Bla.

Looking for the blizzard

Chapter 10: A mess to be made

'Star Wolf' walked into the bar, dressed casually, but well-armed. The bar was nothing special; just your average sports bar on a Tuesday night, not too raucous, but not quiet either.

Panther had already set up the meeting with his contact. They were to be at Wild Will's at exactly nine-o'clock that night. Wolf had no idea what the male looked like, other than he was a male, but Panther knew what he was doing, so Wolf had no choice but to trust him.

The twins were left on the 'Sargasso', Wolf made sure someone was watching them. He was relieved that last time they were gone Axle and the others had taken care of Haylie and Case without him even thinking to ask. Wolf was determined to never let that happen again, and always have someone watching them. He was thinking of asking Axle to watch them again, but then Leon recommended Cassie for the job. He claimed that he recommended her because she seemed like she'd be an excellent babysitter with her caring nature, and whatnot, but both Wolf and Panther chided him that it was just an excuse for him to go and talk to her. Leon only half denied the accusation.

They wouldn't be gone for too long though, just a few hours. But Wolf still found himself worrying for some reason. What if something went wrong? What if the twins and Cassie were attacked? What if the base exploded, or caught fire somehow? Leon saw the worry in Wolf, and, as always, knew what he was thinking. So he assured his friend that everything would be fine, and that the twins were perfectly safe. But still, Wolf seriously considered a call to Cassie to make sure everything was alright. He was just about to activate the communication system on his implant when Panther lightly tapped his arm.

"There he is."

The feline pointed to a lone figure sitting at a table across the room.

"Hmph." Wolf huffed under his breath. Panther's contact was a young whelp, barely out of his twenties. The kangaroo wore a black, and red striped hoodie, with a black, and lime-green hat placed backwards on his head. Yup. Amateur. Fresh out of the academy.

"Where did you say you met this guy?" Wolf asked Panther.

"He was an old academy roommate."

"Kinda' young to be roomin' with you."

"They were running out on room, and I volunteered. You know how there were trying to squeeze in as many new kids as possible what with the war."

"Right." Wolf grunted. "Anythin' I should know?"

"He's gullible, but stubborn. He'll want pay."

"What happened ta' that you owe me?."

"Ah, well... turns out it was already used."

"Fantastic."

"We're not going to pay him."

"Nope."

Leon crossed his arms in speculation. "How do you know this guy's information is legit? The last time we thought someone had information ended up getting us almost nowhere."

"I don't. But, I trust him." Panther answered. "Joey was the ultimate middle-man in the academy. If you wanted something, he could get it to you through someone else. He had way too many ties to be safe, but he somehow made it work. His prices weren't too bad, and all of his dealings were of high standards. He rarely disappointed. But, who knows; perhaps he's changed his policies."

"Hm. Well, we'll just have ta' see."

The three mercenaries walked over to the table, and sat down without being invited to do so.

The whelp looked up at them. "Ah, ya made it."

Wolf nodded. "So. Joey Jablonski. Pretty cliché name ya got there."

"And yer name is Wolf. Pretty cliché name yerself if ya ask me." Joey smirked, crossing his arms, and leaning back in his chair.

You could tell a few things about somebody by how they answered the first questions in a conversation, Leon taught Wolf a few things that could come in handy. Joey was the type to make snarky comebacks, and was perhaps a little too confident for his own good.

"Panther tells me you got a list a' places we're lookin' for."

"Right 'ere." Joey patted his hoodie pocket with an even deeper smirk.

Stupid kid. Never give away the location of wanted information.

"I'll give it to ya. But..." Joey narrowed his eyes, and lowered his voice. "Fer a price."

Wolf crossed his arms over his chest, and cocked his head to the side. "What kinda' price we talkin' 'bout?"

"Well... fer information so classified, and precious as this, It would usually come out as pretty expensive. But, since yer friends, i'll lower the price. For you; six-fifty. Take it, or leave it."

A fair price Wolf thought but I ain't buyin. "Hm. Forget it, i'll get it from someone else." Wolf and his teammates started to get up to leave.

"Ya sure? I thought you needed this."

Wolf sat back down. "There's no proof that you actually have it anyway."

"Not true..." Joey started to reach into his pocket.

Oh no kid, don' be an idiot.

"See? Right 'ere." Joey pulled the list up on his holopad, and showed it to 'Star Wolf'. On it was listed the name of each facility, the planet, exact, and relative location. "How's that proof fer ya?" He said, putting the list away.

Wolf raised a contemptuous brow, which as mistaken for impressment.

Joey gave another cocky smirk. "So, let's talk about that price."

"Actually, I think we're done here." Wolf said with a sigh, getting up from his seat.

"Wait, what? What about the list? Doncha still want it?"

"Nope. Don' need it anymore."

"Well why not?" Joey stood up too, obviously frustrated.

Wolf crossed his arms again. "Leon, where's the nearest location on that list?"

Leon's voice, and expression went deadpan, like a robot. "Name: Freequade research, and development facility, planet: Venom, exact location: forty-eight degrees longitude, eighty-nine degrees latitude, relative location: exactly thirty-two point three three seven miles from city Berkstand, address: five forty-six seventy-one four, between Rouchester lane, and Freequade interstate, zip code: six two seven seven one nine one."

Joey stood with a bemused expression for a moment, then pulled out his list, and checked it.

"Holy shit! What the hell?"

"Later, kid." Wolf, Panther and Leon all turned to leave.

"Wait! I think I should still get paid. He got it off a' my list!"

Wolf turned around to face Joey, keeping his face straight. "Let me give you one piece of advice; never show someone the information they want. They might just have a photographic memory."

Once again, they turned to leave.

"C'mon, man! At least give me something!"

Wolf gave the kangaroo a snarl. "Look, kid, you're lucky I ain't kickin' your smug little ass right now. You upset? Go cry ta' your mama, before I take you over my knee. You still got a problem? Come back when you figure out how real life works."

Joey then turned to Panther. "Hey, dude, seriously. We're friends right? Ya think I deserve something, doncha?"

Panther shrugged, and breathed in through his teeth. "Sorry, bud. Can't do anything for you. Boss's word is law." Then the feline raised a hand in goodbye in a condescending way. "Until next time."

And with that, 'Star Wolf' left a very aggravated and very confounded Joey Jablonski behind.

As soon as the team was back on their shuttle on the return to 'Sargasso' Leon started to type up Joey's list from pure memory.

"You know, it always creeped me out how you were able to do that."

Panther watched as Leon's fingers raced around the keyboard on his holopad.

"Just because something is out of the grasp of your own capabilities doesn't mean it should always creep you out." The chameleon calmly retorted.

"... still creepy." Panther muttered under his breath. He turned in his chair to look out the view point, they were only about forty minutes from the base. After thinking for a moment Panther turned back to face Leon.

"So, do all chameleons have a photographic memory, since their eyesight is so good?"

"No. It really has nothing to do with eyesight. It's something you are born with, or develop over time."

"Mm. So... if you were to look at a female's breasts, you would be able to remember them exactly? Every single detail?"

"Yes."

"Lucky ass." Panther looked out at the stars once more with a face full of longing. "I wish I was born with a photographic memory like you."

Leon looked up at the feline for a moment. "I wasn't born with just a 'photographic' memory."

Panther cocked a brow. "What do you mean."

Leon cracked his neck, and finished typing a small segment from the list. "I have an eidetic memory. Many people get photographic memory, and eidetic memory confused."

"Well, what's the difference?"

"Photographic memory means that you can memorize images, and only images; such as what people were wearing, or where they were standing at a certain time. Eidetic memory means you memorize images, as well as tastes, sounds, smells, and feelings. You can remember what people were wearing, and where they were standing, as well as what the room smelt like, what exactly was being said, what each breeze felt like, things like that."

"So... if you were to have sex with a female, you could remember everything about it, every single detail, and re-live it whenever you wanted?"

"Yes."

"Lucky ass." Panther sulked in his chair for a few minutes, then opened his jaws wide in a yawn. "I feel a little bad for stiffing Joey like that."

"We didn' stiff him, he just decided ta' be an idiot." Wolf said from his seat, feet up on the dashboard, eye closed, and his head resting in his hands behind him. "I mean, who does he think he is? Chargin' us like that! Puh! Shoulda' kicked his cocky little ass while I had the chance!"

