Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, except the OC's

Note: I've received reviews complaining about my treatment of female characters in my story. To any girls reading this story, if there are any left, I'm very sorry if I offended anyone in any way. The story will start to change very soon.

Chapter 21

Fox stared in disbelief at the avian standing before him, eyes widened in disbelief 'No way in hell. There's just no friggin' way,'

"I'm sorry, Fox, he just popped onto the screen, said we were taken off the job, and that's it," Falco repeated, shoulders sagging. Fox couldn't get a sound out. This had never happened before. All they'd sacrificed to the mission so far, only to find that they'd been taken off. All he could do was gape in shock that it was really over, done, finished. And what did they have to show for it? Next to nothing. No massive pay check, no big victory celebration, just an unceremonious trip back to endlessly meandering through the deep reaches of space. His father would be ashamed.

"ROB, open a transmission with Colonel Howitz headquarters. I need to speak with him," Fox finally said. The blank screen flashed into life, and Colonel Howitz was looking down upon Fox.

"What do you want, McCloud?" he asked.

"Why the hell did you suddenly pull us from this mission?" Fox asked, his voice still only just above a whisper.

"I already explained this to Lombardi. You were taken off because you sent us inaccurate information with regards to the location of the Black Snake base. Because of your mistake, they will most likely abandon their current position in favor of a new one. We had been working for months to get that satellite strike in place, and you caused our one shot to fail. That is why you're being pulled," he answered, and without another word, closed the transmission, leaving the bridge in a stunned silence.

"The hell does he mean 'faulty information'?" Fox shouted, "We did everything right, and he's telling us we're off?"

"Cool it, McCloud. I'm just as pissed as you are, but it's not like there's anything we can do about it. It's not like the world's gonna end if we get taken off a mission," Falco said, trying to calm the vulpine.

Fox shot his companion an icy glare. "No, I don't think you get it," he said, maintaining his cold demeanor. "Do you have any idea what this means? When my dad was still alive, he always told me the most important thing was to finish whatever you started. If he were here right now, what do you think he'd say?"

"Y'know what Fox? I really don't care what your dad would say. We've been taken off, and that's the reality. Let's just be grateful that we're all in one piece," Falco answered.

"Maybe you don't care about this team, but I sure as hell do," Fox said. He paused before adding, "As soon as we get back, I'm going see why the hell Howitz think this is our fault. I'm gonna go back and get our job back. You do what you want."

The vulpine turned stormed out of the bridge, leaving the atmosphere charged from his explosion of anger. Falco moved to follow him, determined to continue the argument, but Krystal stopped him.

"Move it, Krystal. Fox is being stupid," Falco ordered.

"I know. Just lay off him for now. He's under a lot of stress. He just needs some time to relax. I'll go talk to him," Krystal said.

Falco mumbled something under his breath, but did as instructed and walked in the opposite direction. Krystal sighed, knowing that she now had to try to calm an angry Fox, which was neither an easy process nor a short one. Following after Fox, she left the bridge.

The clanking of Fox's standard-issue field boots echoed faintly down the halls of the Great Fox, making following him an easier task that it well could have been. Nevertheless, it seemed as Fox was dead set on traveling as far into the depths of the massive ship as possible.

Krystal almost lost track of her elusive target when he decided to take a flight of stairs up to another deck, but she managed to shadow him unseen until he arrived at his destination: his room. 'There wasn't any shorter way?' Krystal thought in wonder as she recognized the familiar doors sporting their brass plates stating ownership. A few more steps brought her in front of Fox's door, shut.

Krystal tapped the door with her paw, not wishing to intrude if Fox wished to remain alone.

"If it's Falco, I don't want to hear it," Fox shouted through the door.

"It's me," Krystal whispered, barely loud enough for Fox to hear.

The door slid open, revealing Fox standing before Krystal. "Oh, well, what is it?" he asked.

"I just wanted to talk to you, that's all," she answered in a small voice.

"Oh, well, do you want to come in?" he asked, gesturing inside.

"Thank you," she answered, stepping through the threshold into Fox's room. Upon entering, the vulpine that inhabited the room flopped down on his bed with a defeated sigh, staring up at the ceiling. Krystal gently walked over to where he lay, sitting on the side of his bed, and began to gently stroke Fox's shoulder. Taking this opportunity to look around Fox's room, the first thing she noticed was a picture of what looked like an older version of Fox sporting sunglasses, and a kit sitting on his shoulders.

"Fox, is this your dad?" Krystal asked, picking up the framed photo.

"Yes. That was the last time I saw him," he answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said.

"It's alright. Even though I always miss him, I've come to grips with it," Fox said, sitting up and looking at the vixen. "Even so, I'd like to see him again."

