Chapter X
Eric/James spun around, Eric staring at the mirror and seeing not himself, but the late James McCloud.
"What the hell did you do to me?"
"Finished the experiment. I needed a host to maintain permanently-"
"So I'm a frickin' guinea pig?! There'd better be something I can do about this!"
"Afraid not. And no, you aren't a guinea pig. You remember your starting title? 'My soul carrier.' You signed yourself up by continuing."
"The James McCloud I knew wouldn't have pulled this… this… thing!" James' voice shrieked at a loss for words.
"And how do you know of the character of James McCloud? All you know is that he is the father of Fox, husband of Vixy, and died in a plane crash."
Eric couldn't come up with a half-assed answer to that. He was far too busy staring at his new fur, he looked… how much older was James? Forty years?! His tail… Actually, that last part was pretty darn cool.
"There had better be a way to conceal this."
"There is. We had planned this. We had figured that most people would not be accustomed to having the supposed dead walking around in their midst, so we came up with this armband."
What looked like one of Fox's armband communicators had gotten scattered through whatever strange force propelled Eric into the Outer Plane. It had a logo of a coat of arms, with a sword on one side and a bow on the other.
"This button," James said, Murasma sliding on the floor to point to a button on top, "Morphs you back to your old shape. As I recall, your eyesight is subpar and you aren't an anchor to dimensions, so when you go back you'll need my sunglasses and contacts again."
"I'd listen, but my mom told me never to talk to creepy dead people who talk mumbo jumbo."
"There are a few other buttons for more gadgets," James said (thought?) "Unfortunately, there aren't any yet besides a clock, useful gadgets'll have to be fitted later."
Eric took his watch off and pocketed it. It was, after all, his grandmother's watch, and it had sentimental value. He put the armband on and expected it to squeeze his hand off, but it fit perfectly.
Eric breathed a sigh of relief. Far too soon, as it turned out. As soon as he hit the button, a pain unlike any other speared his body. His flesh seemed to be melting, his back crunching up as the tail shlooped up his spine, like a hundred thousand knives stabbing every nook and cranny of Eric's body. His vocal cords were paralyzed, he was in so much pain. He was barely able to scream, and what did come out was strangled and wouldn't have been heard through the wall.
Five seconds later, Eric buried his face out of the metallic floor and slipped the sunglasses on before he disappeared. He had hit the floor hard, and as he got up the familiar twin crimson blots hit the floor, indicating he had a nosebleed. Eric almost laughed. After nearly getting killed for the umpteenth time, he was worried about a piddly nosebleed…
"James…" Eric's voice was back as his own, thank god. "That hurt like hell. Couldn't you have at least done something to null my pain receptors?"
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"Great… damn! You've been dead too long. Your head's in the clouds." Another unearthly laugh. Silence fell as Eric stopped up his nose and cleaned up the floor. He thought back to what he had done so far… he had been going along a mile a minute, never stopping to think of his actions. Trying to blow away that lion up in space and getting caught in Sanskort's grasp… it seemed trivial then, without a contemplation period, but thinking back, it seemed to scar him, reaching down into his soul and awakening a dark aspect.
Either way, he just seemed… apart, again. Shooting Klepto, evil as he was… he didn't feel like nothing anymore when he took to time to think. Post combat shakes, emphasis on post, started hitting him. It was so easy to just think of it as a bad guy, but then, just like James said. It wasn't a game. It was a separate reality.
"Hey… James…" Eric said. "Did you give Sarah her sunglasses?"
James' next words prompted an investigation as soon as inhumanely possible.
"Who's Sarah?"
Eric turned on the holographic TV, just for the sake of watching something. First side effect of being away: despite all of the excitement, he was going through virtual reality withdrawal. Flipping through the channels with a remote James pointed out, nothing good was on. Thinking on how weird his life had turned in the last month or so… he began to wonder. There had been an interesting time skew in the first few weeks… how would it affect the time they were spending in the real world? His parents probably would be worried sick… Oh well. There are slightly more important things to be considering than being grounded for eternity, like saving an alternate universe.
Slippy walked in just then. "I heard you talking to someone, who was it?"
"Uh…" D'oh! Eric wasn't quite sure just how well the rest of the team would take all of it, but he was fairly certain that it wouldn't be a positive reaction. From his eyes, anyway. It would reopen a deep psychological wound for Fox, get constant questioning by Peppy, Slippy would probably want to run some experiment while Falco would probably give some smart-aleck remark about a split personality.
Sliding Murasma under the cot with his feet in the hope that James wouldn't be able to talk to Slippy from under there, Eric came up with an excuse.