"Yeah." Panther mused. "He was always smart, but also very stupid."

"He reminded me of Oikonny."

"Nah. Oikonny was too much of a sissy." Wolf argued against Leon who just continued writing. "Jablonski at least had some balls."

"Well, you always did say that his head was so big because he was too cocky, and way too self-confident. And Andrew didn't really give up, no matter how stupid the notion, or idea."

"Didn' give up? He was always the first one out in a dogfight."

"Well, never gave up without dying, anyway."

"I still say he was worthless. Why did we even have him on the team?"

"Because it would be beneficial to us. His dad and uncle had ties that would enable us better jobs as a new mercenary team."

"Riiiight. N' he just up 'n left outta nowhere, ta' 'avenge his uncles defeat', or whatever. What about Pigma? Why did we have him again?"

"Because he was a more experienced pilot than us, and we could use his knowledge. Also, Andross wanted to put him on the team to create an ironic twist for when we fought 'Star Fox'."

"Oh yeah. Sheesh, i'm losin' it. I remember why we kicked him out. Greedy bastard. I knew it was just a matter a' time before he sold us out just like James 'n that old bastard of a hare. So, I eliminated the problem before it became a problem."

Wolf then turned to Panther, his face suddenly grim. "I remember when we let you join."

Panther stared back at Wolf with an equally sullen expression. Leon didn't change much, he was already serious.

All three sat staring at each other, silent, and foreboding.

Then the corner of Wolf's muzzle twitched, and Panther pursed his lips. But the feline couldn't help a toothy grin from stretching across his face as Wolf bit his lip in an attempt not to laugh. It didn't work.

The lupine squinted his eye shut while shaking with silent laughter. Panther tried to smother his chuckles with coughs, and throat clearings.

The mere memory sent them into yet another spiraling doom of laughter.

Suddenly, a sputter was heard from where Leon was sitting. The chameleon's head was bent forward, his face was concealed in his own shadow, and he was shaking silently. Wolf was at first a little worried, somehow thinking that Leon was crying as he took a sharp intake of breath, and continued shaking. But as he lifted his head up it was confirmed that Leon was indeed silently laughing hysterically. He weakly pointed a finger at Panther, and it was apparent that he was trying to say something, but his laughter prevented him from doing so.

"What?" The feline asked in a small burst of laughter.

"Y-you-!" Leon stopped being silent, and started laughing in full. He tried to collect himself a little, but failed. "Y-y-your face-!"

Panther and Wolf both looked at each other, and burst out laughing just as much as their teammate at the hilarious memory.

All three males struggled to stay in their seats as the shuttle shook with their laughter, their faces a mixture of pain, and joy.

"Your face-!" Leon went on, saying as much as he could between bursts. "When the- when the guy-!"

Wolf finished for him. "When he came- came outta' nowhere-! Your face was- 'the fuck is happening?'-!"

Panther laughed even harder, bent over in his chair. Leon could hardly contain himself in his seat, and fell to the floor on his knees, holding his burning sides. Panther tried to shrug, but only made himself fall into another fit of laughter.

Leon attempted to speak again. "And then-! You just-! You just fucking coppedhis knee!"

Wolf exploded in even more painful belts of laughter. "He- he went-! Went down like a rock-!"

Another wave of laughter crashed over them, this one hit them much harder, and much longer than the others. It lasted quite a while; by the time they had stopped laughing enough to wipe away their tears, and Leon was able to pick himself up from the floor they were already twenty minutes away from the 'Sargasso'.

"Ah, best bar fight ever!" Wolf said with a chuckle, rubbing his eye.

Leon sighed, and buried his face in his hands. "It wasn't funny until I thought about it later."

Panther nodded, wiping away a tear. "I'll admit; it must have looked really funny from someone else's perspective."

"That guy was an idiot!" Wolf coughed, and cleared his now foggy throat. "Just stands on a random table in the middle of a bar. 'I'm here ta bring you to justice, Star Wolf!' I knew you had balls when I saw you just chop that bastards knee. But, gods! Your face was priceless!"

Panther laughed once. "How would you react if you were in the middle of a conversation with a very attractive female, not suspecting a thing, and some random bounty hunter jumps on your table, and makes some ridiculous statement? Of course i'm going to not know what the fuck is going on at first, then get pissed, and chop some fucking knee!"

"Then the whole place just blew up! Ah, shit, that was crazy as fuck!"

Leon nodded. "Panther, you were just going to town. We hadn't seen anyone fight like that in a while."

"It's a good thing we ran into you later." Wolf added.

Panther scratched the scar under his eye. "Yeah, me as well. I actually considered refusing the offer, but then I thought; 'I can't say no, how else are they going to get any females?' So I joined for the sake of helping you, and being the attractive face of the team."

"Sure you did." Leon shook his head, then smiled.

Wolf sighed "good times."

Leon and Panther nodded in agreement. "Good times indeed."

'Star Wolf' walked through the opened door of the lounge to see Haylie, Case and Cassie playing a holographic game on the floor. Upon hearing the doors open all three on the floor looked up at the new arrivals.

"You're back!" Haylie quickly got up from the floor with her brother, rushing over to Wolf. "Did ya get it, did ya get it, did ya get it?" She said, jumping up, and down in front of him.

Wolf pulled his holopad out from his jacket pocket. "Right here-" He barely had said the two words before Case snatched the thing from his hand, and started to read it.

"Lemme see!" Haylie joined her brother, each reading the list.

Cassie walked over with a small smile on her face.

"Any problems?" Wolf asked her.

"Nope, no problems. They're quite sweet." She said, ruffling Case's ears.

The little wolf looked up at her with a grin on his muzzle, then continued reading.

"This is great!" Haylie said, still reading the list. "Are these all the Venomian research labs?"

"Not all of them. Just a few" Leon said, trying hard not to stare too long at the purple chameleon.

"Venomian research labs? I was stationed in some of those when I was in their army." Cassie commented while taking a peek at the list. "I remember that one, it was the largest facility I have ever served in."

"Haylie..." Wolf said while tipping the holopad towards her chest. "Maybe it's better if you don't go around showing everyone secret data."

Cassie grimaced, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, it wasn't my place to intrude." She started to make her way towards the door, but stopped when Leon spoke.

"You say you've been stationed at a few facilities?"

Wolf shot his friend a look that said "what do you think you're doing?"

Cassie turned around with a curious gleam in her eyes. "Yes."

"Do you think you could tell us about some of them-?"

"Excuse us for a sec." Wolf interrupted, pulling Leon to the side. "What are you doin'?"

"We don't know anything about these facilities. She does. We should ask her for all the information she can give us. We don't know what we're going into, so I think we should be as prepared as possible."

Wolf grimaced "I really don' like this idea of giving our intentions away."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Oh, what is she going to do? Tell the Venomians?"

"Well, she used to work for them."

"C'mon, Wolf, look at her."

Wolf shook his head. "It's always the quiet ones. You think they're sweet, and ya let your guard down around them, let 'em get close. And then they turn on ya, 'n suck your soul out through your di-"

"Seriously?" The reptile gave him a slightly annoyed glare filled with apathy. "She won't tell anyone. I'll make sure of it."

"Givin' yourself monitorin' duties, Leon?"

"Shuttup." Leon muttered, trying to suppress a guilty smirk.

Wolf crossed his arms. "If you really think we can trust her..."

"I do. And, she already knows that we're hunting research labs."

Wolf let out a heavy sigh. "Alright fine. But if your girlfriend slips us, i'm breakin' the 'don' hit a girl' rule."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Sure, Leon."

"She's not!"

Wolf smirked, walking back to Cassie who was standing awkwardly holding her left arm with her right, and looked her up, and down.

"Well, can ya tell us a few things, or not?"

"Yes I can." Cassie nodded.

"Fantastic." Wolf said without any enthusiasm. "Why don' you come with us. Kids..." He took the list from Case's hands. "Stay here, 'n don' leave."

"Can't we come with you?"

"No. It's adult talk time. We'll just be in the next room for little bit."

The twins' bodies slumped dejectedly. "Okay."

