Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

Chapter 12: Scars

Miyu, Fay, and Fara had agreed to stay in the skycar while Saru got out near the alleyway and walked in. He saw Krystal standing in the alley, staring up at the gray morning sky and waved. She waved back, hesitating when she saw Fara glaring at her from the back seat before he'd shut the door. Saru walked through the alleyway and into the small back area, "I'm here. So, where shall we start?"

Krystal glanced at the corpse. It was, for whatever reason, still there. She turned back to Saru, "Police will be here soon and they'll want to close this area off. If anything, I think we should start with the corpse." She soon caught sight of a second corpse, this one a small, flying creature she didn't recognize, save for a passing resemblance to the wild bats that she had seen the one time she had gone cave-exploring. Saru followed her gaze to the creature, then commented, "If you take a look at that corpse, I'll check this thing out."

Krystal nodded and they went to work. Upon examining the corpse, Krystal noticed the smell of Substance D and felt a bit nauseous. She had never experienced a trip from it before, but Fox had told her about a time when Wolf had drugged him using it's base chemical, dalianide. When she saw the hallucinations he had experienced from a glimpse at his memories, she was utterly horrified. Nevertheless, she worked up the strength to get in a bit closer to inspect. The old, dried, rusty bloodstains had a strange, black tinge to them, not at all like she would've expected dried blood to look like. She knelt down to get a closer look and felt something in the back of her mind. It almost felt like an all-encompassing hunger, a deep-seated hatred for… something. Whatever it was, it was too faint to make out, but what she could hear in her mind was too chaotic for her to make it out. She could only make out that it was somehow pure unadulterated wrath. There was most definitely something supernatural about this substance, so she glanced up at Saru, "Do you have something we can use to take samples with? There's something here that I would like to get a closer look at."

Saru glanced up from the corpse and nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small, tube-shaped device, "I'd brought this as a quick chemical analysis in light of our killer's methods. Here." He handed the device to Krystal, then went back to his own examinations of the other creature. It's head had been rendered a bloody mess, presumably from Miyu's pistol, like she had mentioned when he asked her about it. Somehow, there was a stagnant puddle of blood around the creature, when he had figured that any normal bloodstain would've dried up by now. He soon noticed that much like Krystal had pointed out, there was a similar black fluid in the blood that he figured would be worth looking into. He pulled out a second chemical analyzer and drained a small sample for them to look at. After taking the sample, he glanced at Krystal, "We should take these to a forensics lab. I have the equipment for this kind of testing back on the Livid Vixen if you'd be willing to come with us."

Krystal shook her head, "No need. I know where we can get access to a closer lab that might be willing to help us out."

Saru raised an eyebrow, "Can I ask where this lab is?"

Krystal nodded, "One of Star Fox's old Corneria-based headquarters. They sold the base some time ago after the Lylat Wars to law enforcement, and last I checked, the place is still in use. I know the chief there, he owes me a favor for helping him with an internal investigation. I can get him to give us access to forensics equipment within the next hour."

Saru nodded, "Very good. Now, should we head back to the ruins to investigate, or do you want to get those tests over with first?"

Krystal glanced at the tube in her hand, and the dark liquid within. She could still feel the twinge of it's chaotic mind no matter how slight, "I think we should get the tests over with first. Something tells me that the results of that test will get us closer to finding our killer than whatever we find at the ruins."

Saru nodded, "It's settled then. We'll meet at the office. You'll come and get us once you get access to the forensics lab, right?"

Krystal nodded, "It's a promise."

"Can we help you?" Sabre was a bit cautious about the frog Cornerian, seeing as he was asking for Yaru by name.

The frog smiled, "The name's Slippy. I'm with the Star Fox team and I was looking for Yaru. Is he in right now?"

Sabre shook his head, "He's still in the hospital when we last checked. We're hoping to hear from him within the next week. May we ask what you need?"

Slippy frowned, "He's still in the hospital? I was told that he had been checked out recently and wanted to come and check on him."

Serrin walked up to the door, "How do you know him?"

Slippy was quick to answer, "He was my teacher back when I was in the Academy. Are you new students of his?"

