A/N: Okay, so Shane has pilfered a guards outfit and disguised himself, Fox is being taken prisoner and it's pretty clear now that Wolf is definitely up to something. As for whether or not Krystal wants Fox or Shane, you'll just have to continue reading, the answer will come soon: I promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Starfox, Nintendo and/or Rare do. Any relation to my original characters in anyway is entirely coincidental.
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Chapter 5: The Dungeon

Krystal stormed into Wolf's room in a fit of rage. She looked like a tomato, ripe and ready to be picked. As she stormed up to Wolf, he kept a look of calm on his face. "What is it my dear?"

"Strike one!" Krystal growled.

"What for?" Wolf asked curious.

"The guards took a young fox on the street away on YOUR orders!" Krystal snarled. "You have no idea what he's been through!"

"The law is the law, my dear. You can't expect the guards to let him go can you?"

Krystal was still red. She was like dynamite now… waiting for Wolf to light her fuse so she could explode. "You have no right to give the guards orders! You don't live here and you're NOT the King!"

Wolf sighed. "You're right. I apologize for any thing I might have caused the guards to do." He held his head down and closed his eye. "But you can't blame me for being concerned…can you?" He raised his head and looked Krystal in the eye.

Krystal started to cool down a little. "I guess I can't. You were only worried about me, right?" Wolf nodded. "But the strike still stays!"

"What for?"

"You leave the guards to my father. You don't EVER give them orders again!"

"I just told you I was concerned for you. If I hadn't mentioned your name they probably would've done nothing in the first place!" Wolf defended himself.

Dammit! Krystal thought. She sighed. "I guess I really can't give you a strike for that… you were only concerned for my safety." Wolf nodded. "Still, consider this a warning. I'll let the strike go but next time I won't be so nice about it." She said and then left.

***

As Krystal came out of Wolf's room she heard her father clear his throat. "Yes?"

He stepped forward to address his daughter. "We want to make our guest feel welcomed here. There's no need to give him a hard time. He's a good wolf, you know."

Krystal couldn't believe this. There went that dynamite again. "He took a poor fox off the streets."

The king sighed. "It isn't entirely right, I know. But he shouldn't have been a thief in the first place. With how long Shannon had been tracking him, it should be a blessing that he's finally been captured."

Krystal knew she wasn't going to win this one. "What's his punishment going to be?"

"Either life in the dungeon or death." The king told her.

At that moment Krystal's jaw dropped like an iron weight. "No, you can't do that! You can't let him die!"

"The fox's loss is terrible but still--"

"Don't give me that!" Krystal huffed. "You didn't even know him. How can you even say his loss will be 'terrible' when you know absolutely nothing about him! He may have been a thief but he was a good fox. He's harmless. He and his partner are completely harmless!"

"Ah yes, the partner. We'll find him soon enough." said the King.

"Are you even listening to me?" Krystal cried.

"Yes, you said they were harmless. Even so, no amount of time in the dungeon can make up for all the stolen food and goods."

"They have to live too father. They'd die if they didn't steal anything."

"Then they should've tried to find a job in the market place before resulting to a life of thievery!" Her father raised his voice and then began to walk away. "Tell you what, if he can prove to be a good peasant maybe I'll let him be a servant here at the palace." That only made Krystal growl.

She stormed off to her room and when she vacated herself inside she slammed the door and thrust herself on her bed. "What's the matter?" She heard Jade ask.

"They were…harmless!" Krystal sobbed. "They don't deserve death!"

Jade tried to sooth her but nothing would work. "It's unfair, I know. But you can't let that get you down. Maybe your father will be nice and let him out without executing him."

Oh yeah, THAT certainly put a good thought in Krystal's mind. She looked to Jade and didn't seem to want to be bothered with her any longer.

"And a little off subject, one of the guards was acting real funny today. He was walking around as if he'd never been in here before. It was around the time you got back too. He was told to go and watch the prisoner in the dungeon and he started off to the kitchen!"

Oh no! In my haste to confront Wolf I forgot about Shane! Krystal's eyes lit up.

"So you DO know something about it." Jade smiled. "What's up with him?"

Krystal sighed and sat up, hugging the pillow she was crying on close to her body for some nice warmth. "He's no guard." Krystal whispered. "He's the 'escaped' thief that got away."

Jade nodded. "I see… what's going to happen then when the REAL guard gets back?"

Krystal shrugged. "Where is he now?"

