A/N: In this fic, the Tediz are VERY evil. Probably more evil than Rare intended to make them. There is a rape scene in this story that may disturb some readers. It's not all that detailed, but I suggest discretion be used from this chapter on. As I said before, the Tediz are really evil in this fic.

Riley's eyes blinked open as the early morning sun sneaked into the bunk and poured over his pillow. "Damn sun," he mumbled as he pulled the blanket over his head. He knew the wake up call would be coming soon, but he wanted to get as much sleep in as possible. However, he just couldn't get back to sleep and knowing he was going to have to get up soon took all the fun and enjoyment out of it. Sighing, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He felt a small rumble in his stomach and shuddered at the thought of what they'd be served for breakfast. The food out there made the boot camp food seem like an expensive gourmet.

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and stretched his arms and tail. After letting out a small yawn, he looked around. The first thing that caught his eye was Axel's sleeping form. He had his arms stretched out, the blanket kicked half way off the bed, and was snoring rather loudly, but compared to earlier that night he was sleeping as peacefully as a baby. Riley couldn't help but be somewhat amused by the repulsive sight of Axel's drool soaking the pillow.

Riley slid off the bed and set his feet on the floor. Wake up call should be comin' on any minute, might as well get dressed. As if on cue, a loud noise blared from the Station's PA system, instructing all soldiers to get up. Axel's ears twitched as the alarm traveled through the air. He twitched his nose and smacked his tongue to the roof of his mouth as he rolled over. He really didn't feel like getting up that day. Riley pulled his shirt over his head and gave his buddy an awkward glance. "Come on, lazy. Get up." He said as he grabbed his pillow and brandished it in the air. Axel paid Riley's warning no caution and tried once again to get back to sleep. That's when he felt a very large cushion hit him in the back of the head. "Get up, dammit. I don't wanna get the cold shit for breakfast just because you're being lazy."

"Does it really matter? It all tastes like shit." Axel said with his face still down in his pillow. Riley raised his pillow again and struck harder. "You don't want to be yelled at, do you? You're gonna have to get up eventually." Axel lifted his face from his pillow and supported his weight on his elbows. He blinked his watery blood shot eyes and yawned as he scratched his head. "Why are you so chipper this morning anyway?"

"I'm not chipper. I'm just not a total grouch like you are every morning."

"I'm not a grouch," Axel said as he sat on the side of his bed. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

By this time, Riley was completely dressed and was fixing his bed as the others were getting up as well. He looked over his shoulder at Axel. "More nightmares?" he said quietly. Axel shook his head. "Just had trouble getting back to sleep. Guess it really did get to me." Axel slid of the bed and began getting dressed as well. "How's your arm, San?" he said as he slipped his pants on. San was obviously in pain as he tried to get his combat boots on. "It's fine, just a little sore." He sat up and put the rest of his uniform on as did the others. Axel finished making his bed and ran his fingers through his hair-like tuffs of fur on his head. "Did they say we were getting mail today?"

"Yeah, after breakfast or this afternoon." Riley replied as he straightened out his bed sheets. All the others had finished dressing and quickly made their beds. Axel wiped away the tears from his eyes and scratched his head. He was still tired from the battle the day before and his dreams weren't doing much to help him reach the minimal sleep requirement. Axel turned heal and followed the others who were piling out of the bunk.

Axel looked down at the food on his tray and shoved it around his plate with his fork. This stuff tasted just like the kind of canned meals he had as a kid. What with his father's nasty drinking habits and his mother trying her best to earn a living, they didn't have very much money on them. It was either eat slimy canned meat-like products that tasted like dirt, or eat nothing at all. Of course, it was always him and his mother that had to eat that Godawful crap while his 'father' took whatever money he could find on his mother and spent it on beer and decent meals for himself. Bastard! Axel suddenly thought in rage. The taste of that food brought back all sorts of unpleasant memories. The drinking, the abuse, the day he left with that slut, and his poor mother fell to her knees bruised and heart broken. Axel had watched helplessly as she cried for all she was worth. He had received bruises and beatings of his one that night. He placed his paw on his bruised cheek while his right eye swelled and turned black. "Go away, you bastard." Axel whispered as his father slammed the door shut for the final time. Along with pain and anger, Axel had also gotten quiet a potty mouth from his father. But he had grown into a strong and courageous young man. If he ever saw his father again, he would pay dearly.

The sound of snapping fingers just inches in front of his face brought him back to reality. "You back with us, Axel?" Riley asked. Axel took a quick moment to scan his surroundings. "Y..yeah. Just sorta zoinked out there." He replied. Axel sighed as he returned to his meal. Although he knew he needed to eat, he had quite lost his appetite. It wasn't the flashbacks of his horrid childhood that had caused this, it was the gory and horrific images that haunted his mind. Despite that, he continued eating anyway.