"I tried to trick up this armband doohickey to be able to communicate. I succeeded, and sent a call to my parents. Did I get read the riot act…"
Slippy laughed, oblivious to Eric's not-so-subtle shoving of his sword under his bed. Thank god for ignorance… "Heh. Came here without permission, huh?" Slippy squeaked.
"You can say that."
"Okay. Watching TV?"
"Yeah. Your shows are like your food: What you don't have, you want. What you have, you don't want." Slippy laughed again, then left. Eric checked in the mirror again, he looked like himself. Phew. He pulled Murasma out from under the bed again.
"That was a little harsh, hmm?"
"Be quiet!" Eric hissed. No way it would have been heard through the door. "Seriously, finding out that you're alive could have serious repercussions!"
"Like what?" James said, his telepathic voice becoming slightly louder.
Shoving Murasma back into the scabbard (and getting a slight "mmf!" of protest from James) Eric explained why he felt that he had to keep this a secret. Even James, who hadn't come all this way to find himself being put under constant wraps, could see the reason. "You see why?! Dead people just don't… pop up, infused in a… nifty-type glowing sword! Plus, Fox would die all over again." The blade just poked out from the scabbard, and as such he could still talk. He must only be able to communicate with those in what would be direct eye contact.
"You will tell them, eventually, right?" James said hopefully.
"Of course I will." But even then, he had some doubts.
"I sense that you aren't being entirely truthful." James said, suspicious. "I may have-"
"Can it, just…" Eric was near hysteria now.
"Okay. Just promise me this."
"Okay…"
"Before you leave, tell Fox. Doesn't matter if no one else knows, just tell Fox."
"I'll do that." Eric said, hoping it wouldn't turn into one of his promises that there would be no way in hell he would be able to keep. He put Murasma/James back in the scabbard, then, after a cry of surprise at how the time was already 9:00 in the morning, hopped off to breakfast. His conscience protested slightly when he stuck Murasma in the scabbard and shoved it in the closet, but what else could he do? Nothing he could have ever done EVER would have been able to prepare him for something like this.
After nearly running into the wall, he realized he had to put his contacts back in. Sliding the sunglasses back over his head, he went to the bathroom and was appalled by how far he had managed to let them fall back into having crust all over them. Cleaning them off, he squeezed them back in and trotted down to breakfast.
On his way to the dining chamber, he stumbled across Krystal and Falco in Falco's room, pondering over the booklet Falco got in the city. Falco was mainly using Krystal as a translation tool, but that didn't stop Eric's traditional remark.
"What was that you were saying about me? Something about not wanting to get my hands on Krystal? How hypocritical."
"Shut up, Eric."
Krystal rolled her eyes. "Hey, where are the bandages we gave you?! You're supposed to wear them until you heal?" Krystal suddenly said, realizing Eric had taken off some medical bandages he was given after slumping back to the hospital ward.
"What makes you think I haven't?"
"Turn around." Eric did so reluctantly. The back of his white T-shirt was mostly red from the ever-so-slight bleeding of an almost-closed wound.
"Oh, come on, Krystal." Eric said, mock-pouting. "Hey- What's that you got there?"
"I picked this up back in the city where you got your ass kicked. Again." Falco said with an air of superiority. "It was written in DPese, so I'm using Krystal to translate."
"Using…? Pheh. And I thought you had more self-dignity than that, Krystal…" They both ignored him. "So what have you found so far?"
"Well, not much. They use so much slang it's not funny."
"Try me. I am the king of slang, yo gotta probwem wit dat, foo?"
"Okay, okay, I get the picture…" Falco grumbled.
"Looks like… holy crap…" Krystal said as she turned the page.
"What?" Falco and Eric asked simultaneously.
"This is giving some background on what Venom has planned. Apparently, they have a giant armada of extremely powerful ships that make the Cornerian army and their allies look like a raw peanut. It's still in the developmental stage, but if they pull this off…"
Falco nodded, agreement on his face. "Total catastrophe. We gotta stop this."
"Yeah, but doesn't Venom have nearly uncrackable defenses?" Eric put in.
"Yeah, for an army. But there are tiny holes that only a small force has a hope of breaking through." Falco said cockily.
"In other words, 'we can't afford one.'" Eric grumbled. "We have to show this to Pepper, this is enough for a search warrant and to legalize military force here.
"You're right. I'll show this to Fox and have Slippy fax it off." Falco said. He took the booklet and went off to find Fox. Hopefully, the Cornerian Patrol wasn't gone by now, they might need the firepower.
Eric went over for breakfast, waiting for a response from Slippy. Within about a half an hour, a transmission came in from Pepper.
"Greetings, Eric." He said over the translator. "Fox there?"
"Yeah, somewhere. You get the fax?"
"Yes, and it is imperative that this establishment is shut down. This, 'armada,' could spell doom for the Cornerian Republic."
