Star Fox Adventures and all its characters are property of Rare and Nintendo. They are used without their consent and well.. [shrugs]
Just read on.
The Fox and the Vixen - Chapter 9 - Make it End...
The battlefield knew no limits. As far as you could reach into the enemy territory... As many of them as you could take down... Thos were the only rules. At this point of the battle, it would start to go down to those who could see the best in the night, as Solar betrayed those without an innate night-vision. The clouds moving in would make it hard for those even with innate night-vision.
Solar, the main light source of the Lylat System, was hiding already. No one really had the time to gaze at their clocks, if they had one to begin with. But everyone thought it wasn't past 7 PM, close, yes, but not yet.
The first line of each company, AKA the "defenders," only did a job true to their names at the beginning of the battle. Using their special equipment they could reflect the first volley of enemy fire, be it gunfire or energy shots. Furthermore, they would depend on their small blasters, weak in power, but fast to unload shots. They could still create a small barrier every now and then as long as the energy of their shields lasted.
The following lines were your standard infantry. After the "defenders" moved out, they started to rain hell on the enemy with their weapons while moving out. They were the most able to defeat enemy lines and score the higher number of kills due to their weaponry and training, but they had the most casualties as well.
All the way to the back, holding as far away as possible from the crossfire, there were sentries armed with double small missile launchers on the back of their hands, one on each. While they were somewhat slow to reload due to the nature of the position, not to mention a small burning sensation every time one was fired, it allowed a far better mobility and allowed said sentries to use their normal blaster with ease if the fight got close. Nonetheless, they could still wreak havoc in approaching enemy lines, especially if they hadn't break up by the time they were spotted.
"Say Krys," Fox yelled over the gunfire sounds, "You do still remember how to identify a fire arm and an energy weapon, right?" he asked backing up against her. They were back to back.
"Well, sort of," she had switched weapons by this time. Holding her staff in its retracted size for defensive purposes with her left and her blaster on her right paw. She fired twice to an advancing Venomian ape who held her at point-blank with its rifle. It fell lifelessly to the floor and Krystal muttered something. "It will all depend on the look I get of it, and I don't think I'll..." she ducked quickly breaking her words, "Have time to do so," she fired in the direction the laser had first flew from to spot Sharpclaw this time aiming at them.
"Well, as long as you know how, it's good," Fox said before unloading a couple of energy shots from his blaster to a Sharpclaw who had decided to 'mercilessly' defeat a Cornerian lupine with its claws, instead of the rifle it carried. The lupine saluted at him in gratitude and grabbed his rifle that had been knocked out of the way before rejoining the fray. Fox quickly gazed at the dim-lighted sky. "It's not long before it gets dark, and doesn't seems like there's an end to this..."
Krystal nodded, still back to back with Fox. She flung a fireball from her staff, still in her left paw, and while she didn't had the same accuracy since she was right-handed, it still struck the target, taking out 4 units in the distance, she couldn't tell if Venomians or Sharpclaws. "We have to move, there's too many crossfire here." Fox nodded and they rushed to another location before resuming their back-to-back cooperative fighting.
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"Sir, enemy engagement with our troops has been confirmed. Should we send the rest of our troops left behind?" The female blue-feathered avian from before, in the same blue white-streaked uniform asked. Pepper turned around to see Cleo and Sean sitting, both nodded, Pepper followed.
"Yes, signal them to move out." The avian saluted and headed out.
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"Come on, stay still so I can shoot you!" Falco glared at the Invader in front of him trying its best to shake the avian's Arwing effortlessly. "Hah! Gotcha!" He exclaimed as he fired the Arwing's T&B M-1 Laser Cannon, taking the enemy Invader down in a fiery explosion.
Katt's image appeared in his cockpit, "I could use some help here. I've got four of them and I can't seem to shake them off!" Falco quickly made an u-turn and spotted Katt's pink ship without problem, and sure enough, she had 4 Invaders shooting at her, which she managed to evade with a couple of barrel rolls. One was take down by a Lupus unit however.
Falco hit his booster on and took down 2 of them. Katt did a somersault and either the Invader gave up, or was distracted because he flew straight ahead, only to be taken down by the feline from behind. "Thanks, Falco."
"Yeah yeah, just be more careful next time," the avian said before he was surprised by a speeding modified Arwing fly by with the Lupus insignia. But flying by taking down numerous enemy ships, "Gee, that fur is as crazy as Fox," Falco chuckled.
Truth be told, said Arwing belonged to the Lupus leader, Jamie Holgren. And she did learned from Fox through his various demonstrations back in the Academy, so she picked up a quirk or two. For now, she was taking enemy after enemy.
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Jamie, the light-brown furred rabbit opened a communication link to all of her units, whose faces filled the lower part of the cockpit's screen. "Status report," she spoke and noticed there was a missing face.
True to its name, the Lupus squad was formed by rabbits of every color variation. A male teal furred spoke first, "I'm doing fine over here, but Twix, my wingman, he... I'm sorry captain, I couldn't do anything," He said, proving Jamie's intuition right.
A female light-black on another image shook her head, "It wasn't your fault Cedric. I saw when he was shot down, there was nothing you could do with all those Invaders over you. Besides, we knew what we were getting in when we joined the squad."
Another female, gray furred this time, spoke, "For now, let's make sure his death wasn't in vain."
Cedric smiled, "Yeah, you are right Joy. You too Maya."
Jamie smiled, "Cedric, I can't leave you without support. I suggest you join Joy and Maya for now."
The three aforementioned rabbits nodded, "Roger!"
"Anything else?" Holgren asked, everyone shook their heads, "Alright, let's avenge Twix's death and end this as quickly as possible. Everyone, be careful," she closed all communications just as an Invaded exploded under her weapons.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Krystal twitched her ears as a low buzzing sound filled small surrounding area. She couldn't the source, but it didn't mattered. She saw a small explosion to her right, blasting a Sharpclaw to kingdom come and sent flying another Sharpclaw and a Venomian. Krystal looked around quickly and spotted a black, cross-furred vulpine holding one arm out with some smoke blowing off the top of his paw. She guessed he had fired a missile. The vulpine then moved away to seek another possible hit that could strike various enemies.
"So how do they secure their target?"
