Starfox Evil
Book II
Chapter Ten: Out of the Frying Pan
Fox and Panther sat in the back of the Typhoon. As they re-entered the atmosphere Fox stood and moved back to the cockpit. He stuck his head in and said, "Hey. We've got a stop to make first", leaning forward he typed coordinates into the computer, "Land here so my friend and I can get our gear."
The pilot gave a thumbs up, "You got it. We'll let you know when we get close."
A few moments later they punched thru the clouds to be met with an eerie sight. There was no traffic in the skies. Several buildings were on fire, sending pillars of smoke and ash into the air. Down on the ground they could see throngs of people moving around, although they knew they weren't people anymore. As they moved towards the city limits the numbers thinned and the smoke cleared, until they could again see blue sky.
"We've arrived sir."
Fox felt the ship set down and he and Panther moved to the back. As the doors opened up the co-pilot stuck his head in and said, "Make it quick. We saw some of those fuckers following us down the street."
Fox nodded and the two ran out of the troop bay. Moving to the front door Fox smiled in relief to see Fara standing there with a concerned look on her face.
"What's going on out there? And why are you two here in a shuttle?!"
Fox pointed past her down the hall, "Go to my office Panther. Type EMILY into the desktop", then he returned his attention to the fennec woman as Panther hustled past them, "Where's Falco?"
Fara jerked her thumb over her shoulder and said, "He's asleep. Fox what's going on?"
The tan furred man grasped her shoulders, "Fara listen. Get the hover-car and take my son far away from here. No wait. Go to the spaceport and get The Great Fox II into orbit."
The woman swallowed hard under the intense gaze her friend gave her, "A-alright."
Then she turned and ran back into the house. Fox followed her until she passed his office, which he ran into. He moved straight over to a large safe that had slid up from a panel in the floor, tipping over the desk chair and nearby bookcase. Fox hastily pressed his palm to the scanner, which flashed blue twice before the door swung open, revealing a small armory.
Panther's jaw dropped as the assortment of weapons appeared, "Christ Fox. Were you expecting this or something?"
Fox shrugged as he grabbed headset and dropped the HUD monocle in front of his left eye, "Nobody could've seen this coming Panther."
Then he grabbed a Sub-Machine Blaster, SMB, settling the short weapon against his shoulder and pressing a full charge into place, nodding when the small readout on his HUD read 100. He looked over at Panther who had grabbed a shotgun and charged it, his own HUD showing 20.
Just then Fox felt a sense of confusion. Looking over to the door he saw Falco standing there with a scared look on his face as he muttered, "What's going on Dad?"
Fox snapped the carbine to a tactical vest he had buckled on before walking over and saying, "Your mother is stuck and needs mine and Uncle Panther's help to get home."
Falco rubbed his hands together nervously, "But why can't I go with you? I can shoot", he said, pointing at the small rifle on Fox's chest.
Fox shook his head rapidly and grabbed Falco's arm, "No! Falco it's way too dangerous. And you are way too young to have to do what I've got to do now."
Falco pushed forward and wrapped his arms around Fox's waist, "I don't want you to go…"
Fox suddenly had a flashback to his own childhood, to all the times when he had said exactly those words to his own father. And to all the times James had answered with…
"I'm sorry son. I have to."
Falco cried and held on tighter, "But why?"
Fox closed his eyes and said calmly, "Because your mother and sister need me to."
Falco let out a sob and held on tighter. Fox knelt down and wrapped his arms around the boy's heaving shoulders. Then he picked the boy up, cradling him to his body as he walked out of the house and whispered, "Don't worry. It'll be alright. I'll bring them home."
Then he handed him off to Fara, who was waiting by the hover-car. He continued to cry as he was settled into the vehicle. When the fennec turned around Panther was standing there. He gave a small smile before hugging his wife close. She responded by kissing him passionately. When it ended she squeezed his shoulders, whispering as tears sprang from her own eyes, "Come back to me."
Panther chuckled softly, "I promise."
Then he ran over to the Typhoon, where Fox was already waiting in the back. The two soldiers waved to their respective loved ones as the armored transport lifted into the air before the doors closed and they tore off into the sky.
Back in the hospital…
Krystal stirred slightly, slowly coming awake. She'd only closed her eyes a few minutes ago.
"Krystal? Krystal can you hear me?"
She started slightly at sensing Fox's voice, but immediately responded, "Yes."
She felt Fox sigh in relief, "Good. Panther and I are on our way. Just hold on."