Sabre and Serrin exchanged glances before Sabre replied, "We're just living with him for the moment. He's agreed to help us with some stuff. You want to tell us what you wanted to ask him so we can pass a message along?"

Slippy nodded, "I was hoping he still had a copy of some old blueprints that I had sent him a while back. I had asked him to pass them on to one of his engineering friends to see if he'd had any luck reconstructing them, because I may have found something very recently that could be the final piece of the puzzle."

None of them had any time to speak as the building erupted into a massive fireball. The building collapsed in on itself, structures suddenly breaking and chunks of the apartment complex fell onto pedestrians and occupants alike.

John's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear, Miranda's mouth hung open, breathless, as the two of them watched the apartment complex fall. John had intended to go visit Serrin and Sabre about his job offer, and he had asked Miranda if she could accompany him so he could introduce them. But, now, the only thoughts on his mind were their safety, as he suddenly broke into a mad sprint toward ground-zero, despite Miranda's call for him to wait.

When he arrived at the site of the explosion, his panic overtook any rational thought as he ran into the wreckage without any regard for his own safety. He called out for them amidst the smoke and dust, "Serrin! Sabre!" He coughed and covered his mouth to try and keep from inhaling the smoke as he plunged deeper into the wreckage. He spotted a body and recognized it as the desk clerk, eyes wide open in a blank, dead stare under the rubble. He moved through the embers and rubble and tried to call out for them again, only to spot a shape moving as the smoke began to clear up. A familiar teal glow began emanating from under a large chunk of ferroconcrete and warped steel rods.

John wasted no time in rushing over to it and trying to lift the debris out of the way, only for his strength to be outmatched as the gravitational field of Serrin's Starwing Armorsuit gave her the edge to push it away. Her helmet was the only piece of her armor that hadn't been equipped and she met John's panicked eyes, before looking down at something. John followed her gaze, expecting to see Sabre, but was surprised to see an amphibian Lylatian, unscratched, but clearly shaken up, curled up into a ball with his hands over his head. He opened his eyes and gazed up at Serrin, before turning to John as Miranda finally caught up to him. Breathless, her eyes widened as she recognized the Lylatian in question, "Slippy?"

Serrin's eyes suddenly widened in fear as she realized Sabre wasn't around, "Sabre?" She looked around frantically, before leaping out of the crater that had formed when she had impulsively activated her suit in an attempt to protect Sabre and Slippy. She looked around before activating a small holographic lens to scan for his Starwing Armor, praying that he was alright. She soon picked up his signal in the debris and followed it to find it under large chunks of the former-apartment. Activating her suit's G-Manipulator, she maneuvered her fingers under the ferroconcrete chunk and lifted it off the pile. She went to grab the next one when she froze. Her breath hitched as she took in what she saw before her. John, Miranda, and Slippy finally caught up with her in time to see it as well. What was clearly a gauntlet from Sabre's Starwing Armorsuit lay in the rubble, in a pool of blood, with the rest of the armor obscured by the debris crushing it. Tears began falling from Serrin's eyes as she mustered the strength to speak, "S-Sabre…?"

After a moment of convincing from Miranda for the quartet to get out of the wreckage before police arrived, they had arrived at Miranda's apartment. Serrin had deactivated her Starwing Armor and borrowed John's coat to keep herself somewhat covered, seeing as the armor had torn her clothes up, barring her mostly-intact undergarments, when she had activated her armor.

Back at Miranda's apartment, Slippy had finally managed to stop shaking and had, with Miranda's permission, gotten onto her computer to try and pull up security footage over the past hour. Miranda only knew Slippy through a couple talks they had back in the Academy. He really loved his mechanics stuff, but she wasn't afraid to admit that they had kinda lost touch after he had joined Star Fox.

Serrin had said nothing, having sat down on Miranda's bed and had continued staring at the wall across from the bed, a vacant, shocked look in her eyes. John, despite Miranda's earlier presumptions, seemed to be handling it a little better. She wondered if losing so many people, including people who had to have been close to him, had left him somewhat numb to it. She could still tell he wasn't exactly feeling the best either, as he took a seat and mostly just stared at the floor.

