-Chapter XXVIII-
-Somewhere near Sargasso Station-
Fox jolted from his sleep from the slight siren sound that went off as he requested...
"Destination reached..." MIA's voice sounded, "...current distance from Sargasso Station. 4.25 light minutes."
Fox sat up and quickly jumped out of his arwing before looking to the clock on his communicator...it was 6am. Fox started to gather together some things that he deemed might help him with what he would have to do, his only problem was finding a way inside without being discovered as an intruder...for a moment he thought of just barreling through the place killing anyone that got in his way but, in the end decided that it was most likely not the best approach to the situation. As he stuffed things into his arwing's cargo bay his ear twitched toward the sound of the opening docking bay door...the silently light footsteps was enough to tell him who it was...
"What's up Silver?"
"I—heard the two of you yelling last night...are you leaving?" The silver fox asked.
"Not permanently no..."
"Do you two hate each other?"
Fox looked at the young vulpine with confusion, "Why would you think that?"
"There is always such tension when you are together...even when you try not to show it. In the movies you gave me the people often talk and yell at one another the way you did with one another...but it always seems to get better near the end of the story..."
Fox pressed a button causing the cargo bay to close on his arwing, "That's the great thing about stories Silver. No matter what happens you can almost always be assured that it will have a happy ending. Real life just isn't that simple...you want real life...read Romeo and Juliet sometime."
"What's that?"
Fox sighed and leaned against the hull of his ship, "It's a story...a very old love story. You see these two young people fall in love but, their families have always been at war. One day the two decide to run away together but everything goes wrong...and in the end the only thing they can share together is death."
"That—that's terrible."
"War breeds tragedy kid..."
"That was something else I wanted to ask you." Silver said, "In the stories that I've read and seen in the movies, love causes strife, pain, and even war...but it also brings happiness...and yet so many seem too search their entire lives for it. Is something that causes so much pain really worth looking for in life?"
"Oh it is..." Fox said, "It leads people into some pretty bad situations, but it has some positive outcomes."
"Like what?" Silver asked.
Fox smiled, "Well...family for one, always having them there, and some...er...physical pleasures as well." He said with a slight chuckle, "The thing is you should be strong enough for love to work...and apparently I just wasn't strong enough."
"But...besides Creed you're one of the strongest people I know..."
"There's a lot more to strength than what lies on the outside kid..." Silver gave him a confused look, "Listen you care a lot about Roxy, right?"
"Of course I do..."
"How far would you go to keep her safe? Would you be willing to die?"
After a brief moment of thought Silver looked to Fox, "Yes...I would."
"Now what about her feelings. Would you be willing to hurt her to keep her safe? Would you break her heart if it meant it'd keep her alive?"
The silver youth went silent in thought...
"Tough call isn't it?"
"Not really..." Silver replied, "The answer is clear to me...between my happiness and her life, her life is clearly the more important of the two...but so is her happiness. If there were a way to do so without hurting her then yes I would, but, if not then no. I'd never do anything to hurt her in any way."
"Let me know how that works out for ya..." Fox said turning back toward his arwing, "Look kid...don't take this the wrong way but I lied. I probably won't come back...and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
Silver almost looked hurt, "But...why?"
"It's complicated okay...I just don't want to see her like that anymore and I'm the cause."
"How are you going to get into that place...you know it has to be well guarded."
"Standard emergency refueling...all space stations are equipped to handle the procedure. Then as soon as I'm left alone I'll make my way around the station and find my mom."
Silver couldn't think of anything else to do or say, so he simply shook Fox's hand, "Thank you for everything Scar."
Fox smiled as they broke their hand shake, and pulled the silver fox into a hug, "I'm gonna miss you kid." He said releasing the young fox, "Take care of everyone alright..."
"Sure..."
Silver didn't want to see one of his first and only friends leave but for the most part he understood why Fox was doing it. He simply stood there and watched as Fox's arwing jetted out of the docking bay. Fox felt badly for leaving everyone in their current situation but, figured they'd be better off without him. It was as his arwing sailed through the dead of space that his mind began to work against him, feeding him guilt for leaving his friends behind. The smell of fresh blueberries filled his senses...it was that same sent that Krystal wore so often that it seemed to him to be her natural scent. He found it in himself to somehow ignore the smell and concentrate on the mission at hand...to save his mother...
-about 20 minutes later-
Silver walked onto the bridge where Creed had taken the captain's seat, and his friend Jared and his girlfriend Shera stood nearby; this was the first time Silver had seen the female before, she was of a slightly athletic build, with fur like pure snow, and very light blue eyes, there was a small scar that slid round the side of her neck disappearing below the collar or her shirt, her bushy Lupine tail was tied down at it's base, and her long white hair was fixed into a loose pony tail...
"So he left already?" He asked.
"Yeah he's gone." Silver replied.
"Good I hope he finds what he's looking for."
The two sat there for a short while simply watching the lone arwing pull farther and farther away, as they did Roxy and Lia walked onto the bridge both looking a bit confused...
