Chapter 27
There is always this paradox about courage; that one must be a little careless of one's life even in order to keep it.
-G.K. Chesterton, All Things Considered
Soul dashed down the hall after splitting up with Mind. He stopped short when he got to the intersection.
There were no signs of any kind. He had no idea where he was. A couple of quick glances failed to find any difference in any of them.
In the end he picked a random direction and kept running.
Wolf rushed along the corridor, reflecting that they weren't just cool. They were fast.
He turned a corner, cursing, and ran directly into Katt.
"What are you doing here?" They both said in unison.
"I'm looking for Fox and the others." Said Katt, yanking out her gun.
"So am I." Said Wolf.
"Ha!" she said, and poked the gun in his ribs.
"Hey!" Wolf said, "I just want to get out of here! I want to go with you guys!"
"Yeah," said Katt, dripping sarcasm, "and I bet you don't want to betray us at all. "
"I am for you! What do I have to do to prove it?"
She looked at him very coldly. "Howbout you die?"
Suddenly a shot rang out from the room and the end of the hall. Someone shouted, and there was a loud scuffling noise.
Katt's eyes got very large, "Fox!" She glanced at Wolf, then ran down the hall toward the gunfire.
So did Wolf.
"Ya like that, junior?" Pigma laughed from wherever he was. "Maybe I got one for you, too!"
Fox pulled Peppy behind a pillar and signaled Fara and Slippy to duck as well. Another shot glanced off the floor next to him.
"Doesn't matter." Pigma drawled, "I got fifty clips up here, we can keep doin' this all night." He jerked his thumb to the soldiers brought with him. "Go get 'em." He said, "I'll cover for you."
"Fox," Peppy rasped, coughing.
"Don't talk. We'll get you out of here."
Peppy laughed weakly, breaking into a coughing fit halfway through. "No good, Fox." He said, "I know that one. That's what I told your father."
Another shot from Pigma lanced by.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Fox. I promised James I'd look out for you, but all that seems to happen is that you save me." He winced and swallowed hard, "I tried to help you, I just don't think I can anymore."
"Stop that," Fox said, "of course you're getting out of here."
"He got me right through the gut. I'm finished anyway." He gripped the grenade he'd picked up behind his back. "You don't have to save me anymore."
"Stop talking like that!"
Peppy shook his head slowly. "You're so much like James. That's exactly what he would have said." He took a very deep breath and winced again. Fox followed the line of his eyes. He was looking at Fara, crouching behind the next pillar. "You were right, you know," Peppy gasped, "She does look like your mother. Take care of her."
"If you don't stop talking like that…"
"What?" the hare laughed, "You'll kill me?" He looked straight into Fox's eyes. "Goodbye."
He jumped out and threw the grenade into the group of advancing soldiers.
Fox heard Pigma fire again through the explosion, and then Peppy didn't move back to the pillar.
The two remaining soldiers from Pigma's troop followed Fox's example and ducked behind pillars.
Unluckily for them those pillars were right next to the door Wolf and Katt came through.
Pigma heard the shots and fired in their direction, clipping Wolf on the shoulder. He howled in pain and dropped to the floor, scrabbling for cover. Katt reached to help him, finally realizing that he was, in fact, on their side.
Pigma realized for the first time who he'd just shot. Then he shrugged and raised the rifle again.
That's when the tremors started.
It took a moment for Fox to realize the floor was shaking. He had thought it was his rage shaking him. When he found it wasn't, he began to be alarmed.
Wolf shook aside his pain long enough to decide that something was very wrong. He crawled to the next pillar and lay still, hoping it would pass by, whatever it was.
Fara tried to keep Slippy from going into hysterics. It wasn't easy, as she was about to go into them herself.
Pigma stood still for a moment, then decided he didn't want to wait and find out what the shaking was. As much as he would like to kill every single person down there, it wasn't worth getting killed for. Nothing was.
The rumbling grew louder, the vibration in the floor stronger. Whatever it was was coming closer.
Katt had a momentary vision of a movie she'd seen about huge underground worm-things that ate people. She panicked until she remembered that they were on the second floor.
The rumbling abruptly stopped. There was absolute silence everywhere. Fox looked at Fara, who bit her lip. Wolf growled softly.
The large double doors at the end of the room opened very slowly, and Leon walked slowly in with his head bowed and his eyes closed.
No one moved. Fox glanced at the place Pigma had been; there was no one there now. He motioned to Fara, and began crawling toward her. Leon, inexplicably, didn't seem to have seen them. If they could regroup and get back to the ship-
Leon's eyes snapped open. "McCloud." he whispered, staring straight ahead.
Fara watched Fox cry out and recoil. He fell down and cringed into fetal position. Every muscle in his body was fully tensed and beads of sweat were standing out on his forehead. She reached out for him, but the moment she did so pain flashed through her entire body. It didn't feel like burning or twisting or crushing or any other kind of pain. It was simply pain. Pure pain. She could barely keep herself from screaming.
Wolf couldn't see what was happening on the other side of the room. He'd heard Fox cry out, but that was on the other side of the pillars, and he couldn't tell what was going on. Leon was just standing there, not doing anything. So why didn't Fox do something? He shifted around to try to get a better view.
Leon turned around slowly, and looked at his commander for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Wolf. Hello." He said, in a high, strange voice, "Would you like to come watch me torture somebody?"
Wolf paused for just a moment, completely confused. Then he was overwhelmed with pain.
He looked up. Leon was walking toward him with a strange smile, as if he didn't know what a smile was and was trying to imitate it. He felt something yank him backwards and he landed hard on his spine.
"I've got a very amusing idea, Wolf." Leon said. "What if I were to fire every single one of your pain receptors at once. Wouldn't that be interesting? Here, let me show you."
Wolf gritted his teeth and determined he wouldn't make a sound. But he couldn't stand the pain, and after a few seconds he began howling desperately.
Katt bit her lip and tried to slip around to the other side of the pillar, but her foot tapped the corner with a barely audible thump. Leon's head turned to her so quickly it looked as if some invisible string had been pulled. He looked for a long second, then he suddenly seemed to see her and said, "Good evening, Ms. Monroe." His eyes became unfocused for a moment, then returned. "I believe we have some unfinished business, correct?"
Some invisible force flung her against the wall and held her there. From the neck down, it was as if she was incased in concrete.
Leon smiled his disturbing smile again, and took a step toward her.
The figure paused at the sound of gunfire from the room below. He inched forward until he came to a vent from which he could see. He saw a laser beam stab out at someone or something, but he couldn't see who was shooting who. He cursed his choice under his breath and prepared to move, when he noticed a strange vibration all through the duct. The shooter had apparently noticed it as well; he stopped firing. He paused a moment to think. He had no idea what this vibration was, but it probably wasn't good. It the least, it meant the duct he was in was unstable. Did he risk moving? Wait, something was happening. A door on the far side of the room had opened, and Powalski was coming through. What was wrong with him? He seemed to be spacing out. Was he on some kind of drug? Someone was shouting, what was going on here? This didn't make sense.
The shouting continued, Powalski was walking toward him. Had he been seen? No, there was something going on below his field of vision. Someone was thrown against the pillar, wait, was that…?
Katt was terrified, but not terrified enough to be oblivious to the air vent cover that landed behind Leon.
Leon stopped advancing when he heard the clatter. He paused, and began to turn around slowly.
He was too slow.
Falco landed behind him and kicked out at the back of his knees. Leon went sprawling, hissing in rage.
"Run!" Falco shouted to Katt.
"You're not dead?!" she shouted back, paralyzed only by astonishment now.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just run!"
Leon stood up very slowly, any trace of a smile completely gone. He glared at Falco, who fell to the ground in a flash of pain.