Krystal took a seat on the bed next to Fox. "Y'know, Falco does have a point. At least we're all still here," she said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about? Well, regardless, I'm still going to have a talk with Howitz as soon as we get back," Fox said.

"Fox, is there more to it than just that you've not failed a mission yet?" Krystal asked, turning to him. The vulpine looked back at her, then gazed down at the small space of the bed between where they sat.

"Well, it's just that, now we can't take revenge for what happened to you," Fox answered.

"Is that it, revenge? Fox, no matter what you do to him won't undo what he did," Krystal said.

"I just want him to pay for what he did to you. No crime like that should go unpunished," Fox answered.

Krystal reached out a paw and placed it on Fox's cheek, which tinted red with a blush. She smiled, knowing it was her who had the ability to make him so nervous. "Fox, I want you to know that what you're trying to do is really a sweet thing. Not many people would do that," the azure vixen said. Fox smiled at the vixen, his heart warmed at the praise she'd just given him. Just to hear her say his name was enough to get his heart pumping.

Fox took Krystal's paw in both his own, smiling contently at the feeling of her soft fur pressed against his cheek. He closed his eyes, focusing just on the slightly tickling sensation. He was disturbed from this blissful state when he felt warmth and heat close to his face. He opened his eyes, and saw a pair of deep, turquoise eyes staring into his own green ones. The vixen staring at him tilted her head to the side, and pressed her lips against his, ever so gently, in a butterfly-soft kiss.

Krystal pulled back, leaving Fox a little starry-eyed from the kiss. Nevertheless, he shook himself from his daze and smiled back at the vixen before him.

"Attention, Great Fox is docking. All team members report to hangar bay," ROB's voice announced.

"Well, time to go try and get our jobs back," Fox said, standing up. The two vulpine navigated the endless corridors until they reached the unloading dock, where the rest of the team was waiting, minus Fara. Of course, Falco, being Falco, complained about how they'd managed to keep everybody waiting, and didn't take a hint and shut up till they'd gotten all the way to the end of the hangar.

"Where's Fara?" Fox asked Falco.

"Still somewhere on the ship. I told her we'd be getting off, and she just said she didn't care. Sounded pretty torn up," Falco answered, crossing his wings. He couldn't help but feel another stab of pity for the fennec.

Fox sighed, knowing something would have to be done about her. She couldn't tag along anymore. "Well, I'll see about getting her back home. She doesn't belong here." Everybody knew what he was thinking, but it still remained unsaid. "Well, I've got something I need to sort out with Howitz, so just meet me back here in an hour. Oh, Falco, you may want to get that wing of yours looked at," he said, gesturing to his friends wing.

"Oh, right, forgot about that," he muttered, turning away from the group.

Before the avian could take a single step, he was hurled backwards along with the rest of the group, downed by the splash damage from an explosion at the far end of the hangar. Immediately, alarms blared throughout the base, as dozens of soldiers and engineers attempted to find out what had had attacked them. The first explosion was followed quickly by a second, and then a third.

"That was the Great Fox!!" Falco shouted upon seeing the ship that had been his home be ripped apart by the blasts.

"Oh my God," Fox whispered in shocked awe. However, it was not at his beloved ship that he was staring, but instead at the multitude of insurgents that poured from the ships hull, guns blazing. Chaos erupted as those who had the misfortune of being in the path of the stampeding troops were gunned down and slaughtered instantly as the invasion force flowed in.

"Run!" Fox ordered. It suddenly hit him; Fara was still on board.

"How the hell did this happen?" Howitz demanded, slamming a fist onto his desk.

"They must've seen us and managed to conceal themselves in the lower decks of the Great Fox, waiting until they were sure we'd returned, effectively using it like a Trojan Horse," Slippy explained to the seething military officer.

"Are you people really that incompetent as to allow the enemy safe passage to our headquarters?" Howitz shouted, this time at Fox. "I really don't give a damn who you've killed in the past. From know on, you're on your own." The colonel stood up, brushing past the mercenaries, and left the room, leaving them to fend for themselves. Peppy's gaze followed Howitz out of the room, then turned to Fox. However, the vulpine did not look at all ready to take on the army now massing in the nearby hangar. He was staring at the ground, head hung in total defeat. This sparked anger in the old hare. "Fox, what are you doing?" he half-shouted, "This is no time to be moping around. Fara is still somewhere on that ship and we have to get her out of there."

Fox didn't shout back, only nodded and looked up at his father's old friend. "You're right. Let's go," he said, but his heart was not in it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know this chapter was shorter than others. The next one will be more in depth. To anyone following my Sly Cooper story, it'll be awhile yet before I update next.


Simba out