"Have any of you two seen Krystal..." Roxy asked, "I can't find her anywhere..."
-Sargasso Station-
Fox had no trouble getting clearance as he'd done several things to his arwing to make sure there was no other recourse but to land, he tried to make sure he was unrecognizable as possible by wearing his shades and a different uniform; just a pair of black jeans and a matching tank top. The docking area of the massive station was the same as always...as he disembarked from his arwing he was of course greeted by two soldiers, they didn't seem like Omni soldiers at all; one was a badger who kept his visor open, Fox could relate he hated those things too, and the other was a light tan bear who was lighting up a large cigar...
"Some sort of problem here sir?" The badger asked.
"No I just need use of your docking bay to fix this piece of shit..." Fox replied kicking the hull of the arwing.
"What went wrong with her?" The bear asked examining the ship.
"Calibration drives as far as I can tell...throttle was a bit grabby on the way in here too, and it wouldn't hurt to check over the G-diffuser while I'm at it, can't be too careful."
The two soldiers moved away and talked among themselves for a moment before turning back around, "Well...it's against protocol but, they aren't paying us enough for this anyway...you're restricted to this area. Just get your repairs done ASAP, alright?"
"Will do...thank you sirs." Fox replied.
"Don't mention it..." The bear said as they began to walk back to their posts
Fox was a bit nervous for a bit but it all passed. He then took his time to look around the massive docking bay; there weren't a mass number of ship...mainly small transports and one massive one, it was a large chrome and gray ship that had a triangular shape to it, it could have easily made up more than five of the Dark Star. Fox knew the SS Nemesis for it's reputation of having the most firepower for a ship of it's class, he had thought this through somewhat but, as he opened his arwing's cargo bay that smell hit him again...it wasn't very powerful but it was a smell that he'd grown accustomed to over the years. He was even more surprised and a bit angry when he saw a pair of familiar blue orbs hiding behind some of his cargo in the far back of the cargo bay. He didn't say a word, he simply picked up a two small disc-shaped objects, as he walked around the ship he pressed a small button on one of the disks and began to at least act like he was working on his ship...
"You wanna explain what you're doing in there?" He whispered as he was sticking close to the cargo bay.
"I don't need to explain myself. Not coming back...you explain." Krystal retorted in a very low voice.
"How fucking long have you been in there?"
"Mmm...long enough to know how cramped it is in here."
Fox sighed, "There's a cloaking device in there someplace...turn it on and get out here."
Fox could hear her unseen footsteps as Krystal stepped out of the small ship's cargo bay, she simply studied the area for a while. After a bit of time she sighed...
"How are you going to find her in this?"
"Well since you're here and invisible...you can scout ahead while I set up for the break out. If you think you found her, her name is Vixy."
"No problem...I'll be back..."
Fox was still a bit peeved that she'd stowed away but, at the same time he was happy, of all the people that could have followed him she was the one he'd secretly hoped would. For hours he went about what appeared to be standard procedure, he even took the time to actually recalibrate some of his ariwing's drive systems while he was at it...while at the same time preparing to disappear himself. That is until one of the two soldiers from before approached him...The brown bear had something in his paws, drinks...
"You've been working on that for a while..." He said sitting on a nearby crate, "...beer?"
Fox thought for a moment, "Meh what the hell?" He said taking the icy bottle from the bear.
"Name's John..." The bear said as Fox sat down on his own crate.
Fox extended a paw to the bear, "Aryn..." The bear shook it, "So what the hell happened here? I thought I'd see O'donnell again."
"You friends with that old psycho?"
"You could say that yeah...we've been around." Fox replied.
"Honestly I ain't got a clue what the fuck is going on here...I'm just a mercenary being paid to guard the docking bay...fucking shitty ass wages too. Omni guys are all over the place though. They don't tell us shit...Fen seems to be handling it alright but, I don't know I miss flying."
"Can't say that I blame you there man...I couldn't live without that old pile." Fox replied looking toward his arwing.
"Hmm..." John hummed, "You're a merc too eh?"
"Lot of good it dose me...ninety percent of the time I barely have enough money to keep fuel in that ship."
John nodded, "Mmm. I can relate to that...only reason I'm even here, I don't trust these Omni bastards as far as I could throw a Luxonian."
Fox's thoughts wandered for a moment, "That ship over there...it's the Nemesis isn't it?"
"Yep...one of the strongest ships in the entire Lylat system...don't know what it is they're transporting but, I get this strange feeling in the back of my neck every time I walk by it."
"Well..." Fox said standing up, "...thanks for the drink but I think I should get back to work so I can get the hell out of here."
"Yeah I should get back too work too..." John said a bit annoyed.
Fox simply went back to work, at least until he heard something shift on the inside of his arwing's cargo bay. When he examined the interior his eyes were met by the light blue eyes of a familiar vixen...
"Well..." He whispered.
"That big ship...the brig is full of Cerinians and one white vixen...they looked pretty bad." Her eyes froze as Fox felt something press against the back of his skull.
