Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul
XXI
Fox McCloud
SyxxFox
"The gathering of boys I rely on, There are times when being engulfed by mountains,
Know exactly who they are,
And I will build their protection with bloody hands,
Some were dealt knuckles and some delivered kisses,
But initially my heart was in the right place,
are the only signs of safety I know,
And I realize I think this way out of neglection,
and at the exact thought I reclaim those days of scenery."
36 Crazyfists – "Song for the Fisherman"
It took a long time for it all to sink in around her. Just like the time she had been taken on as a member of StarFox. She could remember her excitement, and anxiety. Just like how she felt now. Krystal was a millionaire. A billionaire.
After spending a short time on Corneria when she had first arrived, she knew how most girls thought. They wanted money so they could buy things. Clothes, shoes, cars. Though she did enjoy it when Fox would spoil her when they first arrived on Corneria, buying her new outfits, and paying for her food, lodging, everything. Even after her service to the team, she still felt like she had never fully returned his favors. It felt now, like she had betrayed him. Even after what Fox had put her though, she still felt like she was the one who was in debt to him. Their romantic life, cut short by his hard-headedness. Now, she was guilty for turning him in for a reward.
The fox tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault. The last four years of her life. She still tried to tell herself, that it wasn't her fault. But she didn't have it in her heart anymore to blame Fox.
She took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. The canopy slowly fogged, from her breath, before quickly disappearing. Krystal gripped the controls with both paws tightly, and swayed them back and forth, pulling on the triggers. She felt comfortable with the ship. She knew that this would be her best ride back to Corneria. All the navigation systems worked, weapon locks worked. The Arwing II was the superior machine, when everything worked, but without astrogation systems there would be no way to find her way back to Corneria. It would be suicide.
"Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!"
The fox's fur stood on end. Her ears perked up, and flickered. All she could hear was her heart beating, pounding blood in her ears. Her eyes searched the forest around her. Nothing moved through the foliage. The vixen slowly let her paws off the controls, and put her paws down to her lap. She searched the woods with her mind. Her telepathic sense examined the woods of Sauria. There were too many creatures though. Too many life forms. Hunters were especially hard to detect. Anything with a trained mind. A Slayer. She remained frozen in her seat. Her eyes searched through the forest.
Krystal reached for the canopy release. She put her paw on the release, wrapping her claw tips around it. From the periphery of her vision, she spotted something. It was approaching from behind her. Slowly. A massive scaly head emerged from the behind her ship. It was huge. Two gleaming rows of teeth shone bright white. Teeth that could swallow her whole, or destroy her ship, each one dripping in saliva. Krystal didn't move her head. She just watched it with her eyes. The only thing that separated her from razor sharp teeth was a thin layer of tempered shock-glass.
She slowly turned her head, looking into the eye of the beast. The blood red eye. The Redeye breathed heavily, and slowly. She couldn't tell if the monster saw her or not. If it didn't, it was looking for her. The beast smelled the ship, nuzzling the side of it with its snout. The entire shuttle rocked, and it pushed the nose to the side, grinding the landing gears into the soil, causing the ship to tip onto its side, with only a wing catching her.
She could sense its power. It was looking for her. She could sense what was going through the predators head. It was hungry. Which made her the prey. Krystal knew that though it could not see her. It could smell her. It was only a matter of time now until she was found. Firing the engines would take too long. It would jump the ship before she could take off, and rip it apart.
The RedEye encircled the ship. Each step was an earth-quake around her. Its twenty foot tail swung, hitting the fighter. The Redeye approached the ship. It looked at her with both eyes. It's massive nostrils flared, and it breathed down on the canopy, fogging the glass. It pressed its muzzle on the glass, pushing the ship backward. A hairline crack ran up the canopy, as the ship came to an abrupt stop in the soil, as the engines slammed into the tree behind her.
She could hear the glass creak, making her heart race, and tail stand straight up. Krystal bit her lip hard. A thousand scenarios running through her head at once, but as the RedEye backed off. She had to act, and she acted. Slowly. The vixen pulled the release on the canopy. It hissed sharply, and slowly inched open. The Redeye turned its head sharply, staring at the ship, as the canopy slid open.