While the soldiers were eating, a heavily guarded truck had just pulled up to the fortress that temporarily housed the platoon. Sergeant Rico and few other superiors stood out in the yard as the truck pulled up. Two young men stepped out of the truck and began carrying crates out of the back while a young female soldier with an M-16 strapped to her back confronted the higher ranking military personal. "Sir, here are the supplies and mail you requested." She said as she stood at attention before them. "Good work, soldier. Well done. How are conditions at the 4708 M.A.S.H. unite?" one of the uppers asked. "There is a slight decline on food rations. There's word that the enemy is hijacking any supply trucks they spot."

"Right. Well, take care of yourselves."

The female soldier nodded and saluted the uppers before turning to assist her male companions with the cargo. When the supplies had been loaded, the visiting deliverers made their exit. As they departed and security had been put back up against the station, the squirrels were completely oblivious to a pair of sinister black eyes that watched the truck as it made it's departure from the station. A figure smirked and a small evil laugh escaped its stitched mouth. It lowered the binoculars and turned to a pair of figures covered in the shadows.

Axel leaned up against the wall of the bunk and crossed his legs as he opened the letter addressed to him. He took a small breath as he slipped the letter from the envelope and unfolded it. He already knew whom the letter was from, but he couldn't help but feel nervous when opening it. He held the piece of paper in his hands and began scanning his eyes down the letters so neatly hand written in blue ink.

Dear Axel,

I know you don't want me to worry too much about you, but that's proven to be impossible. Mother's instinct, I suppose. The house is so lonely without you here. I can't help but fear each day I face as the day I might lose you forever. Every night I go to sleep thankful that I hadn't received any notice of your demise.

Are they taking care of you, honey? Are you eating well? Make sure to take care of yourself, okay? I'm so proud of you, don't forget that. Please come home safely.

Love, Mom

Axel sighed to himself as he gently folded up the letter and placed it in his chest pocket. He hated to think of his mother all alone in the house and worried sick about him. He began thinking of how to reply to this letter in a way that would ease her a bit of her concern. Am I eating well, how ironic. Axel thought to himself. He wasn't starving, that was for sure, but he couldn't exactly say he was eating well either. A smile crept onto his face as he closed his eyes and reminisced about his mother's cooking. After his father left, they actually had the chance to move out of the gutter and live decent lives without his father's greed and alcohol cravings sucking up all his mother's money. With that came the opportunity to eat actual food for a change. His mother was a great cook and made the best mac and cheese a squirrel could ever hope to eat. However, she never really got to cook that often what with her job and all, so it was usually Axel who was stuck with the task of cooking dinner. He had a bit of a culinary gift himself but it was nothing compared to his mother's. Whenever she had the chance to cook it was like a holiday.

He opened his eyes and sighed. He had no idea what his reply letter should say. He was never good at writing letters in the first place. He slowly walked over to a desk and took out a clean sheet of paper and a pen. "Okay," he said to himself as he exhaled. He tapped the end of the pen on the desk and scanned the bunk. The others seemed to have no problem finding the right words to place in their letters. Axel shook his head and returned to the task at hand. He had already decided to leave out the gory details of the battle. That would obviously be a bad choice to write about. He decided not to write about his nightmares either. His mother had not heard about his little brawl with Jones during boot camp either and he was going to keep it that way as well. "Then what should I write about?" he mumbled to himself. Shrugging to himself, he put his pen to the paper and decided to see what would happen if he just let the words write themselves.

Dear Mom,

I wish there was something I could do to get you to stop worrying. I can't really say that I blame you, but it's not healthy either. I'm perfectly fine and I have every intention of surviving. Please don't worry anymore.

Axel dropped his pen on the desk and placed his paw to his forehead. "That is just awful," he mumbled. "I suck at this." He was about to continue with what he could get down and edit it later when Chitter entered the bunk. "Hey guys, we've got duty." Axel placed his pen and paper on his nightstand as the other grumbled amongst themselves. "Didn't we just have duty two days ago?" Hunter mumbled under his breath. No one liked ground lookout, but it was better then scrubbing toilets. That and there was at least the chance to get some fresh air. That just might be what I need to get my letter heading in the right direction. Axel thought to himself. There was always the slight chance of something happening on ground lookout that would make for good 'writing back home' material, just as long as it didn't include any enemy surprise attacks or the gory death of one of your war buddies. Sighing to himself, Axel hoped something interesting would happen. If not, he and the guys would be subjected to five straight hours of pure boredom.

"This is bad," a young male soldier said as he scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars. "Any word?" he called to his companion. The same female soldier from before twisted the knob on a radio and listened for any signs of life. "Nothing. You think the other cargo trucks got hijacked as well?" The male soldier was just about to reply when something rustling in nearby bushes caught his attention. His eyes narrowed as he slowly reached for his weapon strapped to his back and clicked off the safety. His eyes scanned the area as he slowly approached the bush. With a shaking hand, he reached for the bush and pulled it back to find…nothing. "the hell?" he said to himself. That's when the sound of a bullet filled the air as he arched his back. Blood splattered the ground as he let out a forced scream and fell face first to the ground.