Fox blinked in confusion as he shot thrice to an approaching Sharpclaw brandishing its claws ferociously. "Who?"
"Those," she fired, "Furs," another shoot, "with missiles." She lowered her weapon as the Sharpclaw fell to the floor.
"Oh, them," Fox paused to duck from the frontal swipe of the claws of yet another Sharpclaw that went against them. He quickly spun and delivered a frontal kick in its stomach which made the Sharpclaw tumble down to the floor. "See those small green crystal-like lenses in their right or left eye?" He paused to put the Sharpclaw on the floor - who was getting up - out of commission.
"Hmm... Your point? Remind you I was shunned off from civilization for a while..." She used that sorrow, grieve-filled tone she always used when she spoke of something related to her past life.
"Sorry, I wasn't meaning for you to imply, whether you knew or not, I just couldn't finish," he somewhat kicked himself mentally. "Basically, the small computer connected to the small lens locks on said target, which is specified by the user. Then the signal is sent to the small computer inside the missiles to seek out the target. The lens is connected to the actual launchers by a special fiber, which is how they transmit the information. I don't know too much of the details, only what I've heard..." He fired a couple of times to a Venomian ape in the distance. "I was never really trained to use them, nor was I given info about them."
"Ah hah," she exclaimed a little roughly, she didn't meant it, but she spoke right as she blocked a Sharpclaw's claws with her staff using her left paw. She quickly holstered her blaster and held her staff with both hands. She then pushed the enemy away a little, just enough for her to quickly spin her staff and thrust it on the enemy's stomach with the front tip and creating at the same time a small fireball, which in result ended in an explosive impact that instantly took the Sharpclaw out. She knew they were the enemy, and not taking them out would do worse, but she still felt a lot of remorse.
"Uh... The sky's getting clouded... Very clouded!" Krystal exclaimed. Fox looked up, and sure enough, past the whole aircrafts and lasers here and there, the sky was beginning to get completely covered in very gray clouds. Coincidentally enough, Solar was almost completely hidden behind a mountain range far away.
"And with Solar hiding it's going to get very dark soon," he shot a couple of times to a Sharpclaw in the distance, but the lack of light was already starting to get to his accuracy a little. He was sure a shot had connected, but it apparently didn't do much for the Sharpclaw stabbed what appeared to be a raccoon through the stomach. Said lizard then fell down under a vulpine's fire, which in place was felled by an ape. The latter then started to back out.
"They are... moving out?" A running timber wolf went to a halt as his face was filled with incredulity, he saw the Venomians and Sharpclaws start to back out, slowly and still firing when possible; but they were backing out nonetheless.
"Come on! Take 'em out while they are together!" A male white bullterrier snarled as he placed his rifle in semi-automatic and proceeded to unload his ammunition catridge on the retreating enemies before they could take cover on the other side of the hill.
"Krys!" Fox called, Krystal quickly nodded before sending of a fireball in the direction the enemy was running towards. Various missiles followed, all just hoping to strike the enemy in the darkness of this secluded area.
"Shouldn't we follow them?" An orange-ish female cat asked to no one in particular.
"We wouldn't accomplish much, love," a male gray cat approached from behind and placed his left arm around her. "Even with our night-vision we can barely see. There simply isn't any light." The female cat rested her head on his left shoulder.
A light-black loop-eared rabbit walked to them, "I think it's best if we head back. Even the air battle is growing slower," he said pointing up. Earlier in the fight you would see flurries of lasers being fired, but now, now you could barely see some.
Everyone started to head back, "Come on, Krys. Let's go back for now," Fox extended his right paw to the blue vixen after he had holstered his blaster. Krystal holstered hers, and grabbing her staff with her right paw before he took Fox's paw with her left. They started to walk away before Krystal's ears twitched.
"Wait, something's behind us," Krystal whispered as she spun her head and squirted her eyes to slits to make out the figure. It was at least one head taller than the vixen and had a long tail, but it quickly sprung away. "Huh? Never mind, I must have been imagining things..." Fox cocked his head sideways, but they resumed their walk as they approached the lights emanating from the camp. Just then a laser coming from the sky fell 3 meters away from them. They looked up and spotted some still engaged.
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"Man, even with the radars this is getting tough," a gray dog muttered to himself after shooting a laser, which the enemy managed to barrel roll away making it hit the ground. Sure the radars gave the locations, but they weren't tri-dimensional. They only showed the general place, and not the altitude.
"Hey Bill," the image of a male Siberian husky, black furred with white spots appeared on Bill's cockpit, "The enemy units are starting to withdraw."
A second image came up, this time Jamie spoke, "You think that we should pursue them?"
Bill shook his head, "It me be a ruse, I'll take my squad over there, you two return your squads to camp."
The husky scowled, "You sure 'bout that Bill? I could send some of my Bulldog units to back you up."
"Same here," Jamie added.
"Nah, don't worry Keough. Thank you too Jamie, but I'll just head in and look. I'll be right back." By that time the last of the enemy units were already pulling to the north. Bill close the link to the Lupus and Bulldog leaders and opened one to all his units, "All units report!"
Several images appeared in the cockpit of Bill's machine, he noticed there were 2 missing... Every face that appeared just gave a 1-4 word report on his/her status. And even though the squad was called Husky, not everyone was a husky. "We are moving in after the enemy. Be ready to pull out at any minute," just then he hit his boosters on, followed by his squad and pursued the enemy.
Jamie and Keough pulled out their squads and headed back. During the fight, the small camp the Cornerians had set up was moved further south after the addition of the last troops. Mostly to stay away from the fight or make it harder for the enemy to reach them.
"Excuse me, sir," a female golden retriever in gold-yellow fur spoke over a link with Bill, "But may I ask the purpose of this?"
"I'm sure they moved their ships. If we were to launch an assault then we'll need to know their location..." he paused the smirked, "We can always push some last minute damage." The golden retriever rolled her eyes and closed communications.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
The night was cold, not extreme, just about what you expect of a mid-Fall temperature in the night. As expected, Fox and Krystal were snuggling against each other, sitting in a log on the floor, to keep themselves warm. They had already reloaded their weapons, but for now, either they launched a night attack, the enemy did, or both sides would wait until daybreak, or at least until the clouds moved at allow at least a slit of light pas.