"Run!" Falco shouted again.
Katt did.
"Go!" Fox told Fara. "Take the others. I'll meet you at the ship."
"Fox, no! This is something very wrong. You shouldn't have to face this!"
"Neither should Falco." Fox said. "Don't worry, I'll make it."
Fara looked at him, her lip quivering. Then she turned to leave.
"I hope." Fox added under his breath, and attacked.
"I don't know which would be more enjoyable, Lombardi." Leon whispered, as a muscle in his face twitched, "to strangle you with my power and enjoy your fear and despair, or strangle you with my hand so I can feel you die as your throat is crushed." The veins on his neck stood out suddenly. "Decisions, decisions."
"Put him down." Fox said, clicking his blaster. "I don't how the hell you're doing this, Powalski, but I'm telling you to stop right now."
"Yes, that's the right." Leon said, laughing in a way that was just as wrong ass his smile had been. "You don't know how the hell I'm doing this. The hell is precisely how I'm doing this." Leon turned his head very slowly, and twisted the corners of his mouth into the parody of a smile again. "Would you like to watch, McCloud? I'm sure it will be very informative." His voice became distant, as if he were lost in thought. "Then I'll perform the same procedure on you. Yes, that's it." Leon clenched his fist and Falco's body convulsed.
"I said stop!" Fox shouted, and pulled the trigger.
Leon gestured with his other hand.
The blaster ripped itself out of Fox's hand and flew across the room. Fox took a step after it, but Leon pointed at him and a wave of pain knocked him to the floor.
"Now you've made me angry, McCloud. For that, I'm going to kill you the hard way." Another wave of pain hit him, and he closed his eyes. Somewhere close by, he heard Leon's breath hissing, and then felt a scaly forefinger touch his chest. Some irresistible force clamped down on his heart and began squeezing. He opened his eyes in time to see Leon's face gloating at him, then the room began to go dark. Just before everything he went black, he thought he heard someone shout something in a strange language, but he knew it was already too late.
Chapter 28
"Fly, you fools."
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Katt was very surprised when Mind came out of nowhere, pushed her way ahead of them all into the cockpit, and sat down. She didn't seem worried, but she was oddly agitated.
"Tell everyone to buckle up." She said, "We don't know when we'll be lifting off."
Slippy shifted uneasily as he sat. This had been the most nerve-straining day he'd ever been through, including the entire war and Fox's abortive rebellion. He wished he could understand what was going on.
Wolf gripped a supporting span on the wall so hard his knuckles whitened. All he wanted was to leave as quickly as possible.
Katt was staring out the window with ferocious intensity, repeating over and over "He's alive. Falco's alive."
Fara glanced at her, and frowned. He was, she thought, but is he still? Oh, please, let them be all right.
They continued to wait.
"Nnrg." Said Falco as he regained consciousness. He wondered why the floor was moving.
"Are you awake? Good." Said a voice. It came from a strange squirrel wearing a black cape who had, apparently, been dragging him along by the arm. He also had Fox thrown over his shoulder. Fox was disturbingly still. "Can you walk?"
"Uh, yeah, I think. Ow, what did Leon do to me?"
"Not now. Later." The squirrel said, "We don't have much time. Come on."
Falco took a step and almost fell over. His body felt quite literally as if it were dead. He pushed himself up with an unpleasant tingling in his arms and legs.
"Hurry up!" called the squirrel. "Unless you want to carry him."
Falco shook off the feeling of distinct unreality and tried to follow.
"There they are!" Katt shouted, excitedly.
Fara looked quickly at Soul and Falco, coming across the roof as quickly as they could. Soul was carrying Fox on his shoulder. For a moment she feared the worst. Stop that, she told herself. Soul wouldn't have brought him if there was no hope, she said, and tried to force herself to believe it.
They were only ten feet away when there was a sudden explosion, and Leon floated up through a smoking hole in the roof, between Soul and the ship.
Soul dropped Fox's inert form at Falco. "Hurry! Get into the ship!"
Leon raised his hand.
Soul crouched, raising his hand and muttering under his breath.
Nothing happened. Leon's eyes widened, then he raised his other hand as well.
Soul rolled sideways, behind an air conditioner.
Leon scowled and turned his attention to Fara and Falco, who were dragging Fox into the transport.
Half a brick hit him on the back of the head.
Leon whirled, snarling outrage. The air conditioner exploded. His eyes rolled over the area behind it, but there was no one there.
"Take off!" Soul shouted as he ran past.
"But-!" began Fara.
"Don't argue! Do it!" Soul turned back to face Leon as Mind lifted.
"What do you think you're doing?" Shouted Falco, as the ship began to rise.
"Saving your lives."
Leon watched the fool who'd defied him carefully. He was trying to think of the most unpleasant way to die physically possible. Something with acid, he thought, and amputation.
Soul was standing near the edge of the building, watching him warily. Leon knew he would have to be subtle. This person, whoever he was, seemed to have some power of his own. It would probably be best to try to surprise him.
As Leon advanced, Soul retreated slowly, until he was standing at the very edge of the building. For a long moment, no one moved. Leon readied himself for a desperate fight. He loved it when his victims became desperate, it made their struggles much more entertaining. He especially loved watching the moment when they realized there was nothing they could do to escape, ever.
Then Soul smiled broadly at the former pilot, turned around, and took one more step.
Leon rushed to edge, not sure what to do. As he got there, he saw the ship rising upward and away. There was someone clinging to the side. They were wearing a black cape.
'Well? Did they escape?' came his master's voice, ringing through his head.
'Forgive me, master,' Leon thought back, 'I have failed you.'
'It does not greatly matter. They were only a few weak mercenaries and malcontents. But do not fail me again.'
'Of course, master.'
For a moment, Leon considered telling his master that one of them seemed to be able to counter his power. He decided, however, that if it were truly important his master would already know it. He would not worry himself with too much thinking.
Thinking was the job of the master now.
Leon slowly turned and walked to the stairs with his eyes closed and his head bowed.
Chapter 29
"I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be the truth."
-Andy and Larry Wachowski, The Matrix
A battered transport rose out of Corneria's atmosphere, and turned toward the abandoned base in the asteroid field.
Wolf shifted in his seat, eventually managing to push Slippy's slumbering form off of his shoulder. He thought of letting him drop onto the floor, then changed his mind and leaned him against the wall.
"N- don't leave me flying pie moose." Slippy mumbled, then sank back into deeper sleep.
Wolf glanced over at Falco and Katt, who were sitting so close together that they could have shared seatbelts.
"Why didn't you try to find us?" Katt accused, though not too vehemently.
Falco shrugged as well as he could with both arms around Katt. "I thought I was the only one left. You were back in hell with Leon, everyone else was in some prison execution list, and Fox was dead."
"Oh yeah," Katt laughed, "I keep forgetting about that." She stopped laughing and tried to pull Falco closer (a futile attempt.) "I was so afraid, back there, that…"
"That what?"
"The first time you, well, died, I couldn't watch. I almost thought you'd been brought back just because I'd failed then. That this time I'd have to watch." She shivered. "How did Leon do that?"
"I don't know." Said Falco. "I don't know if I want to know."
"Fara, if you squeeze my paw any tighter, it's going to come off." Fox mumbled groggily.
"You're awake? Are you all right?" she said, seizing him around the chest as if she meant to shake him to health.
"I'll be fine," he assured her, begging to sit up. He winced and sank back down. "Eventually."
"I suppose you want some answers." Came Soul's voice from the shadowed end of the transport.
Fox nodded, wincing again.
Soul looked at him as if considering something. Then he said "Ah, what the heck. I've already done it right in front of the enemy." He gestured at Fox's makeshift stretcher.