"He's probably in the kitchen or something. I'm surprised at how dense some of these furs in the palace really are. He walks around with his mask down all the time and for some reason that just doesn't strike anyone as odd that he's the only guard doing it. Second, his smell is not of a sharp claw."

"Not everyone has a nose like yours." Krystal mentioned. "I better go find him before he gets in trouble."

"He'll already be in trouble if you don't get to him before Shannon does."

"Shannon's making up a report to give to mother and father right now, so he won't catch him first." Krystal stood up and walked out of her room…then she looked back at Jade and realized, the entire time she was talking the door had been wide open…and just down the hall Wolf was walking away…

***

Fox sat in the dungeon with one guard standing by it. "I'd think there would be two of you." He addressed the guard on the outside to his right. He grabbed a hold of the bars.

"Well, the other guard isn't here right now. I suppose he's slacking off again. He always does."

Fox nodded. The dungeon he was in was comprised of two levels. The upper level, and the lower level. The upper level, where Fox was now, was where the cell door was. Across from him was another dungeon, probably of the same structure. Behind Fox were stairs that led down to the lower portion of the dungeon. Why they had to be so big He'd probably never know. The dungeon was probably big to hold as many convicts as possible. Two layers to stuff a bunch of furs into.

The rest of the surroundings on the upper portion at least looked nice. The adobe was still a peach color, unlike the charred black of the lower half. There was also more light in the upper portion, due to the fact that the guards had to see in the hall.

"It's almost time for you to get some rest!" The guard said to Fox. "The beds are downstairs."

Fox laughed for some reason and the guard gave him the most awkward look. "What the hell are you laughing about?"

"It's just that there's actually a BED! I've never really slept in a bed before!" With that Fox laughed even harder. To Fox's surprise; the guard started laughing with him.

"Well, at least we're nice to our prisoners." The guard said. When the laughing finally ceased, the guard looked to Fox with a grin. "Hope you sleep well."

This surprised Fox. "I hope you don't have to stand here all night watching over me. I can't go anywhere you know."

The guard smiled. "I didn't expect to be standing here talking like this to someone who outwitted me several times. You're a piece of work." The guard said.

"I didn't expect you to be so friendly." Fox commented. "Why are you being so nice to me anyway? I thought you'd be all tough and have a 'SHUT UP IN THERE WILL YA!' kind of attitude." Fox chuckled.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," The guard began. "most of us guards don't even like our job. The really a lot of us are guards is so we can get a free meal in the palace, and feel like we have power over the peasants."

"But that still doesn't explain why you're being so nice to me." Fox pressed on.

The guard looked at him, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of bread. "I'm always nice to the furs that don't try so hard to resist being taken into the dungeon. You don't give me attitude I don't give you attitude. You treat me like shit and guess what you'll get in return?"

Fox took the bread and managed a thank-you. "So… what's your name?" He was almost scared to ask. The nice ones always have this way of stabbing you in the back, or so it seems.

"My name is Larc." The sharp claw answered. "You're Fox McCloud."

"Glad to see you've heard of me…" Fox said sarcastically.

"You are without a doubt the greatest fugitive Cerina has ever seen before. You and your partner."

"I'm not a murderer you know. I'm just a thief, pillaging what I can to survive." Fox said.

"Yeah, well with how many years Shannon's been trying to catch you, I guarantee they won't let you off easy." Larc cautioned.

"I see…" Fox sighed. "What made you decide to be a guard anyway? You don't seem tough enough, no offense, but you seem a little soft-hearted to be a guard."

Larc couldn't help but sigh. "Besides being able to have authority, I guess I just really wanted to make a difference in the way this Kingdom was shaped up. Of course, that's just a dream. It's still a dream."

"What do you mean 'still a dream?' You became a guard didn't you?" Fox questioned.

"No, it is still a dream. I'll stop dreaming when it's finally a reality. We guards bring someone in and Shannon's the one who gets the credit for it. Who captured the culprit means nothing to the King. He always gives the credit to Shannon. Shannon doesn't always take it, at least. He always says stuff like 'I couldn't have done without such 'n such. But that King never listens."

Fox held his head down. "So you're just a pawn then?"

"We all are when you think about it. Now that this Wolf O' Donnell has come along things can only get worse."

Fox's eyes lit up. "Who is Wolf O' Donnell?"

"You really do hide from the world don't you?" Larc commented. "Wolf is the prince from Corneria set to merry Krystal and become the next King of Cerina."

Fox gave a dazed look. "So a Prince just comes here and the Princess is expected to merry him?" Larc nodded. "She gets a say in it, right? I mean they wouldn't force her to merry a jerk would they?"