A gray male lupine approached the loving couple and addressed the dog fox (Or male in other words...), "Excuse me, sir McCloud," Fox, who was looking at Krystal turned his head around as he heard his last name, "I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there," he said a little disheartened.
Krystal recognized that tone and look in the lupine, she had sported it a long time ago while in the orphanage. She looked up at him with a cheering smile, "Hey, don't feel down. Things like this are bound to happen in these kinds of situations," or so she thought, being the first war she had fought on, she resumed, "Instead of feeling down, try to cheer up. Find a reason to help you get through this safely, or do some training." The lupine looked at her with a puzzled look.
She continued, "I don't know. Any sweethearts waiting for you back home?"
The wolf nodded, "Only the most beautiful female wolf I've ever seen," he topped it off with a wide smile.
Fox muttered high enough for Krystal to hear, "We all say that." Krystal playfully nudged him with her left elbow. Fox took it from there, "And she knows you are here right? You promised her to return safely, didn't you?"
The lupine looked just a tad shocked, "You are right. I don't know what would have happened to her if I died here... I recently proposed to her, just two days before I was called into this."
Krystal smiled, "All the more reason for you to return to her."
"I'll try harder next time I'm out in the field," he looked at them for a brief moment. "Thanks a lot for everything!" He turned around and was about to start to walk.
"Say, what's your name?" The vixen asked.
The wolf turned around, "Chris O'Donnell." Fox's eyes shot open.
"O'Donnell? Are you related at all to Wolf O'Donnell?"
The gray lupine cocked his head to the right before nodding, "Yeah, sort of. He's my father's cousin. Why? Do you know him?"
Fox nodded somewhat, "We used to be friends back at the Academy when we were young, but lately... Well, we aren't in the best terms we could," he said remembering the past events of the Lylat War 8 years ago.
Chris looked upwards, "He's a great guy. When my parents died in an accident shortly after I had entered the Academy, he helped me a lot with my tuition fees."
To say the truth, Fox was now doubting if they were talking about the same Wolf O'Donnell, but then again, he only knew him a couple of years in his life, and while both were young.
"How nice of him," Krystal said. She supposed the fees for the Academy were high. And were they...
"Yeah," Chris looked behind him, "Well, I must be going. Gotta do some stuff with my weapon." He waved, both foxes did the same and he started walking away.
"He's a nice guy. I've talked to him a few times," a voice came from behind the snuggling pair of foxes. Both turned around.
"Oh, hey Jamie." The light-brown furred rabbit walked around the couple and sat in a large stone in front of them.
"You know Chris?" The blue vixen asked.
Jamie nodded, "Yep, one year younger than me. Well, he was one grade below me in the Academy." She paused to think, "Hmm, he's a good cadet overall, but gets easily shaken off sadly. If I recall correctly, he has an arctic wolf for a girlfriend, or at least did so nine months ago. If they are still together, this could be a little rough for him."
"Well yes, they are engaged apparently," Krystal started. "You don't have anyone special to return to?"
Jamie shook her head making her ears wiggle a little, "'Afraid not, I'm single at the time," she flashed a grin. "I've been a little out of contact with my parents as well," she sighed. "I guess..." she breathed deeply, "I guess I'm fighting for myself... And my squad. I can't leave them without their leader so soon," she smiled sheepishly. "Plus I still have a lot of things to do in this life, so I'll stick here for some more," again with the smile, this time accompanied by her right paw scratching nervously behind her neck.
"So how's your squad doing?" Fox questioned.
Jamie shrugged, "First time all of us are out on the field actually. We've lost an unit so far only, but other than that, I suppose we are doing okay. The rest of us are still hanging on."
Fox grimaced, sure, he was a mercenary, he was used to death, but death on the enemy side, he never liked when an ally went down, "Sorry about that. But it's good to hear the squad is still up. I've seen a couple of cases in which the team's morale hits flat bottom at the first loss," Fox said. He pulled Krystal closer to him, who pulled him closer to her at the same time, as a cold wind blew by. Jamie pulled her vest against her as the breeze came and went.
"Nah, we are one crazy bunch. Sure it hurt, but it only served to encourage more enemy kills. This way everyone feels they are avenging him little by little."
Fox nodded, "Say, where did the Husky squad go?" He remembered seeing the Lupus and the Bulldog units fly by, but not the Husky.
"They decided to tail the enemy when they retreated. Probably to find where did their flagships landed or if they moved," Jamie answered. "Oh, there they are," she said pointing behind the vulpines. Just a few seconds later, numerous ships flew above them, then started descending once they were far enough.
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Before the talk between Fox, Krystal and Chris started...
"Sir, over here. I think I found their flagship... Scratch that, their flagships." a white, yellow-spotted female Labrador said over a link to Bill. She sent the coordinates soon afterwards.
"Woo, they really moved far away. I'll be there in a second, excellent work Sophia."
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At the same time, inside one of the flagships.
"General, we've spotted several enemy units. How shall we respond?"
The lizard hissed, "Send some of the Invaders after them."
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Said Labrador soon added, "It seems we have company. A couple of Invaders are taking off."
Bill opened a link to all his units, "Fighting near their flagships is a bad idea. Pull them away. We'll finish them off once we are in safe distance."
"Roger!" every canine said and closed communications as they lured the enemy away, which followed.
"They are retreating."
"Have the Invaders finish them off then..." The lizard said, oblivious to the fact that it would indeed fail.
A set of Sharpclaws came from behind, "General Scales, shall we conduct a night raid?"
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Said General hissed, "No, not yet. Later, when they aren't expecting it..." he paused, "But do not harm the girl!"
The Sharpclaws perfectly knew who he was talking about.
Back at the camp and at the present time.
"You two talk for a while. I'll be right back," Fox said as he planted a kiss on Krystal's lips and reluctantly left her loving and warm embrace, he then started walking to where the Husky units had landed. He soon saw Bill Grey climbing off his ship.
"Hey, man! Long time no see!" Bill said as Fox was about 2 meters away. They shook hands followed by one of those friendly hugs.
"So what's the situation?" Fox mocked a dead serious tone.
"You asking me. Hah! Seriously, things up in the sky were crazy. I already lost two of my best units!"
"Ouch. What about the enemy flagships?"
