A/N: Wow this took forever didn't it? Okay don't answer that please, I know i lost sight of this fic for a while, but, there was a lot of stuff on my mind and...well i just got sidetracked but, here's to the people that kept reminding me ^^ thank you. I loved the first fic and I will see this one finished. Please enjoy the chapter, even though I'm sure it's not what is expected, i will make certain that chapter 10 is worth the wait...


-Chapter 9-

-Hunting Season-

-One Week Later-

"In news today an incident involving the two mysterious figures known as Lament, and Kursed have been linked to an attack on a Stygian Fleet. The situation has resulted in an all out declaration of war as the Stygian General, Shears claims that his men were attacked and brutally murdered by the two. So far the Stygian attacks have included; Papetoon with little effect on gaining ground there, Titania of which the Council is reluctant to send troops to, and according to sources a small section of their forces have begun to scout the recent addition to the Lylat roster…planet Sauria was hit early this morning. Upon further investi…"

As the screen went blank Lament sat at the desk of his study steadily running his claw across the scar that had robbed him of his left eye so many years ago. It was as he sat there going over some sort of paperwork that Kursed entered the room. Leena had been taken back to Reiko, as per their agreement leaving the two of them alone on the ship. The vixen set a steaming cup in front of him before looking over his slouched shoulders, reading over the documents. They were stolen from Shears's ship, but, she couldn't make any of it out…

"What is this crap?" She asked picking one of the documents up, "it doesn't make any sense at all."

"It's a written code," Lament replied taking the note back, "had a friend a while back that could have easily cracked this. It's based on some kind of Algorithm."

Kursed sighed taking a drink from her own hot drink, "Why is any of this important enough to steal?"

Lament shook his head as he sat the document back on the desk, "Because I know Shears," He replied, "just watch, if we can't find out what he's after. He'll find it himself; he'll find it, offer a cease fire with Lylat and go back to Stygian. So far all I can find in all this…" He said waving his arm over the desk, "is that it's some sort of…light? I can get from these first few the words "Light of Archon" but that's only if I'm translating this correctly. There is one other word in there that worries me though…"

Kursed chuckled, "And that word would be?"

"Fyra…" He replied, "…honestly I though the bitch was caught inside when that temple came down."

Kursed lay her paw on his shoulder, "You "were" inside when that temple came down."

Lament nodded, "Hmmm…good point," He said taking a sip of the drink she'd brought him, "cocoa? Seriously?" He smiled, "haven't drank this stuff since…" The vulpine suddenly froze up.

The vixen cleared her throat as she walked around the room examining this and that, as she'd never actually bothered entering Lament's study, "How exactly did you become Lament? I mean, is it just a name or…something else? There isn't more than just one of you is there?"

Lament chuckled, "No, there's just one Lament. I'm not sure about the origin of the name itself, apparently there's been a Lament since before we knew what deep space exploration was. I was told the day that I became Lament, that becoming the person, not just taking the name, would bring me everything I've ever wanted. I've always found that pretty much a load of horse shit, since everything in my life died a few years back…"

Kursed sighed, "The gravestone back on Sauria? You really loved her didn't you?"

Lament nodded with a depressed sigh, "Yeah, more than life itself. From the first minute I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the girl I was meant for. Even after she told me that the only time she ever wanted to see me again, was to watch me die. I can't really blame her…"

Kursed looked back over her shoulder to see that he was simply sitting there now staring at the surface of his desk, "I'm certain she didn't mean it."

Lament shook his head, "Three weeks after she left me; I was sitting at this bar, trying to make myself forget that I'd just basically destroyed the only great thing in my life. And who do you think came through the door?" He asked looking to her, "her…slobering all over this walking pile of shit. Not sure if she was there to torment me for what I'd done or, if she was just there to have a good time with the new man in her life…but…I took it fairly hard…" He said turning his head so that she could see the bullet wound on the side of his head, "…apparently I was a little too drunk to hold the gun properly…slid across my scalp…bullet entered right here…" He said placing his finger on a slightly visible scar, before trailing around to the back of his head to another, "…came out right here. Doctors said that I was one of the lucky ones. Bullet didn't fragment when it hit my skull, instead it altered trajectory and kicked it right back out. Doc said it was a "one in a million shot" that there was no way in heaven or hell I could ever replicate it. Then I tried again…" He shrugged his shoulders, "…blaster this time, another "one in a million" blaster misfired, nearly took my hand off. Then I jumped to less…conventional means…" He explained as he pulled away the fur on his neck to show a thick red mark, "…when I jumped the rope didn't do it's job, instead I hung there for a total of about three minutes and woke up on the floor, the rope had snapped. Difference was that this time, I was found out, friend of mine couldn't let me end it and committed me. It was two years before I managed to get back into a "social behavior pattern" or at least they thought so. Truth was I just decided that if conventional suicide wasn't going to work, I'd just drink myself to death. That was when I met, and became Lament…"

The vixen wiped her eyes, "What…what would you say to her? You know if she were still alive."