Krystal smiled tiredly, "Got it."
From right next to her came, "Got what?"
Looking to her right Krystal saw the nurse sitting in the chair across from hers, "I just spoke with my husband. He's on his way."
The red and green parrot gave her a look, "How does that work anyway? Why is it that nobody else can do what you do?"
Krystal sighed tiredly, the whole ordeal draining her, "Because I'm the last of my kind, except for my daughter. I've stumbled across a few others who weren't Cerinian who were telepaths, but none are as strong as me."
The nurse rubbed her still bare arms, asking more to pass the time than out of genuine curiosity, "Can anyone learn?"
She was surprised when Krystal nodded, "Yes. I've taught my husband how to do it, although he's not very strong. And our adopted son is learning."
The parrot scooched a little closer, now with her interest piqued, "How long would it take to…you know, learn?"
Krystal shrugged, "Varies by the person, on how fast they reach their peak. It took Fox over two years to reach his", she paused to lean forwards so her elbows rested on her knees, with her chin in her hands, "As for myself, I guess I'm just lucky. Or cursed depending on how you want to look at it. If I let my mind go I can sense the innermost thoughts and emotions of people on the far reaches of the system."
Suddenly there was a series of dull and sickening thuds from out in the hallway. Every head jerked in the direction of the door, Roger's blaster and Krystal's staff snapping up. The door thudded in it's frame, the magnetic locks holding under this new assault. Things only continued to get louder and more ominous as they could now hear howls and screams coming from out in the hallway, they'd been found.
The blue vixen slowly got to her feet as the pounding began, the door shuddering under multiple fists as whatever had hit it first apparently moved out of the way. Emily whimpered and her mother pressed her to her side, whispering, "It's alright. They can't get in with the door sealed."
Krystal had said this aloud to not only calm her daughter, but also her fellow survivors. The nurse settled nervously into her chair, while the leopardess leaned fearfully against the human, who was obviously her boyfriend. The man in question had such a tight grip on the blaster in his lap that his knuckles were white with tension. Afraid that he might accidentally shoot himself Krystal reached over and flicked the safety back on.
"Hey", she whispered. Both the feline and her human companion snapped their gazes in her direction, "Calm down. The last thing we need is for anyone to panic…"
Just then a light lit up the large window, and everyone shielded their eyes for a moment before it passed, moving downwards. Moving over to the large transparasteel plate everyone saw a Typhoon drop ship moving around the side of the building, unable to land in the courtyard because of the covering structure. Emily smiled wide and said softly, "Daddy."
Krystal patted the girls head, just as everyone's attention was grabbed by the sound of the door being pried open. Everybody turned around quickly, Krystal and Roger raising their weapons, the jewel on Krystal's extended staff starting to glow red, while the CEB-8 in the human's hands whined quietly. However, when only one man came thru the door, Krystal froze in fear. Even though she had never actually met him before, she knew exactly who he was…
"Wesker."
Albert Wesker stood stock still, just looking at them, until suddenly the nurse stepped towards him, asking, "Is it safe out there?"
Look to the left thru the door and adjusted his sunglasses, "Not even close", then he looked back at her and smiled wickedly, "But I wouldn't worry about what's out there."
Then he snapped his hand up and backhanded the red-feathered woman so hard her sneakered feet left the ground and her beak cracked, small pieces flying across the room, before she slammed headfirst into the wall and slid to the floor with a thud, leaving a red smear on the wall as she lay silent.
Out of reflex and anger Roger fired four shots in Wesker's direction. The man just dodged them, twisting his torso out of the way of each shot, before finally grabbing the human by the arm and hurling him thru the air to crash thru the window, plummeting to his death.
"ROGER", the leopardess screamed as tears poured from her eyes. Turning on Wesker she leapt at him with the natural agility of her species, "WHY?! YOU BASTARD TELL ME WHY!?!"
Wesker ignored her pathetic attempts to strike him, simply batting her arms aside before he grabbed her throat and picked her up, holding her several inches from the ground. As the grey furred woman latched onto his wrist and gagged as Wesker raised his free hand and struck her swiftly between the ears. He threw her limp body onto the sofa, sending it tumbling. Then he turned on Krystal.
"Hello. Nice to finally meet you."
Krystal snarled, "Too bad I can't say the same."
Clutching tightly to her mother's leg, Emily stared wide-eyed at the evil man in front of her, "M-mommy…"
It was then that Wesker noticed her.
"So. This is the little girl that's always on his mind."
