A/N: I am now working on the new chapter for REFLECTIONS OF A NEW GENERATION. That will be my NEXT update. I promise.
Now for a re-cap of where we left off...
Chapter -11-
Initial Venom Offensive
About Twenty-Five Minutes Ago…
Falco Lombardi paced in front of the electrified fence with a scowl on his face. To Peppy, he looked rather goofy talking to himself while stomping around in front of the metal gate. The hare cut his gaze over to the humming metal fence and frowned thoughtfully.
The avian kicked a rock at the fence, which sparked in reply. "Where are those two? We need an access card so we can freakin' fly!"
Hare rubbed either side of his face with a sigh and approached the falcon. "Relax, will you? I'm sure they're on their way. Just stay sharp. I know that there are ground forces here, too. It's more than just an air raid. Our other option is to try and find a way to circumvent this fence."
"We could t-t-try and find the power relay for the fence," said Slippy from somewhere behind the rabbit. Peppy turned to him and offered the toad a slight grin then shook his head. The frog's face dimmed and his boyishly expressive eyes dropped to the ground. "Just trying to help, Peppy. I thought it was a good idea."
"Yeah well, apparently it was a dumb one," retorted Falco.
"Stop fighting, you two." Peppy sighed and ran his fingers back through his short headfur. "We can't go looking for the power relay station or the backup generators because they'll be better guarded than the fence. We need a way under or over… Another idea would be to find a weapon that we can use to take out a portion of the fence."
A gruff voice came from behind. "No one here will be procuring any weapons, Cornerian scum." A small squadron of lizards walked out onto the parking lot with their weapons raised. The leader, a green skinned Imperial, wore fancy ceramic armor and had dried blood at the left and right corners of his mouth. "You there," he said, nodding towards Slippy. "Amphibian, I'll give you one chance to walk away from these two and join us. It's a rare opportunity to be allowed recruitment after being spotted with Cornerians so I implore you to take advantage of this opportunity."
Slippy balled his hands up. "You can t-take your offer and s-stick it up your f-f-freakin' ass. These guys are my friends! …Loser."
The lizard approached the toad and the other three lizards fanned out to surround Falco and Peppy. The leader looked Slippy over as if sizing him up. Slippy did his best to try and return the same imposing glare. Finally, the lizard lifted his weapon from Slippy's face at a ninety degree angle, casually holding it straight up in the air. He relaxed his stance to a slouch with a sarcastic smirk. Slippy placed his hands on his hips in rebuttal.
Peppy cut his gaze over at Falco who seemed to be watching the silent altercation intensely. The rabbit panned his eyes back towards the reptile and amphibian. A slight smile tugged at the corner of the middle-aged hare's mouth. He felt pride welling up in his torso at the way Slippy stood up for himself.
Without warning, the lizard brought his free hand up, burying it into Slippy's gut. The frog sank to his knees, favoring his stomach from the blow. Peppy's eyes shifted back to Falco who stormed over to the two, fuming at the situation. Hare watched helplessly, trying not to get himself shot. He winced, fearing the avian would be sealing his own fate at any second.
"Hey, slime-ball!" Falco shouted. "You're a pretty tough guy, picking on a teenager without a weapon. Reptiles and birds, we're supposed to be pretty similar… so why don't you match your wits with me, asshole."
"Close your beak or you're next," said the soldier.
"I am next," Falco rebutted, rolling up his right sleeve. "Let's go; right here and right now."
"Falco, I'm fine," muttered the frog, coming up to one knee.
The lizard pistol-whipped Slippy across the side of his face. The entire group watched in horror as Slippy dropped to the sidewalk, dazed from the strike. Slippy's arm twitched and he tried to sit up but the lizard pointed his gun at the frog in return. "I didn't say you could get up, froggie."
Falco kicked his leg out, striking the weapon. His clawed talons closed around the gun and he leaned forward, bringing his leg back down. He successfully snatched the weapon out of the lizard's hand, reached forward and struck the reptile across the side of his forehead then jerked his leg back, foot-throwing the weapon to Peppy.
Hare caught the weapon, turned it on the lead soldier and fired. The high power round struck his glossy armor and seemingly bounced off. The ricochet hit the ground, leaving a scorch mark in the pavement. Peppy's ears lifted, hearing three other safety switches being released. All the barrels now pointed at him. His eyes flitted to the soldier on the left then panned right, towards the other two. 'Great,' he thought. 'A stand off; just what we needed.' He swallowed the lump in his throat then licked his lips in apprehension. He didn't want to get his young team killed.
"Just let them walk away," Peppy said calmly. "And I'll go with you guys. I'm the one you want, anyhow."