"I'll get Fox, if you want me to."
"Yes, that would be appreciated."
Eric went to get Fox to tell him the General was about to talk to him about Venom's strange new armada. He, himself, felt it was impossible. How in the nine hells do you get that many powerful ships in such a short period of time?!? Either way, they aren't complete yet, so Eric hastened his pace.
He quickly ran into Fox, who was on his way to take Pepper's call. Fox nodded before Eric could get the words out, then went to the communications room.
Walking back to his room to check on James, Eric was wondering how he was going to keep it a secret. He didn't want to, but the SF team would have various, adverse effects if it was made public, and Eric felt that couldn't happen.
Unsheathing the sword, the sound of a gasp of air could be heard. Eric jumped in surprise. "What was that?!" He said, closing the door with his foot.
"Nothing. Had you there for a second, didn't I?"
"Not as badly as you have, that's for sure," Eric muttered sarcastically, shoving the blade back into the scabbard. His conscience protested again, and this time it was harder not to bring the blade along.
He continued to loaf around the corridor, getting himself a drink of water while he was at it, when, walking by Sarah's door, sipping his drink, he noticed Sarah's room was closed. Eric punched the opening button. Nothing happened, and when he got the locked message he started to get worried.
"Sarah?"
"Go away!" Could be heard from inside, and it didn't sound like Sarah. It sounded like… a female version of Fox, with a cold, on a bad day with laryngitis.
"What the…?!" Eric muttered. "Sarah, who's in there with you?!" Eric started using hacker brute force on the lock.
"one one one one… crap! One one one two… crap! One one one three…" This continued up until about "One six four nine…" When the door slid open. Success!
"Alright, Sarah, you've got some explaining to do…" When he spit out his mouthful of water at the sight.
It wasn't Sarah.
The red vixen that was in Sarah's room slunk back onto her bed. First three words that entered Eric's mind were, "What the hell?!" and he ended up saying them out loud. He slid the door closed, hammered the lock button again, then dashed to his room. Unfortunately, he didn't run into another member, and was too much in a panic-induced haze to hit the alarm. What was the word James said was "come here"?! And why couldn't he remember when he needed it most?!
He skidded across his room, only one half of a corridor down, and tried something. "Rarit!" No response. "Tarir! Rirat! Tirar!" Suddenly, the sword, scabbard included, spun from his closed, which Eric grabbed in midair. Slinging it over his back, he dashed to Sarah's room, mashing the button combination.
He jumped into the room, unsheathing Murasma as he went in. "Who are you?!" Eric demanded. The vixen was in far too much a panic to respond coherently, but Eric was able to piece together, "It's me…"
"Quit blabbering and TELL ME WHO YOU ARE?!?" Eric shouted, surprising himself, fear taking hold on his mind as well. He was hoping for one of the other SF members to walk in and help him out with this, when suddenly, James could be heard talking.
"Vixy…"
"Who?" Eric took another look, this one not blurred. Red vixen, somewhat long hair, went past the shoulders, also a redhead. Eric was beginning to see a pattern, wearing Sarah's clothes with a lump in the left leg that a tail must have been with no where else to go.
Suddenly, it dawned. James had said Vixy had done something like that as well, both of them had volunteered for an experiment. James had said Vixy had meant to take Fara, but like with James, it must have screwed up somewhere. Then the coat of arms with the bow slot… it all made sense! And with James not hearing for awhile from Vixy… Eric's eyes suddenly dawned in realization.
"Oh… oh OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH…" Eric sheathed Murasma, but left a bit of the blade protruding for conversation. Eric could practically feel his sword melting, if such a sensation was possible. But whatever it was, James was feeling something, along the lines of longing and pain that has receded.
"Eric… what happened?" Sarah/Vixy said, eyes in fear. "And what will the rest of the people here say if they see me like this?"
"Probably the same thing as what I am predicting that they will say, but hold on, an armband should have fallen down here somewhere."
"Just about what I was trying to tell her, but I was just about to break her shield of hysteria." Another identical voice coming from Eric's left. Hung on the wall was the Beamstriker and it's quiver.
Eric bent and picked up a similar armband to what he was wearing and gave it to Sarah/Vixy, who was starting to calm down slightly. He forcibly slapped it onto Sarah's wrist. "Now, this is going to hurt like crap, but when it's over, you'll be in your own body again. Okay?"
Sarah nodded and Eric pushed the button. Immediately, Sarah/Vixy cringed, then practically bent into a pretzel as the fur receded, the canine head becoming more and more human, and the lump in the left leg disappeared. It practically seemed like her skin was melting in reverse when the reddish fur disappeared. Thirty seconds later, the transformation was complete, leaving Sarah completely exhausted. She looked into Eric's eyes, fearful.