He leaned down to her level, but Krystal snapped her staff down, cutting him off before he could get too close.
"Stay away from her! Emily go in the bathroom!"
The girl ran towards the small door as Wesker stood back up, smiling nonchalantly at Krystal as she anxiously snapped the jeweled head back up, keeping it level with his jaw, "Now now, no need to shout. After all it's not polite."
Then he slammed his fist into her chest, knocking her backwards. The blue woman stumbled, but managed to stay on her feet. However she couldn't get her staff back up before Wesker dashed over and knocked it away, sending it skittering across the floor to end up lying underneath the large holoscreen. Krystal was quick to rebound though, using the resulting momentum to spin around, bringing her clenched fist crashing into the side of Wesker's head. She followed that up with a snap-kick that caught him under the chin, sending him reeling.
When he caught his balance Wesker wiped his lip, his gloved thumb coming away with some blood on it. Looking up he saw Krystal take a single step forwards and try to kick him again. He grabbed her booted foot and growled, "Now that's enough of that."
Grabbing her calf he swung her into the wall, leaving a body sized dent. Then he swung the other way, hurling her across the room, to crash thru the view screen, the wall behind it, and send her tumbling into the next room, where she wound up laying in the rubble of some piece of machinery, several large gashes in her skin pouring blood down her tattered uniform. Her eyes drifted lazily closed as darkness claimed her.
In the other room Wesker smirked as he watched a loose piece of wall fall into the hole Krystal's body had made. Then he turned to the bathroom door, "Oh Emilyyy… Come on out…"
He stopped in front of the door and placed his ear to the cool metal surface. He heard a whimper and smiled maliciously. Then he drove his fist into the door, punching thru the other side and drawing a shriek from inside. He grabbed hold of the door and gave a powerful yank, ripping it from it's frame. He tossed the door aside like it was made of balsa wood, and he smirked down at the trembling girl, cringing in the shower stall.
Reaching over he grabbed the front of the scrub shirt she was wearing and lifted her up. Struggling briefly, Emily managed to slip out of the shirt, and even though she was now naked she tried to run. However, she only managed to make it a few feet before Wesker grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back, kicking and screaming.
"Nooo! No ow! Let go of me!"
Wesker growled and picked her up before delivering one sharp blow to her stomach, driving the air from her lungs and forcing her to pass out, falling limp in his arms.
From behind him he heard a voice growl dangerously, "Put. Her. Down."
Wesker let out a short laugh, "I'll be damned. I guess what they say about mother bears applies to foxes too."
Then he turned, and found Krystal standing there, bloodied and bruised, with her staff aimed right at his head. Her uniform was in tatters, one leg was shredded at the kneed and pooled around her boot. There was a large rip across her stomach, matching the cut underneath. The chest plate was dented and half torn away, dangling uselessly and exposing one of her breasts. Her face sported several small cuts to her cheeks and muzzle, and a large gash across her forehead, which was partially concealed by her disheveled hair.
Wesker sighed and tossed the child onto one of the chairs. Then he looked Krystal in the eye. He dashed forwards, ducking under the end of her staff just as she sent a bolt of flame shooting from the end. Once he was close enough he shot his fist up, striking the polearm between her hands, and snapping it clean in two.
Krystal gaped for a moment, a small piece of her heart breaking with the cherished weapon, before Wesker's other fist collided with the side of her muzzle, snapping her head to the side and stunning her. He followed that up with a knee to the chest that dropped her like a ton of bricks. Panting and wheezing Krystal set her eyes on her daughter and began to crawl towards her, willing the pain to go away. Which was difficult because Wesker was constantly punching the back of her head, which would drive her face into the floor.
This kept up only for a moment because Wesker soon grew tired of it and grabbed the woman by the neck. He picked her up and glared into her green eyes before throwing her thru the wall leading out into the small nurse's station, sending her crashing into a desk and reducing it to rubble. Krystal moaned and as she blacked out again, she saw figures rushing towards her…
Ten minutes ago…
A/N: If you have the CD, I suggest you play Disturbed's Down with the Sickness right now. And don't wait until they start singing, as soon as you hit the play button start reading. Now back to the madness.
Fox and Panther anxiously checked their gear. It was only a few minute flight from Fox's home to the hospital, what with no air-traffic to slow them down. About a minute after takeoff they received a call from David.
"Fox. Panther", the black feline said, "You have only one hour until the bomb is dropped. So I advise you move quickly."
