Fox walked through the tunnel. Wet grass brushed past his metal boots, he
could tell by the squelching sound it made as Fox walked on it... At the
end of the tunnel, he was a little surprised to see a Sharpclaw patrolling
the area, the crude wall splitting the land had gone. Fox stepped back into
the tunnel, trying not to get spotted, but it was too late. The Sharpclaw
saw Fox, and ran towards him, getting his club ready. Fox took his blaster
out, and targeted the Sharpclaw's head. He fired, killing the Sharpclaw
instantly.
Fox continued on through to the other tunnel, quickly arriving in the outskirts of Lightfoot village. It had been turned into a Sharpclaw fort, and the Lightfoot tribe must have either been forced into slavery, or made extinct. Fox sighed and looked on, hiding behind a tree. A wooden gate had been placed blocking Fox's progress. Fox sighed, he knew he'd after get past it, but he wanted to keep most of his ammo for Dragon Rock. If he was to succeed, he was going to have to be stealthy. He crept through the leaves trying to be as silent as possible. However, he realised the soft flutter bristling past his feet became a crash of thunder when he was trying to be quiet, and several Sharpclaw saw this. "Dammit, they've seen me!" Fox sighed, raising his blaster, The Sharpclaw gradually slowed down, looking at the weapon, obviously baffled as to what it was, "If you come any closer, I'll fire!" Fox warned, aiming at a Sharclaw's head, "His club doesn't hurt Sharpclaw! You grunts attack!" Ordered the large soldier, the grunts agreed, and marched forwards. "Bad move, now I'll have to do this!" He said, flooring a grunt with his blaster. The Sharpclaw ran to check the fallen guard. It was quite clear he was dead. They backed away slowly from Fox, even the larger Sharpclaw shown a hint of nervousness, he quickly recovered, and ordered the Sharpclaw to attack again. Fox held his gun at the leader's head. "If you value your life, get the hell out of here!" He yelled, holding his aim. The Leader looked at Fox, clearly flustered. The grunts were looking up to him for orders. "Troops retreat to tower!" He ordered. Fox smiled smugly, and watched as the Sharpclaw withdrew from the area. He walked through the now open gate. Now Sharpclaw grunt or soldier dared stand in his way, but many soldiers glared menacingly at him as he walked past.
The rest of the journey to Cape Claw was relatively straight forward, as the maze was destroyed, and a path behind the well was created, obviously to transport slaves quickly and easily. When he got to Cape Claw, it wasn't how he remembered it. Strongholds and forts were scattered around the area, and a small fortress guarded the path to Dragon Rock. Fox saw some of the Lightfoot tribe, being led through the Fortress. He pulled out his Hi-def device, and zoomed in on the fortress. He saw the doors on the beach open when the Light foot arrived, closely guarded by Sharpclaw grunts. One of the Lightfoot tried to run, but the Sharpclaw grunts grabbed him, and started beating him with their clubs repeatedly until he died. Fox cringed at the sight, but kept looking, a Sharpclaw soldier guarding the door nodded at the grunt, and then he yelled some sort command through a window. The door opened, but only long enough for the Lightfoot and Sharpclaw to walkthrough, then it crashed down. Getting through would be difficult, but it was the only way to progress. Fox carefully walked down the hill, paying attention to the beach. It was like a mind field, Sharpclaw soldiers were patrolling the area, with an abundance of lowly grunts. Fox knew if he was spotted he couldn't hope to defend himself, He crept along the path, slightly crouching has he walked, until he reached the waterfall. He continued along the bridge, and reached the Krazoa head. If he continued walking he would defiantly be spotted. He stepped back, and radioed Slippy, "Slippy come in, and I need that Sharpclaw disguise!" Slippy's holographic head appeared, "I'll see what I can do-" Fox cut him off, telling him to quieten down, "Slippy, I'm at Cape Claw; I can't see the beach for Sharpclaw! I need the device now!" He gently yelled. "Well OK Fox, I can get you it, but it's a bit buggy, as it hasn't been used for a while, just watch out while using it!" Slippy replied Fox immediately used the disguise, and the transformation begun. He hopped of the Krazoa head, and swam to the beach. Upon walking on to the beach, he tread cautiously, not trying to attract attention. He stepped up to the Fortress, and talked to the guard. "Excuse me, but could you let me through? I'm in a hurry." The Soldier shook his head, "No, you not have slaves." He stated, "But...I've been ordered to go to Dragon Rock by General Scales." The soldier laughed. "Hahaha, we not take orders from Scales, we take orders from general's aide!" Fox pondered this for a moment. He looked away, and saw some Snowhorn, clearly uncomfortable in the hot climate, being led to the door. "Well, what if I help those guys?" The soldier