Betrayal

Venom

The Great Fox arrived on the planet first, with ROB back in the pilot seat. He waited on opening the docking bay doors until the soldiers had their equipment and gas masks ready. "I will wait here," said ROB.

"Right," replied Daltrey. The company had decided by vote that Daltrey should be the leader. He wasn't particularly happy with the decision, but was flattered that they thought he was suitable for the job. Gilmore would lead the nine remaining Arwings, including himself, that would patrol the skies. The eight Arwing positions filled out quite rapidly. As he walked out with his platoon, he realized why as he heard groans and complaints from many of the soldiers over how hot it was.

"Goddamn, this is horrible!" shouted Plant. "Who the hell can live through this?!"

"Some role model you're being," said Page sarcastically.

"Alright, come on. You all have your PDAs?" asked Daltrey, to which the other two Lt.'s nodded. "Okay then, let's go. The rest of the 12th is landing."

They had picked a spot where there weren't too many targets around, although it was extremely hard to see within ten feet in front of them anyway. "Can anybody reach Maj. McCloud? I'm trying to get a signal through."

"The call's going through, but he won't answer," said Plant. "You think something happened?"

"I really hope n- wait..." Page paused and held his PDA up to his ear. "I think I hear something..."

"Yeah, me too," said Plant. Loud, distorted cackles of sound were suddenly coming through every one of their PDAs. It just barely resembled a voice, but they could still decipher what it was saying.

"A...yone... ca... yon... ...ear me? We...eing... mbus..! I re...at..! .. re bei... am...shed!"

Near A River

James put away his PDA, firing his weapon randomly where the shots were coming from. He, Peppy and Pigma took cover laying face down near the bank of the river, keeping his head down. The shots literally came from nowhere, since the fog screwed up their field of vision. "I can't see a damn thing!"

"Did anybody respond?!" yelled Peppy over the gunfire.

"No! I don't think it was coming through!"

"Well, great! Now what do we do?"

They could see hazy figures protruding through the fog. The figures advanced closer and closer towards their position until James could see the lizards clearly, holding their rifles up against him. There were about fifteen of them; there was no way they could possibly fight out of this. He slowly put his weapon down and stood up, hands above his head. Peppy and Pigma did the same.

"You're all they sent?" said one of the larger lizards. He scoffed and motioned them to follow him.

James showed no visible emotion in his face as he followed the lizard along the river, but in his mind, all he could think was God, are we fucked...

Town

Powalski nudged at O'Donnell, pointing at the lizard soldiers who held James, Peppy, and Pigma captive. They walked up to the both of them and saluted them, to which O'Donnell said, "At ease."

"Nice of you to drop by," Powalski said to the Cornerians. "So you're all they sent? What a disappointment."

O'Donnell hadn't even noticed James' presence until he caught sight of the sunglasses. "James McCloud? I always seem to run into you."

"Lucky me..."

"And how's the wife, may I ask?"

James tried his best to keep in his anger to avoid being shot on sight. He didn't even bother to silence his PDA. "Maj. McCloud? Can you hear me? Maj.! Backup's on the way!"

"So you do have more coming," said Powalski. "Well, let's give them a nice welcome, shall we?"

"Units, get into position," said O'Donnell into his radio. "We have company." He put his radio away and looked at his captives again.

"What are you going to do to us?" asked Pigma.

"Okay Dengar, you can drop the act now," said Powalski, to which O'Donnell smiled widely.

"What?" asked Peppy, looking over at Pigma, who was sweating bullets.

"Um..."

"What are they talking about?" asked James.

"I... I uh..."

"Allow us to explain," said O'Donnell. "For the past eleven years or so, your friend Pigma has been deceiving you this whole time..."

"Yeah, he decided that Corneria just wasn't for him, so he joined our side. He's been part of everything: the invasion of Katina, the Fichina takeover. He was there."

James and Peppy were silent, stunned at this bit of information while Pigma felt too ashamed to even defend himself.

"That... that can't be true..." said Peppy.