Fox nodded, "Understood. Thanks."
As he reached to close the link the Emperor raised a hand, "Fox. I wanted to ask you. Could you keep an eye out for my sister? She was visiting a friend in the hospital when this all happened. I'd be eternally grateful if you could just get her out of there."
Again Fox nodded, "I'll do what I can."
Then they were there, sidling up to the side of the tall skyscraper. As they settled down the pilot came over the inter-COM and said, "We have to put you down in the street, there's been a wreck in the parking lot", an image of the area appeared on the view screen, "It's about a hundred yard stretch from the LZ to the hospital. We'll provide fire support up 'til the courtyard", the image zoomed in to show a covered courtyard about twenty yards across. A couple of spots were visible where hover-cars had crashed thru the structure, pillars of smoke pouring from the holes, "After that you guys are on your own."
Panther scoffed, "Too bad we don't have our armor or we'd just drop in."
Fox shrugged, muttering, "Yeah", as he moved to the back of the cabin. Once both he and Panther were in place he signaled the pilot to make the final decent by opening the back hatch. As soon as the ship hit the ground the two stepped out and the ship swung back up into the air. Almost immediately they had to fire at the undead, several dozen charging them. At first they stood their ground, picking their targets. But the little clock in the HUD kept ticking and Fox shouted, "Forget them! Just run!"
So he and Panther charged, only firing on the ones directly in front of them. Fox vaulted over a parked hover-car just before the shuttle blasted it to keep the zombies following them at bay. The blast barely even registered as Fox and his partner sprinted for the doors. About a minute later they entered the courtyard and heard the pilot say, "Good luck guys. We'll try to keep the crowd under control out here."
Looking around they saw that the area was clear, no zombies, just lots of mutilated corpses. Fox moved quickly over to a wall mounted map. Scanning it quickly he rapped a knuckle on a spot and said, "There. Fortieth floor", jerking his thumb over his shoulder he said, "That building. South side. Should be right across from the elevators. So we won't have to go far."
They had just started moving towards their destination when suddenly a showering of transparasteel fell down, right before the body of a human hit with a CRUNCH!
"Holy Shit", Panther shouted. Moving over to the man's body he looked him over, "This guy just had his day fucked!"
Laying next to the body was an old CEB-6. Fox scooped it up and looked it over. Upon finding it still worked he hit the readout button…14…and clamped it to his vest. Then the two moved forward. Immediately they were attacked, and Panther switched from his CEB-8 to his shotgun, using the powerful weapon to rend limbs and bodies from anything that got in his way.
After a brief firefight they were thru the main doors, forcing them shut just in time to stop a small horde of zombies. Fox panted and looked at his weapon's readout, which was flashing a bright red 0.
"Holy crap… that was too close."
No sooner had those words left his mouth than they both heard a bunch of snarls. Slowly turning around they saw a group of zombies begin to move towards them. In order to keep them from charging, both Fox and Panther moved slowly as they reloaded. However, the high whine their weapons made as they charged seemed to rile them up, as several of the zombies howled and the mob charged. Fox switched his SMB to automatic and snapped it up, unloading fifteen rounds into the rushing group. Several zombies dropped, their heads now sporting smoking holes.
Panther followed a different strategy, waiting until his targets were closer so that the concentrated bolts would cause maximum damage. However, this strategy backfired when a mostly devoured wolf managed to blindside him. The black feline barely managed to get his shotgun between the two of them, shoving the barrel into his gut and pulling trigger, blowing a foot wide hole out his back. Shoving the corpse off he swung the weapon up and fired from the hip, taking a rat off at the hip, the severed torso spinning wildly before slamming to the ground.
The disfigured rodent looked up and snarled before dragging himself forwards, his jaws snapping and gnashing the air as he dragged his one remaining leg limply behind him. Panther sighted down his barrel and fired, turning the rat's head into a red splatter in the small crater the bolts make in the tile.
Fox ejected his empty charge, slamming a full one home before he ducked underneath a lunging zombie, his shoulder slamming into it's knee and forcing it face first into the shatterproof door, leaving a red trail to the floor. Then he resumed firing, again spraying into the crowd.
As his weapon read empty again he switched to his CEB-8, firing quickly, putting three shots into the face and neck of a rabbit who had come around a corner.
Then it was quiet.
Looking around slowly both Fox and Panther let out a sigh, before checking their gear. Not surprisingly they both had to reload.
Then they heard a roar.