John finally spoke up, "...Serrin, what do we do now?"

Serrin seemed to say nothing, not even acknowledging when he waved at her. He finally stood up, placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes, "We aren't going to let this go, are we?"

Serrin seemed lost, "...John, Sabre's gone… There's nothing we can do for him."

John's brow furrowed, "No, there is." He took a deep breath, "I'm done losing people and doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself. Serrin, there's something going on and it's got to do with that kidnapper. I'm going to find out whoever did this and..." He paused, before looking Serrin in the eyes, serious, "I'm going to kill them."

Serrin looked up at him, eyes wide, "John?"

John nodded, "Sabre might not have wanted it personally, but whoever blew up that building killed a lot of people. Some of them would want to be avenged, and I'm going to do it. All I'm asking is if you'll be willing to continue training me with the Starwing Armorsuit like we had started to so long ago."

Serrin stared at the ground, before shaking her head, "I can't." She looked back up at John, tears streaking down her face, "I don't want you to put yourself in danger just for vengeance. You could get killed, John! Please, I don't want to lose both my brothers." She wrapped her arms around John's waist, burying her face in his chest.

John, after a moment, wrapped his arms around her and in a gentle voice, said, "You won't lose me, sister. I've already begun combat training, I just need your help in learning the Starwing Armorsuit. I don't want to have to rely on other people anymore, I want to stand up for others just as you did. I don't want to lose anyone else either, but the only way we can stop that from happening is to stand up and fight back."

Serrin sniffed and looked back up at him, tightening her lips, then with a shaking sigh, she looked down, "...Alright. I will teach you everything I know." She looked back up at him, "But only after you finish your basics with your other tutor."

Miranda gave a half-smile, "John's already got the body for CQC, and when he punches, he hits like a truck. I think I can have him ready by the end of next week."

Slippy poked his head in and in a low voice, asked Miranda, "They're siblings?"

She glanced at him and replied, "Honorbound siblings. It's complicated."

Slippy shrugged, changing the subject, "I may have found something interesting on some of the street-cams in the area." He gestured for Miranda to follow him and pulled up a recording of a couple sky-lanes. One skyvan, an armored vehicle much like one would normally expect to find belonging to a bank had pulled up at one of the lights. She eyed it with curiosity, until noting that something flew overhead right before the explosions started.

She glanced at Slippy, who continued, "I've taken the liberty of sending the footage to ROB. He found shadows visible in the footage and calculated their trajectory. We suspect that whoever blew up the building did so via a bombing run, presumably to have a quick getaway."

Miranda raised an eyebrow, "What were you doing there, Slippy?"

Slippy looked up at her, "I was going to visit Yaru. I was told he'd been released from the hospital and was already back at his apartment. I was there to ask him about some blueprints he'd passed along to some of his other friends who work with that kind of stuff."

Slippy returned his attention to the computer when it dinged with a notification. He opened it and checked, "ROB just sent me Yaru's patient status. He's… still checked in at the hospital."

Miranda raised an eyebrow, "You think someone set you up?"

Slippy placed a hand on his face, "...I hope not, because if that's the case, then I'm a bigger fool than I thought."

Miranda placed a hand on his back, "Hey, everybody makes mistakes. You wanna tell me who told you this?"

Slippy looked up at her, "Fox told me. He had a copy of Yaru's 'check-out form' saying that he filled it out on Yaru's behalf."

Miranda seemed confused, "I thought Fox was leader of the Star Fox team?"

Slippy returned her confusion with a look of concern, "He is, which is why I'm nervous about this. All this seems too much of a coincidence for it to be anything else. But… Why would Fox lie about something like this?"

Miranda shook her head, "I have no idea."

They were interrupted by a ring, followed by John answering, "Hello?"

John winced as Fara's voice came through with a frantic barrage of questions about his, Serrin's, and Sabre's wellbeing. It took him some time to finally get through to her and assure her that he was alright, and that Serrin was still with them. The hard part came through when he finally found the courage to tell her about Sabre. There was a pause from her end, and when she finally spoke, it was to tell him to be very careful from now on, seeing as whoever was after them really wanted them dead at this point.

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.