"Schrrreeccch!" The RedEye roared again, and stomped toward the Cloudrunner.
Krystal's hair stood on end. She leaped out of the way, tucking her staff into her chest, rolling across the ground. The Redeye attacked. Not her though. It jumped the ship, taking it in its massive jaws, stripping paint off the hull. The glass canopy shattered, and hull bent under the might of its jaws. Krystal stumbled across the ground, clawing her way through the dirt.
Though she couldn't see the monster, she knew soon it would find out that she wasn't in there. The vixen peaked over her shoulder, looking back at the rex. It was searching through the carcass of the ship. She could hear something else though. Not the Redeye. It was something in the sky. Her ears flickered, and she watched the beast turn his eyes to the sky. She wasn't the only one who heard it. A far off rumbling, that rolled through the forest that slowly grew louder, and louder. It sounded like thunder.
"A ship." Krystal growled through grit teeth, in a whisper. "A ship here?"
The rumbling only grew louder, and before long, she could hear it accompanied by a high pitch whistle. The whistle of a black-matter turbine filled her ears. She looked to the sky, struggling to the see the source. She could only see quick flashes of the ship through the thick foliage. It flashed over, making a low pass. The treetops shuttered, and her chest vibrated. The thundering was so loud, she had to cover her ears, and close her eyes, until the ship's engines disappeared over the next hill.
Krystal quickly looked back over her shoulder. The RedEye too looked to the ship above. It leaned toward the ground, and roared to the sky. The creature hesitated. It looked down at the crippled Cloudrunner, and then back to the sky once more. With one circle around the Cloudrunner, it stomped off into the woods, weary of the ship that over watched it.
Krystal sighed heavily. She let her body slowly go limp. The vixen slowly slid her back down the tree, settling in the dirt. Her heels dug through the soil, making ruts in the ground. She let her staff rest across her lap.
The little blue fox smiled to herself. She looked to the sky. "Well, at least that takes care of one of my problems… A Slayer… it has to be."
X
Syxx yawned, and smacked his mouth as he woke up. His eyes slowly fluttered half open, and he moaned softly, irritated. The pneumatic glass door that kept him detained, slowly swung open. Two hounds dressed in black security uniforms approached him. Each one had a Blaster as their side arm. Syxx noticed two more Marines on the outside of the cell. Both carried heavy rifles. They quickly grew to know Syxx, and his tricks. The black fox had been tazed three times already; twice of which on the same occasion. He was also shot at two times, while he was here. As a Spec Ops soldier, he was used to being shot at. The Taser was hell though.
One of the dogs held a key. The key for his plasma cuffs. "No tricks today." He said. "Alright?"
Syxx growled. "That's up to you."
He revealed the Taser on his belt. "No it's not."
Syxx smiled and remained silent as one cuff after the other was cut. After the second one was cut, he took a sharp step forward. Both of the Marines, outside the cell, put their fingers on the triggers, and lifted the muzzles of their rifles, ever so slightly. Syxx watched, as their grip tightened, and they stood uneasily, but at the ready.
"You've got one hour." The guard turned his back, and walked away. "Expect company."
Syxx's ears were not listening though. He watched the Taser on the belt of the guard, as he stepped toward the exit, but he took a quick glace up toward the Marines on the outside. One gently shook his head at Syxx, noticing what he was up to. The vulpine couldn't help but smirk back at him, resisting the urge to grab the weapon from the belt of the guard, but as the door shut behind the guards he missed his chance. He was sealed within the cell once again.
The two Marines on the outside didn't leave though. They stayed, standing at attention, with their rifles each on their shoulders.
Syxx stepped up to the glass. He cocked his head at the soldiers. "Ya' know I'm not a child. I don't require supervision."
He never got an answer from the hounds though. They just stood there. Syxx sized them up, his gaze drifting back and forth between their eyes. The fox made a sudden sharp movement. He flinched his entire body, and slammed his paw into the glass door, making it boom loudly. One Marine nearly jumped out of his fur, and the other one took a step back. Syxx walked back into his cell, and chuckled. He sat down in the chair, and put his bare feet up on the table. He leaned back in his seat, tipping himself back on two of the chairs legs. And with his paws behind his head, he closed his eyes, and relaxed.