"We found them alright, Not sure if they'll attack tonight or not."
"Knowing Scales, he probably will," Fox looked behind him.
"Tavalo should be somewhere around here, you should tell him to set up some guards or stuff." Both started walking away to find said wolf.
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Falco and Katt were around the south-eastern edge of the camp, so to speak. Both were sitting on a big log, though with about a feet of distance between them.
"How do you think things will end?" the feline asked. She expected the next however.
"How should I know?" Falco retorted with a slight sound of annoyance, so slight that only someone who knew him as much as Katt did would be able to notice.
"That's why I asked for your opinion."
"I-ah... I don't know. From what I saw of the ground, we've received a nice couple of casualties, but the enemy has suffered more."
"But they are more than us. You know the situation in the sky, you could easily take one down, but two would appeared out of nowhere, or so it seemed. There was no end to those guys..."
"True, true, but they would go down easily as well." A cold wind blew by, the temperature must have dropped to 15 degrees Celsius by now. Katt shivered in her place, and so did Falco for a second, but he didn't minded. When he saw Katt shiver he removed his jacket and handed it to her.
She looked incredulously at him, this was the first time he had done that. She smiled and took the jacket, which she threw around her and could feel herself settle down a little from the cold winds. Though she was feeling a bit of remorse since the avian's feathers wouldn't pose to much of a natural coat against the cold winds.
Katt moved next to Falco, pressing her left side against his right. The avian yelped, "What are you doing?!" He tried to move away, but Katt held his right claw/paw down securely.
"Oh hush, I can't let you catch a cold." Falco was about to protest but saw that look on Katt's face. A look he knew would end in his defeat, for once she went like that, he could never convince her other otherwise, so he complied. He still grumbled something, to which Katt giggled. Though somewhere deep in him he was enjoying the warm from the feline's body.
They looked up but couldn't really see much for the sky was clouded. But it didn't mattered. Falco was the first to break the silence two minutes later. Without even moving his sight he spoke, "Katt,, there's something I..." Katt looked at him with a puzzled look, "No, never mind. I'll tell you later. Once all this blows over." Katt, a little confused looked at him.
"If you say so..." She trailed off and resumed her sight of the dark sky.
It's better this way. Once all this ends, I'll... Yeah, things should be safer then... Falco thought looking at the pink cat from the corner of his right eye.
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And so the night went on. Katt and Falco, due to the chilling conditions had to return and seek shelter inside one of the transports. Fox and Bill had informed Tavalo about their idea, so said general had half a company take the north, and one more half per cardinal point. They were camouflaged as best as possible. Fox then returned with Krystal just as Jamie was leaving for a late talk with her squad. Fox then led Krystal around as they entered one of the transports to warm up. According to Fox's wrist-comp, it was just past 11 PM.
The sky had remained totally clouded. The kind of big mean gray clouds you can see during those heavy storms, and they wouldn't allow even a slit of light from any galactic body pass through. And when you are miles away from the city in an open field, it can kill your sight.
Slippy had remained inside the R&D department, helping any late-coming Cornerian with any weapon trouble. Peppy was still in the transport/hospital, mainly keeping track of those hurt in a list, noting down names, stuff like that.
The transports in general weren't your favorite place to sleep or try to relax. While it wasn't cramped, it wasn't spacious either. Everyone was talking, gulping down some food or a drink, you could hear a fur or two laugh, almost as if they had forgotten they were in a small-scale war. Then again, a small scale war with a special ammunition the enemy had that could take them down instantly.
Fox and Krystal simply snuggled together and laid against the wall somehow trying to sleep. In another transport, a certain avian and a cat were pretty much doing the same, a little against Falco's will, but in reality, he didn't minded, and Katt certainly didn't either.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
A shadowy figure stood in the middle of a metallic looking room. It bore no resemblance to anyone Fox had seen, and even while he couldn't see the actual figure and only the shape, it was more than enough. It cackled in an evil laugh that sent a chill down Fox's spine, and he felt another chill, and he noticed that Krystal was holding him.
Fox grabbed Krystal's staff and still feeling his connection with it, the staff extended to full length. Krystal let go of Fox as he charged to the figure. He swung the staff downwards and with all his might, it connected, but the figure didn't flinched at all. Instead, it just laughed harder. Fox leaped back and readied again. He dashed once again, but the results were totally different this time.
The figure did something, it moved what appeared to be one of its arms quickly. Fox only saw that much, and before he knew it, the staff had been shattered. Krystal gasped, not only for the fact that her most precious possession had been destroyed, but Fox was also flung across the floor heavily. The figure once again laughed evilly before it started to create a small light, which started to compress into a small ball. It looked like a beam of sorts. Krystal was, to say the least, scared, but she couldn't get herself to move.
Fox jumped between the figure and her in a protective way, he was looking at Krystal, but it didn't helped. The energy had pierced through his chest and hit Krystal as well. Both slumped to the floor without effort and the figure cackled again before walking away. Everything started to blur out.
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Fox shot up from his sleep with a very small yelp. He was panting heavily and sweating a little, which was only an added effect from the nightmare since it wasn't hot at all. He saw everyone was sleeping, except for a fur or two who were writing or doing something like playing cards by themselves. No one seemed to notice him. He looked to his right and found that Krystal was up, she was also panting a little, but not so noticeable as Fox.
"Did I woke you up?" Fox asked. Krystal shook her head.
"No, I just..." she stammered somewhat, "Couldn't sleep," she lied. Fox didn't wanted to press the subject so he believed her. Truth be told that the same dream he had, so did she. After a couple of replays from the previous one, it had finally changed... Not that it was a good thing.
Fox glanced to his wrist-comp. He read 3.01 AM. He had considerably calmed down by now. He yawned, and Krystal did so too. They put the dream, no, the nightmare aside and leaned back against the wall of the inside of the ship. They held each other safely in their arms, snuggled, and then tried to resume their sleep. Whatever it was, now it wasn't the time to discuss it...
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
The units placed outside were not only bored to hell, but a little cold. By 5 AM the rain had stopped, but the clouds still were grey colored, and even though Solar would be showing up about that time, it was still a little dark, but at least there was light. Around that time everyone started to leave the transports only to be hit by a cold wind shaking the sleepiness out of them.
