Chapter Eleven
"Fox, let me take care of those cuts."
Fox gazed up at Fara, who nursed his arm with a wet rag as muffled blasts continuously disturbed the peace. Humming a tune, she gently scrubbed up and down the bruised appendage, much to the dismay of Selvala. She sat at the far end of the large white room through plastic eyes which covered her jealousy perfectly.
"He doesn't need a cheerleader," Selvala muttered as another blast rocked the hull of The Greatfox. "He's a man. He can shake it off."
Everyone in the room turned to face her. "Who's a cheerleader?" Fara barked. "I'm only helping him! What are you doing?"
"Waiting," she replied.
Fox turned to Fara and gave her a smile. Then he focused on the staff, to which he gently placed it on the floor. He was surprised Sasa had not come to frustrate him, but he was too busy to really care at this time. "Why do you think this guy's on a moon?"
Selvala stood. "It's a feeling. Kind of like the feeling Fox had when he evaporated so many of those Careinians today."
"What?" Fara asked as she clenched her fists. "Oh, if I still had my wings…"
"It's nothing, Fara. I'll tell you later." Fox moved his tongue in his cheek as he gazed at the metallic vixen. "Fara, would you tell ROB to maintain his course direction to the nearest moon? We shouldn't be too far off."
Fara nodded. "Of course." As she was about to walk out the door with her head held high, she turned around. "Fox, Sasa asked to see you. She told me it was important." The fennec fox waited for a response, but exited once she saw Fox hold up his hand.
Selvala walked to the door in haste. She pressed a few buttons on the side panel, making another door fall on top of the last one. As the door moved to a halt, she pressed her back up to the portal. "Tell me, Fox McCloud. Do you like a woman of power?"
Fox backed away, sliding down the table. "Um… Selvala?"
She ran up to him as her metal and plastic boots tapped down the length of the room. When she reached him, she tackled him and threw him to the ground, resting her pelvis on his stomach, straddling her legs between his body. "You were amazing today."
Fox looked up at her and gazed at her unusual, unchanging face. Her black plastic eyes were freakishly large, and her suit was cold and felt uncomfortable pushed against his skin. Even her long legs and arms seemed more like a spider than an actual person. "Selvala," Fox choked, "are you feeling okay?"
"Oh, I've never felt so alive!" She brushed the hair on top his head. "Never before. You are the spitting image of the guardian of old. And… you're incredible! Just like me. A fox."
"You're more of a machine than a fox!" Fox groaned.
Pressing a cold finger to his lips, she shook her head. "I haven't done this in twenty years, but for you, I will." Lifting her arm without the impressive weapon mounted on it, she flipped open a panel, revealing an array of switches and glowing buttons. Putting a hand to her face, she pressed a button in the panel, and the mask immediately fell into her grasp. For the first time, she looked at him with her true eyes. Selvala smiled.
"You're beautiful, Selvala," Fox remarked. "It's a shame you hide yourself – you'd never be lonely if you'd only learn."
She brushed a loch of her hair from her face, almost as if the vixen was amazed at the feeling. "Fox, with you I'd never be alone." Before he could respond, she continued. "With you and I together, why, we could truly rule the entire system. The blood of guardians mixed with a fiery vixen such as myself – there's no telling what we could accomplish! We could ensure peace for everyone! No more fighting, everyone is loved and treated fairly! We could scrap all weapons, bring hatred, oppression, and brutality to its knees! Love and appreciation will be sure to follow!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Don't you see? We can do it! We're so strong together – there can't be any other way!"
Gazing into her eyes, Fox felt he was staring at an entirely different person. This vixen, the same vixen who wholeheartedly desired to kill and destroy an entire race, truly wanted peace for all? Perhaps there was more behind the mask than just a pretty face. Fox cleared his throat. "Selvala, I hope you do rule this system, because you have a good heart. But it cannot be with me." He watched as her bright face slowly darkened. "I… have my heart set on someone else, and I love her."
Slithering off Fox, Selvala slowly moved toward a corner of the room. Then, with large blue eyes, she grabbed her tail and began raking her fingers through it. "I'm sorry, Fox," she said with a sigh. "I… was so carried away. Crushes can do that, you know?" She laughed hesitantly. "I'm so immature."
Fox shook his head. "I've never seen the piloting skills you have. And fire is deep within your chest. It burns for those you want to protect."
Selvala nodded. "Fox, I know you think I have a barbaric side to my nature. But it's not without reason." She looked up. "These Careinians, they killed my parents. When I was seven years old, I lived on Ireske, a moon of Terrestko because my father was a pilot and my mother was a freedom fighter. They fought a battle there to move the Careinians out of our orbit, because we had to pay tax for each ship that entered and exited the planet, which caused us to be prisoners in essence, not to mention the random attacks and the brutality we had already faced for over a generation. We lost. My father was quartered and my mother vaporized by a high-powered blast. I watched it all. They took me and sold me into slavery, where I worked for them in humiliating tasks. It wasn't until I was eleven when I escaped and was found by an orphanage, which was better, but not by much." She paused. "That's when Damiano came in. He was my best friend, and like a father to me. He saw the fight in me first, and fine-tuned it into the person you see before you. I owe everything to him."
Fox shook his head. "I'm sorry, Selvala. I feel very bad, but I'm honest when I say I cannot be there for you."
Nodding, Selvala blinked her eyes. "I'm aware of that. I'm not the typical Unonian woman, the kind who is full of love and hope but bends under hell. No, I was made into something different. I was twisted and sewn into the fleeting woman you see before you. But it's not like I never feel." Sighing, Selvala ran her tongue over her lips. "It's to the point where you feel like crying, and you want to cry, but nothing comes out. And the whole ordeal makes you feel worse." She paused as footsteps approached. "Do you ever feel like that, Fox?"
"Yeah."
The door to the main hallway opened in parts, with Fara wide-eyed and bursting through the entrance. "We've sustained a critical hit!"
Fox stood. "What?"
"A critical hit!" Fara cried. "Our docking bay's been breeched, but Peppy has managed to fend them off! We're preparing to land on the nearest moon!" She paused to catch her breath. "What have you two been doing in here?"
Selvala grabbed her mask. "Reaching an understanding."
