Note: Two chapters left after this one, so the story is just about over. I have something to say to a recent reviewer on this story:

Joel-Robert-Dayton: The battle with DiMaggio is NOT supposed to be like anything from Resident Evil, especially not the movies. DiMaggio, alongside being named after John DiMaggio, is based on Senator Steven Armstrong from the Metal Gear Solid games. However, the fact that his powers came from a virus could also be a reference to Alex Mercer.

Now, let's move on to chapter twelve.

Chapter 12: Revenge

"Maria!" Sabre cried.

"Surprised?" Maria asked.

The bounty hunter entered the room and injected a syringe into the virus. This caused it to bubble and evaporate into nothingness.

"What was that?" Randorn asked.

"The antidote," Maria stated, "I figured that you needed it."

DiMaggio got up from the ground and saw Maria standing near the virus with the syringe that held the antidote. The cougar was madder than a hornet.

"You stupid bit-" DiMaggio tried to speak before Maria pointed her blaster at him.

"You've said enough, DiMaggio." Maria growled, "Now, you will not see the end of this day! If it kills me, so be it, but I will kill you for what you did to my family!"

"We'll see about that, shall we?" DiMaggio summoned his bladed arm.

Sabre, Randorn, and Bill moved out of the way, knowing that the battle was about to begin.

"I'll go contact Star Fox!" Bill said before he ran out of the room.

Sabre! Krystal's voice echoed through Sabre's mind.

What is it, Krystal? The fellow Cerinian transmitted his thoughts.

I'm sending thata virus has been cured by that bounty hunter who was with you, is that right? The cobalt vixen's thoughts went through the wolf's mind.

Yes, is that bad? Sabre telepathically asked.

We we're supposed to retrieve that virus for General Pepper! Krystal's thoughts cried out.

I've got to tell Bill! The lupine swordsman thought to himself.

No need, we're inside DiMaggio's ship as well! The vixen telepathically spoke to Sabre, I'll see you and Randorn in a few minutes!

Sabre sighed, knowing that Star Fox would be too late to stop Maria from killing DiMaggio.

"We need to stop Maria before she gets herself killed!" Sabre looked at Randorn.

"No, she needs this!" Randorn scolded.

Maria and DiMaggio proceeded to fight violently. While it began as a simple fistfight, it turned into a battle of weapons. As Maria fired her blaster, DiMaggio deflected each shot with his bladed arm. After that, the rich cougar used his psychokinesis to lift the bounty hunter in the air. However, this didn't stop the rabbit, as she continued to fire her blaster at the feline. Only two of her shots managed to hit DiMaggio.

"Dammit, I'm a lousy shot!" Maria shouted.

"And your next shot will be your last!" DiMaggio taunted.

"We'll see about that!" The bounty hunter yelled as she continued to fire her blaster. In response to that, DiMaggio fired an energy blast at her, throwing her to the ground. However, Maria was quick on her feet, as she pulled out a laser knife and jumped up. She then got into a knife fight with DiMaggio, countering his bladed arm with her knife. The two were in a stalemate, as they were evenly matched when they countered each attack.

"Who's got the better angle?" Sabre asked.

"I don't know," Randorn said, "I think that Maria might turn this around. If we had Krystal, she could tell us who will win the battle."

However, without warning, Maria managed to slice open DiMaggio's throat. After that, she stomped on the cougar's head to make sure that he wouldn't get up. Adrian DiMaggio's life came to a bloody end.

"We should be lucky that the virus doesn't allow those it mutated to regenerate." Maria put her knife away, "Otherwise, the battle would have went on for days."

All of a sudden, there were footsteps approaching the room. These footsteps belonged to a familiar face: Falco Lombardi.

"What the hell happened in here?!" The avian asked.

"None of your business, bird!" Maria shouted as she pointed her blaster at him.

"She killed DiMaggio." Sabre said.

Bill came back into the room with Fox McCloud and Peppy Hare behind him.

"Maria Fairweather?!" Peppy cried.

"Get out of here!" The bounty hunter screamed.

"The virus has been cured, just like what Krystal said!" Fox stated.

"Pepper is not going to be happy when he hears about that!" Peppy said.

"Nor will he be happy when we tell him that DiMaggio has been killed!" Bill said.

"Shut up, all of you!!!" Maria shouted.

"Drop your blaster!" Fox got his blaster out.

"No, I'd rather die!" The rabbit yelled.

"Please, drop your weapon!" Randorn cried, "It's not worth your life!"

"Look," Falco said, "if you don't put your blaster down, we'll be forced to kill you. Trust me, we don't want anyone to die. Nor do we want this to become a stand-off!"

"If you're going to kill me, then do it!" Maria screamed, choking back tears, "Do it! Blast me into oblivion! Just let me be reunited with my family! Please, kill me now!"

Maria dropped her blaster and broke down into a fit of sorrow and rage. Fox and Peppy went over to her and put assuring arms around her. Slippy Toad came into the room, only to see that the situation had been taken care of.

"I'm late, aren't I?" The amphibian asked.

"Pretty much." Falco answered.

Slippy then walked towards Sabre and Randorn.

"You must be the two guys Krystal was talking about." Slippy spoke.

"And you must be Slippy Toad." Sabre said.

"The one and only!" The toad happily said.

"Where is Krystal anyway?" Randorn asked.

"She's outside." Fox said, "We told her to wait outside because it would be a surprise."

"Good idea." Randorn said out of sarcasm, "Tell a telepath that you have a surprise waiting for her."

"We told her not to use her telepathy," Peppy said, "but she probably already knows what the surprise is."

"But enough talk," Falco led Sabre and Randorn out of the room with Slippy following, "let's get out of here."

As the four walked out of DiMaggio's ship, Sabre could feel psychic energy in the air. This meant one thing: Krystal's telepathy.

"What's going to happen to Maria?" Randorn asked.

"If she's lucky," Slippy said, "General Pepper might put her in the Cornerian Army."

"If not, she'll go away for a very long time." Falco said.

The four walked out of DiMaggio's ship, coming across five Arwings parked near it. Sabre and Randorn walked towards the fourth one, because they could see a familiar cobalt blue vixen inside of it.

We're coming, Krystal. Sabre thought to himself.

Note: In the next chapter, the three Cerinians will be reunited and Maria's fate will be revealed. I know, I shouldn't reveal what's going to happen next chapter, but I'm just so eager to get this story done. Hell, I should have made the battle between Maria and DiMaggio longer, but I had to let Maria get her revenge. As for my other stories, I intend on getting them done by the end of the year. What did you guys think about this chapter? Let me know when you leave a review or give a constructive criticism. Until next time guys, peace!