"Oh yes it can," said Powalski. "How do you explain his little mental breakdown on Titania back in the Lylat Wars? It definitely wasn't the heat. You thought he was in the nuthouse that whole time, but no. He was by Andross' side all along."

"You don't understand!" shouted Pigma, finally getting the sense to try to explain himself. "Andross drugged me with the same potion he drugged O'Donnell with!"

"You do know that potion only lasts five years, right?" asked Powalski.

Now Pigma was stunned. "What?"

"Yeah. You could have stopped a long time ago. Andross wanted to see just how long you would stay by his side under your own influence, and for some reason, you kept on going. That says something about your character, doesn't it?"

"And McCloud... would you like to know who it was exactly that shot your wife?" asked O'Donnell.

"Oh, now we're taking it a bit too far," said Powalski, holding in his laughter.

James slowly looked over at Pigma, a number of emotions overcoming him: sadness, betrayal, anger, the sudden desire to rip Pigma's throat out. He lashed out at the swine, tackling him to the ground. He ripped off Pigma's oxygen mask as he started to wail on him, just as he did eight years ago. Peppy looked on, wishing he could do the same. O'Donnell motioned for the soldiers to get a hold of James, who had managed to deliver several punches.

"I'm sorry, but I had to tell the truth," said O'Donnell, smiling.

"No... don't be sorry," growled James, prying his arms out of the soldiers' grips. "I'm glad you told me."

"Well then. Why don't we take you to your cell now? We'll leave you to your thoughts." Powalski led the two emotionally shaken Cornerians to the prison cells, with the lizard soldiers following behind. O'Donnell watched as they left, then looked down at Pigma, who got up from the ground. His snout was pouring blood.

"So whose side are you on?"

Pigma groaned, wiping the blood off his face. He picked his oxygen mask and tank back up and slipped them on. "Andross'. Who else's?"

O'Donnell smirked. "Be glad McCloud didn't hear that." He walked away to follow the others, leaving Pigma there alone.

He bought it...

About Fifty Miles Away

The 12th Infantry had split up so they could cover more terrain. They were all still waiting for a response from Maj. McCloud, which still hasn't come yet; some of them began to fear the worst. Nevertheless, Banks pressed on, determined to find his location.

A Company went down south, keeping low to the ground to avoid being seen. "Targets are getting closer," said Daltrey, looking at his PDA. "Let's slow down a bit." He motioned for the company to slow down. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see farther. Damn this fog; it was going to be impossible to hit anything.

"Do you hear that?" asked Gilmore.

"What?"

"Sounds like... vehicles..."

Daltrey motioned the company to stop and listen. A slight rumbling sound of motors was coming their way. It was only a slight, faint sound, and yet it was enough to make Daltrey's heart stop. "I think... we should leave..."

"Yeah... let's..." said Plant.

Daltrey turned around and waved his hand forward. The entire company began to run the opposite direction, but no matter how fast they ran, the vehicle sounds grew louder and louder. Then came multiple sounds that stopped them dead in their tracks: enemy gunfire. "Scatter!" yelled Daltrey. Every soldier went their own direction, staying low to the ground doing so. Daltrey winced, seeing one of the new recruits get shot down almost immediately. He went into a prone position and fired his rifle randomly at the multiple hazy figures that were now coming into view. A tank rocket suddenly fired, sending two soldiers flying into the air - not completely intact, of course.

"This is hopeless!" shouted Plant. "We have no cover!"

Daltrey took out his PDA, contacting the Arwings. "Gilmore! I'm sending you our coordinates!"

"What's going on?"

"We're being fucking slaughtered, that's what's going on! Hurry up!"

Up in the Skies

"We're a little busy ourselves!" shouted Gilmore, firing his laser rapidly at the multiple fighter ships flying past him. If it was hard to see down there, it was even worse up here! There was but a few seconds' time when you could clearly see the fighters, when they're flying right past you. He managed to shoot a couple down, but more kept coming into view.

"We need to get back to our company! But how?"

"How about three of us go back?" asked Monroe.

"Okay! Who's going?"