'Star Wolf' lead Cassie to their meeting room, where they all sat down at one end of the large, oval table. Leon, being a gentlemale, Pulled Cassie's chair out for her, making her blush ecstatically. Then he chose a seat next to her as Wolf and Panther took theirs across from the two chameleons.

"Okay, so..." Wolf passed the list over to Cassie. "Tell us which ones you used ta' work at."

Cassie looked over the list for a few moments, then pointed to a location. "I remember this one very well. It was the most unsettling."

"Why so?" Panther asked.

"Well, because it was where most of the larger, more important experiments were conducted. It's location was perfect for classified research, since the island it's on is charted, but not inhabited, nor ever will be."

"Important, classified experiments you say?" Wolf swished his tail back and forth out the back of his chair. "This lab is on Aquas?"

"Correct."

"What kind a' things did they research, 'n experiment on?"

Cassie shook her head. "That was for those working in the labs to know. That's why it was so unsettling; I didn't know what was being done in that base."

"Base? I thought it was a lab."

"It's both." Cassie answered Panther. "It's used for both military, and research purposes. Though, the military was mostly only there to protect the lab."

"Do you have a map of the base?"

"I don't have a physical map, but I have a mental map. I didn't trust that place, I memorized it's structure as best as I could so if something happened, i'd know my options."

"Good. Could you describe it ta' us?"

"Sure but, it's a little complicated."

"Just try your best." Leon said, activating a holographic mapping program over the table. "I'll make a map off of what you say." He pulled up Aquas from the galaxy map, and entered the latitude, and longitude into the search tab. The map zoomed in on a specific spot on the blue colored planet where a peculiarly square shaped island jutted out of the sea.

Cassie nodded, and started her description. "Many who find out about the based think that it's structure resides inside of the island. That's only party true. Most of it sits on the floor of the ocean, like the underwater cities on the planet. The main structure of the base consists of three wings in the shape of large squares; the barracks, the labs and offices, and the storage. I'll start from the top, and work my way down."

Leon nodded, and readied himself to create the map.

"First there is the ship hanger, an artificial cave which only takes up about half the island's interior. This is accessed through a large crevice in the islands south side big enough for a large cruiser classed ship for transportation, and supply drops. In the hanger, there is a large lift that lowers to what they call the 'distribution H'. It's designed just like a large, over-sized capital H with extended ends. There are six lifts on each of the letter's legs that lower down to the three wings, which sit in a line."

Cassie paused to Leon could Create what she described on the map. When he gave her the okay, she went on.

"The barracks wing, also called A Wing, is the only section to rest inside of the island below sea level. It's connected to the labs and offices wing, also called B Wing, by a few yards of tunnel. This wing sits at the bottom of the ocean, and is the biggest of the three. B Wing connects to the storage wing, also called C Wing, by another few yards of tunnel."

"So, in order ta' get from A Wing to C Wing we'd have ta' pass through B Wing?" Wolf inquired.

"Not quite." Cassie answered. "A Wing, and C Wing are connected by two long, curving tunnel about a mile long on each side that also connect to B Wing."

"A mile? Sheesh."

"The facility is one of the biggest."

"Okay, what does the inside look like?"

"Well, the inside was designed to be very confusing, a maze of corridors full of dead ends. I got lost more times than I can count."

"Why was it made out ta' be so confusin'?"

"They said it was to confuse intruders, so they'd be easier to catch. But I heard rumors that it was meant to confuse anything that got loose." Cassie stated gravely, sending a subtle shiver down Wolf's spine.

"What was in there that could get loose?"

"I told you, they never told us what sorts of research they conducted, but some said it was bio weaponry."

No one said anything for a moment. Wolf squinted his eye at the table in thought. So, the Venomians were researching bio weaponry. Could Andross have been doing the same before he had died? Wolf thought about what the mad scientist did to himself; the whole huge head, and hands thing. Whatever his followers were doing, it couldn't be any good.

"What else can you tell us about the inside?"

"Each wing has four lifts, one at each corner, that stop at each floor, and up the distribution H. There's also a few stair cases scattered around in case of a power outage, but I can't tell you where those are. Nor can I tell you how to find your way around, the halls still confuse me. A Wing, and C Wing each have five floors, but B Wing has seven. I can't really tell you much more than that, sorry."

Wolf decided to move on. "So what's the security look like?"

"Mostly just like any facility that someone would like to keep private. Regular patrols throughout the halls, cameras, sensors, alarms, guards, the works. They do have a unique 'purging' system, though."

" 'Purging' system? What's that supposed to mean?" Panther inquired.

"Just what you would think it means. The system purges the whole facility if something goes wrong."

"How?"

"Well, everything goes into a type of lock down. Computer systems all but stop, important data files are wiped out, halls, and sections can be easily blocked, and there's a time limit before every exit is blocked, and locked tight."

"So all files get deleted, 'n everythin' locks up? That's it?"

"I wasn't quite finished. The actual purge happens when the facility starts to flood. There are shafts that let in water from the sea into the facility. Depending on how many are opened the entire facility can be flooded in a matter of minutes, or hours."

"How is this system activated?"

"When a security breach, or emergency is called. Also when there's a fire, or substantial damage is inflicted inside the facility."

Wolf nodded. "What's the best way ta' get inside without bein' noticed?"

"Well, there's the main entrance, but I wouldn't recommend that. Then there's two emergency exits. One leads from the Distribution H into the crevice, but I wouldn't recommend that either. The other one leads from the barracks' north face into a tall cavern of stairs going up to sea level. From there a tunnel will grant access outside to the island's east face. It's risky, but it's the best way to get in."

"How risky?"

"Well, the tunnel itself shouldn't have any cameras or censors, since it floods so much, and the occasional sea creature makes it's way inside. But at the end of the tunnel there's a reinforced blast door that's tricky to open. You could bypass it to get it open, but make any mistake, and you'll alert the whole facility.

"The door shouldn't be a problem. What about the stairs?"

"I would guess that wouldn't be many cameras in there. Again, you'd have to bypass another door to get into the barracks. Then..." Cassie trailed off for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I think the first place you should try to get to is is the main offices. They're located on the top floor of B Wing. If you infiltrate them, you should have access to maps, data files, and system controls."

Wolf gave her a nod of gratitude, and was about thank her for her help when she started to add something else.

"On a few side notes, the best way to get to the island is by flying, and you should be able land on it without them caring much, just make sure you land on the far north side, as far away from the crevice as possible. It's a popular stop for passing air ships, and drug deals. Just make sure you land there, and walk to the east face of the island. You'll have to scale down the cliff, and follow the ledge until you find the tunnel."

"Thanks, we'll be sure ta' remember that."

Cassie flashed him an accomplished smile. "Any time. Is that all?"

"If there isn't anythin' else you feel you should tell us."

"No, that's all I can remember."

"Hm, it's impressive, you seem ta' remember a lot."

"As I said, I didn't trust that place, I made sure I wouldn't forget certain things that would help me when things went wrong."

"Did anything ever go wrong?"

Cassie shook her head. "No. Thankfully I wasn't there for too long."

"Hm. Well, thanks again. Can we call on you again if we need to?"

"Certainly." Cassie assured while getting up. "I'll try to help you as much as I can."

Leon got up with her. "I'll see you out."

"Oh, wait!" Wolf called, also getting up from his seat, and walking around the table to the purple chameleon. He reached into his pocket, and held out a fair payment to her. "For watchin' the twins."

Cassie waved the money away. "Oh, no, no, no!"

"C'mon, take it."

"No! Watching the twins is a pleasure! I'd be glad to do it any time, without payment."

"Don' give me that shit. Take it."

"I can't." She persisted.

"Well, then take it for helpin' us out just now."

"No! And if you keep trying to give that to me, I won't help you any other time." Cassie threatened.

"W-"

"I'm not taking payment."

"... You sure?"

"Yes."

Wolf reluctantly put the credits back into his pocket, giving Cassie a halfhearted cold stare.

The reptile looked as if she were about to leave, but then hesitated. She looked Wolf dead in the eye, and spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully.

"Case and Haylie want to see their mother again more than anything, but they also care a lot about you. Be careful. You're all they have left, and if something happens to you, they'll have no one."

