vixy quickly turned off the shower and reached a towel around the heartbroken animal helping her out of the shower…

"Krystal…freezing yourself to death isn't going to make anything any better," she said rubbing the towel into the vixen's fur trying to get the icy water to dry up.

Krystal's tears still fell down her face. "What does it matter?" she asked. "Omni's won and we've lost Fox…"

Sitting the blue furred vixen down on the edge of her bed, Vixy continued to help her dry her wet fur. "Dear…I'm not going to tell you that I know any answers to what's going on…because I don't have any. I don't know why my son would do something as horrible as he did…"

"All of this has happened…" Krystal said. "…you've lost everything, your people, even your family. How do you keep it inside? You're always so calm…"

Vixy smiled. "There's no trick…I have faith in my son, just as you should. I know that not everything makes sense now, but it will if you give it time. I'm even certain that if you thought about it long enough…and stop torturing yourself over it…you'd at least think of some kind of answer." She sighed. "Krystal…you turned out to be every bit what I'd ever wanted to see in my own daughter had I the chance to have one. You're kind and caring, strong, and very loyal to whatever cause you set yourself to. And loving that idiot son of mine has made you the daughter that I always wanted. I think that's the main reason that it's so hard for me to see you like this," she said. "Just remember that whenever you're feeling like this that I'm still here…don't try to hold yourself away from everyone because none of us expect you to be made of steel. If you're hurting, we'll do what we can to make things better…I'm sure none of the others would like to see you like this either after all."

Krystal sniffled a bit. "Creed used to get angry when I'd think about Fox before all of this Omni business happened. He used to pass it off that way, but I think it was only because he cares so much…he didn't like seeing me like this, so I think he tried his hardest to make me angry so I'd stop crying," she said. "I wish he were okay right now. That would at least give me something to be happy about."

"Well that Jeffery fellow seems genuine in his wanting to help Creed," Vixy said. "He hasn't left the sick bay in almost three days."

The vixen continued to try her hardest to help Krystal cope with all that had happened so far while the others aboard the ship dealt with problems of their own…

***

Jane lay against the table that Creed's near-lifeless body still lay on. She'd fallen asleep hours ago trying to stay awake long enough to know the outcome of the human medic's tests, but wasn't able to hold out long enough for the final results. It was as she lay there that a silver-furred vulpine and a pink-furred hare walked into the room. Roxy took a moment to lay a blanket over the exhausted cheetah before returning to Silver who looked to the human that was going over his test results…

"So?" Silver asked.

Jeff removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "With all of his symptoms and the results to these tests…it's definitely some form of Sigma…but there's something odd about it. Maybe it's because of the difference between a Lylatian and a Human's genetic makeup but…it's incredibly aggravating."

Roxy looped her arms around one of Silver's. "Can you…cure it?"

"If I knew what it was in specific, yes…" Jeff replied placing his glasses back on his face. "…all I know is that it's a form of Sigma I've never seen or read about, and that it's attacking his lungs more than anything else. Now I do have something that may cure him. Then again it could kill him outright. I'd say that at this point his chances are a given……thirty…thirty-five percent…it's iffy," he said. "But I won't go through it without his direct consent. He should be awake some time soon. What he experienced on Macbeth was a serious attack. All the others he'd suffered up until now were only minor ones. Right now his body just needs to recover from what he did, but there's another problem we have that Randy pointed out."

"What's that?" Silver asked.

"Well…" Jeff said sitting down. "…I'm sure I don't need to tell you how complicated the mechanics of the Keizers is…" he explained. "…Alex is one of the greatest mechanics and technical minds I've ever known, and he can't think of a way to do to our machines what Omni has to theirs. To fully automate a Keizer would take an A.I. system border-lining the real thing. This could be a first step in something a lot bigger than what we may think," he said. "Thankfully Randy decided to bring back a few parts of the machine so Alex could have a look at it…but…well god only knows what he's going to find in there…"

Silver and Roxy left the room heading down the halls, at the moment unsure of where they were going. It was however, as they walked that Roxy noticed something about Silver; he wasn't the same calm, curious person he always was. He seemed slightly withdrawn and didn't even seem to react to her touch. It seemed as though everyone on the ship had changed since finding out about the incident on Sauria involving the Cerinians. This problem led them all the way back to their room, where Silver sat on the bed. The two had began sharing a room shortly after Roxy had explained the significance of it some time ago…

"What's wrong Silver?" the pink furred lapin asked as she sat next to him.