Lament chuckled, "Considering she'd even listen to me? I'd probably just tell her that I still loved her…" He said, "…and that no matter what was happening to her, or who she was with. I'd wish her a happy life. See I never thought that being Lament would ever help me, I honestly thought this Lament guy was just blow'n smoke up my ass…but, when you started chasing me all over the place. I don't know; I had a gorgeous animal like you chasing me all over the Accord, I kind of enjoyed it, all the excitement just somehow made me forget. I guess I owe you a thanks for that…"

Kursed suddenly turned around and walked over to the desk stopping in front of his desk where they light seemed to illuminate just the front of her face, as she was wearing a sort of one sided smile. He seemed to be lost as she stood there, and didn't even seem to hear her words until he shook his head…

"Hmmm…What?"

"Are you alright?" She asked, "I asked if you really meant that and you kinda…spaced out on me."

Lament shook his head, "Oh sorry. Just something about the way you were just standing there kinda reminded me of something."

"Of what?" Kursed asked, "Come on Fox…" She coaxed him in the back of her mind, "…say my name damnit."

He chuckled, "For a second there you looked just like Kry…." He paused as he reached into his pocked placing a small device to his ear, "…Aaron? You have it then? Good, I guess that means we're going to Xenass. I'll see you there…"

The fox stood up and headed for the bridge patting her shoulder on his way out, "Come on Krys…we need to get ready," He said, "there are a lot of people on Xenass that don't like me too much."

The vixen chuckled, he hadn't even noticed what he'd just called her, "Lament…" She said, "…nobody in this system likes you," She said brushing up against him, "well, almost nobody."

Lament chuckled as he gently pushed the vixen with his elbow, "Well, I'm glad that somebody is you. No normal person would be able to keep up with me."

"Maybe you're the one that's having trouble keeping up with me." The vixen replied.

"If that were true why is it you never caught me?"

Kursed chuckled, "Okay so maybe I was struggling a little."

The two slowly made their way down the familiar halls of the ship and it was as they did that small glimpses of his past began to flash before his eyes. He could see a familiar little toad working on the halls, while a blue falcon argued with a half senile old hare in some off hallways before he suddenly stopped. In the distance of the hall that led to his old quarters; a blue vixen and a chestnut furred fox were locked in each other's arms, their hands digging through each other's hair and fur while his hand desperately searched for the keypad to the door before it finally slid open causing the scene to vanish from sight. It was then that a sudden shock caused Lament to shake his head…

"Hmm…sorry you say something?"

Kursed looked down the hall, "You feeling alright? You haven't really been yourself lately."

"I've just had a lot on my mind…" He replied still looking down the hall, "…listen, Kursed. I know this might be crossing a line but, what happened to you? You know, before I apparently killed…"

Kursed shook her head, "No, I don't mind," She said, "see it's really a lot like what you said. Only difference was I was abandoned…of course he had motives as to why he was doing it but, that wasn't how I felt about it. Anyhow, by the time I learned the truth about why he'd left me behind. It was too late…"

Lament sighed, "I'm really sorry."

"No, he was a mercenary…" She replied, "…occupational hazard. I had no right to blame you for it, he probably came after you for that nice big bounty you've got on your head." She finished rubbing his head.

Lament thought for a moment, "So…speaking of all that," He said, "about that last night before…was that some spur of the moment thing, or was that really how you felt?"

Kursed chuckled as they continued walking, "You mean the sex right?" She replied, "that was sort of…impulsive, but…it wasn't something I regret if that's what you mean."

Lament chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, that sort of answers what I was asking I guess," He said, "I think the two of us can agree that this whole war scenario has the two of us to blame. In that case I actually want to set things right…" He said looking to her, "…but, once we get this all taken care of, I was wondering what you thought about that offer of mine."

The vixen chuckled as she kissed his nose, "That answer your question?"

Lament nodded with a light smile, "Yeah."

"You haven't smiled in a long time?" Kursed asked.

"Been a long time since I had a reason to."

Not long went by before the two of them were on the ship's oversized bridge, where Lament took his seat in the captain's station, "MEL…we need to go to Xenass. You know the routine."