Tavalo was already in one of the transports working through some strategy when he was interrupted by one of the speakers there blaring, "Sir! The enemy is on the move! They are sending everything they have apparently, alert everyone to get ready!" Tavalo's eyes shot open, "Alright, head back here, you won't stand a chance alone!"
He used some kind of speaker his ship had to send the message, "The enemy is on the move, everyone get ready! I repeat, the enemy is on the move, everyone get ready! We have to push them away, we've got no time to lose!" The yells of uproar and battle cries were heard outside as everyone rushed for their weapons, armor, or ships.
No more than 5 minutes later every ship was already taking off. Be it from the Lupus, Husky, Bulldog squads, or from any other group. All land units were already rushing to meet the enemy, who was scarcely 100 meters away from camp and some already firing. Luckily for the Cornerians, the enemy air fleet had taken some time to arrive for some reason, and by the time they got there, the Cornerians were ready.
"This is it, Krys. We have to push them back all the way, or at least we have to get to their flagship, Scales should be there." Fox yelled, again going back to back with Krystal. He had switched weapons this time, his laser sword on his left, his blaster secured in its holster on his right, and carrying a semi-automatic energy rifle with both hands. He took out 2 Sharpclaws in a small volley of fire as Krystal took one down after a couple of shots. Those things certainly had a thick cover...
"I doubt it'll be easy, we are all the way back and they are a lot more than us.... Duck!" She yelled as Fox obeyed and both ducked to avoid the crossfire on the area. A male echidna hit the ground lifelessly, followed by a vixen. The Venomians took one casualty only, but Krystal added a second.
"Follow me," Fox grabbed Krystal's left paw and led her around, he used his left arm to somewhat spray some lasers to any Sharpclaws or Venomians in his way. Fox let go of Krystal's paw as he resumed his fire.
"Fox, to your right!" A voice that didn't belonged to Krystal yelled as Fox turned to his right and spotted a Sharpclaw lunging at him with his claws. He blocked him with his rifle and somewhat bounced him back before he shot at point-blank to its head. Fox turned around and saw Chris flash a smile at him before he took down a Sharpclaw, then swiftly jumped aside to avoid an enemy bullet from a Venomian he had clearly spotted before, Krystal got ahead of him and took it down. Chris ran to Fox.
"I really have to thank you two for yesterday, I feel a lot better and nothing can take..." he was interrupted as a bullet was reflected in his armor, "...me down... Ok, almost nothing..." he lifted his normal rifle and sent a spray of bullets to a Venomian in the distance, Krystal drew her staff with her left paw and held it in its small size, just for defense.
"Well, now we are even," Fox said shooting at the distance to some moving Sharpclaws. But either his accuracy failed him, or the hits did nothing to the Sharpclaws as he saw a female squirrel drop to the ground after a swift movement from a Sharpclaw, he grimaced at the sight. He was a mercenary, yes, he has killed, yes as well, but he still despised death.
"Can we concentrate please?" Krystal asked as she saw a Sharpclaw lunge at her, she threw her blaster way up high and extended her staff to block the hit, then pushed it away to end with an explosive thrust, she retracted her staff in size and looked upwards to spot her blaster almost with her, she barely caught it. A small explosion fired up at least 5 meters ahead of her, taking down at least 3 or 4 enemy units.
Just then they saw a male rabbit leap down a hill, a bullet hit him in his right arm, and while he had no other wounds, and the fall was only one meter high, he laid lifelessly in the floor. "Ok, those bullets are the real deal..." Chris said eyeing the dead white rabbit.
"Watch out!" Fox pushed him away as a spray of bullets flew by, Chris lifted his rifle in mid air and sent a blur after the Sharpclaw which bit the dust only a bit reluctantly.
"I'll move out and take it as I go along," Chris said waving quickly before holding his rifle again with both hands as he rushed to the unknown...
"How's your blaster holding?" Fox asked.
"Hmm..." Krystal quickly looked at the energy meter, "Got a little over half the energy."
"Better than my rifle, this thing eats up the energy," Fox said sending another spray accompanied by some rays out of Krystal's blaster. "Come on, let's keep pushing forward!" He said before they started moving north taking any Sharpclaw that crossed their path, he glanced left and saw 3 Cornerians fall to the floor under enemy fire as some Sharpclaws moved south.
"Fox, wait!" Krystal yelled as she stopped and kneeled to in front of a panting female mouse, "You ok?" she stupidly asked as the women presented a severe slash on her back.
"Don't worry about me, I don't... have much time left... Just make sure... they pay... Agh!" she muttered, ending with a loud yelp as a bullet out of nowhere hit her on the side, apparently her protection was for energy weapons. Krystal looked to both sides and spotted a Venomian ape aiming at them, she quickly shot him down. She resumed her sight to the mouse but she was already on another plane, Fox helped her up.
"Why... Why must all of this happen... What does Scales wants to accomplish with this?!"
"Krys... I don't know about Scales, but as long as he's still alive, this probably won't end."
"I know," she sighed heavily, "But this is all so much like my home planet, except that it all ended in a second back there."
"I know this must be hard to you, but," he sent a spray of energy to a charging Sharpclaw, "But think of why we are doing it. If we don't do something, more will die."
Fox sent about one third of his battery away to a charging group of Sharpclaws. Probably around 6, one managed to survive and jumped at Fox, who moved sideways as the Sharpclaw's claws ripped his right sleeve and revealed a small trickle of blood, Fox turned around aiming his rifle but instead ended clashing it with the enemy's claws, he struggled but in the end both stumbled backwards, Fox without his rifle as it was thrown aside. He quickly gazed left and saw Krystal locked with her staff against another Sharpclaw. Fox quickly drew the tube from his left side and with a click of something it sprung to life as a light of about 80 centimeters appeared. He spun sideward as a downward slash fell and then thrust the laser sword into the Sharpclaw's side, spilling some blood on the other side before he took it out. He made a face before he jumped to where Krsytal was.
She really wasn't having trouble, but no side appeared to give in. Fox suddenly came from one side with strong kick sending the Sharpclaw to the floor, Krystal looked away as she made a clear shot to its head once she had withdrew her blaster. Fox looked at his rifle but noticed the energy cell was ruined, and the loading chamber, so it wouldn't be useful anymore. He clicked off the sword before holding it with his left paw and withdrew his blaster with his right.
