Krystal hid with Topaz and Fang, as the huge Cyber went on the prowl in the hallway, looking for them.
"This thing's a prototype?" Krystal looked to Topaz.
Topaz nodded. "Yes…it's called S.A.M…Strategic Assault Mechanoid."
Fang peeked out for another look at the bulky Cyber, before pulling back. "Well, you seem to know quite a lot about the thing…what's its weak point? How do we take it down?"
Topaz shook her head. "I helped in its design, so it really doesn't have many flaws." Her ears perked as she thought of something, looking to Krystal. "However, if we both used the 'Spirit Fury' technique, we could make short work of it."
Krystal gave her a shocked look. "But I've never known how to use that move. I only learned about it from you."
"You can do it…" Topaz gave her a firm look. "If you're really a Cerinian, then you can do it. Just focus your energy." She then looked at Fang. "Cadet, keep our friend busy for a few minutes."
"Will do!" Fang nodded, before running out to face S.A.M down.
"You want me, you big pile of metal crap? Here I am!" He shouted, firing off his blaster. The shots only bounced off of the huge Cyber's armor, as it turned and held out its large hand, firing off another strong blast as Fang jumped to the right, firing for its big mouth, as the shots only bounced off that area as well.
Krystal held out her staff and closed her eyes, trying her best to focus her energy as Topaz watched. Krystal touched the top of her staff, starting to make it glow just a little.
"That's it…" Topaz nodded with a smile. "You're doing it, just focus a little more!"
Krystal just about had it, before Fang ran right towards S.A.M, trying to nail the huge machine with a closer shot, before the Cyber brought up its left arm, and smacked into him with its wrist, sending him flying many feet before landing on his back, groaning and rolling with his gun!
"Fang!" Krystal opened her eyes, running out to help her comrade, as Topaz grunted in frustration and ran out to hold S.A.M back, holding out her staff with both arms, and sending an ice blast to the machine's large feet, coating them both in it. The huge Cyber stopped for a moment, as it was partially immobilized, before firing at Topaz with its left hand, as she jumped and flipped out of the blast's way, smashing her staff against the ground. The ground shook as the Cyber stumbled a bit on its frozen feet, before it swung its right arm across to hit Topaz, who ducked and rolled as it missed, and swung back in the opposite direction, swiping for the vixen as she rolled again, shooting for its face with a fireball, as the huge Cyber simply blocked it with its left arm.
Fang slowly rose back to his feet with Krystal's help, as she watched Topaz duck and weave to avoid the attacks of the enormous machine, pounding its fists into the metal ground as the vixen rolled out of the way each time to avoid being crushed. Topaz was still waiting for the right moment to use her "Spirit fury".
Krystal closed her eyes again as she remembered everything that she'd been through…being pulled to this planet, meeting Topaz, reconciling with her, learning the truth about Cerinia's destruction, learning what a good, but troubled, guy Fang was deep inside, as well as her re-thinking her views on Fox since the break-up, and now being able to help Corneria with the threat of the Cybers once she got off this planet.
"I can't let this all end here…" she said to herself, slowly putting her fingers on the head of her staff. "After everything that's gone on, and everything we can still do for those outside of the Mondas system…I'm not going to let the three of us die in this hangar!"
She ran her fingers down her staff as it began to glow…"Spirit fury!"
Fang watched on in wonder, as Krystal soon made her staff glow all the way down to the end. Topaz turned as she avoided another swipe from S.A.M, looking to Krystal and nodding in approval.
The blue vixen screamed out in rage as she experienced this great rush of power for the first time, running determinedly down to where the huge Cyber was facing her down. It lunged for her with its right arm, trying to grab her with its huge metal fingers, before Krystal was able to fall down onto her back and slide, swinging up her glowing staff with her left arm as she passed under its legs, the staff slicing its arm completely off.
The Cyber stumbled and looked on at its smoking stump, as its arm fell onto the ground with a hard metal clang! Krystal slid over to the wall, panting a bit as the glow left her staff, her first experience with the attack taking a lot out of her.