There was a pause, "Rerouting primary IP address to corresponding user…" MEL's voice replied, "…scheduled jump time…six minutes."

The vixen thought for a moment, "Your note said this was the Great Fox once right?" She asked, "What ever happened to that robot that ran the maintenance?"

Lament chuckled, "Not surprised you know about ROB," He replied, "one of the greatest innovations in advanced robotics when he was first built. But, the little guy…Slippy Toad, couldn't stand to see him be decommissioned alongside the ship, and took the body back with him. It was easy enough to upload the original AI interface into the system, that's where the robot's personality and everything else were stored. MEL is basically a high class upgrade to that original AI," He sighed, "you know it's funny, after seeing that note I was expecting a lot more questions about McCloud."

"Was he married?"

Lament sighed, "Back then there was a time that I had given it some serious though. Someone that I wanted to marry, but…in the end…well I've already told that story."

"Oh so that's why you pretty much lost it when she left?"

Lament sighed, "You're not gonna let this subject go are you?"

The vixen chuckled, "I finally have an opportunity to learn more about Lament than any other person has ever known. What would you do in my position?"

The ship suddenly lurched forward into hyperspace, "Fair enough. Let's go get something to eat and then we'll talk."

Planet Sauria

A slightly tall, redbone hound stood there as he removed his had scratching his head fur. The door in front of him was massive and blue, and covered in black markings that lead to a sun-shaped pattern at the center where a small dais acted as a keyhole. He shook his head furiously as he rubbed his face in frustration, as the characters on the walls continuously seemed to change. The runic symbols finally caused him to turn kicking over a small table that researchers had been laying their material on…

"What is it between the Krazoa and the Cerinians? What were they attempting to hide?"

A rather timid soldier slowly entered the room, "Um…General."

"WHAT!" Shears yelled causing the animal to leap back into a full salute.

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt but…the mercs you sent for just arrived."

The hound sighed walking out of the room, stopping before laying a page of paper in the soldier's hand, "Here…twenty million, and a Captain's seat on your own ship if you can get the door open."

Shears headed out into the open where he found a small mass of soldiers; a large mass of light aquamarine scales stood at the center. It was a massive reptile, crocodile; is body was as thick as two or three of the largest Lylatians the hound had ever seen, and was also much taller than the soldiers that surrounded him. He wore a strange kind of hat with curls in the sides of the round brim, causing it to slope down into a point near it's front, a small band around the middle held what looked like teeth, and his tan vest barely fit his oversized body. He wore a pair of dark brown cargo shorts, with a pair of belts that crossed over one another, and what were possibly the largest combat boots the hound had ever seen.

After the General approached them, the soldiers parted giving into view a startlingly gorgeous vixen; her fur was deep red, with her long hair being slightly darker than her fur. Her emerald green eyes were slightly hidden behind her wild hair. She wore a light gray tank top, with a pair of cargo pants and combat boots herself. She didn't seem too pleased with the jungle setting, though her reptilian friend seemed right at home…

"The famous Sydney Vexx, and Jamie DeDarma. The two of you have quite the reputation in Stygian." The hound said.

"You wanna get to yer point there mate?" The massive crocodile asked.

Shears stopped before him craning his neck in order to get a clear look at his face, "I have never seen an Argon before, I can clearly see why your people are so…feared."

"I can give ya a lot more reasons for that mate?" He replied picking the hound up by the front of his shirt, "I don't much care fer da smell o' this place, and this whole scene of yours is look'n a mite dodgy."

The vixen sighed, "Sydney…it's not good practice to threaten our employers. You can kill him if he goes back on his word. Now, I'd like to know why you wanted us here before we would be given the job."

Sydney released the animal whom dusted off his coat, "Well Miss DeDarma. You see most Mercenaries and Bounty Hunters are not really up to the task at hand. You see I need a living Cerinian and the only one that I am aware of is a very special Bounty Hunter…"

"Kursed?" The vixen asked looking to Sydney.

Sydney looked back to Jamie, "Alive?" He replied looking to Shears, "Mate I gotta say you got one hell of a set o' balls to be goin' after someone like her."

"No," Jamie said to the reptile patting his arm, "we can do this."

Shears sighed, "There is one little bump in that road however," He said, "she seems to have found a…mate. He is at the moment acting as her partner, and I am certain you have heard his name before…Lament?"