"And just who the hell are you?" said the leader, reaching up to rub at the side of his head before turning his gaze back to Lombardi. "You're all interfering as far as I am concerned. You're no one special, just three idiots in the wrong place at the wrong time." He paused and reached his scaly hand back to the side of his shiny helmet, pushing inward on it. "Yes, I'm here. We're in position but taking out three Cornerians. Go ahead and finish deactivating the fence. We'll take it from here." Another pause, then, "Heavy? We should be able to handle at least two." A final pause followed by, "Copy; over and out."
The humming fence went quiet. Peppy made eye contact with Slippy who shifted his eyes over at the guard on the far left, blinked twice then canted his head back towards the two guards on the rabbit's right. Peppy tightened his jaw then offered the slightest nod. He lowered the gun and shifted it about in his paw so that he was holding it by the barrel.
"I'm glad you decided to surrender," said the lizard; he shifted his focus back to Lombardi.
Peppy didn't respond. He flitted his wrist, using the handle of the weapon to point to the two guards on his right. Slippy offered the slightest nod in return. Peppy took a slow breath, trying to clear his head and ready himself for such a stupid stunt. He closed his eyes for a moment then turned to the armed soldier on his left. He slowly lifted the gun towards the soldier, offering it up, handle first and said, "Yeah… Surrender. I… guess that would be best."
He tossed the gun towards Slippy and dove forward, tackling the armed guard in front of him. The remaining two, standing behind them, quickly canted their heads down to sight the back of the rabbit's head. Everything happened quickly; before they could even aim, Slippy caught the weapon and shot it at them.
The first round passed between the other two guards, causing them to take evasive maneuvers. They fell back, forgetting about Peppy and shifted their guns towards Slippy. The toad fired off a second round. The gunshot struck one of the two guards in the face. The powerful discharge flung the soldier back much to the frog's pleasure. He rolled hard to the right and fired again, forcing the remaining guard to leap out of the way.
Meanwhile, Peppy threw two quick jabs into his opponent's gut, perched atop of his enemy's waist. He threw two more quick jabs, placing each fist beneath the reptile's jaw. He then reached to the left, snatching the weapon from the lizard's right hand and buried his own right fist into the scaly Imperial's face. The last attack rendered the soldier unconscious. He drew his arm back and fired two shots at the remaining guard who had his weapon leveled at Slippy.
Both Toad and Hare fired at the same time, striking the lizard in the torso from two angles. He screamed and dropped to the asphalt. Peppy cut his gaze over to Falco just as the bird planted a fist against the leader's jaw. The single uppercut brought the trooper to his knees. The reptilian soldier let out a cry of pain, bringing both hands to favor either side of his already-broken jaw. Falco stood there, stunned at the effectiveness of a single blow.
Lombardi reached for the lizard, snatched his shoulder pads and lifted the man to his feet. "Are you kidding? Just one swing and you're on the ground like a baby?" He shoved the man against the silent fence then cocked his fist again. "Now get up like a man, so I can put a real beating on ya!"
"His jaw is broken," Peppy announced. The rabbit stood up from his unconscious opponent, approached the nineteen year old and placed a calm paw on the boy's cocked fist. "The way he's holding it, and judging by the lumps in his jaw, I'm willing to wager it's broken in two places."
"What?" Falco balked almost as if he were insulted. "Two places? I only hit him one time in the mouth. The other swing was at his forehead."
"He was talking a little f-f-funny," Slippy said, standing up. "Maybe it was already broken before but we just didn't realize it." He pointed the gun at the lizard to keep his friends covered then drew silent.
"I think he's just a pansy," Falco said, keeping his fist cocked. "But look at him. He's lying against the fence and it's not shocking him… so it looks like his buddies helped us out by shutting down the fence."
"You're right, Falco." Peppy released the avian's forearm, keeping his other paw extended so that the weapon barrel brushed against another soldier's forehead. "His armor is pretty slick but it won't stop a blaster from killing him if I have it pressed against his head." He shifted his inquiry to the lizard in question and added, "Will it?"
"Kill me," said the green scaled man, using his tongue to form the words, unable to open his mouth any further. The lizard mumbled something else that seemed unintelligible, inhibited by having two fractures in his jawbone. "Do it," he goaded, forming the words sloppily.
"Oh crap," Peppy announced.
Falco blinked. "What?"
Peppy used his free left paw to guide Falco away then stepped directly in front of the lizard, keeping the gun against the soldier's forehead. "The aerial attack is some sort of diversion. This guy was here to steal some sort of Arwing weapon; the bomb that Fox used to take out the Battle Attack Carrier over Westtown the other day. It's supposed to be a secret weapon but the rumor got out that Venom has been trying to steal it for quite some time. One of the recruits told me about it last night at the scuttlebutt."
Slippy approached the leader on the opposite side from Falco, standing on Peppy's right. He cleared his throat and shifted the gun to his right hand then cast a glance at the rabbit. "You still call a water fountain a scuttlebutt? No offence, but… Geeze you're old school."