"Don't fucking move..." John's voice said calmly, "Now who the fuck are you really and what are you doing here?"
"Most people call me Scar...but..." Fox said turning to face the bear, "You can call me Fox if you like."
"That's a hell of a claim...considering that McCloud's dead." John's rifle never left it's position as he backed away slightly making sure the fox couldn't strip him of his weapon.
"Wrong..." Fox said, "Think about your source for that information for just one second...Omni right?"
John's eyes moved around a bit but he never faltered, "Listen...I really don't want to hurt you John...you seem like a reasonable animal. I'm just here to get my mom out of that ship..." He said pointing toward the Nemesis, "I haven't seen her in almost 20 years. You have any idea what it's like to think your mom's dead only to find that she's been alive."
"Can't say that I do." John replied, "So what? I'm just supposed to let you go?"
"Frankly I could care less what you do John...but, honestly I'd rather not kill you." Fox said turning and helping Krystal out of the cargo bay, "I've been doing nothing but ending lives for as long as I can remember. I'm tired of it...I realized that when I killed the one that was holding me captive on Corneria. When you stop caring about ending life...you're way too familiar with it."
John looked as if he were conflicting with himself about what to do...part of him wanted to let them go but, another wanted to turn them in for the money that he would definitely receive...he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard another weapon charge itself from behind him, Fen had seen the act and rushed to his side, "What's going on John?"
John sighed a bit, "Sorry Fen..."
The badger looked confused, "Wha..."
Fen was cut short as the butt of his partner's rifle struck the side of his face laying him to the unforgiving metal floor. He shook his head as he looked to the unconscious badger...It was the end of a long partnership, "I'm in...but you two are going to explain everything once we're all out of here got that?"
Fox smiled he'd always been a good judge of character, "I'm glad I didn't have to kill you John. This is Krystal I'm sure you've read about her too...I can assure you it's all lies."
"You have cloaking devices in there right?" John asked receiving a nod from them both, "Good you two head in there and get what you needed. I'll deal with Fen and move your arwing into our ship's docking bay where it won't be noticed...ours is the small gray transport over there."
The bear lifted his former partner onto his shoulder and began to walk off, "Wait..." Krystal said causing him to stop, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it...I mean what are the chances of me getting to work with two members of Star Fox again? Best to take advantage of this while I can." John said wearing a large grin, "Oh and there's this real fucking weird guy roaming around here. Wearing all black, black fur...really gives me the creeps."
"You catch a name...cuz that sounds a lot like the fucker that kidnapped me on Corneria."
"I think they called him Strider..." John replied, "Steer clear of him if you can though...something ain't right about that guy."
"Yeah I know what you mean...Don't worry about it. I don't have any intention of putting my mom in any more danger than she already is." Fox replied.
As John walked off Krystal and Fox activated their cloaking devices and Krystal led Fox by the paw to the ship where his mother was being held. The interior of the ship was almost just like that of the Dark Star, the walls were all chrome, there were differences here and there but for the most part the only difference was the massive size of the Nemesis. The halls were so wide that Krystal and Fox could walk abreast and not worry about walking into a passerby. It was one of the largest ships that Krystal had ever seen...next to the EvenStar which she had been aboard while the Star Fox team was still around. They seemed to move through endless hallways before finally they ended near a pair of elevators. Once they were aboard the lifts Krystal spoke up...
"This ship has 12 decks...the brig is on the 8th...while I was down there I only ran into 6 guards...two were guarding the brig itself."
"Good...two of them two of us. You don't know how much I appreciate this Krys..." The invisible vulpine said, "...I know I was going to leave but...I'm really glad you're the one that followed me. Thank you..."
Krystal giggled as she nudged him with her shoulder, "Hey...someone's gotta keep your ass in line right?"
Fox almost laughed out loud at the fact that she sounded like Peppy, "Yeah...sure, but at least my babysitter isn't as ugly as sin itself." He replied, "Then again there are those mornings when you wake up and your fur is set just the right--Ow!"
He wasn't sure whether that was a punch or a kick but, it was dangerously low so he pulled back on the jokes...
"Sorry just trying to get rid of the tension."
"Don't bother cuz if we're caught breaking anyone out of here there's bound to be plenty of it flying around." Krystal remarked as the elevator came to a stop.
When the elevator doors slid open a guard looked inside, his face covered by an odd looking mask that had a visor and two small round objects full of holes on either side of his muzzle. When he saw there was nobody there he stepped inside , Fox and Krystal silently stepped around him and headed through the door. The brig was large but, luckily there was only one cell...a massive one. The room was very dimly lit by a flickering light high above them. Fox stopped when he saw the occupants, every fur was a beaten and stale mixture of red and blue; some huddled together in corners hoping that when the guards came they weren't next. Fox removed his shades for a moment in disbelief before setting them back on his none existent face. Some of the Cerinians inside were only kits, not even half Fox's size, covered in dried blood and bruises, most of them lucky enough to be in a parent's arms at the moment...