shrugged, "Fine by me." He replied. Fox turned to the grunts leading the Snowhorns. The door, "Well, I guess I better help those guys, then" Fox said, running to the Snowhorn. The Soldier shrugged and continued to guard the door. Fox went through without a problem. The corridor in front of him was very large, presumably to bring Hightops through. Suddenly, this disguise was quickly cut out, and he was in his regular fox form. "Hey, it's Fox!" A grunt yelled. Fox withdrew his blaster firing one immediately, he ran through the corridor, facing backwards firing at the Sharpclaw, killing them off one by one. After they were all dead, he turned around. A large cave was in front of him. The cave was a giant carved out tunnel. Many Sharpclaw marching forwards, forcing many more slaves into Dragon Rock. Fox walked forwards, noticing many torches attached to the walls, dimly lighting the area. He marched forward. None of the Sharpclaw noticed him, as pretty much every none Sharpclaw was a slave. After a long walk, he finally reached the exit. A Sharpclaw soldier was monitoring the exit, making sure no would be heroes would sneak through. Fox sighed; he couldn't hope to cross without detection. He decided to go through, and act as a slave. This would get him through to Dragon rock, and he didn't doubt his power of overwhelming the Sharpclaw once he was there. He walked forwards, and the Sharpclaw registered him, suddenly he realised who he was. "Fox, we Sharpclaw looking for you!" He grunted, "You come with us now!" Fox realised that the Sharpclaw were looking for him, "what do you want me for?" Fox asked, "Scales wants to see you!" The reply came. Fox was led by a soldier into the exit.
Fox was startled at the sight before him. The barren planes of Dragon Rock had been carved out, in favour of large catwalks swarming over the area. A sea of magma flowed below the pit, masking the catwalks with a veil of crimson. The tower stood dominantly in the centre of the crater, created by huge granite blocks, and standing high over the area, almost breaching the sparse clouds that could rarely be seen. Many different dinosaur tribes were being forced around the area by the Sharpclaw. Fox found himself being led into the depths of the area, into what seemed to be the dungeons. Fox had to escape, and he did so by jumping onto a lower catwalk. The drop was rather long, and stunned him briefly, but that was the least of his worries, the Sharpclaw he had eluded sounded an alarm, and a small army of Sharpclaw soldiers began to hunt him down. He ran to the tower, but the only entrance he could reach was right at the bottom, next to a metal platform so close to the lava it seemed to be floating on it. It was a long drop, and the platform was quite thin, so any mistake that Fox made in his jump would mean almost guaranteed death. He had no choice however, as the Soldiers were quickly closing in on his position, and he didn't have much ammo left. He leapt of the platform and fell down, landing on the platform. His legs were reeling from the drop, but he got up, and limped towards the tower. The large doors before him were opened, possibly due to the Sharpclaw not expecting anyone wanting to enter through the dungeons. He stepped through, readying himself for the unexpected.
Krystal regained consciousness, finding herself in a large, her hands cuffed together. The door was heavily bolted, so any attempt at escape would be vain. Suddenly, the doors swung open, and four Sharpclaw soldiers entered, brandishing large spiked clubs. One of them grabbed her by the hair, lifting her off the ground slightly, before hurling her light frame onto the stone floor. She felt a heavy bruising pain through her stomach, but the pain wasn't to stop, as she felt one of the clubs being launched at the ribs, followed by a kick in the head. Krystal was in immense pain, but an order from outside the cell briefly stopped the attacks. "That's enough! She may have something to do with Fox, that's why Scales wants her alive!" The sharp voice bellowed. The soldiers nodded, and turned back to exit through the door. Just as they did this, Krystal noticed one of the soldiers carrying her staff in a satchel. She stepped up, and reached for the staff, stealthily removing it without alerting the soldier. She silently went back to lying on the floor, slipping the staff underneath her. The doors slammed shut, and were quickly relocked. "and remember, keep her alive!" The voice demanded, before ordering a soldier to stand guard. She got up, an fumbled with the staff, extending it. She propped it against the wall, and smashed her handcuff links against the tip of the staff. A small burst of energy severed the chain, releasing her hands. And then she was free to equip the staff. She de-activated it, and waited for the Sharpclaw to enter, when she would begin her escape. Suddenly, what the Sharpclaw said occurred to her. Fox must have been on the planet, and the Sharpclaw were hunting him down. She decided to try to find him upon exiting the dungeons.