Peppy frowned. "Quit dinkin' around, Slip. Anyhow, these guys were trying to get through the fence to the Arwings. I heard they tried several times in the past to get the new bombs and that's how this whole mess got started, ultimately causing most of Corneria's military leaders to get canned." He pushed the barrel against the lizard's forehead, leaving a round ring indentation. "But a whole air strike just to cover this? That doesn't seem right."
"Kill me," said the lizard with a calm yet firm tone.
"There would be more than three… or less than two," Peppy continued. "If they wanted to go for stealthy, they'd have just sent one very competent soldier. But they know that these things have to weigh a lot, yet they didn't send but four people. They have no way to transport these things, so I think they're only here to make a "Plan C" attempt. This mustn't be the main objective for the attack." He reached his left paw between the lizard's clawed hands and snatched the reptile by his throat. "Talk."
"Nghh!" groaned the soldier in reply. Peppy lifted his paw further up the soldier's neck, so that his knuckles brushed the bottom side of the man's broken jaw. Another muffled yelp escaped his mouth but nothing coherent. Peppy forced his paw further upwards, applying pressure to the lizard's cradled jaw. The man groaned in pain but didn't talk.
"Fair enough," said the rabbit. He stepped back, aimed his gun at the lizard and said, "Break his face, Falco."
Lombardi cracked his knuckles; a grin spread across his beak. "With pleasure, grandpa." He approached the lizard, popping each of his knuckle joints one at a time, just to be further imposing. "I'm going to shatter that jaw then I'll have him picking teeth out of his crap for a week." He cocked his fist back. "He'll be drinking jail food through a straw."
"Wait!" cried the lizard. Everyone froze. The soldier shifted his gaze from Falco to Peppy then back to Falco. He spoke slowly, pushing the pain of his jaw aside to save face. "I waited until the MP officer left the fennec's house. It was on fire and so I rushed inside because she has the key to the fence."
"She's the chief test pilot," said Peppy. "It makes sense that she'd be the only one with access to the Arwings. It's her program. So where is she?"
The reptile continued with his slowly spoken words. "She had a male fox with her. He attacked me with a red object and broke my jaw. They got away so we changed the…" he struggled to form the next word. "…'Lan"
"Okay," said Peppy. "You had a change of plan. I get it, you can't talk well 'cause Fox broke your jaw and Falco slugged you in the same place while it was tender. Then what happened?"
"I got three men and we came here."
Peppy shook his head with a frown. "I believe you but there's more going on here than you're telling me. I trust my gut; my instincts tell me that you're omitting information."
The lizard's eyes rolled upwards and his body went limp against the fence. He keeled over onto the parking lot, motionless. His scaly tail twitched from a muscle spasm. Falco lifted his body up and carried him across the parking lot. The rabbit watched in amusement as Slippy ran alongside of Falco, reading the avian's mind. Slippy opened the top of a trash dumpster and Falco approached it with a leisurely pace. He leaned forward, shrugged his shoulders upwards and flung the lizard into the metal box. Slippy flipped the lid shut.
"You two are something else," said Hare with a chuckle. "Let's get prepped for launch. Hopefully Fox will show up but if he doesn't, I want Falco to fly lead." He turned to the gate's large hook-like mechanism and climbed up the chain links carefully. Peppy took a moment to wedge the two pieces of metal apart while Falco and Slippy pushed the gate back on its rolling track. Hare dropped to his feet and walked through the gate; the two teenagers followed him through.
The screaming engines of an incoming Venom ship grabbed their attention. Peppy canted his head about, lifting his left ear upwards. The long stalk remained bent at the middle; his right one became fully erect. The trio turned to face the tram rails that towered three stories above the ground, watching as the Flea fighter followed along the track.
Falco's eyes followed the incoming fighter as it trailed something up on the tracks. It attempted a pot-shot but the blaster discharge skimmed over the side of the rails and disappeared in the trees below. "Is he trying to attack a MagLev train?" asked Falco.
"I don't see a train up there," Peppy said. "They're tall enough that I can usually see a little bit of the tram car as it passes. Plus, I don't hear a tram car; those things are ridiculously noisy at that speed. That fighter is moving quickly; maybe he's just following the tracks for some reason."
"Look!" Slippy shouted.
A red convertible darted over the side of the rails at an incredible rate of speed. The front end eased forward, devoid of its bumper. The three pilots came close together, watching in awe. "Holy smokes, is that what I think it is?" Falco whispered. "Those cars are worth a mint." The roof popped open, caught the wind and ripped clean off the back. Falco winced and said, "Aw geeze laweeze, that's… man. Wait…" He squinted; the car continued to sail through the air, clearing over the electrified gates. "I think… I think I saw Fox behind the wheel; just a glimpse!" Lombardi broke into a sharp sprint, chasing after the car. Its shadow passed over him and the vehicle continued to sail towards the ordinance shed at the back corner of the runway. It disappeared behind the small building followed by a rather odd sounding noise.