"Krystal go keep an eye out while I find my mom and a way to open the door..." Fox said releasing his unseen guide's paw, "...can they all understand me?"
"They should...if they've been here all that long."
"Good go check on those guards. If they head this way give me some sort of signal..."
"Gotcha' ...What about him though?" Krystal asked pointing to the animal that was now sending the elevator back to the top floor.
"Leave him to me just go."
-000-
Her light footsteps soon vanished into the distance. Suddenly a sharp sound of something falling distracted the guard's attention who walked past the invisible fox that stood near the cell full of Cerinians. As he came back with a small pipe that had fallen which he tossed aside, the elevator door was forced open, this really got his attention and the animal rushed to the door pointing his assault rifle into the now open shaft. A young Cerinian sitting by the cell door noticed something; the pipe the guard had discarded was floating and bobbing about as though in the paw of a walking animal...the young boy couldn't say anything from the shock of what he was seeing and began to push at his exhausted mother's shoulder who soon looked to what her kit was pointing at with a confused look. The guard turned on his flashlight and looked up the shaft then down it...there was nothing there. As he withdrew his light something tapped him on the shoulder but, just as he turned thinking he'd find one of the other guards, the seemingly possessed piece of metal connected with the end of his muzzle. As Fox watched on blood began to pour from the small round cylinders on the sides of his mask before he stumbled back falling into the empty shaft. Fox dropped the now bloody pipe and turned off his cloaking device to save whatever time was left on it...
"Well..." He said dusting off his paws, "...that takes care of him."
Fox pressed the button to call the elevator and rushed over to the closest two he could which turned out to be the ones that had watched him send the guard, plummeting to a horrible death. The kit had his face buried in his mother's chest who was holding the little one tightly...
"Just leave us alone...we don't know anything..." She practically pleaded gathering a bit of attention form the others.
As he looked into the cell he noticed that not one of them was well fed, they were kept near starvation to keep their willpower at it's lowest, they were all bloody and beaten, most of them were in such need of food that their ribs stuck out repulsively. It was the saddest sight Fox had ever seen...all of this torture over a fucking weapon...
"Boy do you have the wrong idea..." Fox said, "I'm here to get you all out of here...Is there a white furred vixen in there with you?"
"Yes..." The Cerinian vixen answered pointing to the far side of the cell, "She never leaves that spot."
As Fox made his way around to the far side of the cell he could see a small ball of white among the large patches of blue...she really was alive, and sitting right there not ten feet from him...
"Hey you..."
Her white furred ears stiffened as an all but familiar voice rang through her senses, she stood and for a moment refused to turn, in fear that it was all just a cruel game to break her down again...
"J-james?"
For Fox the sound of her rattled voice calling for his father was torture unto itself causing tears to roll down his cheeks, "Not really...but close enough...mom."
Her back went rigid at the sound of that last word causing her to suddenly turn to face him, it had to be her son, why else would there be someone that looked so much like James? Who sounded just like him. She looked terrible, the snow white fur that Fox scarcely recalled had none of the angelic luster that he was accustomed to, she was as terribly malnourished as the others, and her left arm hung lifelessly to her side...her tears were already leaving long streaks under her eyes...
"Fox?" She asked with a voice of sheer disbelief.
"It's me mom..."
With that last confirmation the vixen hurried to the bars, nearly forcing her son through them with her one good arm, Fox didn't waste any time to return the gesture. He couldn't believe it, he half expected to wake up at any moment to realize that it was all a dream...but to his horror and great happiness when he released his hold to wipe the tears from his eyes she was still staring at him...
"You've grown up big..." She said proudly ash she wiped away her own tears, "Even bigger than your father."
"Well...he was a lot of man to live up to..." Fox replied, "...but we can get reacquainted later. How the hell do I get this cell open?"
A thin looking but well built male Cerinian approached the bars and sniffed the air, "There's a Cerinian here with you isn't there?" He asked.
"Yeah...How'd you know that?" Fox asked.
"I know my sister's sent anywhere."
Fox didn't really believe his ears, "Krystal's brother? Boy is she gonna be surprised. Wouldn't know how to get that door open would you?"
"One of the guards used his paw..."
Fox froze up for a moment, "It wasn't the one that got the shaft was it?"
Krystal's brother didn't understand until Fox pointed to the elevator, "Oh no...it wasn't him."
"Alright then...go back to what you were all doing...I'll be back...if I have to rip the fucker's paw off myself."
Fox activated his cloaking device vanishing from sight...he didn't even seem to notice the fact that not one of the caged vulpines would get near his mother. His mind now was on getting to where Krystal was. He pulled a small device from his pocket and after removing his shades placed it up to his eye, causing everything to become colored like the vision of a serpent. As he made his way through the halls he knew that he'd found he crouched behind a crate watching several animals that were playing cards at a small table. He could see her form clearly outlined in reds and oranges, her tail swishing back and forth...even in infrared he couldn't help but to stare a little...