Monroe agreed to, along with two other privates. They broke off from the group and followed the path set by their radars that led back to the company. Some of the fighters saw what they were doing and began to fire at them.

"Watch out!" shouted Gilmore.

"Man down!" yelled Monroe, looking back at one of the Arwings, falling to the ground in a fiery heap. Shit, he thought, as three of the fighters began to follow him. He did a somersault over the pursuers and shot rapidly, bringing down two of the them. The remaining fighter performed a rapid 360 around Monroe's Arwing, something he did not see coming. He tried to barrel roll, but his timing was off; the fighter fired at him, completely blowing off the left wing. "Fuck!" The Arwing descended to the surface; the controls have been shot.

"Monroe! You alright?" asked Gilmore.

"I lost a wing! I can't maneuver it!" He winced as he caught a glimpse of the other Arwing being blasted into smithereens. "I'm going to try to land, but there's no way I can make it back to the company!"

"Alright Monroe... just be careful..." said Gilmore woefully.

Surface

"Where are they?!" yelled Page, ducking his head low.

"They're caught up!" Daltrey yelled back, although it was drowned out by another explosion from the tank. They definitely knew it was a tank because the fog was starting to let up, which was a good thing and a bad thing. "That tank is killing us... We need to flank it somehow!"

"What are we gonna do? Climb on top of it and throw a grenade down the latch?!" shouted Plant.

"Exactly!"

"God, I love this job," Plant said sarcastically.

"Nobody said you had to do it!" shouted Page.

"Alright, you five, come here!" Daltrey shouted to the first five soldiers he saw; Moon was one of them. "Look, we're gonna take out that tank. We have to do this before the fog completely disappears."

"What are we gonna do, sir?" asked Moon.

"We're gonna inch our way to the right, around the soldiers. They're advancing towards us, so we'll wait there and let them move past us. Then we'll make our way to the tank." Daltrey paused to make sure they're getting it. "I will climb on top of the tank, open the latch, and then toss a grenade inside. Got it?" The soldiers looked unsure, but they nodded. "Alright. Let's move."

Daltrey moved back until he couldn't see the silhouettes of the soldiers through the fog; if he can't see them, they can't see him. He moved along the ground, trying to stay as invisible as he can. The other soldiers followed suit. They watched as dark shadows ran past them, completely oblivious to their presence. Daltrey quietly reminded them to hold their fire, or else this whole thing would be blown. His instincts telling him that it was okay to move, he got up and led the soldiers towards the tank, following the sound it was making. Another rocket fired, and several screams from the distance followed. Daltrey could faintly see the outline of the tank, along with several other outlines of soldiers surrounding it.

"Okay... now what, sir?" asked Moon, indicating the soldiers.

Daltrey took out his combat knife. "Stealth." He sneaked up to one of the soldiers closer by, making sure there weren't any behind him. He swiftly grabbed hold of the soldier, holding his mouth shut with his hand, and ran the knife through his jugular. Quietly dropping him to the ground, Daltrey moved to another soldier, while his soldiers did the same. With most of the soldiers quietly taken out on this side, Daltrey ordered his own to stay hidden. "I'll throw the grenade in." The soldiers obeyed, and Daltrey moved in closer to the tank. It was moving along at a brisk pace, and he tried his best to cover himself to not only avoid being spotted on the other side, but to make sure one of his soldiers didn't mistake him for an enemy.

He grabbed hold of a couple of small bars used to climb aboard. Pulling himself up, he hoped to God that the tank didn't fire a rocket as he was doing this. Grabbing a grenade from his pocket, he felt around for the latch on top. He found it and pried it open. He bit the pin off the grenade, chucked it inside, then dropped to the ground. He ran for cover, not looking back.

A large explosion was heard, startling the lizard soldiers around the area. Daltrey reached his soldiers and looked back, seeing the tank in one piece. "What? What happened?"

"Somebody chucked the grenade out, sir," said Moon.

"Shit. Now they know there's Cornerian soldiers on this side. We have to retreat..."