Sydney laughed, "Mate I can't say much fer your sense o' humor. Everyone knows that Lament is just a rumor. Just some sort o' ghost the Council made up so they can keep all their top secret crap underground. Rumor gets out that Arspace is designin' a new model of Arwings, poof fuck'n thing vanishes…and just like every other time it's Lament…and yet every single time someone sees this guy…it changes. First he's hare, then a mink, then a Venomian, Hadian, Lynx, even a wolf and a fox. I've heard all this talk…"

Shears chuckled, "I understand your cynicism…but, he has robbed me as well and I have images that prove as much."

Jamie sighed, "Fine we will take the job. Where can we find them?"

Shears smiled, "Kursed is anything if not predictable. Her and Lament are in a bad way…they will go into hiding, and at the very same time, they will fall back onto the one way they know of to accumulate vast amounts of money in little time. Once they take up the hunt again…it should be a breeze for a tracker like Mister Vexx here to do his work."

"What's this wild goose worth?" Sydney asked as they walked off.

"Sixteen million," Jamie replied, "make sure you're ready, I've heard my own share of stories about Lament. He might be too much for me…let's just hope that you're too much for him."

Peppy thought to himself as he sat in his communications room; this was the only room that nobody else ever entered. Unlike the War Room, where other heads of the military groups of the Trinity Accord were allowed, here only the General of Corneria was allowed. Inside was a single seat, and before it say a small terminal that would display the images of the Councilmen that would overhear what it was he had to say. The image that stood before him was none other than Senator Lemont; a tall animal with black fur, broken here and there by specific patches of redish brown over his eyes and down his middle, as well as covering his muzzle. He was a fair man, but, very dutiful to the accord…

"You mean to tell me that Fox McCloud has been posing as Lament?" The senator asked in a calm voice, "I must admit that I find this a bit…vexing."

General Hare sighed, "I understand Lemont, but, you have to believe me. Not as the general, but, as a friend and a concerned Lylatian and member of the Accord. I do not understand why he is disguised as Lament but, we have to find him. Find out what it is that he has discovered that would send Shears into a big enough rage to frame him for all that he has, and considering the notion. Help in whatever way we can."

The Senator sighed, "Listen it is only…and I mean only, out of my respect for James McCloud, that I am even going to consider this. Get me a video conference with Lament if you can…and I will test him myself…" He sighed, "Peppy, I pray to god that you're right. Because I do not trust Shears, and yet I cannot give order to attack unless he does something stupid."

The two bid each other farewell and Peppy slowly made his way out of the room where he found a blue falcon leaning against the wall, "So? What's the word."

Peppy sighed, "You're going to go find him…give him this." He said passing the avian a small disk.

Falco looked half disgusted, "That's it? A fuck'n holo-drive?"

Peppy shook his head, "Listen there's a chance that Fox is at war with himself, and if that's true then you need to give him that and get out of his way. He's not the same person he used to be."

"Fine…" Falco replied, "but you can't expect me to know all of this and not say something to him. I know I've been a dick, especially about his whole thing with Krystal, but still…he's my best friend. I have to see for myself that this is all true."

Peppy nodded, "Listen…there's a recruit here, he's not new…he's been military for a long time. He's part of a rehabilitation program that the military is running for Neural Link technology," He said, "name is Creed Tasser. He's a very large individual; he's strong as anything I've ever seen, and he's been in hostile situations before…I want you to take him with you. He'll be waiting at your ship…"

Falco rolled his eyes, "Oh great now I'm a fuck'n wetnurse."

Peppy half chuckled, "Falco this is not a man you have to worry about or look after."

Falco turned and headed down the halls, he knew Fox more than anyone else did. Fox would go to the one place he knew nobody would look for him, because no average person would dare go there by choice. He knew the only place that Fox would go was Xenass Undercity. It wasn't until he made it to the hangers near the military base that he noticed a very large red fox wearing a blood red longcoat, with an elaborately worked cross stitched across the back of it. In one large metal hand he held onto a duffle bag, while the other brushed something off the front of his coat. It was clear that this animal headed toward his personal hanger was Creed, and now that he'd had a fair look at him, perhaps this partner business wouldn't be such a bad idea after all…

Lament and Kursed slowly climbed off their ship; and after some words with a mechanic that Lament clearly knew. They were led off into the city. It didn't surprise Kursed that this was where Lament would lead her; it was dank, dark, and crime ridden…just like Kew, Undercity was a place no sane animal would go. It was perfect cover for two attempting to hide. Her only problem now, was the strange, creeping feeling that kept causing her to look over her shoulder. The sapphire vixen got the feeling often, most often than not when something was going to happen…and there was always something happening on Xenass…