13

STRATEGY TO FIGHT

Klonoa turned his sword back into the Wind Ring. He put it around his arm as he walked to the group. "Amazing…" Chris said. "Right, we've cleared the threat," Jill said to Fox. "Now, could you kindly tell me what's going on?" "Yeah, but, you know, Rogan, you've quite some help here. It's not even Halloween yet," Chris said. "Very funny," Powalski said.

"We can answer your questions, ma'am but, shall we move into your base first? It'll be easier to talk there," Fox said. "He's right," G said. "Let's go shall we?"

* * *

Inside a meeting room in Chris and Jill's base, the anthros explained to Chris and Jill about what they know regarding the zombies and elementals. They even introduced themselves to the duo. Krystal, Katt, Miyu and Fay were not with them for they had gone to take a shower due to being dirty in the quicksand from earlier.

"Aliens?" Chris said. "Outer space?" Jill asked. "Yes, you two, it's true," Fox said. "I know this may sound off but I can assure you-It's not a lie," "In other words, we are dealing with a horde of mama ******* anthros who watch too much superhero movies and try to take on the world!" Isaac said. "Do you believe them, Chris?" G asked.

Chris and Jill kept quiet for a while. Then, Jill said, "I've always thought that anthros were only in storybooks and are just a myth. I can't believe they really exist…" "Now you know," Kennedy said. "So, are you believing them or what?" "We believe them," Chris said. "To tell you the truth though, I am quite surprised meeting with you and your friends, Fox. It made me think Halloween has already started,"

Fox chuckled and replied, "Don't mention it, Chris. I guess we are the first anthros to meet humans. Don't you think, guys?" "He's got a point," Guntz said. "Halloween, huh? Heh, that's funny," "Don't worry, Mr. Chris," Klonoa said. "With us at our side, we'll be able to clear this case in not time!" "Thanks… Hey, wait a minute… You're a kid aren't you? I can't believe you can fight pretty well," Chris said.

"Not to mention being mature. You already have a girlfriend at your age. Even your kangaroo friend here is the same as you," Jill said to Klonoa. "Let's just say it's a gift we had since birth, Miss Jill," Chipple said. "True. Besides, m'lady, I did tell you that these two are not ordinary kids," Panther said. "Yes, I heard you say that," Jill said. "Oh, yeah. You did say that I was pretty good looking didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Panther said. "In fact, I must say-For a mercenary, you're quite a beautiful one. Even a rose can't outmatch your looks," "Uh…Really?" Jill said while blushing. "Yes, m'lady," Panther said as he walked towards the front of Jill. "And there's no need to be shy. If you need anything, just tell me," "Always trying to hit on the girls, huh, Panther?" Falco said.

Panther looked at Falco and said with a smile, "Something like that," "Uh… Anyways, I have something which is related to the case which might interest you, Fox," Rogan said. "What is it?" Fox asked. "It's a series of strange kidnappings that has been told about in the news lately," Rogan answered. "The victims range from young to old and are usually kidnapped by UFOs from areas where people can't hear them-Like hills,"

"Why didn't you tell us earlier when we came here?" Wolf asked. "We're sorry, but, we didn't want to complicate things so, we thought of saving it for later," Rogan said. "We hope you understand," Rebecca said. "It's okay, we don't mind," Fox said. "By the way, what's taking so long for your other friends? They should be done showering already," Jill asked Fox. "Hey, yeah…" Fox said. "What's taking them so long? Should we find them, guys?"

"Yeah, I agree. I'll go with you. Who else among you wants to accompany me and Fox?" Falco said. "I'll go," Chris said. "Jill, you want to come?" "Yes, that's what I was thinking," Jill replied. "I'll go too," Isaac said. "Me too," Claire said. "Alright, that should be enough," Fox said. "Hey, Rogan, wait for us here with the rest of us will you?" "Okay, don't take too long though," Rogan said.

"Right. Come on, you five, let's go," Hearing this, Fox, Falco, Chris, Jill, Claire and Isaac went out of the meeting room. As they walked to look for the female anthros, Falco asked, "I wonder what's taking our beloved girls so long?" "Beloved?" Jill asked. "Two of them are your girlfriends, you two?" Chris asked Fox and Falco. "Yeah, that's right," Fox said. "Best ones ever," "Believe me, by the time you two know who Falco's girlfriend is, both of you will find it weird," Claire said.

"Weird?" Chris asked. "Hey, Claire, you're not talking about…" Falco's words were interrupted when he along with his companions saw a group of soldiers who were gathered around in a circle. Their attention seemed to be glued to something and they looked as if they were excited about a certain matter. "What's going on here?" Chris said. "Let's take a look shall we?" Fox said.