"Hey..." He said softly.
She would have been surprised but she was too familiar with Fox's voice, "Did you get to talk to her?"
"Yeah but...apparently our key to the cell is at the end of one of their arms. There's four of them...even if we kill 'em all they would have too much time to call for help." Fox pointed out.
"I'd take over one of their minds but...I don't know which one it is."
"Just probe around until you find the right one..." Fox suggested.
Krystal thought for a moment and then began to concentrate but recoiled, "W-what the hell was that?" She asked placing her paw on her head.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't get into their heads...It actually hurts to try."
Fox sighed, "Should have known better. If it were that easy the Cerinians would've done it a long time ago."
"Then what are we gonna do?" Krystal asked.
"Well we could run in there and kill 'em all...hope none of them get a chance to radio for help." Fox said resting a paw on her shoulder, "Then again there are only four guards in there...two look a bit more than wasted on that cheap beer. So I'm pretty sure we can count them away from being our key..."
"Why's that?" Krystal asked.
"They're half drunk so...they're most likely not on duty. The brown wolf however keeps checking his watch so I'm guessing he is. As for the chipmunk...well I'm not so sure he seems pretty calm...he's about to win this hand too."
Just after saying so the others set down their cards and all seemed a bit disturbed by the chipmunk's hand, "How did you do that?" Krystal asked.
"He's won the last two hands...he's cheating." Fox pointed out, "Falco used to do the same thing...See the way he keeps his left paw on his neck? Hidden cards."
After a short while the brown furred wolf stood up stretching his back...
"I'm out guys gotta get back to my post before Kramer crawls up my fucking ass again."
"Yeah...put yer ass through hell last week huh?" The chipmunk asked.
"Yeah...no shit..."
"Hahahah...yeah. Just don't get too close to that cell...you remember what happened when that white one got a hold of Miles's arm. She's a tricky little bitch too."
The wolf walked by and headed down toward the cell...Fox and Krystal silently shadowed the unsuspecting lupine. The Cerinians oddly enough didn't seem to be afraid of him. Which caught Fox off his guard...this wasn't the one he needed...and he realized that as he approached the cell pulling something form his pockets and handing it too one of the blue vixens that had gathered around...
"I'm sorry but that was all I could get by everyone..."
Fox watched as the blue furred foxes began to pass what small scraps of foot their secret helper had managed to sneak to them, his eyes however widened as he saw them pass up his mother. In a huff of anger Fox walked up behind the wolf gripping him from behind and placing his father's knife to his neck...
"Where's the key?"
"Listen if you're here to save them maybe I can help an--"
"No Fuck them...Just the white one. After seeing that the others can fucking die for all I care."
Krystal's brother rushed to the bars, "What are you talking about? You said all of us."
"That was before I realized that you'd let one of your own starve to death."
Krystal turned off her cloaking device and ran up to the bars, "Voss what the hell is wrong with you? Father taught you better than that. At least I thought he did."
Voss was stunned, "L-little...sister?"
"HEY!! JULIUS!! SHUT THOSE FUCKERS UP WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A GAME BACK HERE!!"
"NO PROBLEM!!" The wolf yelled back, "You all want to keep it down? Before you get us all killed."
Still holding the wolf at knife point Fox looked back to him, "Sorry...Now what the hell is going on Krystal?"
"Stupid ass Cerinian law...says that a woman has to marry within the tribe or be banished." Krystal answered, "Well then Voss...are you going to treat me like this too? Because I didn't even know you were here. I came with him because I love him." Fox could have sworn he saw a smile tug at the corner of his mother's mouth.
Fox turned away from the cell only to feel a paw on his shoulder, "Fox..." His mother's voice said, "You can't condemn them for the way they are. Why do you think I left that planet with your father? I knew I couldn't change them...as I'm sure this young lady's taught you. Our people can be pretty set in our ways...it's the Cerinian's greatest downfall."
"Yeah..." Julius added, "...and could you please let me go? This is uncomfortable and...that knife is really sharp." Fox let him go, "Also what happened to Charlie?...the Manx that was down here on guard duty."
Fox looked about as he put away his knife, "Umm...well. Last time I saw him he was falling toward a long dark sleep." Fox got a blank look from the wolf, "Okay okay...I chucked him down the elevator shaft."
"Oh alright then...can't say he didn't deserve that." Julius replied.
"Well if it makes you feel any better chances are he was dead before he fell..." Fox pointed out the bloody pipe laying near the far wall.
"Hmm...oddly enough that dose make me feel a bit better." The wolf sighed, "But I think she's right..."
"He may be an ass...but he is my brother Fox."
His mother was one thing but there was no way he could say no to both Krystal and his mother, "Fine...Julius right?" He asked turning to the wolf.
"Yes..."
"Let's go get the key..." Fox sighed, "Krys...you stay here. Anyone comes through that elevator get back to me and we'll work from there."