"I'll take it from here, Krystal!" Topaz smiled, as she stepped back and soon made her staff glow with the same energy. "Spirit fury!"
Fang watched with Krystal as Topaz twirled her glowing staff, knowing how to control the energy better with experience, as she brought it above her head and spun it, before slashing it across S.A.M's face, impairing its vision as sparks flew from its eyes! The machine made a lunge for her with its only arm, as Topaz kicked it out of the way and brought the staff above her head, bringing it down vertically as it sliced through parts of the Cyber's chest, making it spark more.
S.A.M stumbled and made a weak grab for Topaz, as she jumped back and spun her staff at her side, sending the glow everywhere around her with an odd kind of grace, as she stepped in and suddenly thrust her staff forward, jamming the head into the Cyber's chest, and penetrating the armor.
Sparks flew everywhere from the Cyber's body, as it stood with its body shaking, its remaining arm hanging limply as Topaz pulled out and stepped back once more, breathing a little hard as she readied herself for a final attack, her right arm holding the glowing staff far off to her left side.
"Blue flash!" She yelled, before swinging her staff all the way out and back to her right, the entire mass of blue energy leaving her staff in a magnificent flash, and shooting right into the body of S.A.M. The Cyber sparked and sputtered, before its face, its body, and then even its legs, all blew apart in a spray of metal parts, nuts, and bolts, leaving very little behind as Fang and Krystal ducked to avoid all the flying metal.
Topaz breathed heavily as she slowly regained her energy, Fang running up to her side. "Wow, that was cool!"
"Amazing.." Krystal smiled, referring to Topaz's finisher. "What was that move?"
Topaz chuckled. "That was the Blue flash, the most powerful maneuver you can pull off with the Spirit Fury…be thankful I never got to use it on you." She smirked.
Rumbling noise soon interrupted their relaxation, as Topaz gasped, and ran over to a window between the hangars, and looking out.
"Oh no…"
"What is it?" Krystal ran over with Fang, her jaw dropping as she saw the enormous starship coming up from its base, the sound of its thrusters almost drowning them out.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Fang observed.
Topaz nodded. "This is Xerxes' flagship, his proposed base of operations in his grand scheme to spread his word, to convert everyone into Cybers, and kill every opponent in his path…he calls it 'The Messenger'…"
Krystal nodded as she watched with Fang, the ship beginning to head out of the atmosphere, with many Cyber fighter ships behind it.
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"Peppy!" Slippy called out from one of the seats on the Great Fox. "The scanners are picking up something big!"
"Let me have a look!" Peppy went over as quickly as he could for a hare his age, his eyes going wide as he gazed at the computer screen.
"Boys…" He spoke into the communicator, to Fox, Falco, and the three cadets. "This is turning out to be much worse than I thought. Take a good look at your scanners, and you'll see what I mean."
Each one of the pilots looked down, seeing the shape of an enormous starship coming out of the cover of the cloaking device, with readings of the fighters Fox encountered all around it.
"So that's what's been hiding there all along…" Fox responded, ominously.
Falco floundered with the controls as he saw them. "This is weird…I'm not picking up any life signals aboard the ships…just one really faint signal on the big ship." He furrowed his brow. "Just what the hell are piloting these things? Robots?"
"Cybers, Cornerian!" A distorted voice spoke suddenly over the communicators!
Falco jumped a bit as he, and the others, saw the face of the mangled, half-metallic fox, appear on all of their screens, his red eye shining in the light.
Fox narrowed his eyes at the one he assumed was Fang and Krystal's captor. "Who are you?" he asked, almost threateningly.
"Allow me to introduce myself." The Fox smiled, the Cybers tromping behind him. "I am Xerxes, longtime lord and protector of the Mondas system. The creator and ruler of all Cybers." He motioned to his creations in back of them.
"So they ARE robots." Falco sneered.
"They are like you!" Xerxes snapped. "At least they WERE…they have all been upgraded. They are now the ideal life forms for the galaxy, rational, undying, and unyielding in loyalty to the leader and the collective. They are Life, 2.0!"