She turned to leave with Leon at her side before Wolf could say anything more.

Leon waited until the meeting room door had closed before speaking to Cassie.

"Thank you for helping us, we've been running around blind for a while."

"Oh, I'm happy to help. I base my life around helping others."

Leon blinked. "And you didn't take the payment?"

"I didn't expect any, nor did I want any. I don't need to be paid to do something I enjoy. The twins seem very sweet, and I don't mind watching them one bit."

"I know Wolf appreciates all that you've done for us today." Leon said, still walking with Cassie. "He just doesn't know how to express his feelings that well."

Cassie laughed nervously. "To be honest, he scares me a little."

Leon smiled "He can have that effect on people. But, he's harmless… for the most part."

"Hm." She nodded in understanding, continuing to look at her feet, walking towards an unknown destination.

Leon started to think about all the different people in the base that could be classified as 'scary'. Of course you'd get those few that could be classified as 'normal', or even sweet. Cassie, for instance, was sweet. Probably the sweetest person in this hell hole of a base next to the twins, depending on how you look at it. This got Leon thinking; why the hell was she here? In a place full of criminals, and smugglers, where did she fit in? She didn't look like the criminal type. She was like a growing tree in the middle of an ash field.

"So… how did a person like you end up in a place like this?" He asked her.

"Hmm?" Cassie looked up at Leon, and he noticed just how short she was compared to him; she barely came up to his nose.

"I mean, you don't seem the type that would work on a ship run by criminals, or even associate with them. And, why join the Venomians in the first place? Didn't you grow up on Corneria?"

Cassie looked back down to her feet, her cheeks flushing. "It's… a really stupid reason, why I'm here."

"Is that so?"

She nodded, then thought about what to say for a moment. "When I was adopted, I became part of the most perfect family. I had two sisters, loving parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, a whole big family of people that loved me even though I wasn't really related to them. And I had all the opportunities I wanted. I lived in a big house, my parents had a ton of money, they got me anything I wanted within reason, and still showered me with love. My sisters became my best friends, and I was able to do almost whatever I wanted, and chase any dream I had. I had the perfect life, and I could do nothing wrong… I was the perfect child." Cassie fidgeted with her hair, a look of regret on her face.

"I could do nothing wrong. My parents never got disappointed in me. They didn't yell at me, or punish me, or even give me a disapproving stare. Of course, I never really did anything wrong. But it was so different from my old family, I thought that there must have been something I could do to disappoint them." She laughed a little ruefully. "First, I got a motorcycle, sports class."

Leon's eyes widened. "Really? Could you ride it?"

"Of course! Actually, when I got really good, I participated in a few armature races, and some street races."

"Did your parents know?"

"Yes. And they supported it! They didn't know about the illegal races, but I didn't usually participate in those. Racing was my sport. And as long as I was safe, and happy doing it, they let me."

"Hm…." This baffled Leon. He would never have guessed that Cassie, of all people, would be a hardcore speed biker.

"So then I tried a few other things, like getting into drugs, and alcohol. But I didn't like what the drugs did to me, and alcohol tasted terrible at the time. I failed at everything I tried to do. So I eventually told my parents about what I had been trying to do, hoping to get some sort of a negative reaction, and you know what? They weren't even disappointed about it! More understanding than anything, and grateful that I eventually told them. They made me feel good, yet awful at the same time."

"Why were you so focused on disappointing them?"

Cassie seemed to search for an answer. "I don't know... I just felt that there was something wrong. No life could be that perfect. Everything was just... backwards. In my old family, I would get punished for doing nothing wrong, so I was used to it. But I never got in trouble with my new family. It was all just a mess. I was so confused..."

She trailed off for a second. Leon didn't want to say anything until he was sure she'd finished. When she did continue, her voice kept changing from a strained whisper, to an almost angry shout.

"I still kept trying. I needed to know what they would do. How much it would take. So, when I was old enough, I told them I wanted to enroll in the flight academy, and join the military. I hoped they'd disapprove, but they still didn't. They wanted me to follow my dreams, and do what made me happy, and what I wanted." Cassie almost seemed to grind her teeth in scorn. "I never did graduate with a flight degree; instead I majored in nursing, and got a medic license. I was going to be drafted into the Cornerian military. It was what I wanted. I decided I would give up trying to prove… something. But then…." She trailed off once more.

"You left to join the Venomians." Leon finished for her. Cassie looked up to him for a moment, and stopped walking to lean her back against a wall. Her eyes were downcast, and her voice quiet.

"I had to try one more time. I just had to. It was the perfect opportunity, and I took it." Her face twisted into a frown of empty embarrassment. "They were so devastated. It broke their hearts when I told them. I left on a bad note, my father was still shouting at me as the car drove away. He tried to chase us down the street to stop me from leaving…. And I felt so selfish!"

Leon could see the pain flooding into her eyes, and regretted asking her how she ended up here in the first place. "You don't have to say any more."

Cassie lightly shook her head. "No. I've never told anyone this before. I just…." She crossed her arms over her chest with a frustrated sigh. "Never mind. You wouldn't understand."

Leon ran his eyes over her now rigid form, then reached out to her. She let out a small surprised gasp as he cupped her chin with his finger, and forced her to look at him. Cassie felt his eyes pierce hers, and suddenly felt violated.

Leon could understand completely, he could understand as much as her eyes were willing to yield to him, if he really tried to look. All he'd have to do was search for anything she failed to hide well, it shouldn't be that hard. He was the best as what he did, of course.

But something about her eyes unsettled him. Scared him, almost. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to understand her, to know what he could find. There was something beneath the innocent glimmer; something dark, maybe even sinister.

Or perhaps it was just something Leon simply couldn't understand. Something too confusing, and complicated for him to comprehend. This scared him. But it also intrigued him.

What was it? What was she hiding? What was it about her that he couldn't understand?

As he searched her eyes, Leon could not find a single answer to his questions. He felt himself become more and more confused, and frightened. This didn't happen often.

He hesitated, and forced himself to see only her surface once more. She looked just as scared, and confused as he felt. Did she know what he was trying to do?

Leon softened his eyes, and lifted the corner of his mouth in a very subtle smile.

"Everyone makes mistakes. All we can do is grow from them."

Cassie relaxed, but only a little. The way he had been looking at her before; it felt like he had just opened her soul, and searched through it like a book. Was he truly trying to understand her? That was… sweet of him.

She nodded slightly. "I guess you're right."

Leon let go of her chin, still smiling somewhat.

"Thank you" Cassie said. "For listening to me. I might have gotten a little carried away."

"I don't need to be thanked for doing something that I enjoy."

Leon's confession not only made Cassie blush, but it surprised him as well.

"Where did that come from?" He thought.

"Actually…" Leon continued. "You only answered half of my question. How did you get from being a medic for the Venomians, to being a nurse here?"

"Well…" Cassie said, relaxing even more against the wall. "Do you remember when I told you about my devotion to helping people?"

"Yes."

"I knew that that's what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I considered maybe becoming a counselor, or a nurse at a hospital. But then a friend told me that she was going to fill an open position as a nurse here. She told me what kind of a base it was, and I thought it was the perfect place for me. Not only would I be helping people by caring for their injuries, but I could also be there to listen to them. From my experience serving as a nurse for the Venomians, I learned that patients will almost always open up to you as long as you give them a reason to trust you. And what place needs more help than a base filled with criminals most likely harboring a troubled past? I came here to help people, and I believe I do every day."

"Hm. That's not so much of a stupid reason."

"I would never have gotten here if I didn't join the Venomians."

"Have you talked to your family since?" Leon asked, taking a risk.

"Oh yes! I guess I forgot to mention, I still keep in touch with them. I know they've never forgiven me for siding with 'the wrong people' during the war, and even more so when I got my job here. But, as always, they accepted it, but they don't approve. When I get to see them it can get really awkward, but we're on somewhat good terms."

"I'd say that's not so bad."

"No. They're my family; I love them, and they love me. And no matter what happens a family is still a family. Nothing can change that."

"That's not entirely true…." Leon almost argued her, but decided against it.

"I still completely regret hurting them like I did."

"It's done now, and there's nothing you can do to change that." He assured her. "And by the sound of things, the situation could be worse; you're still on good terms with your family."

