Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul
Chapter XI
Storm

Born into freedom, they remind me
To go and protect it blindly
All of your life is depending
On who and what you're defending

Move in for the kill, 'til they finally get their fill

Raised to believe all the hatred
While all of the innocence faded
Trust in yourself to follow
The lies just get harder to swallow

Move in for the kill, 'til they finally get their fill

Lay down your life
For what you are
Live the sacrifice
For a silver star

Hypnogaja – "Silver Star"

The last thirty-six hours were nothing but a haze. The blue vixen remembered only parts of it. Mostly dry heaving over a bucket, as her body rejected mostly anything that it had ingested. She remembered crying, trying to stop herself from puking her guts out. She had been put in a small room with Katt. After lurching over the floor, she would pass out back into her bed again, falling asleep for another ten hours. She would wake up in cold sweats and found herself hallucinating, as images from the milky white walls came alive, and danced around her. She couldn't tell herself that it wasn't real until she had awoken, and come to realize the apparitions, distinguishing fact from fiction.

Even sick from radiation, she dreamed. She dreamed to escape to apocalyptic world that she lived in. An image of a white and black star haunted her. The mark of betrayed. The star came to an adjoining face. A black vulpine, the tattoo on his arm formed, and a silky black tail appeared. Sharp pearly daggers clouded her vision, all surrounding a long gold fang. All was dark. She spoke to the figure. She was half asleep. She knew she was in her bed, but she could see the vulpine standing beside her small bed. He towered above her. He looked down upon her. He held a long rifle by the pistol grip in one paw.

She cowered to the corner of the bed, where two walls met. "W-What do you want?" Her voice shuddered.

The vulpine stared down at her. He said nothing.

"What do you want!" She said in a stern but frightened manner.

His gold tooth flickered as he spoke. It looked almost luminous. "The Slayers are coming to Corneria."

She shook her head, pulling up the blanket to her muzzle. "No… the Slayers can't get in here. There are too many troops."

He laughed deeply. "And that has stopped us before?"

She paused. "I don't know if you're real, but just answer one question for me."

The black fox cocked his head slightly.

"Where are you to go, after you've gone too far?"

Syxx's paws glowed bright white. Krystal reacted. She saw the knife on the sheath over his chest; she pulled it from the sheath, closed her eyes, and stabbed it into his chest with a quick blow. He didn't budge. It was sent in swiftly. She removed her paw from the hilt, and opened her eyes. When her eyelids were open, she was horrified at what she had done. Her paws covered her muzzle, and her eyes opened wide, while her ears flattened. She wanted to throw up again.

Standing in front of her was now Fox. A knife stuck out of his chest, while blood leaked down into his clothes. He wore a silver vest, brown pants, and gloves. She saw the red fox with wings on the side of his jacket. She looked over the mysterious red fur that covered his body, and the white tip on his tail.

She spoke through her paws. "Fox…"

Though it was Fox, it didn't sound like him. The voice was dark. He still sounded like the evil and monstrous Syxx. He pulled the blade out from his chest. She heard the insides of him slide against the blade as he withdrew it from his body. Blood pumped out from the wound, and he put the blade in a sheath at his side. The gash dripped blood onto the floor.

"I don't have long." Krystal shuddered as she heard Syxx's voice come from the red fox.

"What?" The vixen asked.

Fox flashed his paw. In it appeared a small black box, and a long weapon. He tossed it on Krystal's bed.

She snatched the object. "My staff. I thought I lost it in the explosion… and my box."

"Listen up." He snapped like Syxx would. "The Slayer's are coming to Corneria, and there's only one way to stop them."

"How?"

"To stop Syxx. Ugghh!" He crumbled to his knees, and held his stomach. "And Syxx can only be destroyed one way. Agghhhhhh!" He paused, leaning over, one arm holding him up. "Just remember… what ever doesn't kill him… only makes him stronger."

"How do I defeat him?"

"Aghhhh!" He fell to his face, and rolled over onto his back.

Krystal jumped to the floor. "Fox, there's only one way I can save you! How do I?"