"I think we are somewhat around the middle of both sides. Come on, let's keep moving." And so both foxes kept moving north.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Falco, Invader on your tail!" Katt announced to Falco, obviously. Said avian promptly did a somersault tricking the enemy, he quickly shot it down with no problem.
"This is going a little better," Falco said as he performed a barrel roll before blasting another Invader down. Katt scored another kill by the same time.
"They still outnumber us two to one, or so."
Falco quickly gazed to the ground and saw that most of the battle now around the middle and northern part of the field. Or at least of what he could see, he guessed that the Cornerian troops where halfway there to the enemy flagships; if that was indeed their destination. "True, but the land units are pushing forward at a good pace. I think they are halfway to the enemy base..." He trailed off as he did a barrel roll just as Katt took the Invader shooting at him, "It shouldn't be long until they get there if things keep going like this."
"Even if this Scales is defeated, he only controls the Sharpclaws. The Venomians might still keep going," Katt managed as she performed a tight turn to avoid collision with a suicidal Venomian unit. That was a new one...
"They would lose half, maybe more, of their support. I think that should make them bail out," he paused for a second, "But why worry now? Let's just blast these ships till kingdom come for now!" Katt rolled her eyes to that but smirked nonetheless.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Husky units, don't let anything through!" Bill exclaimed as he, and his units were in a straight line formation between the camp in the distance and the whole conflict in the air that spanned for kilometers. Much like the ground battle. You could never rule the chance that a daring Venomian Invader would try to head to the camp and attack it unexpectedly, and so far, many had dared. But they always failed under the lasers of the Husky units.
This time, a squad of about 15 units was heading their war, just as Bill had said the previous statement, they all split up and quickly took them down with a Nova Bomb and a few laser shots.
A small screen opened in Bill's cockpit, "Bill, how's the situation back there?" Jamie asked as she ruffled her purple bandana a little.
"Nothing to worry about. No enemy ship is getting through here," he said with a wide grin.
"Good. Things aren't that bad here either," she took a pause, "Shi..." she half swore, "I lost an unit." It was nice knowing you, Mark. Rest in peace, she thought. She figured part of her squad would have already noticed the loss, for they all usually kept channels open at all times. They all would do the proper ceremonies for those felled in combat once this was done.
Keough opened a channel to both squad's leaders. "Hey, I think we are making progress in the land! Our land troops are pushing in further and further in," he paused for a second and noticed Jamie's look. "Jamie?"
"Sorry. I guess I'm taking the loses far harder than I expected," she muttered back.
Keough shook his head, "Even after the nine years I've been in the service I still haven't gotten used to it. Jamie, you are a fur, a sentient fur. The moment you stop feeling remorse for your fallen comrades, that's when you have to worry about."
Jamie flashed a weak smile, "Yeah, I guess you are right. Thanks. And hey, looks like we are making progress up here." And she was right, it had started somewhat with the enemy outnumbering them 3 to 1. Now it was getting closer to an even number on both sides. Those Venomians certainly lacked air training. The ground was another thing however, while the Cornerians kept pushing further, they had taken sever casualties. That strange ammunition/energy the enemy had certainly was effective and it was taking its toll.
"I'll send half of my units up there to aid you. With things looking like this, I doubt they'll make another straight assault." Bill instructed various of his units to leave their posts and assist the main battle. "Good luck over there you two." Both Keough and Jamie nodded and closed communications. Bill sighed as a small squad consisting of 5 Invaders were heading towards them. They just don't learn do they?
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
"Fancy meeting you again," a gray wolf spoke to Fox and Krystal.
"Chris? What are you doing around here?" Fox questioned as he, along with the wolf and his love, kept moving forward.
"I'm heading to their base. I supposed you two were doing so as well."
"Great, we could always use the extra support," Krystal said sending a few shots to a distracted Sharpclaw.
"Then let's go! I think we aren't that far from..." They climbed up a hill and on the other side they spotted several big ships, "...here," Chris muttered. The fight had already extended over here, and for a while it seemed. There were units of everything here. Missiles streaking through the air, bullets, lasers, it was a huge field of crossfire.
"Well, I take that ship," Krystal pointed at the biggest, and the one in the front, "Is where Scales hides..." she snarled with the mention of his name. "Wait... THERE HE IS!!" She yelled.
"Chris and I will back you up as you get to him. We'll secure the rest of the ship." Fox got up and started to sprint down with the other two. Fox holstered his blaster and grabbed his sword with the right hand and clicked it on. He went slashing through any enemy in his way, and Krystal 'pushed' them around. Chris would send a spray or two of lasers to the Sharpclaws or Venomians he could spot.
They finally reached the interior of the ship. Well, this doesn't looks like the structure of the place in the first dream... Both foxes thought. They were relieved by that. "This way!" Krystal announced as she started to move along the corridors. The ship was just as big as the Great Fox, Fox noted.
"Hold on, I hear something," Fox moved back to the previous junction as Krystal and Chris followed. He could hear two hissing sounds
"A nedtoh nxo Scales nuj je uwakukot..." Someone hissed. Fox couldn't understand very well, but knew Krystal could. Chris just put up a totally confused face.
"Nxe bdenj, rik xo juat no jxeict ro suhovic veh khojfujjohj," another voice added. Fox sighed as he shook his head.
"Nuak. Tat yei xouh kxuk?" Krystal eyes shot open.
She whispered, "I think they heard you Fox, let's go." Fox nodded and Chris did so before they stepped out and started to rain hell on the enemy. Which were only two Sharpclaws and without any firearms or energy weapons for that matter.
"You got anything from what they were saying, Krys?" Fox asked.
"In short, Scales is near. He sent those two to be on the lookout."
"Hah," Chris chuckled, "It didn't worked after all." They kept moving forward and came to a single metal door. Fox turned to see Krystal, who nodded. Fox kicked the door open and held his blaster looking in all directions. He didn't expected to see Scales simply waiting in the far end of the room, which looked like a hangar, with his arms crossed. The giant lizard seemed, almost peaceful for once.
"Scales!" Krystal shouted.
He looked up at her and laughed, "So I see you've brought company."