Fox and Julius walked back toward the small game room, "So that's the guy you chose huh?" Voss asked, "You happy?"
"What's it matter? He's an outsider right?"
"You know you sound just like father?" Voss pointed out.
"That's funny because you're acting just like mom. She hated anything that was different too." Krystal decided to completely step away from this fight and turned toward Vixy, "Mrs. McCloud?"
"Yes dear...Krystal right?" Vixy replied.
"That's right..." Krystal smiled, "Can I see your arm?" As soon as Krystal held the white vixen's limp arm she looked accusingly to her brother, "I guess you were just going to leave her like this too huh? Well if you think your paw won't fall off hold her mouth shut while I relocate her shoulder."
Voss swallowed his pride before reaching for the white vixen's muzzle, "I'm really sorry about this..."
Krystal pulled on the appendage a bit so that the bars would hold Vixy in place, and looked to the white vixen who nodded. Krystal began to pull until she felt the shoulder give popping back into place. Causing Vixy to let out a muffled scream. Which subsided when she pushed away Voss's paw...
"Thank you both..." She said working her shoulder a bit.
"Listen...for what it's worth...I-I'm..."
Vixy held up a paw, "You don't need to do that Voss...I knew your mother and father. I understand why you would think that way you do. Then again I wasn't exactly your mother's best friend."
Just then Fox wandered around the corner, his upper half drenched in blood...the lupine that followed behind him looked incredibly disturbed...
"My god Fox are you alright?"
He looked a bit angry, "Not my blood...he fought back." Fox grumbled wiping some blood from his right eye..
Julius looked absolutely disturbed, "It was terrible...the worst think I've ever seen. H-he-he tore it right off...there was blood everywhere."
Krystal smiled at the horribly disturbed wolf, "I take it you aren't used to seeing death."
"I-i--it was the foulest thing I've ever seen...couldn't find his knife . So he chewed through most of it..."
"Fox that was going a bit far..." Krystal said.
Fox spit out a bit of blood, "He tasted like vodka..." He said shuddering, "...I hate Vodka. Here's the key." He finished tossing her a bloody severed paw.
As Krystal wiped down the paw to place it on the scanner to the cell she noticed Voss smiling, "What are you so happy about?"
Voss smiled at her, "I kind of like him..."
Krystal placed the severed limb on the scanner, "Yeah and why's that?"
"Outsider or no...if he's willing to chew through a man's forearm just because you asked for something...He must really care about you."
Krystal looked over to Fox who was wiping the blood from his face with a rag of cloth that Julius had handed to him, "You know...I never really looked at it that way." As soon as he was out in the open Krystal hugged her brother, "I really missed you Voss...I knew something like the end of the world wouldn't be enough to take you out."
"Well you remember what Arlex used to say..."
Krystal chuckled a bit, "Yeah. You're too damn stubborn to die. Same way with Fox...you could be certain that he's dead and two days later...he proves you wrong."
Fox made his way over to the small crowd of blue furs, "Okay we've got four rifles who here can fight? We can leave Julius here out...he had a hard enough time watching a man loose his hand...watching what these do to an animal wouldn't sit right with him."
Krystal reached for one but Fox pulled it back, "No Krys...I need you to help the others...especially the kits and the older ones."
Voss stepped forward, "I can help..."
"Me too...I've had military training." Vixey stepped forward.
As he was staring down the barrel Fox pulled the rifle out of Voss's hands, "Mom...do me a favor and show him how this works before he blows his fucking face off." Fox said then turning toward Julius, "Yo Jules...you're gonna have to roll with me. We have to go in shifts..."
"How so?" Voss asked.
"Simple you and my mom take the first group up...half of the group...you'll take Krystal she'll show you to the docking bay..." Fox pointed out, "Then Julius and I will take whoever is left so. Split up everyone, kits and older animals with Voss. Other's with me." Fox took a quick head count, "Okay that's 5...7...8 for you and...9 for me. Good but we may need a back up plan..."
Julius brought his muzzle up to Fox's ear for a moment, "You know that might work...we'll go with that just in case." Fox said patting the wolf on the back, "Alright then. Voss...Mom...get your group on the elevator and Krystal make sure you get them to John's ship ASAP..."
"Got it..." Krystal said hugging Fox, "You'd better be careful."
-000-
Fox watched and as the first group boarded the elevator he pulled Voss aside, who seemed to be a bit more than confused about the strange look that he was being given...
"Take care of my mother and Krystal Voss...I don't want to see anyone hurt in this thing unless it's gonna be me..."
Voss smiled, "You have my word..."
"That's all I ask...now get those people out of here."
Voss positioned all of the Cerinians into the elevator in a way that placed himself and Vixey at the front, as the doors closed he went over his group; he got off lucky, strong younger males, and a few females of about the same age. At least they can all fight...He thought to himself. He went through the entire group for a moment...