Peppy blinked and turned to Slippy. "That's not what it sounds like when a metal object drops three stories and hits pavement." Scraping noises filled his ears, however faint. "It sounds like it landed in some bushes… Are there bushes behind that building?" He and Slippy began to jog towards the ordinance shed.
"I think so; I wasn't paying attention last time we landed the Arwings," replied Slippy. "But I think there were some hedges or something. Some sort of landscaping, at least. I hope it wasn't f-Fox in that thing. That was nearly a suicide jump, at best."
"Maybe, but if you land it right, hover pads would slow its fall prior to impact," Peppy replied as the two continued towards the building. Peppy's ears flickered again, hearing Falco's excited voice up ahead. "It wasn't necessarily a smart thing to do with a nice car, either." The rabbit face-faulted. He thought for a moment then added, "Scratch that… his father and grandfather had no regard for vehicles. I remember the time James converted one of his fighters into a racing car just to prove a point."
The canvas rooftop dropped from the sky, slamming into the pavement less than twenty feet away from Slippy and Peppy. They rounded the corner of the ordinance shed, where parts of the car littered the ground on all sides of the flattened hedges. Further up ahead, the ruins of a red convertible sat only fifty feet from where the Arwings were lined up. Scrapes and gouges covered the concrete where the car had skimmed across the ground on its belly. One of the hover-pad domes had ripped off the bottom and the metal hoop from the dome rolled out over the runway.
Peppy stooped to pick up the driver's side rearview mirror then showed Slippy. They stood side by side near the ruined hedges behind the concrete shed, watching as Falco ran towards the car, chattering excitedly to the driver. Peppy sighed and handed the red object to Slippy who peered into the glass on the other side of it. The rabbit reached up to rub at his face then approached the car on Fara's side and paused. He wanted to open the door for her but she was speaking to Fox and he didn't want to interrupt her.
Once she finished speaking, Fox said something back to her and they spoke for another few seconds. Peppy turned his attention back to the rear of the vehicle and examined the damage the aft section sustained. He shook his head and walked away. "Slippy, let's go and power up the Arwings; we need to hurry. We haven't much time left. I'll give Fox hell at another time. C'mon."
…NOW
Panther Caruso folded his arms, leaning back against the wall in the operating room. His eyes shifted from left to right. He offered a quick smile then lowered his gaze again. The feline pilot lifted his left paw and ran his tongue along the onyx fur, causing it to stick together, flat against his flesh. He slid his piloting glove over his furry fingertips then lifted his gaze back to a terrified Cornerian nurse. "You're trembling, sweet girl. Why would such an alluring young lady be terrified? Mmm, you're the master of your surroundings under normal circumstances, aren't you? When there's no war and no guns… It's true, isn't it?"
The nurse sat down on a nearby chair, looking nervous. She closed her paws, sliding them behind her rump. The squirrel lowered her eyes then, in a calm voice, asked, "Why are you helping them?"
"You're speaking to Panther Caruso. Some people go where the money is, sugar. Ahh, you worry too much little flower. No one dies unless there is a lack of cooperation."
"You're getting paid to do whatever it is you're doing? You're doing this for nothing other than money? What about personal beliefs?" She frowned, keeping her eyes averted. "You're just… a teenager."
"Yes," replied the dark-furred feline. "But just the same, I'm a soldier of fortune. This is a rather novice gig for a man of my talents. Just be glad you're not at the other end of my rifle scope." He turned to her and pointed, cocking his thumb as if pretending to shoot her with his fingertips. He made the sound of a gun with his mouth then offered a feisty growl. "A man with aim as steady as mine should have his own logo." He lifted his paw and blew imaginary smoke from his fingertip.
She blinked twice; her eyes lifted then dropped, looking him over from head to toe. "A man with your ego needs his own slogan, sir. Why are you here? This is a hospital."
"Aren't you adorable; I bet you hear that word often, don't you?" Panther shifted his weight against the wall. "I normally take jobs where someone of importance has to lose their life. However, the money is usually in current events and, today, that means stealing something from a hospital, sweet one." He turned his attention to the commotion coming from the next room over. "Pardon me, my dear. I need to go and mediate before things get out of hand. It was a pleasure to meet you."
He blew a kiss to her then walked out of the operating room and into an adjoining hallway. Cornerian forces had the lizards and marmoset squadron pinned down. Caruso strutted down the center of the hallway. He snatched one of the rectangular riot shields from a nearby lizard and lifted it, continuing forward at a casual pace. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the defenseless lizard take a shot in the forehead. The reptile slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, leaving a red streak against the bulkhead.