Silver simply sighed. "Is Creed…really going to die?" he asked.

"I really hope not…" Roxy replied brushing the hair on his head back with her paw.

"He didn't treat me like any of the others on the ship…" Silver said. "…he even once told Fox that I'd be better off in a cage…but…I'll still miss him if he leaves," he said. "It confuses me…I know he cares about all of us, even if his feelings for me are slightly torn…I still want him to live."

"There's nothing odd about wanting the people close to you to stay alive Silver…" Roxy replied. "…even if he can be a bit thick in the head, Creed's one of us…he's family."

"Roxy…" Silver said.

"Hmm?" she replied laying her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think Fox really did all those things they say he did?"

Roxy sighed looking to the floor. "I don't know…telepathy is pretty hard to lie to. Why?"

"Because……I don't believe it," Silver said.

Roxy took a moment to kiss the side of his muzzle. "Yeah, neither do I."

***

Sia sat alone. She preferred things that way. This was a place where others couldn't hurt her…something she was far too used to. Most of the young husky's time was spent in the docking bay tucked away where she could keep to herself and her thoughts. She appreciated the kindness of the people that invited her aboard the Nemesis, but she was also still somewhat leery of friendly faces as they were a kind that had often lied to her in the past. She had been rather attracted to Fox when they'd first met, and even a bit more so as she got to know him better, but once she'd found that there was only a place in his heart for Krystal, she rapidly fell back into her old ways. She was certain that the others never even acknowledged her presence as she never really heard any of them mention her name. As she sat alone however, Sia noticed that one of the newer human members of the team was looking over some large chunk of machinery that resembled a torso missing both arms. Curious to learn more about the stranger, she managed to sneak across the room until she was perched on top of a nearby machine, Alex looked up as he noticed the canine's shadow…

He exhaled placing his hand on his chest. "Wow, kid. You're about as bad about that as Randy…"

The human quickly went back to work pulling away a piece of the human-sized machine apart at a time before he looked to the tool in his hand…

"Hey kid," he said. "Do me a favor and bring me that red metal box over there."

Sia took a moment to look in the direction the human pointed before looking back to him and cocking her head slightly to one side…

"You don't talk much, do ya kid?"

Sia sighed. "Seems better this way most of the time."

Alex took a moment to filter through his memories of the crew that he'd been introduced to. "You must be Sia…right?" he asked. "Alex…" he said extending his hand to her, which she only took a moment to look at.

"You're different than us…all four of you. What are you?" the canine asked.

Alex made his way to the toolbox, hefting it up and carrying it back to his workspace. "Not that much different from you guys I'd imagine…just on different stages of evolution I guess."

"What's…evo-lution?" she asked curiously, it being a term she wasn't familiar with.

"Wow…haven't heard that question in a long time," Alex said. "I'm not really the one to be answering that question though…I'm no scientist…but if you want I can try to explain if you wanna try to help me pull this thing apart."

It was as the two sat there that a taller, more slender human entered the room…

"Hey Alex, I'm done with those scans…" Nick said entering the room. "You're right, the A.I program's been replaced with a much stronger one, actually more powerful than I've ever seen one," he pointed out. "I've made some advanced A.I.s before, but this thing is completely different. I just want my chance to get a look at the computer they have inside that thing."

"You and me both Nick…" Alex said. "…now help me and Sia take this damn thing apart."

Nick set aside his things and quickly rushed to help…

***

Mika sat alone in the ship's kitchen. She found it a bit harder than usual getting around at the time. Her arm was broken, her ribs were bruised which made just breathing alone painful, and her entire body seemed to be in constant pain. Yet she refused to ask Krystal to help heal any of her injuries as she was quite sure that the vixen wanted to be alone at the moment. She was in the cooking area when the door to the kitchen slid open and closed. The minx reached a bit too high for something, which caused her to drop the object. Cradling her ribs with her one arm that wasn't in a sling, Mika looked to the person standing a small ways away at the cooking area's sink looking at her. Randy had clearly been training like he usually did. She'd never seen him without a shirt. She admitted that she was a bit curious about what the human body looked like, but she was a bit surprised. His skin was drawn taught over his musculature, causing perfectly outlining his physique. His slightly pale skin was however far from flawless. His chest, abdomen, and back were a practical mesh of criss-crossing scars that resembled those of long cuts as well as small round scars that she was certain were bullet wounds, along with a long, jagged edged scar that crossed his chest from shoulder to hip. Using the shirt that hung over his shoulder the human wiped the sweat from his forehead before walking over and reaching to the cabinet handing the pale minx the small container she had reached for…

"Umm…" she hesitated. "…thanks."