Fox felt a curious vibration wash over him. After a few moments, it vanished, leaving him much the same, except-
"Hey, my bruises are gone." Fox said, feeling himself all over. "How did you-, no, never mind."
Soul didn't speak.
"Uh," Fox began, not quite knowing how to begin, "So, just what was Leon doing to us?"
Soul raised an eyebrow. "And what do we have to do with whatever the answer is?"
"Yes."
"You won't believe me."
Fox indicated his rapidly vanishing injuries. "I've had some pretty conclusive proof."
Soul sighed heavily, and sat down on the edge of an empty crate. "You've heard of the idea of alternate universes?"
"Only in movies."
"Well, it's something like that, I guess. I'm not from this world. I don't really understand it myself; you can ask Mind if you want. Anyway, a long time ago, there was a man in my world who managed to get his hands on massive power."
"Some army?"
"No, no, just power. The kind that lizard was using. He quickly assumed rule of our world, and proceeded to try to force his way into others. We stopped him, me and Mind, with some help from some other friends."
"Now that's the part I don't understand. Are you trying to tell me he's psychic or something? Or is it some kind of science?"
Soul shrugged. "That's the hardest part about trying to explain. It wasn't science, it wasn't magic. It was just power. He could make things he wanted to happen, happen, and that's all there was to it."
"I see," Fox said, nodding slowly and hoping he didn't look as puzzled as he felt. "So you killed him?"
"No. We tried, but we couldn't. The best we could manage was throwing him out of our world and closing the door behind him. Unfortunately, we overlooked something."
"What?"
"We thought we'd sealed him in, well, in wherever you are when you're between worlds. We hadn't, we'd only sealed him out of ours."
"We first realized what had happened when he invaded our world again."
"But I thought you said he was shut out."
"He was, but his soldiers weren't. See, the way this works was that he could only return to a world he'd been banished from by causing the death of those who'd banished him. Fortunately the power to banish comes with virtual immortality, so he can't just sit back and wait for them to get old and die. So what he tried to do was to take over another world, build up an army, and then send it to our world to try to take over."
"He failed?"
"Yes. The ones who'd deposed him before went to the world he'd conquered and banished him from that one, too."
"And that was you, wasn't it?" Fox said.
"Well, I don't like to brag, but…"
"So now he's here, trying to build another army? Why? Why does he need to rule your world?"
"Because his power is incomplete. He's not omnipotent yet, or we wouldn't be here right now. He's powerful, but not all-powerful. He needs to find the rest of the force he stole."
Fox rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You again?"
"Yes." Soul smiled. "Mind and I have the rest, that's how we were able to overcome him. What he wants in the end is our deaths."
Fox was silent. He glanced at Soul for a moment, then at Fara next to him. "This is an awful lot for you to ask me to believe."
"I know, and I'm sorry I dragged you into this. If you want out, I'll more than understand."
Fox fell silent again, purposely not looking at either Soul or his wife, who was squeezing his paw again.
"Me and Mind are perfectly able to carry on on our own."
"No." Fox said, very firmly. "I may not understand this fully, but I know that my home will never be free or safe if what you're telling me is true. For the first time in my life, I have a family and am able to defend it. And I'm not backing out simply because my enemy has became powerful, confusing, or frightening.
"I made a promise to keep fighting, and that is a promise I will keep."
Soul paused for a moment, then spoke quietly. "Thank you."
Behind the transport, the sun set on Corneria. Among the asteroids, the stars became visible.
Chapter 30
"I'm just a poor boy. Nobody loves me."
-Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody
Wolf sat on the edge of the bed in the room he'd been given. It was anything but luxurious, but that had never bothered him before. He'd just escaped unearthly torment and inhuman slavery and was back among his childhood friends, so he had every reason to be happy, even elated.
He wasn't.
Rita hadn't been at all glad to see him. She'd begun screaming at him the moment he'd stepped out of the ship, first accusing him of letting Andross kill Bill, then of killing Bill himself. Fox tried to intervene, but all that that accomplished was to make her scream at him as well. The last thing he'd heard her say before she'd stormed out of the room was that he was only here to murder all of them.
The problem was that he didn't know if she was right or not.
His hand went involuntarily to the knife sheath clipped on the back of his belt. The dagger inside was quite small and not particularly expensive. Except for some writing on each side, it was no different from any other.
Wolf pulled his hand away as if the knife were hot. How could he even think of that? But he'd sworn to think of it, sworn to do more than just think of it.
Which was worse, to betray his oath, or betray their trust?
"You say we aren't safe here?" Fox asked.
"No. Not anymore." Mind explained. "He may not know we were at the palace with you, but he certainly knows someone was. Out here, he can sense us; we're the only living things for hundreds of miles. But if we were to move to a planet, Corneria for example-"
"I see. Then we'd better get packed." He yawned. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. Falco?"
"Yeah?"
"I will want a detailed report on why you aren't dead, but not now. I'm too tired. Wake me in four hours."
"Sure thing, boss." Falco smiled.
"Don't you get distracted now." Fox warned, as Katt walked by.
"Hey, c'mon Fox, you know me!" Falco protested.
"That's why I said it." Fox headed for the door, but halfway there he stopped. "If Ri comes to her senses, let me know."
"I will."
"Thanks. It's good to have you back."
Wolf looked up when the door opened, glad to have his thoughts interrupted.
"Are you all right in here?" asked Fox, looking around the door.
"I will be." Wolf said, "I think."
"Not if Rita has her way."
Wolf didn't laugh.
"I'm tired." Fox continued, "I'm gonna go try to get some sleep now."
"Yeah, me too, probably."
"Falco'll let you know if anything happens, okay?"
"Sure. Thanks." Wolf said, blandly.
Fox paused, "It's good to have you back," he said and turned away.
It was all Wolf could do to control himself until the door closed.
"You can do magic? Really?" Slippy said, as if he weren't sure if he was glad or frightened.
"Well," answered Soul, "I guess you could say that."
"Oh." Slippy paused "Okay." He paused again. "C-can you teach me?"
Soul was lost for a reply.
Wolf stole out into the hall and glanced toward the control room. Good, everyone was still working on something; it didn't matter what. He took a deep breath and stole down the darkened passage.
Falco set down a laser rifle many sizes larger than necessary and looked around. Slippy had left to gather computer components, Mind and Soul were off loading packaged food and other essentials, Fox and Fara were asleep, and Rita was skulking in her room refusing to pack at all.
"Finished already?" said Katt's voice, and he turned to see her push several bulging suitcases into the room.
"I've only got what I came here with." He said, indicating the gun and a couple boxes of ammo. "What's all that?"
"Well, I was only going to take a couple outfits, and maybe some shampoo, but then I thought that I wouldn't want to be caught without anything to wear, and that I couldn't afford to let them get hold of anything they could use against us…"
"Your clothes?"
"It's not like I'm making you carry them or anything, is it?" She said. "That's really all you have?"
"I was thrown over a cliff and then into a palace raid. I didn't have much chance to go shopping."
"Well then, you need practice. You can carry my bags."
"Hey, but you-"
"Thanks, honey." She said, planting a kiss on the tip of his beak.
A bar of yellow light fell across the room from the window, crossing the bed halfway up. At the far end of the room it crept up the door. For a moment the door opened and it flashed into the hallway, then returned, illuminating a pair of boots that had come in.
Wolf took a quick look around the room. Fox was lying on his back with his face turned away, and Fara was next to him with one arm flung possessively across his chest. She stirred in her sleep, and pulled Fox closer, then settled back, smiling. Wolf bit his lip, and felt his hand reach for the etched dagger on its own. For a moment, he felt as if he were standing in the corner watching himself, with no more power to stop what was happening than to stop the sun from setting. His hand closed on the hilt of the knife, and he drew it. He started to raise it over his head, but stopped again. He turned away and closed his eye, trying not to see the spot where he would have to drive the knife. Fara still had her arm across Fox's chest, he had no idea what would happen when she woke. Would he kill her too, or simply stand and stare as she screamed.