Panther shook his head, muttering beneath his breath. "Poor bastard." He continued on, approaching the nearest Cornerian soldier. The two front men fell back, leaving the one closest to Panther to fend for himself. The feline reached his free paw out towards the canine's weapon, grasped it from beneath the barrel and pushed it up with excessive force. The hot tip slammed into the dog soldier's nose, breaking it.
He then forced the weapon downwards, snatching it from the guard's grip. He turned the submachine gun around and opened fire. Hot rounds tore into the man's armored vest and he slumped to the floor, gasping for breath. Panther brought the gun behind his newly acquired shield and pushed the barrel through a small port in the front then squeezed the trigger.
His shots caught another Cornerian in the shoulder. The force of weapon discharge threw the canine off balance. The second Cornerian soldier spun about like a bottle top then collapsed on the floor, favoring his collarbone. The broad-shouldered feline kicked the weapon from the trooper's paws. He knelt down, took the soldier's side arm from the man's hip holster then tossed it over his shoulder. It clattered down the hall. He stood back up and continued further, easily piercing the Cornerian guardsmen's defenses.
"You'll never penetrate their defenses if you don't have the confidence to move forward against all odds. War is like sex in that way, don't you think?"
The Cornerian lying on the floor looked up and furrowed his brows in confusion. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to a state of unconsciousness from a lack of blood. The sanguine liquid pooled beneath him, coating the floor tiles.
Panther smirked in reply. "Disgraceful." He continued down the hallway. The remaining three guards fell back, ducking into a nearby intersection. The feline cleared his throat then shouted, "Move up, Imperial forces. I can't baby sit you people all day; I have secondary objectives to complete!"
The forces moved up the hallway and the chocolate-furred feline moved towards a hall on the left. Another canine came running down the hallway only to meet Panther's shield with bone jarring force. Panther transferred the shield to an equipment hook on his back then kicked the fallen soldier in the face while passing.
He nudged open a set of double doors and stepped through them. Without missing a beat, Panther fired the rifle into the ceiling then tossed it on the floor, drawing two handguns from his hip holsters. He twirled each hand-cannon then aimed them straight outwards at forty-five degrees, left and right. "This is the laboratory, is it not? I wish for a sample of your cure to the Venom Plague that was introduced to Sector Three last night."
The researchers looked startled and afraid, bringing another smirk to Caruso's maw. "What?" asked the large cat. "Did I frighten and bewilder you?" He approached a female researcher with a slender frame and brushed the backside of his paw against her cheek. The massive pistol skirted the edge of her ear. The raccoon swallowed then nodded her head. Panther took on a semi-sorrowful expression. "Please accept my sincerest apology, darling. I would never intentionally cause such trepidation. I hope that a kiss could provide you with panacea…" He puckered his lips but she backed away. "Very well," said the feline with a grin. "It's your loss, dearest."
He cocked both weapons causing the entire group to gasp in fear. His grin broadened then he laid his right arm down on a nearby counter, palm up. "Someone administer the cure to me then give me a sample in a secure container. I'll leave you with enough to copy so you can synthesize more. If no one does anything stupid, everyone goes home tonight." He glanced over his shoulder at the raccoon female and winked at her. "And you'll see your husband, tonight." He then lowered his eyes to her trembling paws. "Don't think I didn't notice your wedding band, sweet thing. He's a lucky man to hold your affections."
Panther panned his left pistol across the room. "I'm on a time constraint; now would be an excellent time for you all to hurry up. For every minute that you stand there with your jaws on the floor, one of you will meet death." Suddenly the entire group of researches began to rush about. Some worked to prepare a small sample of the cure while others grabbed the supplies they would need to administer a dosage to Panther, intravenously.
Ten minutes later, Panther Caruso walked out of the hospital's rear entrance with a satisfied look on his muzzle. A simple band-aid covered his right forearm and smeared lipstick graced the collar of his armored suit. He thought back on the incident with a sly smile.
The fresh memory raced through his mind: he'd picked the rifle up from the floor and had handed it to the female raccoon before leaving. He recalled telling her to use it to protect herself from the Venom soldiers then told the group to leave through the emergency exit at the back of the hospital if they wanted to escape without resistance. At the exit door, he leaned his cheek towards her expectantly until the quivering raccoon relented to a kiss. She even had to stand on her tip-toes just to reach his neckline.
Now, on his own, the large cat took a moment to fantasize about what it would have been like to give her a kiss in return; he walked across the courtyard towards Sector Three. "She smelled delicious," he recanted with a murmur and a smile. "I bet she tasted even better." Panther continued down the path and passed a sign for Sector Three.