Randy shrugged his shoulders before grabbing a few things for himself and walking out to a table…

"I don't think I've ever seen more scars on one body in my life," Mika said as she walked out into the room.

Randy looked up at the Minx for a moment, chewing on what appeared to be a small chunk of a sandwich he'd made before looking back to his plate…

"So what?" the Minx asked walking to the table. "Just fine at first, then you just start to ignore people?"

Randy sighed a bit. "No…I just hate talking about the past…"

"Why's that?" Mika asked.

This time the human's sigh was slightly frustrated as he dropped his sandwich to his plate. "Look…I'll just say that there are people out there that just like to see others suffer, okay? The ones that did this to me…" he said holding out his arms to show the depth of his scars. "…they were some of those people."

"Hmm…I think I know what you mean," the pale furred minx replied. "Sorry I brought it up."

"Meh…" Randy said. "…I woulda asked questions too."

Mika took a small bite of her food. "You know…you guys are nothing like the humans I'd imagined were out there."

Randy chuckled a bit. "Not really. If anything, we're a lot worse than any of the humans back home. Most people on Third Earth really frown on taking lives, so that's why our "leader" was against us coming here." There was a long silence that seemed to make the human a bit uneasy. "You think your big friend is gonna be alright?"

The minx's attitude shifted to that of a sadder demeanor as she looked to the table. "Creed's a strong guy….he'll be fine."

"So…how long have you been trying to hide the fact that you like him?" Randy asked with a slight smirk.

Mika sighed. "Not hiding anything," she said. "I wanted to tell him that I liked him, but…"

"Jane?"

The minx sighed again. "Yeah…I don't think the idea of me and Creed together ever even crossed his mind for a minute. He may have always been trying to hide it, but he really does love her," she said. "I've been jerked around by just about every guy I've ever met…Creed was different though, he……made me feel like I was important. I'm not really a person that's ever had a whole lot of friends."

"Join the club," Randy replied. "Jeff found me about four, five years back. At that time he was working with Nick and Alex…some weird government project I guess. They're they only friends I can actually remember…or at least care to."

With that fell another long silence, one of which didn't end until the human had finally decided he'd had enough to eat and left the room, where Mika simply sighed and continued eating…

***

As Jane lay there asleep, Creed's metal bed the only thing keeping her from falling out of her seat, she could feel something brush against the side of her face. She simply shrugged it off as the room's air conditioning had woken her up several times the exact same way, but as she attempted to sleep a bit longer, it happened again. This time however, she reached for her moving fur only to meet with a large paw. Her eyes instantly shot open and the cheetah quickly tossed herself at the large vulpine wrapping her arms around his neck…

"CREED!!! You're okay!" she shouted. "How long have you been awake?"

Creed smiled though his pain showed through. "Just about an hour…"

"What have you been doing then?" she asked.

Creed managed to pull himself into an upright position against his bed's headboard. "Watching you sleep…" He smiled. "…You were snoring."

Jane finally pulled away from the crimson fox. "Can you stand up?"

Creed chuckled. "No…Jane…" He cut himself off for a moment. "…listen. Chances are, I'm not leaving this room again. I'm not just sick…I'm dying Jane. I know you're smart enough to see that."

Jane didn't know what to say. She knew what he said was true, but there was a part of her that refused to believe it…

"I don't really want to believe it either…" he said. "…I don't like feeling this weak all the time. Makes me feel…useless. My strength is all I've ever had…now I'm just…dead weight."

She still couldn't think of anything to say even though she wanted nothing more now than to put his mind at ease. However, a large human stepped into the room removing a pair of thick glasses from his face as he did so…

"I'm sorry Jane but…" he said. "…could I please speak with Creed alone for a moment?"

Jane looked at Creed for a moment who simply nodded to her. The feline kissed the side of his muzzle just before leaving the room. Jeff then found a seat near his end of the room and sat there for a moment trying to think of what it was he was going to say…

"Just spit it out," Creed said.