He opened his eye, and glanced at the knife blade to avoid looking at Fox asleep and defenseless. For my worst enemy it said. That was McCloud, of course. No, he thought desperately, not anymore. Maybe not ever.
You swore, said a grim commanding voice in his mind. You swore to do it.
"I can't." he whispered.
Somehow he managed to stagger out of the room and into the hall before collapsing.
On the bed, Fox opened one eye, smiled slightly, and closed it again.
Rita opened her door a crack and looked out. She pulled a duffel bag onto her shoulder, and picked up a suitcase beside her. She spared a glare for Wolf's firmly closed door, and then stamped briskly towards the docking bay. Her ship still worked just fine, she could go and start her own revolution. If they wanted to harbor homicidal maniacs, that was their problem. It would serve them right if, no when, Wolf did slaughter them all. Then they'd see…
A noise from behind made her turn. It was Wolf, he'd lurched against his doorframe and was breathing heavily. He went through, not bothering to close the door, and she noticed he was holding a dagger of some sort. She stole a few steps closer to watch.
Wolf sat on the edge of his bed staring at his dagger, the only possession he'd kept with him. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of it. For my worst enemy… he read, over and over. Who was that? Not Fox, certainly. What had Fox ever done to him that hadn't worked out for the best? No, that wasn't his enemy. Who had driven him from Corneria? Who had tortured him with half true doubts and half false fears for all his years on Venom? Who always failed when he needed him most? Who couldn't even get her to look at him?
Who had broken the oath?
Wolf held out at arms length. He felt perfectly calm, as if this was what was meant for him all along; as if for the first time in his life he wasn't fighting his destiny. He took a deep breath, and jerked his arm upward to his throat.
If it hadn't been for the roaring in his ears, he would have heard Rita's frightened gasp.
Wolf gritted his teeth. The blade had stopped not an inch from his neck, but he couldn't force it any further. His arm was shaking from the effort and sweat was pouring down his face, but he was a creature of instinct, and survival was the instinct in control now.
Whimpering in frustration, he pried his fingers off the knife and threw it across the room. There was nothing left of him now, his honor had gone with his oath, his mind he'd never been sure was worth having, his life he was sure to lose any day now, and his heart had been ripped out years ago. He couldn't even escape from this prison of existence.
Something tickled the fur on his face, and he realized that the fur under his right eye was soaking wet.
The other eye, though, was incapable of tears. Wolf envied it.
Rita drew back, confused. She didn't know what she thought, and it worried her.
Wolf was either a friend in need of her help, or an enemy who needed to be watched. One thing that was certain was that she had to stay nearby, if only to sound the alarm to the others.
If Wolf did try anything, she'd be waiting.
She crept away, back to her room.
Wolf rubbed the back of his neck, groaning. What had happened? He supposed he must have fallen asleep on the floor. His earlier despair had been replaced with stiffness, both of body and spirit.
The first thing he saw clearly was the dagger, still lying in the corner where he'd thrown it. He picked it up, almost reverently, and ran his finger along the letters. For my worst enemy- he turned it over -who was my best friend.
That settled it. Perhaps he was his own worst enemy, but he had never been his own best friend.
He put the knife into its sheath, and left the room.
Chapter 31
"There's someone in my head, and it's not me."
-Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon.
Emperor Victor Opprimus leaned back slightly and rested his head against the throne. He sighed and let his eyes slide closed. He loved this.
This wasn't the end of his plans, by any means. There was still much to be done, and he really should get to work doing it. He really oughtn't delay. But he loved this moment. Maybe it was a weakness, but he loved the moment when he was truly in power, and he couldn't help savoring it.
A noise to the side attracted his attention. It was Andross, slumped against the wall and gurgling softly. His clothes were in rags and his beard was tangled and matted into his hair. Victor had decided to keep him as a lesson; to the troops, of what happened to those who dared surpass him; and to himself, of what happened to those who let others surpass them. Hopefully he wouldn't become so much of a nuisance that he'd have to be removed.
Victor closed his eyes again and let his mind drift, out to the battleship where Powalski was. He felt a slight, internal shudder as his presence invaded and filled Leon's body, and detected a few, futile thrashings as Leon's soul struck blindly against it's prison walls. He opened Leon's eyes and looked out.
Admiral Ritter hadn't been thrilled when he'd been told a mercenary pilot was joining him as a member of the flagship's command crew. He'd liked the situation less and less each day that he'd spent in Powalski's company. He couldn't think how a mere mercenary could be so profoundly disturbing.
Admiral, laughed Victor to himself, if you only knew.
"I really don't know how much more of this I can take, sir." The first officer said. "He just stands there all day, and when he does snap out of it he says the most disturbing things I've ever heard."
"That's insubordinate, number one." The admiral said stiffly. "Though I can't help agreeing."
"Isn't there something we can do? Even," the officer glanced sideways "–unofficially?"
"Lower your voice." Ritter said, "I'd love to take care of him. Permanently. But he's… not normal."
"What do you mean?"
"I found him hanging around the brig a week ago. The next day half the prisoners had gone mad, and half of those who were left died of various internal injuries within the next three days."
"He tortured them?"
"I don't know."
"What? Why not?"
"I reviewed the security tapes, and looked over every move Powalski made."
"And?"
"He never touched a single one of those people. He never even went into the cells. He just stood outside and looked at them."
The first officer turned very slowly and looked at him. "What did you say?" he asked, in a voice that meant he'd heard perfectly.
"He could never have touched those people." Admiral Ritter said, "But somehow he killed them."
"Ow!" Katt said, tripping over yet another case of ammunition.
"Oh, yeah, you gotta watch out for those." called Falco from the next room.
"Watch out for those?" She shouted back, "Just how many of these things have you got in here?"
"Well, I wasn't really sure how much I'd need when I got this place, and I figured I'd get killed when I went into the palace, so I didn't bother observing any limits, or anything," Falco explained, sounding puzzled. "Just watch out for the grenades in the closet."
She took her hand off the closet doorknob as if it had bitten her.
"Falco," Fox said, dropping a suitcase of Fara's clothes onto the floor, "there's a problem."
"What?"
"As convenient as it is that you had this place already-"
"Yeah,"
"And as much as all of us, especially Wolf, are glad it's right above a bar-"
"Yeah,"
"There's a serious problem."
"What?"
"We've only got one bed."
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Uh, so what do we do?" Falco said.
There was another silence.
"Son of a…" Falco muttered, trying to make himself comfortable on the floor.
On the couch, Wolf snored. Loudly.
The admiral was talking with some officer; they were both turned away from him. Victor smiled with Leon's mouth.
"Is something wrong, gentlemen?" Leon hissed suddenly, not two inches behind them.
The first officer spun and gasped at Leon for a few seconds. Victor ignored him. The admiral's reaction was what was important. Ritter had gripped the windowsill so hard that his knuckles were whitening. Now he was purposefully looking the other way. Trying to conceal his fear. Futile. Victor could smell it. His reaction was perfect.
"I've noticed you don't seem to enjoy my company." Victor said through Leon's mouth. "Why is that, do you think?"
Ritter glanced at him for a moment, then looked away again.
"You know I'm different. I can see it in your eyes." Leon hissed, "The way you aren't sure where to look or what do when I'm in the same room. Everyone does that to me. You do it consciously." The lizard laughed dryly, "But if they could only see… then they would understand."
"Understand what?" Ritter asked, almost curious in spite of himself.