"At-ease Marines." An old, yet commanding voice echoed down the hallway.
Syxx's eyes shot open, and he got up from his seat. Syxx approached the glass, throwing his head back. "Oh- here we go." He let his head down on the glass door, rumbling the barrier.
A short figure emerged from around the corner, wearing a white jacket, and black boots. One of his two long ears was folded down halfway and grey fur covered him from head to toe, especially becoming silver around his muzzle. Peppy turned to him, looking up toward the warrior. He cleared his throat, about to speak, but the vulpine cut him off.
"It's come to this, has it?" Syxx grinned, holding his forehead against the glass, with one paw next to it.
"I think that's the first time, I've ever heard you talk."
He just smiled back, evilly.
"I'm trying to save a civilization. And you're being less than helpful."
"Why give them hope, when there is none?"
Peppy scratched his chin. "About ten years ago, I was a part of an elite squad of pilots. We went to a planet. Venom. Something went wrong. We were betrayed by one of our own. I got out alive, but our leader was taken by the assault. That was when the war started. When Andross invaded the system. I thought we had no hope. Until Fox McCloud showed us the way. Fox taught me that. He taught me that there's always hope."
"James was naïve in trusting Pigma."
Peppy paused. "You know all this?"
Syxx laughed in a deep huff. "I too grew up alone. I never knew my mother… my father. From a very young age, I was on my own. Both were murdered. There is no justice for that. There is no justice. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you can accept that your race is doomed to extinction."
"And your race as well!" the hare snapped back.
"The Slayers were sentenced to damnation at birth."
Peppy paused. "You murdered millions. Everyone left here has had their families destroyed. Love's lost."
"Then they can finally feel the pain I've been living. But redemption is no justice."
"You know… you and Fox are a lot alike. He grew up the same way. No mother. No father. I raised him."
"And how did you relate to Fox in his final days?"
The conversation was broken. All was silent. Peppy stared at him, before binding his teeth, and turning his gaze toward his boots.
Syxx continued. "You were promoted to head of the Cornerian Army. Where did Fox sit? Did Fox have anyone to look to in his final days? Or did he die in the skies alone, just like his father?"
"I did everything I could for Fox." He answered.
Syxx swiftly punched the shock glass. The frame rattled violently. "LIAR!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Peppy jumped backward. He held a paw to his chest, slowly catching his breath.
Syxx began pacing back and forth at the front of his cell. "I have given these people hope a thousand times over! I have been taken for granted! Abused! Only I have the power to give them hope, and I can take it away just as easy."
Syxx's knuckled bled. Red liquid dripped over his fur, as a red splatter appeared on the glass. When he pulled his paw away, it dripped onto the floor. He never gave it a second thought though. The fox didn't even look down as his severally damaged paw. He ignored the pain. Just like he was taught. He was immune to physical pain.
"I know everything about you Peppy Hare, how you took Fox under your wing after both his parents were murdered by Andross, and how he became the slave of the system." Syxx stared at the hare as he tried to catch his breath after the scare.
Peppy cleared his throat. "Fox was doomed the moment he broke up StarFox." Peppy glanced up. The expression on the black fox's face immediately changed from anger to what he could only read as confusion, or sympathy. It was the first real emotion other than anger and rage that he had ever seen on the fox's face, or ever observed of a Slayer.
Syxx's heart stopped in his chest. His eyes glanced around the room. "Explain." He spoke firmly.
"Fox was the one who pushed us away. Not the other way around. When he broke up StarFox, he hurt us all. From then on, he was different. He wasn't like he used to be. He shut himself out from the world. Falco, and myself could handle it. But…" Peppy paused, adjusting his glasses. "Slippy, and Krystal never coped as well… especially Krystal. Krystal? The one who brought you here. I said earlier that you and Fox had so much in common, and maybe that's why she takes a special interest in you."