Fox and his companions went into the centre of the crowd. To their surprise, the soldiers were actually trying to flirt with the female anthros. Krystal, Katt, Miyu and Fay were refusing the soldiers' offers to date with them politely and with a smile. "Krystal?!" Fox said in surprise. "What's going on here?!" The female anthros looked at Fox's group. "Oh, you're just in time, Foxy. I was about to tell these soldiers about us," Krystal said with a smile.

Krystal went and held Fox's arm and said to the soldiers, "Sorry, guys, but I'm already married," "What?!" a soldier exclaimed in surprise. "And Falco here is my boy," Katt said as she snuggled onto her boyfriend. "Sorry, boys," "Aw, man, we were so close…" a soldier said. "Look at the brighter side. At least we got two more girls who haven't got partners yet," another soldier said while looking at Miyu and Fay.

"Hey, you better not mess with those two, pal! Cause if you do, I'm going to gun your *** down and…!" "Isaac, leave him be," Miyu said with a smile. "I'll say something to him instead," She walked to the soldier who looked at her and said with a charming voice, "Hey, guy, you want to be with me right?" "Err… Yeah, yeah!" the soldier said as he felt mesmerized by Miyu's words.

"Tell you what," Miyu said as she edged her face closer towards the soldier's face and put a finger under his chin. "If you get promoted, I'll give you a reward. You don't need to guess what it is for I'm sure you already know. How about it? Hmmm?" "Uh… Okay, okay! Sure!" the soldier said, still charmed by Miyu. "We can have dinner some time," "Alright," Miyu said as she went back to Fox and his company. "Now if you excuse me,"

The soldiers were about to continue asking Miyu and Fay for a date when Chris said to them, "Hey, soldiers, now's not the time to have fun with girls. If you want to do that, I suggest you all do your work first right now. Got it?" "Okay, we're sorry, sir. We got carried away I guess," a soldier replied. "That's the spirit. Go do your work now," The soldiers then moved away from Fox's group as Fox's group were on their way back to the meeting room.

Just then, a soldier turned back to Fox's group and said to the female anthros there, "Wait, one last question, you four. You all want to go to the beach with me?" Hearing this, the female anthros just giggled and continued walking on with their own companions. While Fox's group walked to the meeting room, Chris asked Falco while pointing to Katt, "This is your girlfriend?"

"Claire was right. That's a weird couple we've got here," Jill said. "Huh? Wait, don't get the wrong idea! Just because she's a cat doesn't mean she'll eat me!" "Uh… Really?" Chris asked. "Of course, duh! Listen-I already told you and your girlfriend Jill here that we are not mere animals! We have minds of our own just like you humans…!" In the middle of Falco's words, Krystal chuckled quietly. "Okay, I understand but still…"

"Still what?!" Falco cut short Chris's words. "You still thinking the animal hormones inside my girl will trigger someday or something?!" "Boys, that's enough," Krystal said with a smile. "There's no need to be so excited about genders okay?" "Yeah, yeah, alright," Falco said. "Okay…" Chris said. Fox chuckled and said, "Enough being excited over this small matter. Let's continue on to our place shall we?"

After a while, Fox's group was back in the meeting room. "Ah, there you are, Fox," Rogan said. "So, what took the girls so long?" "The soldiers flirted with them. We stopped them though," Chris said. "They flirted with them?" Lisa asked in a slightly surprised tone. "Yes," Falco said. "They're pretty friendly too…" Fay said with a smile. "Wow. Way to go, Miyu. Especially since you've got big racks," Rebecca said.

Miyu looked at her racks. She blushed and said, "Uh… Yeah…" "A-Anyway, since we've got our girls back, perhaps they would like to introduce themselves to Chris and Jill?" Claire said. "Oh, sure," Katt said. "Alright, then," Krystal said. She looked at Chris and Jill and asked, "You two are Chris and Jill I assume?" "That's right," Chris said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Krystal, Fox's wife. We two are just married," Krystal said. "And I'm Falco's girlfriend, Katt," Katt said. "My name's Miyu," Miyu said while she winked. "Mine's Fay. Nice to meet you!" Fay said cheerfully. "It's nice to meet you all," Jill said. "So, you two are newlyweds huh?" Chris said to Fox and Krystal. "Let me guess-Came to visit Earth for a honeymoon?" "Quite right," Fox said. "Hey, smart guess, Chris. You're a genius,"

"Actually, not really…" Chris said. "Oh, Fox, I have something for you," Krystal said. "A gift? But, why now?" Fox said. Krystal answered by giving Fox's lips a quick kiss. "That's for saving me form the quicksand earlier, Foxy," Krystal said with a romantic look on her face. Fox blushed and replied, "Aw, no problem, ma'am. Since you gave me this gift, I've got something for you too,"

Fox then licked Krystal's cheek. Krystal purred upon receiving Fox's gift. "Man, they're at it again," Falco said. "At what?" Claire asked. "It's always a habit of theirs to act flirty with each other even in the middle of missions," Falco said. "Oh, I see," Rebecca said. "What's wrong, Falco?" Fox asked with a smile. "You jealous or something?" "Huh?! No, that's not it! I was just surprised you can go romantic in the middle of missions!" Falco said.