Leon looked him straight in the eyes and began breathing heavily. "Everything." He whispered. "I'm free from the prison that is all you know. The darkness is alive and throbs with fire." Leon tilted his head to one side "I feel things I've never even imagined."
"What do you feel?" Ritter asked, unconsciously dropping his voice to a whisper.
"Power." Victor hissed through Leon's teeth. "Beyond anything you've ever dreamed. I was like you once, you know. Weak, seeing nothing but the narrow slit of a world in front of my face," Leon's eyes blazed, "but I was changed."
Ritter closed his eyes as hard as he could. He was sure that what Powalski was spouting was just deranged nonsense. Perhaps if he ignored him he would go away.
"I was changed," Leon's voice droned, "As others could be changed, too."
Even though his eyes were tightly closed, Ritter could feel Leon's eyes boring into him. He had to be talking nonsense. But what if he wasn't?
Ritter opened his eyes again and looked at Leon for a long moment. "What do I have to do?"
Chapter 32
Suddenly, desire took him by the throat. Everything else Mark had ever felt or wanted appeared as mere milk and water; toys for children. The infinite attracting of the dark thing sucked all other passions into itself.
-C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strenth.
Fox looked up when the door as the roof rocked open. It's hinges needed oil and it squeaked. "How did it go?"
"Not bad." Wolf answered. "We got enough ammunition to make a stand here, if we need to, plus a few interesting toys that will come in very handy if we raid the palace again."
"When we raid the palace again," Fox said, looking back at the sunset.
Wolf was silent for a long moment. "You know, back then they used to say I was the one who was crazy."
"They would have been right, back then." Fox sighed. "But they're gone. C'mon, let's see how Falco did with the food supplies."
Admiral Ritter paced uneasily in the palace's lobby. What was he doing here? Why had he listened to Powalski? Why wasn't he with the fleet? That mission had been just the sort of flashy, effective assignment his career needed. And he had half a mind to-
"Admiral Ritter? Follow me please."
"How did you know my name?" He asked the nondescript soldier. "I wasn't announced, I came here incognito…"
"Follow me please."
"But nobody should know I'm here!"
"Follow me please."
The soldier turned and began walked towards a door on the far wall. After looking around for a moment to see that no one was watching, Ritter followed him.
"Morning ma'am." Alexis said, not looking up from his screen and keyboard.
"What have we got today Alex?" Trine asked, stifling a yawn.
"Nothing much. Imperial fleet's passing through our airspace, but that's nothing new. We've ordered all activities underground till they leave."
"Has McCloud been bugging us again?"
"Nope. It's funny, though…"
"Hmm?"
Alex punched a few buttons. "We hacked a couple of reports. There's not much to go on, but apparently prisoners 8-4H1 and 5-MR3, that's Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare, are now classified deceased."
"They're dead? Why?"
"Not necessarily. If they'd been killed, they'd be classified 'executed,' right? No, 'deceased' is what they say when they don't want to lose face in front of the soldiers."
"Escaped."
"Or been rescued." Alex looked up for a moment. "I wonder if we underestimated McCloud."
"It never hurts to underestimate the famous," she grunted. "Let me see the fleet."
Alex tapped on his keyboard, and the screen switched to a view from an orbital satellite. A battlecruiser was lumbering slowly past, with several invader class ships in its wake.
"That's strange." She muttered as Alexis continued banging on the computer. "They don't seem to be passing."
"What?"
"No. They aren't passing," she repeated, her voice suddenly rising, "They're landing."
Alex stopped typing.
Admiral Ritter fumed, mostly to cover up his growing uneasiness.
He'd been led into a small, ill lit, metal-plated room, without any windows, and instructed to kneel in the center of the floor. Objections and questions had been met alike with a simple repetition of the demand that he kneel in the center of the floor. Grumbling, he finally did so, intending to say something very witty and scathing. Before he'd thought of what to say, the soldier left, letting the door slam behind him.
Ritter's first reaction was to think that he'd been imprisoned for, well, something. Maybe they thought he was some kind of traitor, or was ignoring orders. Perhaps a more powerful officer had wanted him out of the way? But then, why send a lunatic mercenary to lure him in? Why demand that he kneel? Wouldn't it be simpler to arrest him in the usual fashion? That was when the lights went out.
And so he was left alone, in a small, dark room, and he still didn't know what the hell Powalski had been talking about.
"Alan Ritter." Said a voice suddenly. Funny, Ritter thought, he hadn't noticed an intercom when the lights were on. "Do wish to serve your emperor perfectly?"
"What?" Ritter asked the darkness.
There was no answer.
"Well, uh, yes, of course I do." Ritter said, hoping he hadn't delayed too long.
"Do you wish to be given power?" the voice asked. It didn't sound like it was coming from an intercom. But there couldn't be anyone else in the room, could there?
"Yes." Ritter said, slowly, straining his eyes in the darkness.
"So be it." said the voice.
And the universe went mad.
His arms suddenly snapped out straight at his sides, as if someone had grabbed his wrists and yanked. He heard something like a huge drum, or maybe a distant explosion, and then a wave of some force passed over him. It felt like a biting wind full of sand, except that it went through his body and struck inside of him as well. It would have knocked him over, except that his body seemed suddenly unmovable.
He couldn't tell how long the wind went on, but suddenly there was a high, thin, ringing sound, like a harpstring breaking, or a flute being played too high and too loud. As soon as it reached him the dark wind redoubled its strength. Most of his clothes were torn away. Sudden gashes were ripped across his chest and arms; it felt as if they'd come from inside his body. The ringing grew louder, setting his teeth on edge and running through his bone, but somehow he could hear very distinctly the sound of his blood hitting the floor.
Ritter could no longer tell whether his eyes were open or shut. But he thought he could vaguely see something like fire or light running across his skin. But if it was fire, it didn't hurt. The pain was fading; his whole body was going numb. If it was light, it illuminated nothing, and the room seemed to be growing darker than ever.
Leon stood in the center of what had once been the rebel control room with his head bowed, apparently looking at nothing. The roar of blasters and high explosive had by now subsided into the rustle of flames and the moans of the dying. His master's soldiers, under his command, still wandered the gutted underground bunker, occasionally wiping out yet another survivor. Their deaths quivered wonderfully on the edge of his perceptions, he could taste their pain and grief.
It was delicious.
He eventually raised his eyes to the wall, and began studying the consoles that still flickered there. Some were blasted out, more were simply dead, but a few still glowed.
Over one such the inert form of an elderly badger was slumped. He shoved her aside, revealing a hastily entered message on the screen.
"MCLOUD. UNDER HEAVY ATTACK. CAN'T HOLD OUT. LIZARD FROM STARWOLF DID IT. SORRY I DOUBTED YOU. HELP PLEASE. TRINE."
Leon paused for a moment. It would not be strictly true to say that he was thinking. Something which had been substituted for his consciousness went spinning through the memories of what Leon had been, until it came up with the name McCloud. What it found gave it pause.
The thing that had been Leon decided to consult its master.
Emperor Opprimus felt the mental touch like a cold hand on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes and let himself drift.
Yes? He thought.
I think I have found something important, master.
Leon knew there was nothing more that he needed to do. His Master would rip the knowledge from his mind with or without his consent. The experience was excruciatingly painful, more so when he resisted.
Leon tried to resist as much as possible.
Rhea Sydney, an Imperial soldier, was about to report to her commanding officer about the prisoners that had been taken. She had just entered the room when she saw him stiffen as though an electric charge had been applied to his tail. He gasped, the veins on his neck stood out, and he started twitching spasmodically. His hands shot up to the sides of his head, which he gripped so hard that his claws drew blood. He suddenly collapsed to his knees and began breathing heavily. His body relaxed and a beautifully happy look spread slowly across his face. So did a few tears. Red ones.