"I guess so." Cassie smiled. "And what about your family? Your parents, that is."

"We don't talk."

She quickly lost her smile. "Oh. I'm sorry. Is it because you worked for the Venomians?"

Leon shook his head. "It's not important. When Cassie remained quiet for a moment, probably trying to think up something else to say, Leon decided to avoid another awkward silence.

"I think what you do for the people here is really great."

"Think so?"

He nodded.

Cassie looked to her feet once more, blushing. "Thanks." She suddenly look up at him with a bizarre look on her face, like she was utterly confused.

A little uncomfortable, Leon shifted his weight between his feet. "What?"

She shook her head slightly. "I don't know why, but... I feel like I can just tell you anything. Like nothing I can say will ever change anything. As you're the most honest, trustworthy person in this entire galaxy."

Although he knew she didn't mean to, her words hurt Leon in a way he couldn't describe. It was a guilty stab of pain in his chest, an ugly lie forming in a place where it would eventually explode, and hurt everyone involved.

But, instead of expressing his unease, Leon simply smiled, and nodded. "I'm honored that you think that of me, Cassie, thank you."

The purple chameleon blushed once again, and looked away for a moment, then her eyes brightened as she realized something. "Have I ever told you my full name?"

"No. What is it?"

"Cassidy Jordan Kerthsheim. Or, at least it used to be. But since I was adopted, i'm Cassidy Jordan Conrad."

"That's a beautiful name."

Now exceedingly blushing, Cassie started playing with a strand of her light colored hair. "Thank you... What's your full name?"

Leon slumped a little, and looked away in embarrassment. "Leonard Frederick Powalski."

"Oh, well that's a nice name!"

He shook his head. "My parents were terrible at giving names. It's like they thought that if they put together some classy old-fashioned names it would sound good."

"What was your brother's name?"

"Ronald Eugene. We always had to call him Ron, otherwise there'd be hell to pay."

Cassie suppressed an unintended grin. "Those are very nice names."

Leon laughed ruefully. "Growing up, Wolf couldn't make fun of my name, otherwise i'd make fun of his."

"What's was his name?"

"Wulfric Seamus O'Donnell."

"Oh, that's a very nice name too."

"Don't tell him I told you." Leon gave Cassie a mock warning glare that made her giggle.

"Don't worry, I wont."

There subtle laughter soon died down, and suddenly, there seemed nothing more to talk about. Another awkward silence settled between them, creating an almost empty tension.

Leon recognized this part of the conversation; the part with numerous uncomfortable silences.

"Well, I should get back to my team. Wolf probably wants to figure out our next move."

Cassie looked a little disappointed, but also somewhat relieved. "Oh, right. Well… maybe we'll bump into each other again soon?" She said with a smile, her hands clasped tightly behind her back.

Leon nodded, and started to back away. "Thanks again for all your help. We appreciate it." And with that he turned to leave, his cheeks hot with embarrassment, not daring to look back at the still blushing purple chameleon.

"Ah, finally!" Panther taunted as Leon walked in through the door. "took you long enough to say goodbye to your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." The assassin said as he took a seat across from Wolf.

"Oh? I think we all know what's going on with you two-"

"Alright, that's enough." Wolf interjected, not in any mood for childish quarrels.

Both Leon and Panther fell silent at his command.

"So now, thanks ta' Cassie, we have our map, and our way in."

"What about our way out?"

"Same way we came in"

"Perhaps that was a no-brainer?" Panther asked rhetorically.

"So what's the master plan then?" Leon asked.

Wolf stretched his back, and leaned his elbows against the table. "Fly to Aquas, find the island, park on the North side, scale down the east cliff, find the tunnel, hack our way in, get to the main offices, and find Isis all while not being caught."

All three mercenaries looked at each other. "Sounds simple enough. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible, I presume?"

"Early tomorrow morning." Wolf replied to Panther, then regarded Leon as well. "So get some sleep, Aquas is only a few hours away, 'n we're not makin' any stops. Dismissed."

All three got up to leave, Leon headed straight to his room, but Panther lingered back with Wolf for a moment.

"Do you really think Isis will be in that base?"

Wolf sighed through his teeth. "She better be. This won't be an easy place ta' search. 'N I'm not sure how long I want this job ta' drag out."

The lounge door opened as they approached it. Thy both stood in the doorway, watching the twins trace the stars on the glass of the window.

"Let's hope we find her, for their sake." Panther said, before retiring to his room.

Wolf watched the two pups for a moment longer, then entered the room, and let the door close behind him. The twins heard his approach, and stopped what they were doing to look at him with big, hopeful smiles.

"So? What happened? Are you going to get mom?"

"Well, we're goin' someplace." He sighed, pulling up a chair, and sitting down. He reached his arm out, and scooped Case into his lap, the little pup squirmed in a silent giggle. "Hopefully we'll find your mom there."

"Where're you going?" Haylie asked, playfully leaning on Wolf's shoulder.

"An island on Aquas, a lab should be hidden somewhere underneath it."

"Can we come?"

"No. You have ta' stay here."

She started playing with his shirt collar. "You mean you're leaving again?"

"Only for a little while; we won't be gone as long this time. We'll have ta' have Axle 'n Cassie watch you again."

The twins started pouting, and Haylie leaned on his shoulder even more heavily.

"But it's boring here when you leave."

"Oh c'mon, you'll have Axle 'n Cassie ta' play with, and we won't be gone too long. We'll be back before you know it."

Haylie let up on his arm a little, but they both still continued pouting.

"Promise?" She asked.

"I pinky promise."

She thought for a moment. "Can we go to the firework show when you get back?"

"The firework show?"

"Yeah! The one on Zoness they have every year to celebrate their independence, or whatever."

"Hm… when is it?"

"Next week. So can we go?"

Wolf cocked his head to the side, and furrowed his brow. "Really?"

"Yes! Can we please go?"

"I dunno…."

"Pleeeeeaaasse?"

"Meeh."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"I just dunno if it's such a good idea…."

"Pleeeeaase? Please, oh please, oh please, oh please! Pleeeeeeeaaasse!" Haylie leaned on his arm heavier than ever, while Case tugged at his shirt with a pleading expression.

Wolf's face broke into a smile as he dropped his act. "Alright, we can go ta' the firework show."

"YES!"

The twins shot their arms in the air in triumph, and Case did a little dance on Wolf's leg.

"But now you two need ta' get ta' bed."

"Aaaw!"

"No 'aaaw's." Wolf said as he lifted Case off of his lap. "It's late, 'n you need your sleep"

"But mom let us stay up as late as we wanted."

"Well I'm not your mom, am I? Now scoot."

As Wolf ushered the twins out of the lounge, and down the hall towards their room Haylie started another endless stream of questions.

"Why do people need sleep?"

"Ta' grow up big, 'n strong. And so they're not grumpy in the morning."

"Does uncle Leon not get much sleep, then?"

Wolf chuckled at her question. "I guess not."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A little while."

"So… a few hours?"

"A day or two."

"A day or two!?" Haylie stopped in front of him. "That long?"

"It really isn't that long, Haylie." Wolf said while ushering the pup to her room. "We've been gone longer."

"It's still a long time."

"No it's not."

"Yeah it is!"

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is!"

"No, it really isn't."

"Well, maybe to an old person, but it is to us."

"Now, hold on just a minute, I'm ain't that old!"

"Yeah huh!" Haylie argued, jumping onto her bed.

"I'm only thirty seven-"

"That's really old!"

Wolf stared her down for a moment with his arms crossed. "That's not that old."

Haylie shrugged "whatever you say, gramps."

"Gramps?" Wolf scrunched up his nose. "I'm not a grandpa yet." He then pointed a warning finger at the little pup. " 'N I better not be for a long time."

Haylie rolled her eyes, and nestled under her blankets.

Wolf pulled Case's blankets up until they covered his little body, and tucked them under his chin. The little pup giggled as his father smoothed the messy bangs over his ice blue eyes even more than they already were. Wolf chuckled though his nose as he combed the scruffy mess of hair back, exposing the chilling eyes once more.