"Okay listen up...ladies stay in the middle, I want three of you men up front with and two in back. We're going to take an alternate route out of here. You all follow behind me and the wolf and don't fall behind. Ladies I know your culture taught you all to be fighters but, right now you four are very important to keeping your people alive so please do not leave your position just let us do the protecting for right now okay...everyone ready then?"
Fox received a nod from everyone, "Good...think you can handle this Jules?"
The wolf took a deep breath, "I've been trying to help them since I got here...if I have to swallow my pride and kill a few animals to keep their race form dying off...Yeah I think I can handle that."
"Good then you stay ahead of the group, "Give us a warning of any guards...we'll want this first part to be as quiet as possible. Hopefully we'll pick up some more weapons along the way."
Julius started off toward the room where the other's had been playing cards, as they passed up the brutal scene of what Fox had done to the three that were there he could hear several gagging sounds from the group of young Cerinians...as well as one from Julius. As they exited the far end of the room Fox realized that they were headed into a rather narrow hall leading to some sort of large lift far off in the distance, Julius called for everyone to stop and headed out toward the lift but, soon stopped. For a moment it looked like he was talking to someone then moved to one side to let an animal pass, the animal fell to the ground however as Julius struck it in the back of the head with his weapon, he then waved to Fox who led the group over to the wolf...the one on the ground was a female squirrel...a rather cute one...
"She was my friend Fox...I couldn't kill her..."
Fox smiled and patted Julius on the shoulder, "You did the right thing Jules. Just move her to one side and lets get the hell out of here."
As soon as the squirrel was laid against a nearby wall the group rushed down the hall and stopped at the large service elevator...
"Alright..." Julius said, "...we're not far from this ship's docking bay. Luckily nobody's set off the--" As if on cue the alarm sounded with a blaring siren as the halls went dark with flashing red lights.
As if completely ignoring the sound and lights Fox and Julius loaded the group onto the lift which was gladly not early as crowded as the one Krystal had taken. Luckily and unfortunately however most of the soldiers aboard the Nemesis would be occupied with the threat that had triggered the alarm...and it hadn't been Fox's group. A ping of worry shot through Fox's senses...he no longer cared about being quiet. Their small group rushed down the halls, and to Fox's horror there were no soldiers...nothing too shoot at all. As they neared the docking bay Julius froze finding several animals blocking the door. Fox however saw the matter differently and rushed by, he didn't have time to think. There were only four of them. As he barreled down the hall a quick gunshot gathered the guards's attention as one of their ranks fell to the floor with a fountaining hole in his visor. Two more jumped into the clearing of the hall only to find that Fox had already gained too much ground. The desperate vulpine dropped sliding into their legs with his own causing the two animals to fall painfully to their faces. The last animal rushed in at him but before he could get off a shot Fox swung his rifle under his arm and fired tearing several small holes in the animal's chest, he then swung the rifle back around and before the other two could get to their feet fired into the back of both of their heads. Julius looked a bit stunned as Fox called him over to the now open docking bay door where he was outfitting himself with whatever guns he could claim from the bodies; a shotgun, another assault rifle, two blasters, and a pistol...
"Seems clear enough from here Jules...can you pilot a ship?" Fox asked.
"Yeah...well a lot better than I can fight." Julius yelled over the sirens.
"Good...get to that small transport and head toward Corneria. There should be a black ship not far from here...send 'em a transmission and tell them that Scar sent you..." Fox said rushing down the halls.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Julius yelled.
"TO HELP THE OTHERS!!"
As Fox rushed down the halls Julius was left to care for the Cerinians who he led into the Nemesis's massive docking bay. He then led them to a small transport ship...the kind used for small time military drops, and opened the bay doors to it. He checked over the group and noticed one was missing. When he turned back he noticed one of the girls had fallen, what's worse was the large animal that was slowly walking into the docking bay. The black bear was injured but still massive in size. The blue vixen tried to run but found that she couldn't stand, whatever she'd tripped over had clearly sprained or broken something. Julius wasn't a fighter but he knew something had to be done as she was attempting to crawl away form the lumbering animal that approached her. She finally managed to stand up limping her way toward the wolf..but as Julius noticed the weapon that the bear had he rushed in tackling the girl to the ground but rolling onto his back. The slick cloth of his shirt cased them to begin to slide across the floor between the giant's legs where Julius let his rifle loose into the bear's back. As the bear stumbled Julius rolled himself and the girl to one side clearing the spot for the corpse to fall, only to find themselves lost in each other's eyes...
Julius blushed a bit as he chuckled, "Umm..ha...Hi..." He was cut off by a short kiss form the vixen, "Wow...You know a 'thank you' would have been just fine."