Rhea decided to submit her report in writing.
"It happened again."
"You felt it too?"
"Very obviously."
"And I'm supposed to be the clairvoyant one."
"Where is he now?"
"Out in the city. Heading for the river."
"Why would he go there?"
"I don't know."
"Yet."
"Yes."
A government car pulled up in front of the Riverside Cemetery in Corneria city, and a single figure got out. He indicated to the driver to move on, and the car left.
The wrought iron gates were barred, chained, and locked. The figure held out his hand, and they flew open with a dull thud.
Alan Ritter stood alone in front of a large gravestone.
Victor Opprimus read the inscription through his eyes, and smiled.
Chapter 33
"If charnel houses and graves send those that we bury back, our monuments shall be maws of kites."
-Shakespere, MacBeth.
"Rita, I need to talk to you." Wolf said quietly.
"I do not need to talk to you, though." She answered coldly, and got up to leave.
"Rita, what's wrong?" Wolf shouted, managing to squeeze into the door ahead of her. "I'm sorry I fought for Venom, but I can't change the past. The only thing I can do is try to fix it, and that's what I'm doing. So why are you still shunning me?"
"My attitude towards you has nothing to do with Venom." Rita said, and shoved past him. She pulled up short when he grabbed her by the elbow. "What are you trying, O'Donnell?"
"I'm trying to get you to listen."
"It won't work."
Wolf didn't answer.
"Do really think I've forgotten what happened back in the academy? What you tried to do to me? Betraying us to Venom was bad, but that wasn't what made me hate you."
"I'm sorry about… about that. I was drunk out of my mind, and I'd been in love with you for years…"
For a while, neither of them spoke. "I'm sorry," Rita said, quietly but firmly, "but, like you said, I can't change the past."
"I'm not asking you to change it. I'm asking you to forget it."
She didn't answer.
"What do I have to do to prove I love you?" He called after her.
"Die. Like he did." She said over her shoulder, and slammed the door shut.
Ritter didn't know it, but he was trembling.
He was standing on a small lump of bare ground in the cemetery. It was only bare because it was too near the water to dig up. It would have been a good spot for a picnic or some other carefree recreation, had it not been in a graveyard.
It was too be used for another purpose tonight.
Master, Ritter heard his voice calling into the darkness and echoing in the solitude, all is ready.
There were no flashes, no pyrotechnics. No boiling, festering darkness. This was a subtler power, perhaps all the stronger for that. A passerby, had there been any, would not have seen anything unusual. He would have felt it. The power was wet and slimy, it clung and slid over the skin like the brush of some diseased membrane, it had the fell strength of tentacled creatures that live in lightless caverns.
It was undeniably effective.
Ritter's dark silhouette was joined another.
Victor sat in the Imperial throne, concentrating. It had been a long time since he'd done anything like this and he was out of practice. It was one thing to will himself into the body and mind of someone like Powalski or Ritter. The body sustained itself; all one had to do was suppress the soul and replace it with your own commands. The mind did all the work of compensating and inventing new personalities to keep the body under control and running.
It was much harder when the body was separated from the soul. Though there was no soul to suppress, one's concentration was divided among a thousand things; trying to perceive through decaying and faulty senses, moving the limbs by sheer willpower. The very stiffness of the body had to be resisted like a rapid current. He would vastly prefer working solely with the living. But for this mission, this was unquestionably the best method. This way, he had an agent that could not be resisted.
"What the- Uh, Fox, you might want to take a look at this." Slippy called, nervously. "We're getting some kind of signal."
"A trace?" Fox asked, looking at the screen over Slippy's shoulder.
"Nuh uh. It's not recycling back or looped. Hmm, lemme try analyzing the data." The screen flashed, then disappeared under a cascade of zeros and ones.
"Whassup?" Falco said. "And what's all that?"
"Incoming signal." Fox explained. "Slip says it might be a trace, so he's analyzing it."
"That's not a trace."
"What?" Slippy said, indignantly, coming out of his code-induced trance. "How would you know?"
"Because it's activated the com," said Falco, pointing. "See?"
There was a small pause.
"Just push that button, there, the one that's flashing." Falco explained.
Another pause. Fox finally reached down and pressed the button on the small communication screen.
"-SORRY I UNDERESTIMATED YOU. TRINE. HERE IS WHAT YOU WANTED." It printed a list of lists; names and locations of rebel organizations, contact information, suppliers, corrupt officials.
Everything you'd need to now to engineer a system-wide revolution.
Falco looked smug. Slippy turned greener.
"Get everyone together," ordered Fox, "It's time for a council of war."
"I've got it, sir. We've found an unauthorized signal in the slums, we're sure it's them."
Admiral Ritter moaned softly in response.
The armored car slowed to a stop. The soldiers inside raised their guns and stood up.
No! thundered the new Emperor's voice in Ritter's head.
"No." whispered the Admiral. "I will be going in."
"Alone, sir?" asked one soldier, in the front rank.
Ritter looked at him for a long moment, then his eyes narrowed.
The soldier's neck snapped, and he fell to the ground.
"No, not alone." Ritter said. "But not with you."
Chapter 34
Carry on, my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done.
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more.
-Kansas, Carry On Wayward Son.
The landlord of the building where Fox and the others were staying, also the head of an organized crime cartel, was known only as Tom, or Mr. Tom to those he wanted to intimidate. He preferred it that way. It cut down on inconveniences, such as police entanglements or relatives asking for money. If he had had to choose between the two, he would have chosen the police.
He had more than a suspicion as to who it was that was living in the top two floors. He'd recognized a few of them, and his speculations had been confirmed, when Wolf and Falco had come down to the bar and gotten very drunk. Before they'd fallen asleep, they'd been talkative enough.
Mr. Tom had decided it was wise to keep his mouth shut, even the rebels didn't. First, the old government had been much easier to get around than this one. Second, if they were caught, he could always say he hadn't known, and who would there be to contradict him?
And third, he'd been paid.
Though he was affected by the momentous events that later would lead him to the top of Corneria's crime empire and then to prison, the night they really started he was asleep in bed.
He even slept with his mouth shut.
Soul rubbed his eyes, yawned, and leaned back. "I hope I don't ever to do that again."
"What do you mean?" asked Slippy, incredulously, "It was fun!"
The squirrel looked at him for a long time, then blinked. "Relaying the same message to over a hundred locations for more than an hour is not my idea of a wild party."
"You're just saying that because you don't understand technology." Slippy said, looking at his computer screen the way Fara looked at Fox.
Soul shook his head wearily.
"Are you guys done?" Fox asked, poking his head around the doorway.
"Ask Mr. Wizard over there." groaned Soul.
"All done." Slippy said, ignoring him. "And I'm beat. I'm going to bed."
"Uh, wasn't Mind helping you with that, too?"
"She was." Soul said, looking in vain for some piece of furniture to collapse onto. "But it's her shift on the com."
"Oh yeah. It's almost my turn." Fox said. "Where's Wolf, by the way?"
"Oh, he left a while back. He said he was going for a walk."
"A walk? He's a wanted criminal?! What does he think he's doing?"
"Well, I'll go find him if you want." Soul said. "Just what do you want, Fox?"
"Huh?"
"What are you fighting for? You've got the base for the best rebellion I've ever seen—and I've seen more than my share of rebellions—you've got a hand-picked band of loyal and able fighters, you're within striking distance of the nerve center of the tyranny you've been fighting all your life, and you're content to stay in a apartment swapping rumors with other outlaws? Why? Want do you want?"
"Wha? Well, I-"
"Hmm. Yeah, that's what I thought."