He shifted the weight of the riot shield, still on his back, and then approached a house at the end of Ordinance Street. Panther swiftly kicked the door in, causing the center of the entrance to collapse. The wooden frame resembled a grouping of splinters; the metal jam jingled across the tiled floor of the foyer.
He cleared his throat and announced, "The Pied Piper has come, packing powerful pistols to pick off a pack of people preaching pretext for a pitiable pardon; it's time to pay – your punishment shall be prompt. Perhaps you perceive the proposition of penance: Talking gets you shot. Are you all impressed with my impeccable implementation of alliteration?" Before anyone inside could answer, he leveled both pistols and pulled each trigger several times.
He stood in the doorway, enshrouded in a wisp of gun smoke. His Cheshire grin flashed in the sunlight. Panther glanced about for some way to leave a sign of his handiwork. He spotted roses on either side of the entrance and his grin broadened further. "Perfectly priceless; petals of pure purr-fection pray to publish my prideful prattle." He licked his lips then holstered both of his weapons. He snapped several roses from the bush then carried them into the house, dispensing them onto the bodies laid out across the living room floor. "I predict that I shall perform this pairing more often." He dusted his palms together then said, "Such pure petals meet Panthers approval for his professional portfolio."
"D-do you always s-speak in… s-such a way?" The voice came from the kitchen.
Panther canted his head towards the person, tilted his head then said, "I'm afraid I don't. I was looking for something that would become my call sign but talking in such ways doesn't leave any clues if the dead can't repeat it to the living. What are you doing here?"
The hyena backed up against the refrigerator and shook his head rapidly. "I'm the gardener for sector two and three, sir!"
Panther looked down to a remaining rose in his paw then smiled slightly. "You have a passion for flora, my friend. Your roses are divine." He withdrew his pistol from his hip and, in one fluid motion, brought the gun to bear then fired it. The gardener dropped to the kitchen floor, dead. Panther approached him and tossed the last remaining rose onto his chest. "I wouldn't want to waste the last one, now would I? That would be a crime, Mister Gardener."
Caruso walked back out of the house, picked the last fully bloomed rose from the bush and fastened it to his torso armor. "I think I'm rather fond of the rose." He left the house and headed back towards the Northern section where his ship waited. "I suppose it's a shame for that poor bastard that I don't grant reprieve to just anyone." Of course, Panther meant that he only pardoned women from his wrathful style of execution.
He replaced the weapon in his holster and withdrew a communicator from his belt. "This is Panther; I've procured the cure to what ails you, Madam Caroline." The feline only had a special place for women of small stature with demure eyes. Caroline Oikonny didn't quite meet his standards.
"Make haste for Venom; I want you to rendezvous with a cruiser, waiting in orbit. They will make use of their jump-drive to get you here quickly. Did you meet your second objective?"
Panther continued his brisk stride towards his fighter, only a mile by foot. "I dispatched everyone at Seven-Zero-Six Ordinance Street. The Venomian traitor you spoke of was dealt with, as well as all surrounding eyewitnesses. I'll see you in six hours, Lady Oikonny." He closed the communications patch on the transceiver and hustled towards his fighter.
He approached the fighter that rested in the front yard of an abandoned house. The missing windows and scorched outer walls suggested that a battle raged at this location in the recent past. He stopped in front of the Razor Claw, its semi-reflective hull glinting in the sunlight. Two gunshots struck the riot shield on his back, causing him to pause.
Panther glanced over his shoulder at two women soldiers, armed with infantry rifles. He waved at them, using his other paw to activate the automated remote switch in his pocket. The cockpit opened and the computer booted up. He un-shouldered the shield and turned around behind it, putting his back to the fighter.
"Ladies, surly we can reach some measure of agreement."
One of the females shouted, "DROP your weapons and lay on the ground with your legs spread!"
"Oh, so very straight to the point, aren't you? Feisty; I like that. I'll spread mine if you spread yours first."
"PALMS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!" shouted the other.
"Oh, you two are just delectable." Panther began to ascend the ladder to his cockpit with one paw, using the other to hold the shield in place. They opened fire but the riot shield provided ample protection. He eased over the lip and into his cockpit then waved from behind the shield. "My name is Panther Caruso; I'm easy to find, ladies. I hope to see each of you again, very soon. Perhaps beneath the moons of Aquas; a romantic setting for me to share with the both of you at once, hmm?"
He activated the canopy switch on his dashboard then dropped the riot shield on the ground and quickly pulled his paw in before the dome glass reached the metallic ring surrounding the cockpit. Several gunshots ricocheted off the cockpit windshield and he offered both of them a kiss and a wink.
Caruso punched his throttle and the ship lifted vertically into the air. The two female soldiers stood there on the ground, shooting at the fighter until it disappeared into the sky.