"No... you guys go... I'll do it," said Moon.

"What? No, you're not..."

"I'll get the tank, sir! I promise!"

Daltrey was about to protest more, but he saw the look in Moon's eyes: determination, lack of fear, not a care of whether he lived or died. "Alright... good luck..."

Moon nodded, and he went off towards the tank while the rest of them retreated. He reached the tank and moved along with it, grabbing hold of the bars. He reached into his pocket and grabbed a grenade; instead of trying to hide himself, he picked himself up on top of the tank. He opened up the latch, and just when he was about to pull the pin, he looked up and saw soldiers taking notice of him. They fired, a couple of the shots hitting his body; it didn't make a difference to him. Remembering the words Cpt. Hare told the company, which Maj. McCloud had told him ("Never give up; trust your instincts"), he pulled the pin, threw the grenade into the tank, and dropped his entire body down onto the latch, covering it.

Daltrey looked back as he saw the tank explode into a heap of flames and burning metal. A Company cheered, but Daltrey mournfully looked on when he saw Moon was nowhere to be seen.

Unknown

Monroe wandered away from his Arwing's crash site. He had no idea where he was or where to go, but he pressed on, hoping to find some sort of clue. If he was lucky enough, he might run into some Cornerian soldiers, and they could lead him back to his company.

The fog was beginning to fade away, which was bad for him; he'll be easily spotted this way. He went into a prone position and continued that way. It was slow, but better safe than sorry. He paused for a minute to listen for anything that could help him out. His rifle stayed by his side, ready for anything. Off in the distance, he could faintly hear some soldiers talking.

"What are we going to do about these?" asked one.

"We'll have to take them," said another. "No use leaving three perfectly functional aircraft here."

At the word "aircraft", Monroe's ears perked up. He got up into a crouch position, still making sure he was concealed in the fog. Faintly seeing the outlines of five soldiers, all of whom didn't seem to notice him, he readied himself, pulling a flash grenade out of his pocket. He counted to three in his head, then pulled the pin and chucked it to the soldiers' position. After a few yells of surprise, Monroe ran up to them and dropped them one after the other. He exhaled, not believing that he had pulled that off. He didn't even notice what particular aircraft the soldiers were talking about until he looked straight at it. He couldn't believe his luck!

Town

James sat in his cell, which was right next to Peppy's, his head looking down towards the ground. Everything that had happened today was all very surreal to the both of them. "I can't believe this is happening... How could I have trusted him?"

"You didn't know..." assured Peppy.

"But it all seems so obvious now! His breakdown, his random disappearances! I was blind! I thought, you know, 'He was an old friend! I could trust him with all my heart! He wouldn't do something like that!'" He sighed, adjusting his sunglasses, which reminded him of his eye. "He killed her, Peppy... It was him all along..."

Peppy sighed. There was nothing he could say that could possibly make him feel better. Instead, he laid back against the wall, waiting. Waiting for whatever was going to happen to them. Were they going to execute them? Why not? They were worth nothing to them. Were they just going to keep them here until they wither away and die? On second thought, Peppy preferred the former. At least they were "nice" enough to let them keep their oxygen tanks.

Outside the prison, there were two lizard guards pacing back and forth. One of them caught sight of Pigma, who was walking up to them. "What can we do for you, sir?" asked the guard.

"I just want to talk to our little prisoners for a bit," replied Pigma.

"Go ahead."

Pigma nodded and walked up to the cell. Peppy looked at him in anger while James tried to ignore him.

"Give us a reason why we shouldn't kill you right now," said Peppy.

"Alright. Is this good?" Pigma suddenly turned around and grabbed one of the guards. Before the other guard could notice, Pigma grabbed the pistol out of his hostage's holster and shot him straight in the head. He then grabbed hold of his hostage's head and twisted it, snapping his neck. Peppy gaped while James had just looked up, seeing what the commotion was all about.

"Why did you just do that?" asked Peppy.

Pigma took out two keys from his pocket and proceeded to unlock the cell doors. "I'm getting you guys out of here..."