Peppy tried to address Xerxes calmly. "Is it your intention to colonize outside of the Mondas system?"
Xerxes gave him a firm look. "It is our intention to upgrade every planet and star base in the galaxy. You shall all be like us!"
Peppy returned the firm look. "And if Corneria refuses?…"
Xerxes scowled. "All of those who stand in the way of progress shall be deleted!"
Fox had heard enough of this, as he looked right into Xerxes' eyes. "Where's Krystal?"
"Ah yes, her…" Xerxes slowly shook his head. "As a fellow Cerinian, I had hoped to win her over to our side. She would not join us though, so she had to be deleted, along with your precious cadet."
"You're lying!" Fox pounded his dashboard with a growl. "You're lying to me, I know it!"
Xerxes lowered his gaze at Fox. "I do not lie, Cornerian…so it seems your efforts towards a rescue mission are premature…" Fox breathed heavily as he tried to hold back a single tear. Xerxes spoke again. "You have a simple choice at hand now…you can all be upgraded, or you can all be deleted…which shall it be?"
Fox looked around at his crewmates, sensing all of them in his own way, as each one nodded to him in encouragement. He then looked back at Xerxes, staring at him from the screen.
"Go to hell…" Fox said softly.
"After you." Xerxes responded, before cutting off the communication. He then turned to his Cybers. "Delete them all before moving any further."
"Yes sir." One of the lead Cybers spoke, before tromping off with the other Cybers to their fighters docked on The Messenger.
Meanwhile, Falco turned to Fox's ship as he spoke on his communicator. "Think we've got a chance against these guys?"
Fox sighed and smiled a bit. "Well…there's only one way to find out…"
"We're with you, Fox…all the way!" Hawkeye called out to his commander, as Boomer and Typhon echoed their sentiments.
Peppy nodded. "That's a good call, Fox…we've got to make a stand here and now…Slippy and I are already starting to send warnings to all surrounding star bases, to get ready to defend themselves if anything should happen to us."
"Well, I definitely think making a stand is the right thing, when you get down to it." Falco nodded. "It's what Krystal would have wanted…"
"You're damn right it is!" Fox nodded firmly, gripping the controls to his ship…
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Krystal was now making the final adjustments to her ship, hoping to get it fully running again soon, as Topaz waited in the next hangar, sitting in the cockpit of a Cyber fighter, adjusting the controls to the communicator. She had used her fire magic to safely put long burn streaks on both sides of her ship, so she'd be recognizable to Krystal and Fang among the other Cyber fighters.
She finally found a link to Krystal's ship, as her voice came on over the communicator in Krystal's cockpit.
"How are we doing in there?" She asked, Krystal too busy as Fang, sitting behind her, answered.
"We're just peachy keen over here, Topaz." He smiled. "Just one more adjustment, and we're ready to go!"
Topaz nodded. "Well, I'm all set to go, whenever you are. We've got to catch up with Xerxes as quickly as possible, and get to his ship's weak spot!"
"Weak spot?" Krystal inquired.
Topaz spoke again. "Yes, an often overlooked flaw in its design…and I'm betting that Xerxes was in too much of a hurry to leave to really cover the thing up…it's a faulty regulator right between the rear thrusters. If we can score a direct hit on the thing, we might be able to ignite the entire main engine in the process, and blow the whole ship to smithereens."
Krystal nodded slowly. "The only problem is getting by those fighters that are covering its back."
"You leave those guys to me." Topaz proclaimed, confidently. "Are you running yet?"
"Just one second…" Krystal grunted as she struggled with something. "This last mechanism's being a little tricky…"
Fang reached over to a dial nearby. "Maybe if you just made a little tweak right here…"
With that, the engines suddenly fired up. Krystal sat up with a surprised smile, looking over to Fang. "I would have never figured that out…you've finally made yourself useful, Fang." She giggled, jokingly.
Fang grinned and nodded as he sat back, letting Krystal shut the cockpit as she spoke to Topaz. "Ok, Topaz, we're fired up and ready to go!"
"Great!" Topaz smiled, bringing up her ship. "I'll lead the way! Come on!"