-000-
Krystal's small group was pinned down just outside of the Nemesis...she was trying her hardest to stop an old male from bleeding to death from the bullet wound in his gut. Luckily John was there to help Vixy and Voss hold down a suppressing gunfire while the Cerinians were boarded onto John's ship, for a moment it felt like it was a loosing fight, no matter how many they killed it seemed as though they were barraged by that many more. Suddenly without warning several of their ranks dropped with severed arms. Krystal had barely caught what had caused it...a small flying blade which was now in the hands of a familiar looking timber wolf...beside him a white furred female lupine fired off several rounds from a sniper rifle...it was Jared and Shera. Several minutes went bay and to their unfortunate dismay the line of soldiers still didn't end until they could hear panicked gunfire coming form the Nemesis. As Fox got to the entrance of the Nemesis he found that the door was jammed full of soldiers that clearly didn't see him coming as he released a hail of gunfire into the crowd of animals, several panicked and ran while the others seemed to fall around them. Fox worked his way through them slowly picking up one of the dead animal's weapons when his ran dry. Soon enough he was to a point where the others could clearly see him blasting his way through the scores of soldiers, he'd been hit once but it wasn't something that he'd bother with...Soon enough the masses that were left disbanded running in random directions to get away from what appeared to be a loosing fight. Unfortunately as Fox cleared the Nemesis he noticed something...a familiar black clad fox walking lackadaisically toward them with a rather long, curved sword who's point scraped the floor. Fox remembered this freak...it was the same one that had attacked him on Corneria. Angered, Fox fired his rifle at the strange swordsman, but with a blaze of steel the bullets were all reflected by his sword...
"What the fuck?" Fox said throwing the gun to the ground, "Am I a magnet for these god damned freaks?!"
Fox readied himself for a fight but the one he was certain was called Strider stopped. A smug grin washed over his face and without warning he hurled the sword toward Fox which halted in mid-flight over his shoulder. Fox looked over his shoulder to see that a raccoon had been impaled through the face by the weapon who then fell to the ground. Fox quickly ripped the sword from the animal's head and whipped back around to face the dark clad one who simply stood there smiling...
"Strider right?" Fox asked.
"And you are Fox McCloud...I would love to finish this as it is but...I see you are far too obligated to give your life in service to what you are doing. Keep it until next time." Strider said turning his back on the group, "Maybe you'll be a decent challenge by then."
As Fox watched Strider walk away his vision failed a bit...he was so busy that he hadn't even noticed how many times he'd been hit, there was a bullet in his leg, arm and gut. Krystal and Vixy both ran to him when the saw him stumble forward using the sword to keep him from falling. He tried to steady himself while he breathed the fire from his lungs...he'd ran all the way back through the Nemesis to get there...and wasn't even paying attention to know he'd been hit three times. His vision started to blur a bit but, he forced himself to his feet, trying his hardest to ignore the pain that now coursed through his body. To be honest he was happy that Strider had not decided to fight...eventually his blood loss would have gotten to him and Strider would have killed him. Krystal shouldered his weight and helped the injured fox to the ship, they needed to move out before Omni could regroup...
-Undisclosed Location-
Cornelius walks into his office and set's his lab coat on a rack near the door...after a long day he heads to his small private bar to fix himself a drink and while he dose he notices that someone else has already helped themselves to a drink of their own. He sighs as he sits in his chair turnign toward the sunset in his window...
"Hello Syler...I'd say it's nice to see you in good health again but...this isn't a social call is it?"
The blue furred fox stepped out of the shadows like some ominous predator, "You've outlived your usefulness old man. You're starting to get in our way."
Cornelius took a sip of his drink, "You'll never find it Syler...you just haven't got what it takes."
Syler slowly pulls his sword, "Don't worry about that...I have my ways...I'm much smarter than you or your brother gave me credit for..."
"Huh...Andross..." Cornelius recalled, "...you were using him as well?"
"Not at first...It was originally his idea to look for that old myth. He put together the pieces of that puzzle...proved that it was real, but if the Blade of Ages will be held again it will be by Cerinian hand. Where it belongs."
Cornelius chuckled to himself, "And? What would you do with that kind of power?"
"My people were completely destroyed by those that did not understand us...that feared a people that never gave cause for their worry. All because we had power that they did not. I'll make them all suffer for what they've done...all of those witless fools that thought they could fight evolution...and with the blade at my side I'll deliver their own mistake back upon them on a Cataclysmic scale. I will bring their perfect world down...around...their...eyes..."
Cornelius tossed his now empty glass aside, "Others have tried Syler...and like them you'll try and fail...just the same."
"Are those your last words Doctor?"
"No...actually. These are..." Cornelius spun his chair to face the fox, "You're fucking mad."
Moments later Elyna walked through the door to find the old ape's severed head laying on his desk, the body had been tossed aside...
"I'm afraid we're under new management..."
As she heard this voice the president's chair spun to reveal Syler, covered in blood, lighting one of the president's favorite cigars and propping his feet up on the desk..
"I want you to look over the survivors from the incident at the Beta complex..." Syler said, "...I need as many of the doctors on this list as you can find. Now there's nothing that can stop Project Zeta from fruition..."
AN: Wow that chapter...it refused to end. Hopefully the next one doesn't hurt by brain so much though. Hope you enjoy it though...I had fur writing it...R&R...and till next time...Cya.
Ps: Thanks fer all yer support