He stopped moving altogether, and his body disappeared.

"No…No… No…"

X

"No… No…"

"Krystal? Krystal?" The world was hazy once again. She woke to see a pink feline above her.

Krystal snapped up. "What? What's happening?"

"Nothing Krystal." She put her paw on her lap over top the blanket. "You've been talking to yourself for the last hour. I thought I should finally wake you… are you ok now?"

She propped her back up against the wall. "No." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"The Slayers… they're coming for us."

She huffed. "Try to get some more rest. I'll come back with some water for you."

The little blue vulpine took a deep breath. "Yes. Ok. Thank you."

Katt walked out of the room, turning off the light. Krystal sunk back into her bed. She cleared her tail, and moved it out of the way. The vixen took a deep breath, and calmed herself. She closed her eyes, and turned around in her bed. She kicked something with her barefoot. Her eyes snapped open, and she felt around with her foot, feeling the object.

She snapped up, and turned the light between the two beds on. She reached under the covers, and grabbed the steel bar, and pulled it up. "No…" she spoke to herself. She pulled the staff out of her bed, and laid it over her lap. "My staff." The truth was she had lost it in the blast. She watched it fly out the window, and disappear into the sea, lost forever.

She looked across the floor. No blood. No marks. Nothing. She didn't know if she was losing grip on reality, or reality was ever changing, as the super natural eluded her. She didn't know what was going on, or what was going to happen. Syxx couldn't have really been here. There was no way. He couldn't have been.

Krystal, jumped out of bed, quickly dressing herself. She rubbed her leg, were her tattoo was, as if she had hit it on something. The vixen ran out of her room, and into the hallway. The hallway had a concrete floor, with dozens and dozens of rooms through the many halls on this floor. She ran up the stairs and into a dark room. She listened before she opened the door, all she heard was muffled noises, and voices. She didn't need to listen though; she could read everyone's thoughts. They were talking about the Slayers.

She opened the door, and slid through, trying not to let any of the light from the halls through the small in the door. Her bushy blue and white tipped tail slipped through the door, just as it closed. Everyone in the briefing room ignored her, besides a few glances.

Peppy sat at the head of a table. A light from the ceiling was the only one in room that hung above the white table. Most of their electronics were wiped out. They were back to paper and pen until the IT guys and electricians could get the place up and running again. The vixen watched from the sides, as Peppy, the president, and other commissioned officers spoke around the table.

"…and this leaves us where?"

Peppy leaned back into his chair. "We've made first contact with the navy. There's nothing they can do to help us. Their primary is to keep the Aparoids off this planet. If we can get neutralization up and running again, we can deplete the radiation."

The Prime Minister, an older lion spoke. "How long will this take General?"

Peppy set his glasses down on the table, and rubbed his eyes vigorously. "At this point, photonic Neutralization is impossible. Levels are too high, and the process itself could take up to ten years."

"Ten years! This is unacceptable General."

"I think at this point, all we can do is to hold this complex, and maintain control of the orbital battle. And we've confirmed that we can keep Slayer outs of this establishment."

"You can't know that." Krystal said from the back. Everyone at the table looked at her. Peppy was about to speak, but the PM beat him too it.

"Excuse me Miss, but what do you know about these Slayers?"

"Not a lot. But I've run into them."

Another general spoke. "With all due respect, no one has ever come forward with this sort of intelligence since the program started. How do we know we can trust you?"

She stepped forward into the light. "What do you have left to lose?" she said simply.

They all were stricken silent by the remark, as reality sunk in.

The Brigadier General continued to speak to her. "The last known contact we've had from them was through brief communication, and before that, through Pual Ramirez. We can only assume is dead now, being on the outside of this building."

"Have a seat Miss." The PM offered.

Peppy laid out a bunch of files. "I know this could be asking a lot, but." He paused. He put out a whole bunch of files, and papers. "Is there any possible way that you could identify one of these warriors who might be their leader, or something?"