Scales sat on his chair impatiently, he had set his soldiers and grunts out in large numbers to capture and bring Fox to him. He had waited several hours with no reply, and as his patience decreased, his anger increased. A grunt messenger finally burst through, looking out of breath. "Ah. I trust you have captured Fox Mcloud then?" The soldier paused for a moment, and then shook his head, trembling with fear. "No sir, Sharpclaw captured Fox, but Fox ran, he rant to dungeon." Scales anger was clearly rising, "IDIOT!" He yelled "Why didn't you restrain him!?"
"N...no sir, Sharpclaw thought he would go quietly..." responded the grunt, "Well that's just great isn't it!? I send my full force out for a single target, and it gets messed up! You will learn to regret this incompetence when you rot in the dungeons!" Scales yelled, suddenly, he called out for the guards, "Guards, take this idiot to the dungeons, and leave him to die!" The burly guards nodded, and without question, dragged the screaming Sharpclaw away. Scales knew he would have to act. The thought of Fox roaming around the dungeons disgusted him, and he knew the tower guards were far too incompetent to capture him. He knew the only choice was to cut Fox off on his way to the throne room; where he would inevitably head. He didn't want to show himself to Fox though, as he wanted to make sure Fox had no means of escape before he killed him. "Sarek, come here!" He yelled, "Yes sir, your presence is an ever rewarding honour." He replied kneeling down. Sarek was a very large and burly Sharpclaw, roughly the same height as Scales himself, but slightly. He was decorated in thick leather armour, reaching down to his feet. If it wasn't for his total loyalty to Scales, he probably would have usurped his power long ago. "How is the fox girl?" Sarek shook his head, "Your soldiers do not know their tasks well, they tried to kill her, but I stopped them. I know you would want Fox to see her before they were executed." Scales shook his head, "No, that won't be necessary. Fox has already breached the dungeons, and I want to end his life as quickly as possible. I really don't give a damn about her anymore, I'll just order some grunts to kill her, but now I have more pressing job. Intercept Fox, and bring him here." Sarek nodded. Scales had lost the opportunity to make Fox's death as painful as possible, but his plan was to important to let anyone get in his way. He then proceeded to order for Krystal's execution. The grunts headed out to the dungeons to complete their task.
Fox continued on through to the other tunnel, quickly arriving in the outskirts of Lightfoot village. It had been turned into a Sharpclaw fort, and the Lightfoot tribe must have either been forced into slavery, or made extinct. Fox sighed and looked on, hiding behind a tree. A wooden gate had been placed blocking Fox's progress. Fox sighed, he knew he'd after get past it, but he wanted to keep most of his ammo for Dragon Rock. If he was to succeed, he was going to have to be stealthy. He crept through the leaves trying to be as silent as possible. However, he realised the soft flutter bristling past his feet became a crash of thunder when he was trying to be quiet, and several Sharpclaw saw this. "Dammit, they've seen me!" Fox sighed, raising his blaster, The Sharpclaw gradually slowed down, looking at the weapon, obviously baffled as to what it was, "If you come any closer, I'll fire!" Fox warned, aiming at a Sharclaw's head, "His club doesn't hurt Sharpclaw! You grunts attack!" Ordered the large soldier, the grunts agreed, and marched forwards. "Bad move, now I'll have to do this!" He said, flooring a grunt with his blaster. The Sharpclaw ran to check the fallen guard. It was quite clear he was dead. They backed away slowly from Fox, even the larger Sharpclaw shown a hint of nervousness, he quickly recovered, and ordered the Sharpclaw to attack again. Fox held his gun at the leader's head. "If you value your life, get the hell out of here!" He yelled, holding his aim. The Leader looked at Fox, clearly flustered. The grunts were looking up to him for orders. "Troops retreat to tower!" He ordered. Fox smiled smugly, and watched as the Sharpclaw withdrew from the area. He walked through the now open gate. Now Sharpclaw grunt or soldier dared stand in his way, but many soldiers glared menacingly at him as he walked past.