Everyone except Falco laughed. "Alright, enough joking around. Let's discuss what we're going to do to infiltrate the enemy's main headquarters," Rogan said. "Yeah, so, what's the plan?" Lisa asked. "We take the Great Fox to the base," Fox said. "Great Fox? What's that?" Kennedy asked. "Oh, about that, we'll show that to you in my headquarters," Rogan said. "For now, we should keep it a surprise for you. Believe me, it's best to because it's something amazing. And that goes for those of us who do not know what that is,"

"Sure, no problem," Chipple said. "I would like to see this "Great Fox" thing," Klonoa said. "Same here," Guntz said. "You three will really like it once you see it," Katt said. "Should we bring soldiers along with us?" Jill asked. "No, we shouldn't," Fox said. "I think it's too dangerous for them to follow us. What's more, if any more attacks occur here, we need to leave behind lots of manpower here to defend the area under attack,"

"Wait, are you sure about this?" Chris asked Fox. "Bringing some soldiers to help us might lessen our troubles," "True, Chris. But, don't forget-We're dealing with inhuman beings. The soldiers might die easily upon facing them," Wolf said. "Unless you want to lose some manpower," Powalski stated. "Uh… Okay… If you say so…" Chris replied. "Don't worry, Mr. Chris," Klonoa said. "As I have said earlier, we can solve this together just with enough effort,"

"Yeah, you're right, kid," Chris said. "Sorry… and thanks," "No problem, Chris," Fox said. "Speaking of this, should we go to Metro City now or tomorrow?" "I think it's best if we go tomorrow," G said. "It's getting late so we should settle down here for today," "Good idea. In fact, I'm bushed, man! Bushed!" Isaac said. "You sound as if you're more energetic though," Miyu said.

"What I mean by bushed, lady, is that I am tired of dealing with evil **** ******* anthros who want to take over the world! Especially since they called me a nigger!" Isaac said. "You don't have to get worked up on that…" Fay said with a sweatdrop on her head and a smile. "I care about that, girl!" Isaac said to Fay. "Ah, enough talking about that. I'm going to take a stroll outside!" As Isaac was speaking, he went to the door and was out of the meeting room.

"He's that mad about what he was teased, huh?" Wolf asked. "Yeah, that's right," G said. "Anyway, what shall we do now?" "Hey, Fox, why don't you tell us more about yourself?" Jill asked. "I mean like where do you live and your personal info," "Yeah, tell us," Claire said. "We never asked you about that," "What's it like at your home?" Rebecca asked Fox. "Well, basically, we come from another system called the Lylat System," Fox said.

"Lylat System?" Lisa asked. "That's right," Fox said. "Just like the Solar System, it has many planets. Me and my friends live in the planet Corneria," "Are there any humans in the Lylat System?" Chris asked. "Actually, no. Only anthros live in there," Miyu said. "Wow, really?" Claire asked. "I can't believe that," "Yes, but, don't worry, the inhabitants of my system know what humans are. It's just that they never met humans before,"

"That's good to hear," Rogan said. "You know, I feel like I want to visit your planet someday, Fox," "Hey, that'll be nice. I can take you and your friends there anytime," Fox said. "You'll love the place!" Fay said cheerfully. "Thanks. I'll definitely look forward to going there," G said. "Same here," Kennedy said. "I'm quite curious about what the planet looks like,"

"Well, anyway, about me and my team…" Ada interrupted Fox's words when she said, "Excuse me, I'm going to the toilet. You guys go on okay?" "Okay, sure," Rogan said. Ada then went out of the room. Panther saw this and said, "I'm also heading there. Later," "Okay," Falco said. "Just don't hit on too many girls," Panther just smiled and walked out of the room.

"Weird," Miyu said. "What?" Rebecca asked. "Panther went out the moment Ada did. You don't think he…" Falco cut short Miyu's words by saying, "Aw, come on, Miyu, you think he's going to flirt with Ada or something? He wouldn't flirt with his own comrades," "It might happen you know," Krystal said. "When Ada first joined us, he stared at her, mesmerized, remember?"