Krystal shook her head, "No, this is between you and me." She looked at Fox, he nodded, planted a small kiss in her left cheek, and took Chris away with him.
"Remember, you have someone to return to," Fox smiled as he and Chris ran away to secure the ship.
Krystal turned around to face Scales, who still was in the same stance. "It ends here Scales..." She muttered before she took her staff with her right paw after holstering her blaster and got ready.
"It does, finally, after all this time I can finish what I started," he opened his eyes to reveal the piercing yellow and uncrossed his arms.
"Get ready!" Krystal charged forward spinning her staff above her before swinging it sideward at his face. He easily ducked before trying to connect a direct hit with his right arm. Krystal barely avoided the giant fist with a jump to her back.
"Not bad, not bad..." Scales then flung his weird bionic arm down. Krystal moved away but not in time as it still ripped the right sleeve of her uniform and painted the floor a red crimson in a few spots. Still, Krystal didn't flinched as she spun and made a thrust with her staff to his neck, which sent the giant lizard tumbling back a few steps as he gagged to recover his breath.
Scales then flung forward trying to thrust his claw, it barely missed as Krystal ducked and tried to spin-kick him out of his balance, but even with all her might she only managed to make him tumble. Damn he's heavy!
"Hahaha, nice attempt." Scales did another thrust of his bionic arm but Krystal used her staff to stop the attack applying pressure to the point of contact with her right paw to avoid any severe damage to the staff. The thing was very resistant... Very very resistant, but just to be sure. It still didn't do much however as the strength of the lizard was astounding and she was sent flying away.
"How much can you hold on, little lady?" He mocked her as she got up. She threw a hiss at him. She was panting, but not winded up. "Almost 15 years," he started, "Almost 15 years I've been looking for you... The last Cerinian in the galaxy. I found you aboard my ship, but it had slipped my mind it was you, I wasn't expecting to see you there... Nonetheless, you have given me a hard time, but finally, after so long, I can finally finish this... Prepare to meet your family Cerinian!" he yelled and charged forward at full speed. Krystal let out a scream of war as she also darted to him.
With another loud cry she flung her staff at him, but he stopped it with his right arm. He pushed the staff back and quickly spun in the floor to make a sweeping kick at the vixen, but she easily back-flipped out of reach, she quickly spun and tried another side hit, but it meet Scales' other arm. Losing no moment, Krystal used part of the strength of the impact to spin as Scales was still in the floor and delivered the fiercest round-hose kick, both her and the lizard silently agreed on this. The impact might have hurt Krystal more initially, but she made Scales hit the floor heads-on before she backed away.
Scales quickly got up and dashed for the vixen. He swung his right, normal arm in a fist, which Krystal tried ducking but the speed was astonishing and she only managed to avoid a direct hit on the left shoulder. It sent her away to the floor with a new cut to her uniform, but no blood this time. Scales quickly leaped at her with his right arm ready to thrust it at the floor, but Krystal had rolled away in time, so Scales only left a dent in the floor. Krystal quickly recovered, even while lying down and made a quick thrust with her staff to Scales' face, which actually got him in the right eye, he somehow lost his balance and stumbled down.
The blue vixen got up quickly and while being only a meter away from him at most, she jumped and flung her staff down with all her might, which only added another dent to the metallic hue as Scales had rolled away. Krystal gracefully landed on both legs. Scales quickly rushed with another straight hit, Krystal tried moving to a profile stance so that she wouldn't be hit and also used the position to thrust her staff at the incoming Scales. Her idea failed somewhat, she wasn't able to avoid the hit, but her staff got Scales above the stomach, knowing his wind out. Krystal was pretty much just sent away as the hit got her again in the left shoulder, she somehow managed to bounce back to her feet with her left arm. The giant lizard took a few steps back with an arm over his stomach.
Krystal quickly seized the opportunity, and clutching the staff with both hands, she sent a fireball at him from the tip of her staff. Scales wasn't really expecting this, and there was nothing he could do as the fireball collided with him ending in a fiery explosion. It knocked him down, scorching his face as well. Krystal smiled to herself but lost no time before she ran and jumped placing the tip of her staff down, preparing to thrust it at Scales, but he had already regained his senses and as he saw the vixen in the air approaching, he retracted his legs before delivering a double kick to Krystal, which took the blow in the abdomen.
She was knocked away at least 3 or 4 meters and laid upwards with her right arm to the side holding her staff, and the left one running along the bruised area. The pain was excruciating and she couldn't bear to stand up. Her face was filled with pain as Scales got closer with a chuckle.
"It is over little lady... Your family first, your planet second, you now, and soon enough your precious fox!" he yelled and started to thrust his right arm down as the world entered in a slow-motion sequence.
Krystal looked up at him and her life flashed through her eyes. My planet, Cerinia... My family... The accident, the destruction of my planet and my new life... The orphanage, the grief, the pain, the loneliness... Dinosaur Planet, the distress call, the Krazoa, Fox... Fox... My friend, my ally, my team mate, but most important, my lover... I owe it all to you Scales... It's all your fault that I lost everything I had, that my life was as miserable as it was... But I do thank you because I was able to meet Fox McCloud... You are still the source of all my pain... But I promised him... I...promised...him... I promised him I'll return! Like hell I'm going down!!
"I promised him I'll return to him!" She yelled with all her might before she moved her staff between Scales' arm and her body. She deflected the attack before she kicked him in the same way he had done just moments ago, the strength she had summoned was impressive, or so Scales thought as he was forced aback. Krystal quickly flipped herself up before getting ready.
She placed her left paw over her left breast, right in her heart, and looked down. "I promised Fox... I promised Fox I would return now that my life has meaning!" She started, building more and more energy, "He promised me he'll wait for my return, and I can't let him down!" Krystal lifted her face, and for the first time in her life, she was actually angry... No, totally pissed off. She pointed at him with her left index, "Scales! Fifteen years of misery you've given me, and fifteen seconds I shall give you in return!"
She quickly held her staff with both paws, left one at the back, and the right at the middle so the tip was facing away from and behind her. She rushed and made a right-to-left swing with such a strength. "One!!" she yelled. Scales lifted his left arm to fend off the blow but it was moved aside with easiness from the strength and the staff hit him on his abdomen. He flinched.