"What the hell was that?" Her voice was shaky, like one who's just endured a lot of pain.
"Don't worry, I had to go through that too." Eric poured out the story of what James had told him.
"So you're like this too? I don't get this at all, Eric… it just seems like it was so little ago that our lives were normal."
"You don't prefer super weirdness?"
"Of course not! I liked it when…" She stopped, not wanting to finish her sentence. Vixy did it for her.
"You can take the world for granted." Eric nodded in agreement.
"This is fantastic! See new worlds… okay, I'm not one for running for my life, but still…"
Sarah took Beamstriker. "So now Fox's mom's spirit is inside here?"
"Yep. That's what it seems like." The sentence was more or less worded the same through the three people who echoed as reply.
"And in me…"
"I know this is a bit much to take, but Sarah, you have to stay calm. Whatever you do, don't tell any of the others."
"Why?!" Came Sarah's indignant response. "Why don't I have a right?!"
"I did not go through this just to be restrained from seeing the reason I went through it for!" Vixy said angrily.
"Because they won't be able to take it!" Eric nearly shouted. He explained his reasons to not tell the rest of the group until the time was right. Vixy calmed down while Sarah saw the reason behind Eric's madness.
"Please. I know it's going to be hard, but it would be like… like…" Eric stopped at a loss for words.
"I see now why you aren't already broadcasting this, Eric…" Vixy said. "I'll wait. I've waited almost fifteen years, a little while longer isn't going to hurt me."
Sarah still lay there, shaking like a newborn pup with its favorite toy crushed to pieces. "I wish none of this had happened."
"May I quote one of my favorite movies?" Eric interjected.
"No, I've heard the quote quite often enough, thank you." Sarah quickly replied. The conversation was about to continue ROB's voice blared over the intercom.
"All aboard, meet in conference room." He droned.
Eric looked at Sarah, Beamstriker and his sword. "Keep it down, I'll tell them, just… not yet. Trust me on this one." Eric sheathed his sword while Sarah put Beamstriker back in it's hook on the wall. Eric walked back into his room, put Murasma back in the closet and then met up with Sarah again on their way to the conference room.
Fox, Eclipse and Falco were already there. Within ten minutes, the rest of the SF team and Krystal had shown up with (much to anyone's surprise) Bill and Katt.
"I thought you weren't going to come along?" Eclipse asked.
"You'd have to shoot me to keep me down, Venom's uprising and the Huskies aren't just going to stand by." Bill said cockily.
"Venom better watch out, 'cause Katt's gonna tag along for the ride." Katt declared.
Eric tried a joke. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Katt. Eric Shroud NEVER refers to himself in the third person, and Eric Shroud only thinks that's kind of creepy." Chuckling and laughter filled the room.
Soon, the hologram of General Pepper appeared in the center of the room. "Fox and company, we have analyzed the information you have given us and it only points to one thing: The construction of a fleet of ships with unknown blueprints to this sector of space with the power to wipe out all of Lylat. Your job is going to be to prevent this from happening, and find out what is founding this. Last time, I thought we wiped out funding, and this fuel for this… this armada fire can only come from an outside source, possibly even from outside Lylat."
Fox nodded, then said, "Payment?"
"Forty-five thousand, ten thousand up front."
"Hmm." Eric said, contemplating that. He took a sip of water from a jug off to the side and then spit the mouthful out in shock. "Forty-five thousand dollars?!?"
Falco sighed. "I don't know what currency you have, monkey-boy, but on a system I call LYLAT, we use CREDITS."
Amidst the laughter, Fox could be heard saying, "We accept."
"Very well, Fox." Pepper pushed a few buttons on the computer. "The remaining thirty-five thousand will be transferred upon proof of completion. And Fox?"
"Yeah?"
"This normally doesn't go along, but I've managed to get approval for extra military force. Venom is up to something, we are sure of that, and they might need some… persuasion… Either way, meet the contingent at Venom. Pepper out."
The members who knew a lot about the Cornerian Military stared. "This must be serious like hell if they are sending military aid. Something is up that's so huge it's like… uh, like… something really, really huge…" Eric offered lamely.
"I agree. They must have seen something we didn't in that journal." Eclipse said.
"Wait a minute… how do you know about that?" Sarah put in.
"While you were tending Eric, who was out cold, I was checking it out with Krystal."
"That'd explain it."
"Fox, buddy, you know I'm going to grab a contingent and come along." Bill said.
"And you'd have to shoot me to keep me out, tiger." Katt put in.
"Wow. We're just one big happy family now, huh?" Eric said. Most of the group either stared or glared at him. "Forget I said anything."
Fox was staring out of the Great Fox's window. "You know what this means. We are going to Venom."
End of Act II