He remembered how his hair used to be when he was young. It was always messy, and fell in front of his eyes no matter how he tried to style it. His hair was scruffy, much like the rest of his fur, so he always looked unkempt, and grubby. It grew fast, so he had to cut it often. And Case seemed due for a haircut.

Wolf lightly kissed Case's forehead, and let the hair fall over his eyes once more. He switched over to Haylie's bed, and tucked her in as well.

"You won't die while you're gone, will you?"

The bluntness of her question almost smacked Wolf in the face, how she held nothing back. He thought back to what Cassie had said about being careful, so the twins wouldn't be alone.

"No. I won't."

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

Wolf hooked his pinky around Haylie's.

"Can you keep all the promises you make?"

This caught Wolf off guard somewhat. Can he keep all of his promises? He hadn't really thought of it. And he has made quite a few to the twins. Can he keep his promises? He sure hoped so.

"I'll try my best."

"Well, 'trying' is different than actually 'doing'."

He smiled. "It is, isn't it." Not wanting to say anything to further lose the twins' trust, he simply kissed Haylie's forehead, and got up from her bed. "Goodnight you two."

" 'Night."

Wolf was just about to leave when Haylie sat up in her bed.

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

"Wake us up before you leave."

He nodded. "Sure. Now, get some sleep."

Then he left the two pups to their dreams, and stepped quietly to his own room. He sat with his back to the panoramic window, and ran a clawed hand through his hair. He remained with his head bowed, and his elbow on his knee, an exhausted sigh tickled the fur on his arm. Could he keep his promises? What if he didn't come back? What would happen to the twins? Did he trust his mutual friends to look after them? If Leon and Panther made it back alive, did he trust them to look after his children? Did he trust himself to keep them happy, or even safe?

The morning came early, and oddly dreary, as if it were raining outside. Wolf went so far as to laugh at himself when he peered out his window expecting to see cloudy skies, and puddles on the streets.

After gearing up, and packing a small bag of essentials he left his room to keep one of his many promises.

Haylie's eyes fluttered open to reveal a partially armored Wolf slightly leaning over her.

"Hey, we're about ta' take off."

His whisper was deep, and quiet, but somehow calming. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up a little, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Come back soon." She mumbled into his fur, her voice groggy.

Wolf ruffled up her already messy hair. "I'll try. Cassie will come in about two hours ta' take you to breakfast. You make sure ta' wait for her."

Haylie yawned into her hand, and looked over to Case sitting up in his bed. "What time is it anyway?"

He held up five fingers to indicate that it was five o'clock.

"And make sure you have an adult that I trust escort you around base; I don' want you wonderin' around alone."

"Okay."

"And don't cause a bunch of trouble."

"Okay."

"And get ta' bed on time."

"Okay."

"And listen ta' your sitters."

"Okay!"

"And don' eat a bunch of crap. Make sure you get some greens-"

"Okaaayy!" Haylie exclaimed with an exasperated eye roll.

Wolf chuckled. "Okay." He switched over to Case's bed, to said goodbye. He smoothed back the matted hair from covering two sleepy, but bright eyes. "We need ta' get you a haircut." He said, then let the soft white hair cover the eyes once more.

The door to the room opened, and Panther stuck his head inside.

"Wolf, we should leave if we are to stay on schedule."

"Comin'."

"Bye uncle Panther." The twins waved.

"Bye kids" The feline waved back. "Be good while we're gone-"

"Okay, okay!" Haylie grumbled as she fell back on her pillow.

The island was a curious chunk of rock, jutting out from the sea as if it thought itself better than all the other islands. It held itself high, and proud to tan against the golden light, and oppressing heat of the sun. Standing impressive it was the only land to be seen floating atop the vast, and enchanting blue ocean even from the cockpit of a Wolfen.

A perfect square in shape, the faded light brown rock imposed easily a mile above the water, it's cliffs' made of jagged rocks, and small caves big enough for a few nests of feral sea birds. The edges of the island, and the entire South end were bare of any vegetation. But the central North end was covered with a dense, green jungle. A large crevice jumped from the ocean up the South side, and cut it's way along the surface of the island with jagged imperfection, and created an almost black void of caution inside.

Other than that blemish the island seemed most inconspicuous, despite it's imposing stance of which made Wolf feel almost intimidated. But could it be the structure of the island? Or the possible notion that somehow just beneath the surface Isis was there, waiting, hoping for some miracle on the wings of an angel to sweep her away from her demise.

Wolf saw the island looming closer in the distance, and his heart skipped a beat. Why, though, he could not say. He wished it was because of the excitement of heading straight into a mission that could very well end in death, but he wasn't so sure. Was it a fear of adrenalin educed excitement? Or was it some kind of deep, personable fear?

He looked out the sides of his Wolfen, and the sight of his teammates helped steady him. Their ends of the comm were silent, which probably meant that Panther was sleeping, and Leon was meditating, or something. Wolf decided to alert them, in case they hadn't noticed anything.

"We're here."

He heard some sort of confused mumble from Panther's end, but nothing from Leon. A tremendous yawn rattled Wolf's ear, and he tried to peer into Leon's cockpit to see what he was doing. The reptile did nothing but stare out at the island, probably enjoying the view.

"Here already?" Panther cooed. "I do believe that was faster than expected."

"I didn't have us enter atmosphere until we were somewhat close, otherwise it'd be a waste a' energy. Now don't go switchin' to attack mode, we're tryin' ta' seem like a couple a' gents not lookin' for trouble, got it?."

"Yes boss."

"Leon?"

"... Yeah. Got it."

"Good. Now, jus' fly over to the North end, n' don't do anythin' stupid."

The next ten minutes passed uneventfully. Flying over an island that seemed for the most part void of any intelligent life wouldn't be too exciting, unless there was in fact a threat perhaps waiting to become alert, and strike at any moment. But still, nothing happened.

Wolf felt his Wolfen shutter, and rest into place on it's hydraulics as he landed. He cut the engine, and unfastened his belt, waiting for the dust to settle down around the ship's exterior. He opened up his cockpit's cover, and as soon as he heard the hiss of the air lock release he felt his fur start to frizz up from the tropical air outside.

After lifting himself out of his seat, and swinging his legs over the wing Wolf dropped with a thud on the dusty rock of the island. A gust of wind sent some red dust bellowing around him, and assaulted his nostrils with the sent of the sea thick with salt. He already began to feel his energy levels drop, and his now poofy fur start to heat up, and toast his skin. He began to salivate excessively; the air was heavy with salt, which made it a labor to breath, and his nose and throat started to burn, and tighten up. The glare of the sun reflecting off of the sea made everything brighter than they should have been, so Wolf had to squint in order to look around himself.

Since he'd grown up on Zoness one would think that he'd be used to the tropical climates. Truth is he grew up in the far North of Zoness, where it was much less tropical, with fewer oceans. Although still humid and hot, his home was still bearable, and was where most species with fur tended to live.

Wolf stretched his stiff limbs, and unzipped his vest. He pulled a black duffle bag off of the Wolfen's wing, and slung it over his shoulder, then walked away from his Wolfen to meet up with Leon and Panther. He could see the feline trying to smooth down some frizzing fur with much dismay, only to have it poof right out again. Leon, however, stood with his scales a richer green than usual, bright eyes, and an energetic smirk on his face.

"Uhg, I feel so sticky, and disgusting!" Panther complained, still trying to fix his fur.

"What are you talking about? This feels great!" Leon lifted his face to the sun, and took in a lung full of air which made Wolf want to choke.

"That's because your species was made for this climate. Next base we go to, it's gonna be on Fortuna." He said, hoping they wouldn't have to visit another base.

He turned to follow the compass displayed on his implant, and headed East. They came up to the thick tree line of the jungle, the hard rock became covered with a thick green layer of fallen tree leaves, vines, and tree roots. The three mercenaries made their way through the dense maze of trees, all the while trying to maintain their direction East. The sun disappeared behind the cover of the tree tops. They tripped every now and again on the vines, and tree roots that seemed to desperately snake their way around their ankles. The foliage was too thick to push their way through, so Leon took the lead in order to cut a path with one of his long knives. The large leaves still wet from the early morning rain all caressed the trio during their trek, and it was starting to piss Wolf off more than all the sounds of various feral animals lurking among the trees.