Krystal nodded as Fang strapped himself in, bringing up her ship after Topaz, and following her as they blasted off towards the back of The Messenger.
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Fox, Falco, and the others, braced themselves, as Xerxes sent an entire squadron of Cyber fighters after them, the crescent shaped, silver ships zooming right towards them as Fox flew out of the way while they fired, Falco diving down and pulling up hard to meet another one, firing his blasters as Hawkeye joined with him, coming out of the left and firing at the same time, both of them blowing up the fighter.
"Great job, fellow bird of prey!" Falco grinned, saluting Hawkeye as the Hawk smiled and returned it.
Boomer and Typhon teamed up soon after, Fox looking on proudly as they got two Cyber fighters to follow them, firing away. The two rookies flew right towards each other, then pulled up at the last second, making the two Cyber fighters run right into each other, blowing up.
Fox couldn't watch for long, though, as he had another fighter on his tail. He swerved to avoid the fighter, quickly diving way down, off to the left, faster than the fighter could follow…he then sharply pulled back up, and let the fighter have it with his blasters, blowing it up as he flew right past it.
Xerxes watched from the bridge of The Messenger, seeing his force reduced quickly until there were few fighters left.
"They're good…" He scowled. "Much better than I gave them credit for." He smiled slowly. "But even the best organic skill is no match for sheer, unflinching steel, especially under great pressure." He looked to another Cyber commander. "Launch another fleet!"
The Cyber nodded and walked off, before another one tromped up next to him.
"Sir, there are two unauthorized craft attempting to move in from behind."
"Onscreen!" Xerxes barked, turning to another monitor. He then saw Krystal's ship, and the once de-commissioned Cyber fighter flying right beside it.
"Not even S.A.M was enough, eh?" He slowly shook his head, before looking back to the Cyber bearing the news. "Push them back and delete them quickly! We can no longer afford distractions here!"
The Cyber nodded, giving the command to the fighters in back of The Messenger, as they turned to Krystal and Topaz's ships.
"Ok, here they come!" Topaz yelled, pulling up to face them as they flew in and started firing, Krystal and fang defending themselves from the onslaught as Topaz twirled and distracted the Cybers in her fighter. "You two find the regulator, quickly!"
Topaz narrowly avoided the flame of the rear thrusters, as a Cyber fighter ran right through it and burst into flames, crashing into two other fighters as it flew out of control, Krystal swerving and shooting at a fighter that flew right towards her, and blowing it up, as Fang kept his eyes wide open between the thrusters.
"These guys are playing hardball now!" Falco yelled, firing at the next barrage of ships as he took a little damage, but kept himself up under the flashing and banging of the Cybers' ships.
Fox nodded his sentiments, as he talked to his cadets. "Keep pushing, you guys! Don't let these chrome plated bastards take away your edge!"
The cadets all nodded and fired away, as Peppy watched on with a concerned Slippy, who was still sending out warnings to other bases.
"I don't know how long we can last here!" Slippy shouted out to him.
"Just give them a little more time, Slippy!" Peppy responded. "I'm sure these guys can a find a way to push them back."
As this was going on, Topaz was still trying to give Krystal space, the blue vixen letting Fang be her helping eyes as he looked out for the regulator, Topaz spinning as she flew and fired at a Cyber fighter zooming towards Krystal's ship, blowing it up.
"Hold her steady!" Fang shouted, as Krystal nodded and looked on, keeping her eyes open for other fighters even as Topaz protected them with her flying and fighting skills.
"I see it!" Krystal shouted, pointing straight ahead, seeing the small regulator, as Fang was able to see it too.
"All right! Good! Good!" Fang grinned, holding out his hand, putting his uniquely skilled marksmanship with fighter blasters from the Academy to good use. "Just hold her steady, and I'll help you get lined up…" Krystal nodded as she began to follow his instructions, still looking out for enemies as Topaz successfully flew past and blew them back.
"Little higher…little higher…" He spoke intensely.
Topaz soon dove down below them and off to their right, getting a few fighters headed for the two to follow them.