Krystal glanced at the files. Each was a single page. Each one was an identity. There were exactly one-hundred files, each for every Slayer that had gone through selection. She put one paw up, and pawed through the binder. She started at 'one', but knew what number she was working up to. Each profile had a photo, a signature, and a list of accomplishments and amenities. It said "Cornerian Special Forces" in one corner, and a photo of the shoulder pad on their armor; their name, their number, and the Black Blade Star… the mark of the Slayer.

She got to number "37." She stopped. Her eyes glanced over the page. A spark of anger going through her mind, she read everything, before flipping the page. Many of the profiles she looked at had a heavy black stamp across their file. It read "KIA". She made her way to "52 - Pyro" and another face she recognized. He had been with Syxx when he was on Corneria. She could sense this man. He put on a tough exterior, but he was a man that had a lot to hide. She could sense him at least. She finally got to "66" She read it, learning more about him

She stopped. "Him." Her claw tip tapped the photo. "This is him."

A black cat took the portfolio from the vixen. He scratched his short beard and nodded.

"General?" Peppy asked.

The feline coughed. "I was afraid it was him."

"Would you like to enlighten us General?"

The orange feline tossed the file to the General. "Meet Syxx. Rogue Special Forces Slayer. We found him in prison, after his arrest at Fox McClouds semi-public funeral."

Krystal heart leaped just at the mention of this. She wondered why this was. She wondered why she cared. She wondered why she still wanted to protect his identity. Maybe it was because, deep down she still cared for Fox… not Syxx, but Fox.

"What else can you tell us about this man?"

The man huffed. "Hah! Not much. He's the worse of all of them. Mean… and tough as nails. No Mercy. I can tell you if he's the one leading this, he's not stopping until one of us is dead."

"Capture?" Someone suggested.

"Not likely. We don't know where he is for one thing, and a Slayer has never been captured. It never even happened in training. Slayers are extremely illusive. We have no combat footage of them after they went rogue."

"Miss Krystal." The PM looked toward her. "What would we do to take down Slayers."

"There's no way to kill a Slayer." She shook her head. "If you kill one… it's luck."

Some of the officers shook their heads in disagreement. A low mumble came up between everyone, as they all whispered and spoke at once.

"It's true." The Brigadier General said. Since they didn't have hollow-grams up and running yet, he displayed a picture on a screen through a projector. "These photos were sent to us from the surface of Katina." On the screen, there was a blurry picture, and the only clear thing was a figure in black armor with huge shoulder flares, and knee guards. The figure's hands were out at its side, with a heavy M28 plasma rifle in each paw. He held them as if they were pistols.

"These are the only known photos ever taken of a Slayer in battle." He cycled through the photos. They could tell each one was taken in succession, right after the next, before it disappeared. "We don't yet have analyzers up and running yet. When we do, we can further examine these photos."

Krystal looked at the photo on the screen. She saw the white score on its arm, but the Slayer was unfamiliar to her.

"Anyways. We've got thirty-one Black-Ops troops in the building. They're in the vault training… they're not much, but they are all we have."

The General nodded. "Very well. This meeting is adjourned. I want all of you to go back to your respective stations, and rest. We've all worked very hard."

Everyone at the table got up and left the table. Even the PM left and went back to his room. There was no special treatment here. He had no master's suite. The hundreds of single rooms in the fallout shelter below the complex were all the same. Krystal was about to get up and leave as well, but the flicker of the lights in the control room made her heart leap, as her fear to be in darkness completely consumed her. Just as fast as the flicker began, it stopped, and all was back to normal.

"Peppy." She stuttered with a concerned look on her face. "What's going on?"

Peppy coughed, and sat down once more. He sipped at his coffee, holding it with two shuddering paws. "Photon Storm is brewing."

"What's that?"

"Well. It's basically a super-cell. A storm that is created from all the plasma radiation in the sky. The hot sky, and the cold surface, cause storms to form. Storms stronger than we have ever seen on Corneria. Cities can crumble over the might of them. I'd never thought I would live to see them, they were all just theory until now."

Krystal watched the lights flicker. She looked up at them. "May I see?"

The Hare put his glass down and looked up at her. "I don't think that's-"

"Please!" She interrupted sharply. "I want to see."