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind. I'm gonna go find Wolf."
"Uh, yeah." Fox said, still confused. "Thanks. If he gets caught, then it's over. He knows who we are and where we're hiding. I'll send Mind off the other way."
"No problem." said Soul, pulling on his cloak. "After the last couple of hours, I might even find it exciting."
Fox was not aware that Victor already knew who he was and where he was hiding.
It would not have helped much if he had.
As Soul turned the corner and set out after Wolf, Ritter was forcing open the tenement's door. The front room was deserted, as were the stairs.
The only thing out of the ordinary was Ritter's sole, silent companion.
Victor, seeing the room through Ritter's eyes, gave a slight start. There were traces of a familiar presence here. A presence he'd been dreading. But it was faint, very faint. Perhaps only the power of an agent. Apparently his adversaries had also decided to work through others. That was not what he would have expected.
But then, the unexpected is just the weapon they would use against him.
Very well. Victor mused. I use agents, and they use agents. Agents can be destroyed.
We will see whose are more powerful.
Fox was sitting alone in front of the com screen. At present, it showed only static, but you never knew when some tiny rebel nucleus might call. Not for help, you couldn't send that over a transmitter, but for hope.
Somewhere in the building, a door creaked open.
Fox stifled a yawn and flexed his shoulders. What he wanted now, more than anything else, was to go back to bed. Fara would be waiting, half asleep, and she'd curl up against his chest as he got under the blanket. And someday there's be kits, hopefully a lot. That made him think of his only childhood, and Rita, and Wolf, and Bill, who didn't even get a grave, and his father, who had a five thousand credit headstone. Fox grinned ruefully at the though of how James would have laughed about spending five thousand credits on a gravestone.
He missed that laugh.
Ritter pushed open the topmost door. It had been left unlocked for some reason.
He looked around the darkened hall for a moment, then nodded to his companion. There was no need to tell him what to do. They were both under the master's control, and they would both do what was required of them.
The other figure stepped forward slowly, with a strange jerking motion. As it moved it made a dry rustling, like sandpaper being rubbed against stone. Its legs and arms drooped as if it were carrying heavy weights. In places the fur was thin, even gone, and you could see through to the skin, which was shriveled and ripped in places. The face was the worst; the features had hardened and discolored into what resembled, when seen with the empty eye sockets, a thick wooden mask.
Fox heard the door open behind him, and turned warily to look. You couldn't be too careful. "Soul?" he said. "Is that you?"
There was no answer.
The door was half open, and blocked the light in such a way that Fox couldn't see who was standing there. He saw a figure about his height, but beyond that he couldn't tell who it was or what they looked like.
"Come out of there." He said, in a voice that could be interpreted as either threatening or polite. One hand went to the blaster at his hip.
There was a strangely wet noise, like a towel being dragged over the floor, and the form in the shadows advanced.
The blaster fell from his paw.
"Father." Said Fox.
Chapter 35
Darth Vader: I am your father.
-Star Wars
Wolf turned around from where he had watched the sun set. The moon was just visible on the opposite horizon. It was almost, but not quite, full. He watched it rise pensively, lost in indecision. What the hell, Wolf thought, I don't care if they do hear me. He closed his eyes and tilted back his head.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Said Soul.
Wolf caught his breath, and turned around. "What are you doing here?"
"Fox sent me to find you. C'mon." He started across the street.
"Don't know why he bothers," Wolf muttered, "The only one who likes me is Falco, and that's just because I go drinking with him. In fact-"
Soul wasn't listening. He'd stopped in the middle of the road. "Hey, listen!"
"What?" asked Wolf. "What is it?"
"Shhh!"
They stood in silence for a moment.
"Is that?-" Soul began, narrowing his eyes, "But that was… Oh, crap!" and he took off running.
Wolf followed him. This was the strangest rebellion he'd ever been in.
"What happened?" Fox was saying. "What's going on?"
The form's mouth opened. No words came out, only a breathy hiss, but Fox heard plainly; "My son. It's been so long."
"I- I know." Fox said.
The thing stepped closer. "I've missed you, son."
"So have I."
There seemed to be some kind of mist or fog gathering around the corners of Fox's eyes. The thing looked more and more like his father as it thickened.
"I wanted so badly to talk to you." It said.
"Father…" Fox said. His body felt suddenly lighter, as if he were falling.
"Come here, son." His father said, stepping still closer. "Let me see you."
Fox found he couldn't seem to move at all. He didn't care.
His father reached out to him.
The thing stretched out its hand toward his throat.
Ritter pushed open the door, drew a knife and stepped in. Then he stopped.
Alan's transformation was by no means the same as Leon's. It differed just as much as they did. Where Leon's soul had been torn open and dismembered, Ritter's had been petrified. That was why Victor had chosen him for this mission, not only was he more unobtrusive, but he could better sense things Leon would have missed. Like other sources of power.
There was power approaching now. It resembled his master's, but also differed subtly.
Victor felt it too. Get out of there, he reverberated.
Quickly, Ritter dropped the knife, and caught up a length of cord. He acted not in fear of the approaching power, but in fear of his master.
A few moments later he was dropping out of the window with Fara, firmly tied and gagged, slung over his shoulder.
"I don't understand." Fox said vaguely, blinking his eyes. He suddenly felt very sleepy.
"You don't need to, son." Whispered his father, holding out a hand. "You don't need to worry about anything ever again."
Fox started to take a step forward.
"Stop!" shouted James's voice, from behind him.
"Come here." Commanded his father.
Soul shouted something, and charged into the room.
The thing that had looked like his father froze. It stood for a moment, then toppled face forward. Soul pulled out a blaster and shot it through the head.
Fox blinked, as if he'd just woken up. "Wha- what happened?" he asked slowly, as if he had trouble remembering the words.
In answer, Soul turned the thing over with the tip of his boot. Its head had been shattered by the blaster, and any resemblance to James McCloud was gone.
"It wasn't, my-" Fox began.
"It could have been." Soul answered, anticipating the question. "It doesn't matter what body is used. He could make it look like your great aunt Mildred if he thought it would work best."
Fox shuddered and was silent.
"Where's the other- oh no. Come here, quickly!" called Mind.
They left the room. Fox was the last out. As he went, he looked one last time at the thing on the floor.
In the palace, Victor's eyes snapped open.
Whatever agent they had sent to find him was powerful indeed. It was time to change tactics. Power worked best if tempered with strategy.
If you couldn't destroy your enemies outright, you made them come to you. And when you were strongest and they were weakest, you attacked.
Victor began to get up, but was stopped by a sudden twinge of pain in his right hand.
The back of it was bleeding.
Chapter 36
A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes
As if to hide a lonely tear.
My life will be forever autumn
Now you're not here.
-Justin Hayward, Forever Autumn
Fox's emotional wrenches of that night were not over.
The blankets on the bed were relatively undisturbed, there were really no signs of a struggle. The window was broken, not just the glass but the whole frame, as if by the impact of a wreaking ball.
Fara was gone.
Behind him, he could vaguely hear Wolf breathing heavily. Rita was looking worried. Mind and Soul were talking about something. Katt and Slippy had gotten out of bed and were standing in the back trying to hear what was going on.
"Fox, are you alright?" asked Falco, only half dressed. He'd apparently been asleep as well.
"No." answered Fox, still staring at the window. "No I'm not."
A soft wind rose slowly through the window, ruffling Fox's fur.
He'd only been a kit when his mother was taken from him.
His sister opened her mouth as if to say something, but she seemed too afraid to do so. He obviously wasn't the only one thinking about the family they'd lost.
His father had never been the same afterward. In public, he'd become hard, cold, emotionless. In private he was distant and half apologetic.
James had sworn to avenge his wife.