They looked at each other before both tore off towards the elevators, following the signs hanging from the ceiling. As they found the gleaming metal doors they felt the floor start to rumble, whatever had roared had apparently found them. They ran into an open lift and slapped the fortieth floor button. As they turned around they saw another of those mutated zombies thundering down the corridor towards them. Both raised their weapons and fired as the doors slid closed. When the two halves slid closed, both slumped against the back wall. Fox raised his shaking left hand and took some time to clean a bit of gore off his face.
Panther growled and slapped the wall, "For fuck's sake! Those things are like tanks!"
Fox sighed, "Yeah. But at least they're just as stupid as the rest of…"
He stopped as the sound of tearing metal rang in his ears. Suddenly the lift lurched and they could hear the manual gears grinding under pressure. Fox looked at the display, which read 34. Snapping up his SMB he unloaded into the console, which shorted the system and stopped the lift. Fox crammed his metal hand into the doors and pried them open, showing they were actually stuck between floors. Panther jumped up and slid onto the upper floor as the floor of the elevator lurched under Fox's feet.
The vulpine jumped up and pulled himself in just as the mutant tore thru the floor. Fox looked down in fear before he looked at the top of the elevator at the cable assembly. The massive zombie struggled to fit his massive body inside the elevator as Fox aimed his SMB and fired the remaining bolts in his charge into the gears, melting the metal. There was a groaning sound, then the lift fell, the emergency brakes unable to stop the massive weight, and the lift fell all the way to the bottom, ending with the expected CRUNCH!!! Fox let out a shaky breath, his eyes wide, "Jesus Christ", he muttered under his breath. Then he happened to look down and saw that his left pant leg was torn, where apparently the 'tank', as Panther had called it, had attempted to grab him. He practically fell to his butt as he yanked the tattered leg up frantically looking for scratches. Finding none he covered his face with his hand and let out a frustrated breath, "That was too damn close."
Panther moved to an intersecting hallway and looked down the surprisingly clean hallway, "Hey. Stairs are over there."
Fox stood back up after scooping up his SMB. Sliding a fresh charge into place he said, "Let's get moving. We've got some ground to cover."
They moved to the door, both noticing the bloody handprints on it. Nodding to each other Panther entered first, his shotgun ready. When he saw it was clear they began running up flights of stairs. At the top of the first flight they heard blaster fire. Looking at each other Fox muttered, "Talk about déjà vu."
Then they ran, climbing faster. After a few minutes they neared the top. Two flights from their floor they heard a loud crash. This sound only spurred them on harder, and after a few seconds they burst out the broken door and scanned the area, weapons ready. Fox reached out with his mind, "Krystal?"
Then there was another crash from down the hall. The two took off running. They came around a corner to see a massive hole in a wall, leading into a medium sized room that had been totally trashed.
And lying in a heap of rubble on their side of the hole was the body of Krystal, lying in the ruins of a desk. Both men ran to her side, where Fox knelt down, pulling her to his chest, "Oh God Krystal!"
Then from the direction of the hole came a voice Fox despised more than that of Andross, "Hello Fox."
The tan vulpine clenched his fists, turning to face the blond human, who he could see was leaning against the hole, with his arm hanging behind him, "Albert Wesker", setting his wife down he stalked toward him, with murder in his eyes, "I'm gonna rip your fucking head off!"
The human simply stood up straight and brought his arm in front of him, which revealed him holding young Emily by the hair, "I think not", The man gave a jerk and pulled the girl up so she was now grasped under his arm, "You see I'm simply keeping my word."
The man backed into the room, moving towards the broken out window. Kneeling down slightly he grasped the leopard woman around the chest, and she struggled briefly since she had woken up. So he just squeezed, driving the air from her lungs.
Fox growled, "Let them go."
Wesker chuckled, "I told you I'd destroy your world, just as you destroyed mine. Your world is just a little bigger is all, more planets to work on."
Fox growled and snapped, "You destroyed your own world Wesker! I just put it out of it's misery."
Wesker shook his head, "No. I could have saved it. Those that survived the cataclysm were worthy to be ruled by me", looking down at the weakly struggling leopardess in his arms he smiled, "Originally I came here for her. After all the Emperor's sister is quiet a valuable asset", his gaze shifted to Emily's still form, "She was just a bonus."
The man stopped at the window, and suddenly Fox's eyes widened, "Don't do it Wesker."
However, the human simply smiled wider, "Consider this my declaration of war."
Then he threw them both out the window…
End Chapter Ten