"Just a little higher…" He watched the target slowly line up with the ship…
Xerxes grinned to himself as he watched Fox and his friends struggling against his Cyber fighters in the distance.
"The purification of the universe is at hand…"
"Fire!" Fang shouted, as Krystal quickly shot off her blasters, watching the multiple shots smash right into the regulator between the thrusters.
"You got it!" Topaz shouted over the communicator, as the back of the Messenger began to ignite and explore from the inside, the fireballs moving slowly up the length of the ship.
"Sir! The main engine is about to explode!" A Cyber quickly warned Xerxes.
"What!" Xerxes shouted as he turned to the screen that showed the view from the back, seeing Krystal's ship still present, before turning and seeing his daughter fly past the front, side to side with The Messenger. He spotted her in the cockpit as she turned to him and saw her lips move, shouting the words "Deleted!" to him.
Xerxes sighed and lowered his head, accepting his fate, as the sirens blared, and the ship rumbled, pieces of the ceiling beginning to fall around him.
"Well done, child."
"Something's happening to the big ship!" Hawkeye shouted, being the first to spot the explosions, as everyone else took notice. The Cyber fighters all quickly turned, just moments away from destroying each of them, and flying back towards their flagship.
"Well I'll be damned!" Falco shouted, laughing and cheering as Fox and the others watched on.
Peppy scratched his head as the explosions slowly reached up all the way to the front of The Messenger. "The Main engine seems to have exploded from inside. Now what do you suppose could have suddenly caused that kind of chain reaction?"
The remaining Cyber ships soon turned away from The Messenger, flying away and scattering themselves across the galaxy, as two other ships suddenly appeared from the fireballs, flying away from the Messenger as it floated aimlessly through space, and exploded spectacularly into a great mass of fire and metal parts, scattering out into space debris.
Fox and the others shielded their ships from all this, as a voice suddenly appeared over the communicators.
"Hey guys! Miss us?"
Fox jumped up immediately. "Krystal! You're alive!"
"Nice to see you again too, Commander." Fang's voice chuckled over the communicator as well.
Fox gave a great sigh of relief. "Good job cadet…good job…Once I tell your superiors, you're gonna be a hero a the Academy, my friend."
"Wait a minute! Who's that with you two?" Falco sat up to attention upon seeing Topaz's ship, gripping his controls.
"Relax pal, I'm on your side." Topaz's voice came on.
"Who is that?" Fox furrowed his brow.
"I'll explain on the way." Krystal spoke. "Let's head back to base right now." She giggled and sighed, rubbing her head. "It's been a real exhausting time."
Fox nodded slowly, turning and heading for the nearest base, as the others followed him.
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Krystal got out of her ship with Fang on the base, as Fox immediately ran up to meet her.
"Krystal! Krystal I-"
The Blue vixen put up her hand. "We'll talk later Fox." She sighed and began to walk with the Fang and Fox, looking very worn out. "Right now, I've got more important things on my mind…"
"Like what?" Fox tilted his head.
Krystal smiled. "Oh, a hot bath…some soothing music…" she turned to Fang. "And a little more of Fang's Red Cactus…" she pulled the canteen out of his pocket, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Fang!"
She giggled to herself and walked off, as Fox cocked an eyebrow at Fang. The Coyote blushed and looked away, as Fox reached down, seeing a second canteen in his pocket, as he pulled it out, opened the top, and sniffed it, his crewmates looking on.
"Red Cactus…" Fox slowly shook his head. "Fang…" He slowly smiled, as he did this, holding out the canteen.
"Fang…You still have a lot to learn about sharing!"
Fox laughed with the others, as Fang chuckled and nodded, Fox taking a sip from the canteen and passing it around.
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Deep into space, a single figure floated around amongst the debris.
Xerxes had sustained much damage in the explosion, his lower body completely ripped off, as his upper torso floated lifelessly along.
Out of the darkness, one of the surviving Cyber ships floated past the body, a mechanical claw reaching down from the bottom, and catching it, pulling it up…
That's all for this chapter. Don't worry, there's a little more coming up!