He coughed. "I think I can arrange something."

The old man stood up, but Krystal put a paw on his shoulder. "Peppy, I know you want to do all that you can for everyone here, but you need to rest now. You've done all you can do for now."

He laughed. "Thank you Krystal, I'm an old man, but I can still handle myself." He reached into his pocket. "Take this at least. It will grant you access to the surface for a short time. It's really all I can do." He handed her a card. It wasn't a key card. It was just a laminated card that stated that she was authorized by the General.

She took that card. "Thank you Peppy. Now get some rest."

He just nodded, but Krystal didn't see him leave as she headed into the stairwell. There was a big sign over the elevator that said. "Out of Order". Krystal kept climbing the stairs, passing workers, and soldiers on the way up. She climbed over ten levels. She finally got to a level that said. "Main." A paper under it said "Off Limits".

Two guards stood there. A black lab spoke to her. "Sorry. Off limits."

She showed them her card.

The other soldier, a female husky raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to continue?"

The vixen just nodded.

The male soldier pulled a key out of his pocket, and put it in the lock. He turned the handle, and it opened. "Porter here will escort you. I'm sorry Miss, it's required."

Krystal nodded. She looked at the snow white female dog. "I understand."

The door opened with a squeak, and instead of finding herself outside. She found herself in a small silver steel room with the bigger soldier. Porter grabbed a rifle off a weapons rack. She pushed it into Krystal. "Safety's on. Do not fire unless you are fired upon. If you don't know how to use one of these, you might have to learn." The dog grabbed a green and black vest from off the rack. She threw it over Krystal's shoulders, and zipped up the ballistics vest. "In the event a firefight breaks out, you will not engage the target." The famine husky put three plasma batteries into her vest. "In the event of a firefight you will follow me back to this point." The girl put a black helmet onto Krystal's head and made sure her ears popped out through the slits. The husky clipped the buckle on the helmet. "At that point you will relinquish your weapon and kit, and return to the underground shelter. Am I clear?"

Krystal pulled the helmet up so she could see the dog. She adjusted the vest on her shoulder, and nodded. "I do." Krystal had never felt like such a soldier before. She didn't like it… she felt… expendable.

The husky grinned. "Good."

There was a huge blast door. She wagged her tail and paused. She knocked on the door, two slow, and three fast. The hound then put her paw on a cog, and started twisting. The door slowly opened revealing a half meter thick door. They opened it up just enough so that they could slip through the crack. Two guards on the other side slammed the door closed behind them, putting their shoulders into it to slam it shut. The door slam echoed through the hall. They continued up a short set of stairs to reach ground level.

Krystal had expected something different. She thought it would look like it did downstairs, but it didn't. It was dim in light almost a perfect dark, and dirty. She saw the husky in front of her turn on the flashlight on the end of her rifle, and she did the same thing. She found herself in the center of a hallway. The white walls were dirty, and the hall was filled with garbage, and dirt had collected in the corners, and bottoms of walls. The only real way to see was with the light. Every corner and intersecting hallway had at least two soldiers. In some places there were mechanics welding up windows that had been boarded over, and repairing anything that they could use as another line of defence. She could hear the wind from here. It whistled on the outside of building. Some steel shudders rattled against the side of the building, as the storm tried to get in.

The ambiance in the air was tense, and it made Krystal grip the stock of her rifle tighter, as she followed the soldier. It felt like a long time. She swore she could see the building shake from the wind and as if, it was going to blast through a wall at any moment.

They stepped up the stairs to the top a level above the main floor. There was a set of storm doors that led to the outside, to the railing around the complex. Two Marines stood at the doors. They wore heavy armoured suits that covered their bodies completely. She saw on the vests it read "Siege M-II." They were all dressed in green. A helmet sealed them in the armour, but each of them had their helmets under their arms. The doors behind them shuddered, and knocked against the door frames.

Porter came up to the doors. "Put on your mask." She said, as she did the same thing.