Jeff sighed. "You have a rare condition known as Sigma…it's commonly a human disease but…" he said. "…apparently our genetic makeup is enough alike to allow it to infect your body just fine. Unfortunately, because of the difference in our DNAs, the thing itself has mutated into some new form of the original disease. In a nutshell, it is eventually going to kill you, and at the rate your lungs are deteriorating…I'd give you four…five days at the most."

Creed's eyes fell to the door that Jane had left through upon hearing the news. "Is there a cure?"

"Yes…and no," Jeff replied. "You see, we, meaning us humans, managed to cure a great deal of various diseases amongst our people. After the last war we were in, we as a whole decided against repeating our mistakes and stopped the production of all WMDs of any kind. Instead we began to develop our technology toward other things, in specific nanotechnology and medical science," he said taking a seat as he laid his glasses on the table beside him. "In all those years the human race produced one particular invention that I am proud to say that I had a small part to do with…" he said pulling a small object from his white coat. "…and that would be this. It's called a Biological Modification Node…or Bio-mod for short. It was invented as a means of which to destroy viruses and other host problems inside the body," he said setting the small metal tube on the table. "We've managed to cure a great deal of ailments with these things…even blindness actually. You see, the nanomachines that make up the mod are programmed with all the integral information they need to repair any sort of problem in the host's body set within that particular mod's parameters."

Creed squinted suspiciously at the human. "This sounds like it's got a hell of a downside."

Jeff sighed. "Well…that's why I want this to be up to you," he said. "I know you don't have any kind of love for humans. I can see it in how you look at us and refer to us as 'human' instead of our names…and on top of that, these particular devices were programmed with the human genome in mind, so there is of course a factor of risk in using one on any form of Lylatian. It could cure you, could kill you, could even do something we don't even expect…don't really know."

Creed thought about it for a moment. "No…I don't want your help…or your…miracle cures."

"I can understand why you'd hate humans Creed," Jeff said placing his glasses back on his face while walking over and leaving the object on the nightstand next to Creed's bed before heading for the door. "Just remember this: not all humans are warmongers, or slavers. Just like the people here, you have to accept that there are going to be assholes out there that don't wanna play by the rules. That's just life…it ain't fair, and it never will be. I've done some tests and I'm almost certain that the mod will cure you. If not…I apologize…but this is all I can do. I'll get outta your hair now."

Jeff nodded to Jane as he left the room allowing the young feline to rush back to Creed's side before he headed down the halls, unsure of what to do to get him through the rest of the day…

***

There was a smell that lingered on the air the likes of which could never be forgotten. It was that of a hundred dead animals, all at the paws of one individual. Though his mind was fuzzy, he had no idea where he was when he awoke. There was something binding his paws behind his back. He could make absolutely nothing out of his environment, spare the fact that he was in a small room. There were clearly two animals standing guard outside of the small room, but it was far too vague for him to make out any details. Their voices were so far off that they sounded like distance echoes reverberating through his skull…

"You hear 'bout Jade's team?" one voice asked the other.

"Yeah…something to do with this poor bastard."

"Wasn't she married to one of 'em?" the other voice asked after a moment.

"No…close though. Apparently Jade barely managed to get out of there alive as it was. Said freakshow here flipped out on himself…hit his ass with enough tranq' to bring down a Luxonian."

One of the blurred figures looked into the room. "Hmm…sure it wasn't too much? He don't look so good in there…"

"Don't worry about it…" the other voice answered. "…he'll have bigger problems as soon as he wakes up. He'd best hope he never does…"

"How is Jade anyhow?"

There was a slight pause. "Her only family, fiancé, and her best friend were all killed for trying to help someone…how the fuck do you think she's feeling? Kid hasn't left her quarters in three days."

Suddenly a third voice entered the room, a faded, yet familiar one. "How's the prisoner?"

"Still pretty out-of-it, Sir," one of the guards replied.

"Hmmm…." the familiar voice hummed. "Funny seeing you here…huh McCloud?" the animal said looking into the cell. "I wish this were a better instance for us to see each other again, but this isn't gonna be much of a social call…" the familiar one said turning away from the cell. "Get me a direct call to the troops still on Sauria…tell them to get word to the Nemesis. We've found something that belongs to them…and they've got some serious explaining to do."