Meanwhile…
Soft green blades of grass began to stand on end. Small clumps of dirt lifted from between them, levitating away from the soil, defying gravity. A fluttering electrical miasma glowed directly above the grass, drawing tiny granules of dirt upwards from intense static.
An arc of electricity reached up from the ground leaving a burnt discoloration in the grass. The powerful bolt raced upwards and met with the lightning-like arm of pure energy that came from a particle weapon of the biped tank almost a mile away.
Miyu, having seen the static discharge ahead of time, jerked the wheel away narrowly avoiding the plasmatic arc of lightning that jutted up from the ground. Dirt and weeds from the other side of the road began to stand on end and she jerked back to the left, swerving dramatically to avoid the powerful weapon. She turned her head away, avoiding the second intense white beam of light and Fara did the same. "Fara, we need to put that thing out of commission, because we can't get lucky forever."
"Especially when we're closer and the tell time is shorter." Fara shifted her weight uncomfortably then peered into the backseat where Fox's duffle and her clothes basket sat. She also took the ID card from the convertible as well as a few blasters from its trunk. Now, with the military police car loaded up, the two women sped towards Westtown in an attempt to locate Fay.
"We need a way to take those things out," said the lynx, tightening her gloved paws on the steering wheel. She cut the wheel hard to avoid another bolt of energy, causing the back end of the vehicle to fishtail. She then reached for the shoulder-mounted receiver and spoke into it. "This is Miyu Lynx; any available Cornerian forces out there? Please respond."
"Miss Lynx, this is Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Madison with the Fourth Battalion. This is a military channel." The reply caused Fara and Miyu to exchange a quick grin with one another.
Lynx mashed her thumb in on the trigger of the receiver and said, "Gunny Madison, I'm an MP stationed at Corneria Cap and we're in need of assistance. We need anti-tank support for the Biped Attack Tank on the East side of Westtown. Chief Petty Officer Fara Phoenix and I would be very grateful for anything you and your crew could do for us."
A brief pause then the radio came back to life. "Acknowledged, ladies. Please stand by and, while you're at it, try and take cover until we can take that thing down. There are three BAT's stomping around this sector. We're working as quickly as we can. Isn't Fara Phoenix a pilot?"
Fara cut her gaze over to Miyu, blinked in confusion then said, "Pepper wasn't kidding. I didn't think I was quite so popular… see if they can clear a path to the military warehouse in the north quadrant."
Miyu nodded then said into the radio, "We both are. Can you clear a path for us to get to the northern section of the city? We want access to the M-Class storehouse. We can give you air cover if you help us get airborne."
In an excited voice, the Gunnery Sergeant told them, "The Marines will clear you ladies a path! Stand by; we're going to create a diversion. Head to the hanger!"
"That 'fame thing' isn't so bad, Fara. After all," Miyu told her with a grin, "If they didn't know your name, they might not have been so willing to help!"
"I suppose. It just seems like a huge racket." Fara pointed back at the Battle Attack Tank, noting that it returned its attention on them. "Crap, he wants to be friends again."
"Hold on tight…!" Miyu jerked the wheel, evasively.
"I love these damn things!" Falco jerked on the flight yoke and tapped the right rudder pedal. The Arwing responded with an elegant rotation, halfway through a loop. "Nothing at the Academy – not one single machine – could have ever prepared me for how natural it feels to fly one of these things."
"No argument here," replied Peppy. The rabbit's ship came alongside of Falco just as the avian evened out above the base. "It looks like the bad guys are thinning out. I've checked the long-range sensors and there seems to be a fair concentration of bogies due west."
"This is our chance," said Fox over the radio. "We won't get another shot to take these things out and practice in them – at least not until they remove that quarantine status from Sector Three. Let's go have some fun and get in some practice time while we can. Besides, these things are fully prepped, loaded and ready for war. Let's use it to our advantage."
Slippy chimed in, "S-strange that someone left them prepped and armed like this."
Fox couldn't disagree. "I'm not complaining. We didn't even have a flight crew – be glad someone screwed up and left them sitting on the runway fueled, charged and armed to the teeth. We weren't supposed to have any armament on this morning's practice run because last time we weren't given the command to have weapons free."
"But maybe, because this morning's run was canceled yesterday, the flight crew left them in 'ready status'." Falco eased in on his controls and came into formation with the team. He punched two keys along the right side of the cockpit so that his stabilizers retracted. A small illuminated sign reading, "All Range Mode" dimmed from the monitor. A new message replaced it with, "Long Range Mode."
The door to Fay's economy car bent inwards so that the interior upholstery pressed against her left thigh. She jerked the wheel hard to port then winced in anticipation. The small automobile bucked violently, ejecting a scaly corpse in the rearview mirror. She watched it roll across the pavement, growing smaller and smaller in the reflective surface. Her eyes flitted back to the windshield with a frown. She winced expectantly once more.