Once the staff was on the other side, she somewhat let it go before quickly reversing her grab, left paw in the middle, and right paw at the lower end and swung it back in the same way with a loud, piercing "Two!!" Scales flinched once again. Krystal once again reversed the grab, and exactly like the first hit, she yelled a "Three!!"
Still holding the staff the same way she made a complete spin and made another hit like the first and third, this time with a "Four!!" She lowered her staff but kept spinning and once she was back to his front she jumped, moving her staff in a upward slash that snapped Scales' head back with a thundering "Five!!" And while in the air she quickly swung it downwards, snapping Scales' head back to normal with a strong "Six!!" and she rested her staff on her low side, still lowered.
She gave him no time to recover as the next second came by and with a down-left to up-right slash accompanied by a "Seven!!" went. She quickly moved her staff down with a small spin before she copied the motion, this time in a down-right to up-left hit following an "Eight!!" And still in the motion she spun her staff around her back before the next hit was delivered. With a roaring "Nine!!" she swung from right to left at his head. She still spun in her place and with a "Ten!!" she made a forward thrust of her staff at his stomach. So far all the hits had been accompanied by a force that not even Krystal where it came from, but if it hurt Scales, she didn't cared. The tenth hit knocked the wind out of him again making the lizard bend over a little. But Krystal was still not done... She had to repay the last 5 years.
She moved her staff back a little before spinning clockwise and doing a copy of the seventh hit, a down-left to up-right hit with an "Eleven!!" which made Scales stand upright against his will. Krystal used the momentum to jump and with a full spin she made a reversed motion of the ninth hit, a sideward hit at his head, this time from left to right with a "Twelve!!" She landed back but still kept spinning in the floor, and with another reversed motion, this time from hit eight, she smashed him up-left to down-right with a "Thirteen!!"
She switched a little her hold on the staff before reversing the last hit with a "Fourteen!!" and quickly changed her hold again like at first, right paw in middle, left paw at bottom. She was spinning. Scales knew what was next, but he couldn't do anything to avoid it. "Fifteen years! - Fifteen seconds!!" she finally made a thrust with her staff, much alike the tenth hit, but this time she created a fireball at the same time, creating a last, explosive impact on the lizard, which hurled him against the metal hue that made the wall of the room.
She looked downwards and muttered, "It's over," as a tear fell to the floor. She looked up. Her face was once again the calm Krystal. She looked at Scales and walked closer to him. Did she regret what she had done? No... She had finally avenged her family... her friends... her planet. Fox appeared in his mind and her heart skipped a beat but she knew he was safe. She tilted Scales' head with her staff, but instead of the piercing yellow eyes, there were only gray globes. She sighed in relief. She looked towards the door.
She turned again to Scales, still looking at his gray dead eyes. "It's really over..." she muttered and she closed her eyes but then felt her staff lighter. She opened her eyes.
And there it was, Scales' head, dead, yes, his eyes were still gray and empty, but he was looking at her, "It's not over..." he spoke in a strange voice, which didn't mattered as it scared the heck out of Krystal who made a 2 meter leap back and held her staff ready.
"But you are dead!"
"Yes, Scales is dead... But not me... Scales was only a puppet... A mere puppet in my game... Cerinian, he had nothing against you, I controlled him to do all those deeds..." the voice howled.
"W-what?"
"This is not over... This is only the beginning... You Cerinians were always a threat to... No, I shan't speak further, but be warned..." Scales' head went back down. Krystal was shaking, really shaking, not because of what the voice said, but this was just plain scary. She started to back away. A step... Another step... Then another... And finally, she broke into a sprint, she didn't know where she was running, but she somehow made it to Fox and Chris, who were in the cockpit with a Venomian lizard tied up in a chair.
"Krys!" Fox ran and hugged her.
"Fox, I did it, but..." She retracted her staff and sheathed it.
"But?" Fox let her go and cocked his head.
"Scales... Once he passed... He somewhat came to life, but a different voice spoke to me... It was the same voice from this other dream I had were you attack a shadow, but it breaks my staff and kills us both..."
"I... I had that same dream... But are you sure it's the same voice?"
"Yes, it said things are only starting, and that Scales was only a puppet in his game," she looked up at him with teary eyes.
The lizard was surprised, "You defeated Scales?!" Krystal nodded.
Chris interjected, "What difference does it makes? Our air troops already cleared the sky, and it shouldn't be long before the land forces also fail." The lizard huffed with a hiss.
"Let's go out." Fox took Krystal's right paw and led her out.
The sky was starting to clear. Most Cornerians were already sitting in the grass wiping off some sweat of their foreheads or the like. The sky was filled with Cornerian aircrafts. It would still leave a scar, that's for sure... The ground was covered in bodies from both sides, of any species... But... It was over... It's finally over... Krystal looked upwards and took a deep breath.
Or so it seemed...
Alan: This is it... The end of the first part. The second part, which will be added here in The Fox and the Vixen (I won't make another entry) will introduce a new storyline of course. The reason behind all this. A couple more of characters with actual important roles as well. And more stuff, like another romance or something like that.
Krystal: [With her fur all fuzzed up] Man, that Scales thing really freaked me out...
Alan: Likewise.
Krystal: So I'm still not dying, right?
Alan: God no, you are very vital to the story. It shall all be revealed later.
Krystal: Anything else...?
Alan: I broke my record of writing again! This is by far the longest thing I've written! [Smiles]
Krystal: I shouldn't have asked...
Alan: Oh well, I'll see you next time.
Here we go again. First, again, thanks to Jamie Bunyi for the character of Jamie Holgren; and she is also my beta reader, but I think she went on vacations... I also owe her a nice deal of the names I introduced in the last chapter, you know, the whole conference thingy? I made one or two at most, all the others came from her. So thanks again.
Next chapter I'll introduce a new character of two, so I'll have more here.
And finally, thanks to all of those who review. That simple fact is what drives me to put as much effort as possible into this, since I do know people are actually reading it and keeping up with it makes me feel I'm doing something good, and I shall not let you down. Oh no.
So thanks again and please review any comments, critiques or stuff like that. Flames, well, e-mail me those instead, but who reads 9 chapters out of something to flame... [shrugs]
I'll see you all next time!
Signed as usual,
Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino -
Until next time!
Chapter 10: Another Beginning, Another Story.