Wolf growled as another leaf larger than his head snapped back, and whapped him in the face. "Goddamn! Leon! Could ya not hold the damn things until they whip back, 'n attack me?"

"Sorry Wolf-" Leon replied as he tripped over another tangle of tree roots.

Wolf stopped in his tracks with his ears perked, and alert as something screeched deeper in the jungle. He relaxed when it became silent again, and continued walking when he ate another leaf. He tried to push the thing away, but it came back to slap his chest. His arm spasmed in frustration as he batted the leaf away, and tried to keep walking when he tripped, and fell on his hands and knees. "Fuck!"

Leon snickered as he turned back to help Wolf up, when he too tripped and fell against a tree trunk.

Panther then passed by them with a smirk. "You two have no grace whatsoever- GAH!" The feline's arms flailed sporadically as he walked into a spider's web, and then fell back on his tail, stumbling on a tree root.

Leon and Wolf chortled while watching Panther's struggle to un tangle himself from the web, and the vines he fell in.

"Right, because you're just overflowing with grace." Leon teased as he pushed himself up from the tree trunk, and got poked in they eye by another leaf.

"When are we going to get out of this?" Panther asked, getting to his feet.

Wolf grunted as he used Leon's offered hand to lift himself up. "We're almost to the East edge. Though, it might've been faster, 'n a hell of a lot easier ta' go around the jungle."

"Then why didn't we?"

Wolf scrunched up his muzzle in annoyance. "I dunno. The heat's gettin' to my head. Shut up."

After fifteen minutes of tripping, and getting slapped by homicidal leaves Leon cut through one last wall of green foliage, and revealed a sun veiled cliff edge, and a never ending span of pure blue ocean speckled with golden light sparkling brilliance against a cloudless wall of orphan blue. Wolf couldn't help but widen his eye at such a majestic view. Suddenly the humidity didn't seem so irritating, but rather relaxing. He was reminded of home, and they days spent sitting atop the old factory roof with Leon, and staring off at the sea. He remembered he brought his crush there once to watch the sun set, it was when he had his first kiss too.

He felt someone lightly hit his arm, and he looked over to see Leon smirking at him; apparently the reptile knew exactly what he was thinking about.

The trio walked the small stretch to the edge of the cliff, and were greeted with a light gust of salty breeze. Panther looked passed the cliff at it's straight fall of jagged rock. The sea crashed against the rock with a seemingly random beat of excitement, and fell back in preparation for another eager attempt to break the surface. The distance to the fight between wave and rock drew an impressed, yet intimidated whistle through Panther's teeth.

"That's a long way down..."

Wolf grunted in agreement, and eyed the drop himself. "Well, the path's gotta be down there, so let's just get this part over with."

He dropped the duffle bag down at his feet, and pulled out a large device resembling a rifle. He loaded the device with a three foot rod with a small mechanism on the end that stuck out the back of the rifle, and set the end of the barrel to the ground near the edge of the cliff. He then pulled the trigger, and felt a violent kick from the device as the rod was shot into the ground far enough so only a few inches of the rod protruded from the rock. Wolf did this two more times, each rod placed a few feet from each other. He then pulled out three large coils of strong black rope, and harnesses, giving one to Panther and Leon. Each went and hooked their rope through a rod, then adjusted the mechanism to tighten around the rope to assist in lowering the jumper safely.

Wolf put on his harness, and secured the other end of the rope to himself, making sure that it wouldn't come loose, then waited for his teammates to do the same.

"This should be fun, haven't done this for a while." Panther said as he stepped up to the edge of the cliff.

"Meet ya at the bottom." Wolf turned his back to the edge, and took a deep breath.

"Don't die."

He shook his head, and laughed at his own nerves. "You're not makin' this any easier, Leon."

Leon chuckled as he readied himself. "Just doing my job." Then he suddenly jumped back, and fell in a green and black blur.

Wolf didn't waste any more time, and jumped back himself, seeing Panther jump a second later. He felt a rush of wind as his weight dropped him like a stone. He felt his stomach raise into his throat, and the breath escape from his lungs, but still enjoyed the thrilling sensation. He also felt a light tug of the rope secured to his harness, confirming the mechanism was working. He readied his legs as he swung towards the rock wall of the cliff, and pushed off on contact, falling even further. Although not as thrilling as truly free-falling, it was nice to do something like this every once in a while. It was like flying in his Wolfen, and it gave Wolf a peculiar sense of freedom. All three continued a rhythm of swinging down, and towards the rock, then pushing off with their feet with the wind howling past their ears until they reached a ledge near the bottom of the cliff.

Wolf landed hard on the ledge, and slipped on the wet rock. He quickly grabbed his rope for support, and was grabbed himself by Leon so he wouldn't fall. After steadying himself, Wolf looked over his shoulder at the ferocious waves ramming into the razor sharp rocks, envisioning what it would have been like if he had fallen.

"Watch out, it's slippery."

He looked back at Leon who had let go of him, and was smiling with sarcastic laughter in his eyes just as Panther landed without much difficulty behind him.

"What would I do without you?" Wolf chuckled as he unhooked himself from the harness, leaving it attached to the rope for their getaway.

"You flatter me." His best friend sighed with a dramatic wave of his hand.

"I hate to break up your little bromance, but we have a captive to capture."

Wolf raised a brow as he passed Panther on the narrow path. "You're just jealous."

"Far from it my friend."

The hidden path mentioned was a narrow ledge just above sea level. It was high enough up so only the mercenaries' boots got wet from the waves crashing onto the rocks, but was also slippery, and uneven; one bad step would send someone into the churning sea just below. Despite the dangerous trek along the path, the threat wasn't enough to halt any kind of conversation between the trio.

"How far do you think this cave will be?" Panther asked over the sound of the pounding waves.

"Sheesh, you're like a kid on a road trip. Can't be too far, I would guess." Wolf answered the feline behind him, sighting the South East corner of the island a fair distance away.

"You know what would be fun?"

"What?"

"Walking this drunk."

Wolf snorted, and placed a hand on the cliff side to steady himself as he slipped again. "That would be a disaster."

"We should invite Star Fox here one day. I'd like to see that bird attempt that dare." Leon added, almost giggling. Panther and Wolf looked back to see an odd spring in the reptile's step, despite the danger of slipping.

"Well Leon, you seem awfully cheerful." Panther noted, continuing on down the path.

"I just love this weather, is all."

"Are you sure it doesn't have to do with some time spent with a certain chameleon named Cassie?" The feline argued.

"No, that has nothing to do with my good mood." Leon's voice remained flat, and almost tired.

"Hey, what exactly is goin' on with you two?" Wolf interjected. "Are you two dating?"

"No."

"Are you sleeping with her?"

"No!"

"Then what are you?"

"We're just friends-"

"Oh, so you were friend zoned?"

"No, I was not friend zoned because I never propositioned her with anything besides being just friends."

"So you friend zoned her? What the fuck Leon!"

"No! Just neither of us have tried anything on the other to indicate that we want to be more than just friends."

"But you do want to be more than just friends?" Panther nudged him. "Right?"

Leon merely scowled at the feline's gesture. "Cassie is a very respectable female, whom I enjoy spending time with, but I don't think i'd ever join into a relationship with-"

"Bullshit Leon!" Wolf laughed. "Bullshit! Drop the hopeless high-school boy act, and admit that you have way more interest in her than you let on."

"Okay, perhaps I have small interest in her, but that doesn't mean-"

"Alright, that right there is the biggest pile a' bull since Andross's peace speech. You like her, and more than you usually do on the rare occasion that you meet someone you're interested in."

"I do not!"

"Right." Panther replied skeptically. "Then why do you get all defensive when we bring her up?"

"I don't."

"Yes you do. Like just now."

"Perhaps that's only because you keep making accusations that aren't true."

"Okay Leon, who's really in denial now?" Wolf shot back.

"Why are we even talking about this? Why do we always have to talk about this?"

"Because, we're your teammates." Panther cooed. "We're your family. It's exciting when you find a girl that you really like. And we want to know the important things going on in your life because we love you, and care about your happiness."

"Panther. I'm going to push you."

"Oh come off it Leon, don't fight the love!"