Krystal pulled down the mask. She tightened the grip on her rifle, and grit her teeth, as the door opened. Wind rushed toward her and down the stairs. She was knocked back, but quickly regained her footing, and stepped out the door into the bright red world.

The girl closed the door behind them. "Ninety seconds Krystal." Porter said.

Krystal stepped forward. To her left, there was wall, and this wall continued up the complex. To her right, there was a short stone wall that she could see over the edge of. This shelf continued around the building, where Marines and shooters were posted. She could feel the wind sending sharp sparks of sand into her hide, but she kept moving forward, fighting the current.

Everything was red. It looked just like planet Titania to her. The vixen took a few more steps and she almost stepped right into a sniper team. They sat there, in their sealed armour, and used thermals to overlook the field. A light brown blanket covered them, making them almost invisible. Sand collected by their boots, and edges of the garment, and she could hear them mumbling over the howling of the wind, even from inside their helmets.

"Target six hundred meters and closing. Lylatian shadow."

"Green light."

Krystal jumped backward as the sniper rifle clapped loudly through the air, but it was quickly muffled by the sound of the storm. She stared out to where the shot had gone, but it was hopeless, she couldn't see what they were shooting at. She knew it was a person though. She knew it was some innocent refugee looking for a safe place to hide.

She almost yelled over the might of the storm as she spoke to the dog. "We can't just kill anyone that comes. These are innocent people!"

The dog huffed. "Born into freedom, they remind me, to go and protect it, blindly. All our lives depend on who, and what we defend." She patted her shoulder pad.

Krystal read the shoulder pad, and for the first time, she noticed what it said. She read, Cornerian Special Forces Black Ops. Not Slayers… but perhaps the next best thing. She looked at the other soldiers. They didn't have the same patch. They knew why they fought. They fought to stay alive, and the only way to stay alive, was to keep each other alive.

Krystal took a few steps backward. She peaked over the edge of the building; just within her sight she could see dead bodies that were just left on the pavement of the lot. The lot was also filled with garbage, rubble, and overturned and charred cars. Anything beyond that was invisible to her. It disgusted her, but she knew that this could very well be the last hospitable refuge on Corneria, and that they had to protect it.

She looked into the sky. Her heart jumped as she saw the sun, and then it disappeared behind a cloud of heavy dust. Solar disappeared into the blood red sky, now hidden behind the black, toxic, clouds of Corneria. The wind picked up for a moment, and thrashed the side of the building hard. The vixen, and many others were knocked to their knees, falling behind the short wall that shelter them from the wind, but more importantly, it protected them from incoming fire from whatever rebel bands they may lay behind the lines. No one really knew what was out there.

The women she was with put a paw on her shoulder. "Thirty seconds of exposure left. We should be getting back."

Krystal nodded. There wasn't much to see out there anyways. She spun around, and the husky let Krystal go first. They opened the doors, and shut them just as quick, before anymore dust, and debris could get into base. It was dark again and Krystal took off her mask.

The vixen coughed. "How do people get in and out?"

They went down the stairs, and back to the main floor after handing back the masks to the troops. Porter led the way through the dark halls. They passed many guards on the way back to the blast doors. "There's no way in. There's no way out. All doors, all exits, windows, everything, have been welded shut. No small arms fire can penetrate this base. Even if they get to the walls of the complex, they cannot get in. Security has never been so tight."

When they got back to the security doors, the guards let them in. The huge doors sealed behind them, and Krystal once again found herself in the small silver room where she had been briefed by the female dog.

Porter grabbed Krystal's helmet and put it back on the rack. She also took her weapon, ammunition, and ballistics vest. The warrior slung her weapon over her back, and pushed Krystal up against the wall. The vixen caught herself with her paws on the wall. The husky quickly searched over her body. She felt up her legs, and around her sides, and shoulders, and under her arms.

Porter let her go. "Lift your boots." The fox lifted her legs one at a time, and the soldier checked under them. "Ok you're clear."

When the final door opened, she was back in the complex. It gave her comfort to be back inside. She felt safe with the security around. Thermal scopes and troops were always on the watch for them. It made her think that they actually had a chance… A false hope perhaps.