The small car collided with a chain-link fence. Up ahead, she saw two women running across the restricted runway and recognized them both. Fay hit the gas pedal then slammed on the brakes and cut the wheel. Her little coupe swerved ninety degrees and skidded to a halt not far from where they were. She put the window down and shouted, "Goin' my way, gals?"
"Fay!" exclaimed Fara Phoenix. She circled the car and opened the passenger door then pulled the front seat forward. "Shotgun! Get in, Miyu! Still got that blaster?"
The lynx climbed into the back seat of the small car and withdrew her service pistol. Once she was in place, Fara put the seat back, withdrew her own gun and sank into the seat. She put the window down and nodded to the spaniel. "I hope you drive better than everyone else I've been with today."
"I drive opposite from the way I fly," Fay mused then stomped on the accelerator. "Hold on to your tail, girls!" She jerked the wheel to the right and headed towards the emergency runways that lined a National Guard complex nearby. "It took all morning but I've finally been given clearance to fly one of the Guard's M-Class fighters. They have half-a-dozen warplanes and no available pilots. Show them your military identification so we can all go up together."
Fara aimed her weapon through the passenger window and pulled the trigger. The blaster bucked in her palm but hit its mark in the shoulder, one hundred yards from the car. She cleared her throat and said, "After flying an Arwing, going back to an M-Class is gunna feel like an old pair of roller skates that have a busted wheel." She paused, shot another lizard then said, "Where did all these guys come from? I didn't know they gave a damn about this town."
"They showed up a few hours before attacking the Capital," said Fay. "They took the town by storm, set up shop and platform'ed their attacks on the base from right here. So, does Fox fly well?"
Miyu reached her weapon through the window, behind Fara's head and said, "He flies so good, Fara felt the need to invite him to her house last night. Oh, yeah, I got one!" she exclaimed at the end. The feline waggled her eyebrows. "I don't think anything happened between them, though."
"It didn't," replied Fara, taking out another lizard with her pistol. "We need to get to those fighters."
"Almost there," said Fay, turning the wheel of the car a little to the right. "But that place is reported to be swarming with Imperials."
"Just get us there in one piece," said Fara, pulling the trigger on her weapon again. "We'll deal with it when we arrive." She leaned back in her seat, withdrew her weapon from the window and closed the glass panel. The pilot sniffed in disdain then drew her seatbelt over her chest. An arc of plasmatic energy collided with the road nearby. Fara's eyes landed on the distant Marine contingent. They engaged the distant biped tank from the starboard flank, leaving the girls breathing room. Up ahead, the fence to the National Guard's runway came into view.
Fay's small car passed through the second chain-link fence with ease, separating several links along the section and splitting right down the middle. The fennec vixen spied several M-Class fighters further ahead, waiting in silence. Just as the spaniel predicted, the base raged in battle between the Cornerian soldiers and the Venom Imperial forces. Both sides appeared to be at a standoff, right in the courtyard between the runway and the main headquarters building.
An explosion rocked the area from off to the far right. Fara's window cracked down the middle from the concussive force of hot air. Her left ear flickered, hearing Miyu squeak, startled. The car swerved around a group of Cornerian GI's.
Fay fishtailed the small coupe and the backend knocked several Venomian soldiers off their feet. She stomped on the pedal and aimed the vehicle for the M-Class fighters lined up on the far end. She gasped. "Oh my goddess, look!"
Two pilots, attempting to board the fighters, struggled in their cockpits with an attacking enemy soldier. The lizards stood on the top rung of the ladders and some crawled up the nose of the fighter. Both pilots were pulled from their seats and thrown to the runway then executed.
"That's not happening to us," replied Fara with a narrowed gaze. "It looks like those war-birds are powered up and ready to fly. I see running lights along the bottom of the hull on both. Let's hurry – we need to help StarFox clear the skies and take down all three of those damn tanks!"
A/N: This chapter was nearly finished for, like, a million years. I started re-reading through the ENTIRE Reflections Of StarFox series in CHRONOLOGICAL order… and I got up to this story and said, "Hell, the chapter is nearly done… might as well finish and post it then continue reading through the rest!"
I PLAN TO UPDATE Reflections Of A New Generation VERY SOON. I'm just reading through the series first. We're talking about FIVE long stories (Well, maybe not Reflections of Peppy, lol), but just the same… New Gen is so dang big… and Reflections of Fox was no slouch either… In fact, I think I've been making the chapters TOO long.
I'm going to work on that so the story flows better.
Anyhow, Now it's time to begin reading the middle story – the one that started it all… Reflections of Krystal xD
I've been working a lot this month. I'm sorry it's not happened fast enough but I DO PLAN on writing the latest chapter for NEW GENERATION as soon as I finish reading through the series. I'm Two-Fifths of the way there, lmao
See you guys soon!