"Where are you getting at boy? Sure she gets a say but she's still going to be forced anyhow. Eventually, anyway. And they say she can only merry a Prince."

"Only a Prince?"

"Did I stutter? Anyway, I enjoyed talking to you but it's time for you to get some rest, lights out!" Larc announced.

Fox went down to the lower level thinking about what Larc had said. The main focus on Fox's mind was the whole scenario of a dream. He once had a dream… before he dreamed of living in the palace. He dreamed of what most furs back then dreamed about. Having a home, money, food everything you ever wanted. But back then Fox didn't even live in Cerina. He lived in Corneria.

Corneria didn't work out. Even then he was a poor boy, living with his mother Vixy and his father James. Things weren't always going so well and he never even HEARD of Wolf O' Donnell when he lived there. His family had their struggles but they always came through on a good note.

Fox had loved his mom and dad dearly. They were his entire world. His father had taught him how to be a thief, and the ways of stealth. Of course if Fox was ever caught, James could step in and say "He's only a kit," and in turn Fox would get away with what he stole. Fox's one dream had been to be rich enough to support his family.

That dream came to an end. It was when his father had mysteriously disappeared. Something had happened. He stole something BIG it seemed. James was a thief and he was the best! But when someone actually saw him, James had run away and left Vixy and Fox alone. This was when Fox was six.

Fox didn't see his father after he ran from the palace guards.

Fox's mother… she couldn't support them, seeing as how Corneria didn't let the woman work… unless you were a servant in the palace. Vixy refused to serve a King that couldn't even supply her with water. Eventually Vixy took Fox and they both left to Cerina, hoping to find James. As you can imagine they never did.

When Fox was finally eight years old his mother left him. For whatever reason Fox wouldn't know… but she had left a note to him. He still kept the note with him at all times. The note only talked about how she left to find his father. She said it would be too dangerous for Fox to go. The only thought in Fox's mind: What kind of mother just up and leaves her child? The answer, like many others, never came.

It had been fourteen years since his mother left. The note said she'd be back when she found James. But she never did come back. Fox wanted to assume they were dead, but another part kept saying his parents were still alive. Until he actually found out what happened to his parents, he kept the note his mother wrote to him.

During the course of those fourteen years, he found another parentless kit, like himself. That was Shane. Since then, the two of them have been pilfering from the market place ever since and they'd never been caught. Until now.

***

The lower portion of the dungeon reminded Fox of his home in some ways. Charred walls, covered in some sort of powder. There were beds and they actually looked pretty comfortable. The thought of actually sleeping in a bed made Fox appreciate that he was here. Except now he didn't have any freedom to enjoy. The thought of what Shane must be doing was getting to him, as well.

As Fox had a seat on the bed he heard the distant whisper of his name. I'm not alone? Fox cringed, and he heard his name whispered again. Who the hell?

Since the dungeon was dark, with only one torch to light it, there was no way he could make out who was calling him. The only thing he knew for sure was the voice was feminine. Not of an anthro but rather a human. She sounded elderly.

"Fox…" the woman whispered once more and with more fear Fox still stepped forward. He wanted to take the torch but should it have gone out, only the moonlight would be able to guide him.

"Who's there?" He whispered back.

"Sit down, don't be afraid. Stay in the light… please… right where I can see you."

Fox did as he was told. What could she do to him anyway? She'd be too weak. She finally stepped forward. The sight was that of an old woman covered in green rags. She had a staff with her. She looked pretty scary but her smile contradicted all that. She had a lovely smile, and Fox took note of that in his mind.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not going to harm you… after all, what can I do? I'm just an old lady." She cackled and once more Fox was hit with fear.

"You've nothing to fear." She repeated once more and advanced. "But of course you would be. A lonely fox such as yourself doesn't make friends with very many people do you?"

Fox shook his head, unable to speak. The words wouldn't be able to come out right. Inside his muzzle he could feel his teeth chattering. His paws were shaking…trembling with fear. But why? She's just 'an old lady' after all.

Fox swallowed hard and he could actually FEEL it hit his stomach. "How…do you know my name?"

The old woman sat down and crossed her legs. "I know almost everything about you."

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A/N: I thought this would be a nice stop for this chapter. I know what you're saying, "Guards aren't that friendly." Well, believe it or not, some are and that's the kind of character I want Larc to be. If you've kept up with my fics you'll probably remember Larc from "The Vulpine Prince." He had a small (very small) appearance. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, and please R+R!