"Seriously. I'm going to push you."

"We're only teasing, calm your shit." Wolf shrugged. "And, you know, I care about what's goin' on in your life, especially this kind a' stuff."

"Let's just change the subject."

"So Wolf, when is your sister's wedding?"

"Different subject." Wolf growled.

"If I had to talk about Cassie, you have to talk about Lydia."

"Fine. It's next month, but I ain't sure if i'm goin'."

Panther caught himself just in time before falling off the ledge for the fifth time. "And why not?"

"I haven't talked to her in years!"

"... And?"

"I'm not just gonna show up at her wedding, that'd be weird."

"Wolf, you're her family-"

"Shut up Leon, I told you, If I'm goin', you are too."

Panther reached out, and grabbed Wolf's arm as the lupine slipped again. "But you have an obligation."

"I have no obligation!" Wolf yanked his arm out of the feline's grasp, and continued on.

"Alright, If you go to her wedding, Leon will ask Cassie out."

"Hey!"

"As tempting as the offer is Panther, I think i'll pass."

The argument would have lasted if not for the trio finding themselves at the mouth of cave. All conversation halted as they drew their blasters, and stood eyeing their way inside the facility. It was about two yards wide, and three yards tall. There was no telling how far deep it lead into the island, Wolf could only see a few feet inside. He could smell a dank odor, and a cold chill emanating from within that made his fur stand on end. He could hear the eerie moan of a draft, and the subtle dripping of water.

Wolf cast a skeptical eye at his teammates. "Well, shall we?"

"By all means, go right ahead boss."

Rolling his eye he turned to the black passage that was their way in. The darkness was cut by a beam of pale blue light as Wolf switched on the flashlight attached to the end of his blaster. He gingerly stepped into the veil of darkness as two more beams joined his, and carved the mercenaries' path through the dark. It wasn't long until the entrance behind them was nothing more than a thin crack of light.

Wolf's ears twitched as he felt a sweetly cold draft make his fur feel sticky. The occasional drops of water falling from the ceiling of the cave to plop on his face didn't calm his nerves either. He kept his eye on his beam of light, steadily searching through the dark, discovering large rocks big enough to hide hostile presence, and walls that swelled and protruded in the way of his path. Occasionally he had to duck under a particularly low section of the cave's ceiling, or clamber over a rock in the way. His implant helped with it's night vision setting, but he still had trouble making his way forward without hitting his foot or head.

Leon wasn't overly bothered by the darkness, in fact, he found solace in it. Being an assassin, darkness and shadows were your most important ally, so he was used to the eerie atmosphere, and silence. The one thing that did set him on edge was the water that kept dripping onto his face. He hated the sensation more than he hated swimming. You could never anticipate when it would come, and how many would follow it, or for how long.

Panther didn't seem too fazed. Of course he was on edge, and a little spooked by the cave, but he wasn't having nearly as much trouble navigating through it as Wolf. He was able to nimbly duck, or step over a rock even at a split second notice, unlike his boss who kept hitting his head, or tripping on almost every surface.

Wolf's beam of light suddenly swept over a flat grey surface, a muted glow of various colors glinted weakly to the left.

"Found the door." He said, stepping up to it, and placing a gloved hand on the ice cold metal. "Doesn't look like there's any cameras, or sensors. Pretty low security if you ask me."

Leon made straight for the keypad on the left, and examined it. "This shouldn't be too hard to bypass; the technology's old, it'll be like unlocking a school locker."

"You know, i'm really surprised. Wouldn't you think they'd pay more attention to their security when it's this easy to break into? Venomians aren't that big of idiots."

"You sure about that?" Leon addressed Panther as they heard the door unlock, and slide open with a rusty screech.

All three raised their blasters, and listened for an alarm.

Nothing.

Wolf gave the signal to go in, and scope out the place. They entered a cast cavern perfectly square in shape, much like the island. It was much more impressive in height than in width, holding a stairwell that was most likely twenty stories tall. Wolf scanned the walls, and the stairs with his implant searching for any electrical pulses. Still no cameras, or anything of the sort. The lack of security was making Wolf more nervous than if there was security. Shouldn't something have happened? It can't be this easy. Maybe they're being set up, or they triggered a silent alarm.

Or perhaps he was just being paranoid.

"That is going to be a bitch when we have to come back up."

Wolf followed Panther's gaze down the center of the stairwell, and grunted in agreement. "Let's get movin'. And keep an eye out for anythin' even resembling some kind a' security. The fact that there is none is startin' ta' piss me off."

"Everything pisses you off, Wolf."

"Shut the fuck up Panther."

Wolf's jaw was constantly clenched, and his nerves jumpy. The anticipation of something happening was driving him nuts. The cavern was completely silent save for the light sounds of their boots on the metal stairs as they made their way down. He always looked for some kind of trip beam, or step trap, a camera, a sensor, anything.

"Perhaps they have better security at the next door. We're not technically inside the facility yet, so they might have put all of their insurance on reinforcing actual entry."

A small huff of laughter escaped through Wolf's teeth. Leon always knew what he was thinking. Then again, they were all probably thinking the same thing.

"Or, perhaps, the place is completely abandoned." Added Panther with a condescending arc in his tone.

"Or they're settin' us up."

"Perhaps it's all three. And Perhaps it's none of them. It doesn't matter. It's not like we're going to turn around. We should just keep going, and try to expect everything."

"I knew there was a reason why i'm leavin' you in charge when i'm gone."

"Who says you'll be gone before me?"

Wolf took his eyes off the steps a moment to look back at Leon and see that he was completely serious. "Let's just focus on finding Isis, n' gettin' outta here. I just have a bad feeling..."

Sooner than expected they were faced with a pair of strong metal doors locked tight enough to hold back the Cornerian army. All three examined the doors, and relaxed enough to devote it all their attention.

"Leon, can you open these?"

"It's not impossible..." The reptile mused while toying with an old switchblade. "Though, not as easily as the previous one. There's no keypad."

"So it's one a' them old-fashioned ones?"

"No. There's no handle either. I could drill into the wall, and bypass it that way, but we'd be sure to set off an alarm then."

"So it's an emergency exit door." Panther ran a hand over the cool metal. "We should have expected this. Is there another way to get in?"

"Not through that door. Although, if someone were to get to the main offices, hack into the system, turn off the alarm, and open the door from there it would work."

"But then how do we get ta' the main offices from here?" Wolf scanned around the cavern for a vent, or a crawlspace that one of them could squeeze into. "What about that?" He pointed up to a large hole resembling a drainage pipe. It was positioned about three stories up the wall a few feet from a corner of the cavern

"That must be one of the floodgates for the security system."

"It's open. Shouldn't this place be flooded?"

"The cover may have just gotten rusty, and fell off. See?" They all looked to what appeared to be the hole's cover cracked in two on the far side of the cavern.

"Maybe this place was flooded some time ago."

"I don't think so. The previous door was still closed, and I don't see any other means of a draining system. What do you think Wolf, should we try this way?"

Wolf looked up at the hole again, and tapped his chin with a clawed finger. "I don' see any other possible way in. If you can get up there, 'n somehow find your way inside, go right ahead."

"How are you going to get up there?"

"Simple."

Leon made way for the stairs deciding on answering Panther by showing him how, instead of telling. He climbed a few flights of stairs until he was on the set perpendicular to the wall the hole was positioned. He nimbly swung himself over the railing, let himself fall for a split second, then caught onto the step, and proceeded to dangle off the side of the stair. Swinging himself forward slightly, he let go of the step and fell, soon sliding down the wall. At the precise moment he pushed off the wall at an angle, and quickly grabbed onto the ledge of the hole in a blur of black and green.

"Oh, so that's how."

"See you on the other side." Leon grunted as he hoisted himself up, and crouched at the entrance of the hole.

"Don't take too long." Wolf called up to his teammate who's only reply was to salute, and disappear.

An: Well, I promise that the next chapter will have much more action. It's late here, and i'm too tired to make a decent author's note, soooo... ya. Bla.

Please review, I cannot beg you enough, it would mean the world to me! I could use the criticism, no matter what kind (preferably nice). So have yourself a good one, and I hope to God it doesn't keep taking me this long to update.

Babymittn'