Mind was talking rapidly to Falco, Katt and Slippy. Every so often she would glance over her shoulder at the broken windowframe. Soul was staring at Fox without comment.
It had been during his first holiday from the Academy. On the day before going back to school, Fox had spent the whole day with his father. They'd wandered all over the city without any specific destination, just talking. For the first time in years Fox felt as if his Father wasn't trying to make up to him, as if their family had never been broken.
He went to sleep that night happier than he'd been in years.
That had been the last time he'd ever saw his father alive.
"No more." Fox said, unaware he'd spoken aloud. "No more."
Everyone else stopped talking.
"Slippy get on the com to all the resistance cells you contacted. I want every one of them fighting within two hours."
"Two hours?" Slippy spluttered, "Fox, what are talking-?"
"Falco, Katt," Fox continued, "Get to the planes. Get airborne and keep off the Venom ships. If it isn't a rebel, I don't want it to land."
Falco blinked, then nodded. Katt bit her lip.
"Wolf, Ri, get any gear you need."
"For what?" Rita asked.
"You're coming with me to the palace. So are you two." Fox paused. "That's just what you want, isn't it? You've set this up from the beginning."
"No." Mind shook her head, "We're here to prevent a reckless and evil man from interfering any more with the lives of the innocent. He started it, we want to finish it."
"Fine. As long as I can count on your help." Fox turned back to the window, and when he spoke again his voice seemed oddly strained. "All my life, I've been powerless to protect those I love from being victims. Mom, Dad, Bill, Peppy, my home, my country. No more." His voice became perfectly level again. "Not Fara."
Soul and Falco watched Fox leave the room. Falco looked confused, Soul looked impressed and somehow triumphant, as if some guess he had made had been right.
Falco broke the silence, "What just happened?"
"He decided what it is he wants." Soul answered.
Fox went up to the roof a few minutes later. All the preparations were progressing, there was nothing left for him to do but wait, and hope Fara wasn't already dead.
He stopped holding in the tears.
Chapter 37
"Come!" said Aragorn, "This is the hour when we draw swords together."
-J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings
"Dad!" Amy called, "there's a message for you!"
"Who's it from?" asked the leader of the MacBeth rebellion.
Amy's jaw dropped. "Fox McCloud? I thought he was dead!"
Joel didn't answer. He was reading the message with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. "Get me a line to Zoness." He said, without taking his eyes of the monitor.
Natasha, affectionately known as 'lady' by the rebels under her command, was in a similar state of perplexity for a similar reason.
The com button flashed and she pressed it absently. "Uh, hello?"
"It's Joel, on MacBeth." Said the com. "Are you reading this?"
"Yes." She answered. She didn't have to ask what 'this' was.
Neither one said anything for a long moment. "What do we do?" Natasha asked.
"Call the others, I suppose." Joel answered.
Jason, on Aquas, was too excited to talk coherently.
"Whoa, Joel, it's you. Did you get the message? What do we do now? I've got forty units out in the field, should I call them back in or what? I think we should start with bombing the communications depos. Oh, but then we couldn't talk to eachother. Ok, we'll take over the communications depos. How about that? Do you think they expect us? No they must not, or McCloud wouldn't have told us to move. I've got to get in touch with Julia, she runs the other group here. Do you think she already knows? I hope not, I'd love to surprise her with something like this." He went on talking, not realizing he had paced too far away from the com unit to be heard.
"I think we can assume he knows." Joel said dryly.
"Agreed." Came the answer from Zoness.
Ranulf shifted in his the seat of his fighter. The troop convoy should be passing through their sector within an hour, but until then there was nothing to do but wait, running only essential systems to avoid detection. The aim was to look like just another piece of the rubble and debris that always drifted freely in sector Z.
The console of his plane beeped, and a message popped up.
"What's up, boss?" signaled one of the pilots.
Ranulf didn't answer immediately.
"Boss?"
"Nothing." He said. "The job's gotten a little bigger, that's all."
"Caleb, c'mere." Valerian called.
"What?"
"There's a message."
"What's it say? To all rebel groups in- Huh? What? They can't mean now, can they?"
"I dunno." Valerian said, tapping the com. "I'm online with Aquas now."
"They can't be serious. Is this right?" asked Caleb, "What do they say?"
"Nothing yet. Oh hang on. Titanaia here, yeah, uh huh-"
Caleb sat on the floor waiting
"Yeah. Yeah." Valerian lowered the com. "They got the same deal."
Caleb digested this for a moment. "What are they gonna do about it?"
"Attack."
Radnor was sitting in an overgrown alcove on top of a ruined, and seemingly abandoned, military compound. He was holding a laser rifle across his knees, but the real reason he was there was to watch the sunset. Solar dying over the Fortunan Jungle was a sight no other planet could quite equal.
"Uh, honey?" called Regina.
"Hmm?" he answered.
"We got a message." Answered his wife. "There's a system wide attack being coordinated."
"When?"
"Now."
Radnor turned back to the sunset. The red was deepening to a soft purple, and the first stars were becoming visible.
"And the girls?"
"I told them to stay in the bunker until we get back."
Radnor cocked the rifle, then slung it over his shoulder. "So. It has begun."
He turned his back on the sunset, and climbed down into the base.
Aya slumped into a chair. What she wanted most at the moment was a shower and then to go to bed. She was dead tired and covered with smoke, concrete dust, not to mention sediment from Venom's oily atmosphere. At least the bombing had gone well. Nobody would be using that railroad for quite a while. Especially not troops.
She switched on the computer, and was flooded with messages.
After reading for a moment, she switched the computer off again.
She was going to need more bombs.
"Damn!" Erastus shouted.
"Language." said his brother.
"Yes it is." He grumbled, leaning on the com, and unintentionally pressing the receive button.
"-come in Katina. Katina do you read me?" Joel shouted. "They aren't answering."
"Uh, reading you." Erastus said, confusedly.
"Oh. Ok. Did you get the message?"
"Message? No, we didn't, because our stupid computer died." Bowen snarled, aiming a kick at it.
It hummed, then started up. The screened filled with letters.
TO ALL REBEL LEADERS OF THE LYLAT SYSTEM,
The time has come to strike. This evening, we will be attacking the imperial palace on Corneria. Even if we die, almost all troops will certainly be recalled. The more places that are attacked simultaneously, the more places they will be recalled to, the greater our chances. Even if one planet is freed, it will be worth it.
WE ATTACK TONIGHT.
-Fox McCloud.
Erastus and Bowen stood looking at the message for a long moment. Then the older brother spoke.
"Why," said Erastus, "Are we always the last ones to know about these things?"
Fara woke up with head spinning and her mouth full of cloth. She realized very quickly that she wasn't in bed, mostly because her bed was not made of cement. She tried to call out for help, and perceived she was gagged. She tried to undo the gag, and perceived she was bound. She looked around, perceived she was in a cell, and that Leon was standing on the other side of the bars, watching her. He was holding his head to one side, like a bird or a small child, and his hands were folded as if he were praying. But the tendons standing out on his arms showed that his hands were clenched much too tightly for that.
"Good evening, Ms. Phoenix," said Leon, sounding for a moment like his old self, "or should I say Mrs. McCloud?"
Fox was unconscious of that the rebels across the system were beginning to act on his orders. He didn't care about the confusion he'd cast on the imperial military. He ignored the idea of several billion inhabitants of Lylat rising up to strike their enemies.
All that mattered was that he was going to Fara.
"Falco here," buzzed his com, "Air unit ready."
"Everything clear at the front entrance." Rita said.
"We're ready up here." acknowledged Soul from the roof.
Fox nodded as he dropped into the air conditioner. "Let's do this. One last time."
He climbed into a duct and began crawling.