The rest of the journey to Cape Claw was relatively straight forward, as the maze was destroyed, and a path behind the well was created, obviously to transport slaves quickly and easily. When he got to Cape Claw, it wasn't how he remembered it. Strongholds and forts were scattered around the area, and a small fortress guarded the path to Dragon Rock. Fox saw some of the Lightfoot tribe, being led through the Fortress. He pulled out his Hi-def device, and zoomed in on the fortress. He saw the doors on the beach open when the Light foot arrived, closely guarded by Sharpclaw grunts. One of the Lightfoot tried to run, but the Sharpclaw grunts grabbed him, and started beating him with their clubs repeatedly until he died. Fox cringed at the sight, but kept looking, a Sharpclaw soldier guarding the door nodded at the grunt, and then he yelled some sort command through a window. The door opened, but only long enough for the Lightfoot and Sharpclaw to walkthrough, then it crashed down. Getting through would be difficult, but it was the only way to progress. Fox carefully walked down the hill, paying attention to the beach. It was like a mind field, Sharpclaw soldiers were patrolling the area, with an abundance of lowly grunts. Fox knew if he was spotted he couldn't hope to defend himself, He crept along the path, slightly crouching has he walked, until he reached the waterfall. He continued along the bridge, and reached the Krazoa head. If he continued walking he would defiantly be spotted. He stepped back, and radioed Slippy, "Slippy come in, and I need that Sharpclaw disguise!" Slippy's holographic head appeared, "I'll see what I can do-" Fox cut him off, telling him to quieten down, "Slippy, I'm at Cape Claw; I can't see the beach for Sharpclaw! I need the device now!" He gently yelled. "Well OK Fox, I can get you it, but it's a bit buggy, as it hasn't been used for a while, just watch out while using it!" Slippy replied Fox immediately used the disguise, and the transformation begun. He hopped of the Krazoa head, and swam to the beach. Upon walking on to the beach, he tread cautiously, not trying to attract attention. He stepped up to the Fortress, and talked to the guard. "Excuse me, but could you let me through? I'm in a hurry." The Soldier shook his head, "No, you not have slaves." He stated, "But...I've been ordered to go to Dragon Rock by General Scales." The soldier laughed. "Hahaha, we not take orders from Scales, we take orders from general's aide!" Fox pondered this for a moment. He looked away, and saw some Snowhorn, clearly uncomfortable in the hot climate, being led to the door. "Well, what if I help those guys?" The soldier shrugged, "Fine by me." He replied. Fox turned to the grunts leading the Snowhorns. The door, "Well, I guess I better help those guys, then" Fox said, running to the Snowhorn. The Soldier shrugged and continued to guard the door. Fox went through without a problem. The corridor in front of him was very large, presumably to bring Hightops through. Suddenly, this disguise was quickly cut out, and he was in his regular fox form. "Hey, it's Fox!" A grunt yelled. Fox withdrew his blaster firing one immediately, he ran through the corridor, facing backwards firing at the Sharpclaw, killing them off one by one. After they were all dead, he turned around. A large cave was in front of him. The cave was a giant carved out tunnel. Many Sharpclaw marching forwards, forcing many more slaves into Dragon Rock. Fox walked forwards, noticing many torches attached to the walls, dimly lighting the area. He marched forward. None of the Sharpclaw noticed him, as pretty much every none Sharpclaw was a slave. After a long walk, he finally reached the exit. A Sharpclaw soldier was monitoring the exit, making sure no would be heroes would sneak through. Fox sighed; he couldn't hope to cross without detection. He decided to go through, and act as a slave. This would get him through to Dragon rock, and he didn't doubt his power of overwhelming the Sharpclaw once he was there. He walked forwards, and the Sharpclaw registered him, suddenly he realised who he was. "Fox, we Sharpclaw looking for you!" He grunted, "You come with us now!" Fox realised that the Sharpclaw were looking for him, "what do you want me for?" Fox asked, "Scales wants to see you!" The reply came. Fox was led by a soldier into the exit.