"Whatever it is, let's not make a big deal out of it. Fox, do tell us more about your team," G said. "Oh, sure, about that…"

* * *

Ada had just come out of the women's restroom. She was going to walk back to the meeting room until someone called her. Panther was leaning against the wall in front of the men's restroom with a rose held near his mouth. "Panther?" Ada asked "What are you doing here?" "What am I doing here?" Panther asked while approaching Ada. "I came here to be with you," "What?" Ada asked.

As Panther stood near Ada, he said, "You want to know who called you beautiful when you first joined the group? That was me," Ada smiled and replied, "To tell you the truth, I knew it was you. You're such a naughty man aren't you, Panther?" "In one way, yes," said Panther as he put his rose into his shirt pocket. "To tell you the truth, I really meant it when I commented on your beauty,"

"Oh, really?" Ada asked. "Yes," Panther said as he approached closer towards Ada. "Actually, you're as beautiful as a rose. Your looks and your clothing reflect that," Ada was slowly backed against a wall as Panther approached her. "Why not stop playing your games and just confess how you feel?" Ada asked. "I'm not playing games, Ada," Panther said once he had backed Ada onto the wall. "I'm seriously expressing myself to you,"

* * *

Back in the meeting room, the rest of the group was chatting about Fox and the rest of the anthros' personal info. At the end of the chat, Claire said, "You know, Panther and Ada are sure taking their time. They've just missed our chat," "Yeah, I wonder why?" Klonoa asked. "Hey, guys…" Guntz said. "What?" Fox asked. "You don't think Panther is flirting with Ada, don't you?" Guntz asked. "That's preposterous, Guntz," Lisa said. "Why would he dare to do such a thing?"

"Well, that's because the moment Ada went out of this room, he went out too," Guntz replied. "So, I suspect he might be flirting with her," "Nonsense, Guntz," Falco said. "Like I said earlier, he won't…" Falco was interrupted when Isaac rushed into the room saying, "Yo, guys, you're not going to believe this!" "Isaac? What's wrong? You look as if the whole world's going to collapse," Rogan asked. "Is an enemy here?" Keneddy asked.

"No, that's not the point, dude!" Isaac said. "Look, just come out of the room with me. You're not going to believe this. Follow me to the restrooms," "Wait, tell us what's going on," G said. "Is it serious…?" "Just follow me **** it!" Isaac cut short G's words. "It's something that'll shock you all!"

* * *

At the restroom area, Panther was having a good time admiring Ada. He had his face close to Ada's and looked at her romantically. "You are so sexy, Ada," Panther said. "I'm not that kind of woman you know," Ada replied with a smile. Panther rubbed his face onto Ada's cheek and purred as a reply. He then touched one of Ada's legs and ran his hand up on it slowly. "You'll change your mind, Ada," Panther said. "Let's have one night together shall we?"

"Panther, I…" Ada said with a smile. "You see?! Look at this!" a voice boomed out next to Panther and Ada. The pair looked at the source of the voice. Isaac along with the rest of the group was in front of them. "That I tell you is very unbelievable!" Isaac said to Fox. "Your panther friend here is flirting with Ada!" Both sides stared at each other in surprise. Fox's side stared at Panther's side with sweatdrops on their head.

"I don't believe this…" Falco said.

"Wow…" Miyu said.

"He never changes…" Krystal said.

"Panther, what do you think you're doing?" Rebecca asked. "Umm…. Well… I'm just having a nice personal chat with Ada here… Ahahaha…" Panther said. "Panther, you're at it again," Falco said. "For goodness's sake, can't you stop flirting with girls especially in the middle of missions?" "This isn't what I exactly call flirting," Panther said. "It's just my way of socialising with the girls that's all,"

Yeah, right, thought Rogan and his group as the group looked at Panther with uncertainty. "Don't give me that look," Panther said. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," "Alright, enough about flirting. Let's settle down for today and get ready for tomorrow," G said. "Yeah, come on, you all," Isaac said. "Let's ******* go," Rogan's group went away from the restroom area with Panther and Ada following them from behind.

In the middle of walking, Panther called Ada. The two stopped in their tracks to talk. "Ada?" he said. "Yes?" she replied. "About our chat earlier, let's continue some other day. Like at a nice, quiet night shall we?" Panther said. Ada just smiled and replied, "I'll think about it you naughty guy," "Hey, you two! Still flirting with each other?!" Rogan called. "We're coming!" Panther said. "Now then, Ada, let's go,"

"Let's," Ada said. Panther and Ada then went to catch up with the group.