A thump resonated through the glass of the cell, making Peppy jump. Syxx pressed his head, and nose onto the glass, as he listened intently. His breath fogged the door, as he panted through his nostrils. The fox had never heard this before. He hadn't talked to Peppy in years.
The old hare continued. "Fox was stubborn. But we all loved him, and no matter what, he could never understand that. He could never understand that removing Krystal from the team was no way of protecting her. Krystal needed him more than anything else in the world. Fox couldn't get that though. And the part that kills me the most is that I know she still needs him. She still has no one. I know that she knows it. But I don't know what to do with her! Heck, this entire system needs Fox."
Peppy stood in a moment of silence. Syxx quickly turned his head away and stepped back into his cell.
General Hare once again cleared his throat. "Why do you have so much interest in Fox McCloud?"
"Why do you continue to tell me about him? Is none of this classified, personal material?"
"I tell you because I still hope. I still hope that there's still a shred of decency. A shred of humanity left in your body. Stories of StarFox always instill hope. That's what we need more than anything."
Syxx closed his eyes in solace. "You're getting old, and you won't be able to keep their hope for much longer. And at what point will you accept that you have lost them? What will happen than?"
Peppy lifted his glasses, stalling, giving him a moment to think. "I don't know what will happen. I can guarantee you this though… you'll be the first to find out."
"You think this is over? The gathering of boys I rely on know exactly who they are, and I have built their protection with bloody hands. As for Fox… some were dealt knuckles, and some were delivered kisses, but initially, his heart was in the right place. Killing me will not end this war, just as Fox's accidental death-"
Peppy cut him off. "Fox's death was no accident."
"Than what was it?" Syxx quickly asked back.
Peppy just continued to stare at the Fox. Nothing was said between them. Tension continued to build as Syxx continued poking his nose where it didn't belong… or so Peppy thought. Peppy never knew that Syxx was the key holder in the conversation. He had more right to be there than the hare ever knew.
"I'm glad you understand that." Syxx continued. He stepped toward the back of the cell, before circling back around to the front. "You and I may be the only ones in the entire Lylat System that do."
"Fox was a good kid." Peppy snapped back. "You knew him, didn't you? I remember you now. You were at his funeral. The police came and took you in the middle of the service. Did you…?" A shocked look came over Peppy's face, as he trailed off.
Syxx knew exactly what he was thinking, and smiled. "No. I didn't kill him."
"But you did know him?"
Syxx bit the inside of his lip. "Maybe Fox and I are more alike than I thought. I realize I think this way out of neglection, perhaps he, the same."
"Why did you attend Fox's funeral?" Peppy paused. "Obviously you have no respect for him."
"Fox, was the last of the McCloud era. The last hero. There was no one to take his place. Heroes are a dying breed Peppy. You of anyone should know that by the state we're in now. With Fox out of the picture, there's no one to stop corruption."
"There was StarFalco."
Syxx laughed. "StarFalco! They're credibility died with Mac! The only original member was Falco, and he is no leader!"
"You know, you may be right about some things Syxx. You may be right about a lot of things. But you're wrong about one thing."
"Oh really? And what might this one thing be, General?"
"Fox is not the last of the McCloud era. There's still one more. One more who can give us hope."
"And what is his name?" Syxx raised an eyebrow.
"Her name is Krystal." He paused. "And she will redeem us. She believes that she can redeem you too. I think it's too late for you, but it's never too late for the rest of us."
"Then we agree and disagree on different things."
"What do you mean? You believe there is hope?"
"No." Syxx said simply. "I believe that your system is doomed. This is where we disagree. But where we do agree, is that I am doomed. But someone will take my place, and if Mac and I are as similar are you say we are? I will rest in hell, beside your beloved Fox McCloud."
"That's a horrible thing to say."
"There's no room in heaven for the damned, and if me and Fox are as similar as you think. We'll be going to the same place."
"And I'll be the one to send you there." Peppy said back, glaring at him.
"No." Syxx shook his head. "Only I decide my own fate, and I've a feeling I don't have much time left here. When I leave, I'll be doing it on my own accord."