Fox was startled at the sight before him. The barren planes of Dragon Rock had been carved out, in favour of large catwalks swarming over the area. A sea of magma flowed below the pit, masking the catwalks with a veil of crimson. The tower stood dominantly in the centre of the crater, created by huge granite blocks, and standing high over the area, almost breaching the sparse clouds that could rarely be seen. Many different dinosaur tribes were being forced around the area by the Sharpclaw. Fox found himself being led into the depths of the area, into what seemed to be the dungeons. Fox had to escape, and he did so by jumping onto a lower catwalk. The drop was rather long, and stunned him briefly, but that was the least of his worries, the Sharpclaw he had eluded sounded an alarm, and a small army of Sharpclaw soldiers began to hunt him down. He ran to the tower, but the only entrance he could reach was right at the bottom, next to a metal platform so close to the lava it seemed to be floating on it. It was a long drop, and the platform was quite thin, so any mistake that Fox made in his jump would mean almost guaranteed death. He had no choice however, as the Soldiers were quickly closing in on his position, and he didn't have much ammo left. He leapt of the platform and fell down, landing on the platform. His legs were reeling from the drop, but he got up, and limped towards the tower. The large doors before him were opened, possibly due to the Sharpclaw not expecting anyone wanting to enter through the dungeons. He stepped through, readying himself for the unexpected.
Krystal regained consciousness, finding herself in a large, her hands cuffed together. The door was heavily bolted, so any attempt at escape would be vain. Suddenly, the doors swung open, and four Sharpclaw soldiers entered, brandishing large spiked clubs. One of them grabbed her by the hair, lifting her off the ground slightly, before hurling her light frame onto the stone floor. She felt a heavy bruising pain through her stomach, but the pain wasn't to stop, as she felt one of the clubs being launched at the ribs, followed by a kick in the head. Krystal was in immense pain, but an order from outside the cell briefly stopped the attacks. "That's enough! She may have something to do with Fox, that's why Scales wants her alive!" The sharp voice bellowed. The soldiers nodded, and turned back to exit through the door. Just as they did this, Krystal noticed one of the soldiers carrying her staff in a satchel. She stepped up, and reached for the staff, stealthily removing it without alerting the soldier. She silently went back to lying on the floor, slipping the staff underneath her. The doors slammed shut, and were quickly relocked. "and remember, keep her alive!" The voice demanded, before ordering a soldier to stand guard. She got up, an fumbled with the staff, extending it. She propped it against the wall, and smashed her handcuff links against the tip of the staff. A small burst of energy severed the chain, releasing her hands. And then she was free to equip the staff. She de-activated it, and waited for the Sharpclaw to enter, when she would begin her escape. Suddenly, what the Sharpclaw said occurred to her. Fox must have been on the planet, and the Sharpclaw were hunting him down. She decided to try to find him upon exiting the dungeons.
Scales sat on his chair impatiently, he had set his soldiers and grunts out in large numbers to capture and bring Fox to him. He had waited several hours with no reply, and as his patience decreased, his anger increased. A grunt messenger finally burst through, looking out of breath. "Ah. I trust you have captured Fox Mcloud then?" The soldier paused for a moment, and then shook his head, trembling with fear. "No sir, Sharpclaw captured Fox, but Fox ran, he rant to dungeon." Scales anger was clearly rising, "IDIOT!" He yelled "Why didn't you restrain him!?"
"N...no sir, Sharpclaw thought he would go quietly..." responded the grunt, "Well that's just great isn't it!? I send my full force out for a single target, and it gets messed up! You will learn to regret this incompetence when you rot in the dungeons!" Scales yelled, suddenly, he called out for the guards, "Guards, take this idiot to the dungeons, and leave him to die!" The burly guards nodded, and without question, dragged the screaming Sharpclaw away. Scales knew he would have to act. The thought of Fox roaming around the dungeons disgusted him, and he knew the tower guards were far too incompetent to capture him. He knew the only choice was to cut Fox off on his way to the throne room; where he would inevitably head. He didn't want to show himself to Fox though, as he wanted to make sure Fox had no means of escape before he killed him. "Sarek, come here!" He yelled, "Yes sir, your presence is an ever rewarding honour." He replied kneeling down. Sarek was a very large and burly Sharpclaw, roughly the same height as Scales himself, but slightly. He was decorated in thick leather armour, reaching down to his feet. If it wasn't for his total loyalty to Scales, he probably would have usurped his power long ago. "How is the fox girl?" Sarek shook his head, "Your soldiers do not know their tasks well, they tried to kill her, but I stopped them. I know you would want Fox to see her before they were executed." Scales shook his head, "No, that won't be necessary. Fox has already breached the dungeons, and I want to end his life as quickly as possible. I really don't give a damn about her anymore, I'll just order some grunts to kill her, but now I have more pressing job. Intercept Fox, and bring him here." Sarek nodded. Scales had lost the opportunity to make Fox's death as painful as possible, but his plan was to important to let anyone get in his way. He then proceeded to order for Krystal's execution. The grunts headed out to the dungeons to complete their task.