"Holy shit!" the female soldier screamed as she saw him die. With pure adrenaline fueling her, she jumped out of the truck and unstrapped her rifle. She heard another gasp of pain and from behind the truck the dead body of her other male companion fell to the dirt. She held her rifle in her hands and prepared to fire at whoever was attacking them. She took a step back as she heard footsteps from behind the truck. Before she could draw her next breath, two Tediz appeared from behind and car and charged her with their rifles drawn. She aimed her gun at them and was just about to put pressure on the trigger when she was struck from behind.

The next thing she knew, her face was in the dirt. She tried to get up, only to be struck again with what felt like a nightstick. Her lungs froze when she felt several Tediz drop upon her and began to take her pants off. She struggled one last time, but it wasn't long until she found herself on her back and held to the ground tightly by four Tediz. The Tediz laughed sinisterly as they pulled her underwear from her body. She screamed with terror as one Tedi reached inside of her. Pulling its hand out, it decided to get right down to it. Tears streamed down the young squirrel's face as she was rendered completely helpless. Several cries echoed through the area and were suddenly ended with the loud sound of a pistol. The Tediz piled into the truck and drove off. In their wake, they left the young girl with her clothes halfway off and a bullet through her chest. A large puddle of blood surrounded her body as the tears continued to stream down her lifeless face.

Five hours after their long shift began, it ended and nothing dared to intrude upon their camp station. In other words, another boring five-hour long ground lookout had finally come to an end. Axel scratched his head and rubbed his eyes as he and the others reentered the camp. Ground lookout required constant vigilance and that was not always easy to keep up at times. But they could be glad their shift was over for the time being. Hunter stretched his arms over his head then placed one paw on his stomach. "I'm famished! What about you guys?" As if on signal, a choir of growling stomachs answered Hunter's question. "No wonder, it's past noon." Axel said, looking at his wristwatch. "I wonder why they didn't sound mess call." San said.

"Well, let's go find out." Hunter said. "If I don't get some food into me soon, I'm gonna pass out."

Before they got to the mess hall, they saw on obvious disturbance between the cooking staff and the other soldiers. "Great, what concoction have those 'artists' come up with this time?" Riley said as they approached the angry crowd. "What's going on?" San asked one of the soldiers on the sidelines. "They come up with a new way to combine salsa and seven bargain can meals or something?"

"If only that," the soldier said turning to them. "There isn't any food."

"You mean they're not doing their job or…"

"We're not sure. They just came out saying they didn't have any food made."

"Everyone listen up!" One of the cooks said, standing on a crate in order to get the attention of the soldiers. "We were supposed to receive a supply of food rations over an hour ago. This is outta our control. You're gonna have to take it up with the Uppers." Riley lowered his head and sighed. "Great, just what we need." The small group watched as several soldiers headed towards the upper's office to find out what was going on. "Shall we follow suit, gentlemen?" Riley said in his mockingly formal voice. Axel rolled his eyes and sighed while shaking his head slightly from side to side. "I dun care. Do whatever it is you want." He replied. Riley gave him a strange look and playfully hit him in the shoulder. "C'mon. It was in good humor for your entertainment you know. Let's go." Riley and the others turned to follow the large group of soldiers heading for the main offices. "Whatever," Axel mumbled as he slowly lagged behind.

"This is reaching critical level. Every cargo truck in the area has disappeared, some stations have gone for weeks without food. At this rate all of our troops will starve." Several officials of the Squirrel High Command exchanged concerned glances at the news of the hijackings. The enemy had struck each one of the trucks without warning and seemingly out of nowhere as well. Until the hijacking operation was put to a hault, there was no way they could deliver any supplies to any of the stations. But by that time, it may be too late for some areas. "Couldn't we start up a convoy system to escort the cargo trucks?" someone suggested. One of the Generals sighed before stating his facts. "We've tried that, but so far only one of the five convoy trucks has made it through. We're going to have to stop this at the source." The officials mumbled in agreement, but none of them had any suggestions or ideas as to how to prevent the hijackings. "We may have to put an entire branch on this case. After all, the entire Army branch is in grave danger." Someone spoke up.

"But who can handle this?"

"The Marines can do a ground sweep,"

"They'd be taken out too easily. We have no idea where the enemy is hiding."

"I suggest the Air Force. They'd be able to scope out more land."

"They may be too easily spotted,"

"Perhaps, but probably not easily attacked. If we have an arial sweep of the area, then enemy may not be able to react soon enough to attack or relocate."

"That may take a while if it even works at all."

"But it's the fastest way. Our soldiers can't hold out forever."

A sudden silence fell over the room. It was as if a light bulb went off, but everyone was too afraid to make any actions. "We'll have a vote on it tomorrow. Dismissed."

Axel changed out of his uniform and into his sleeping clothes. They had just heard about the hijackings from the Uppers. He didn't want to dwell on it too much. The entire camp of soldiers had gone the rest of the day without eating and their hunger was enough of a reminder as they needed. Trying to ignore the hungry noises from his stomach, he climbed into bed and pulled the sheet over his body. He stared at the wall in a seated position as he allowed his mind to begin shutting down for the night. He then slowly turned his gaze towards his friend. "How you holdin' up, Riley?" Riley was sitting on the edge of his bed and had not yet changed out of his uniform. "I think I'll survive," He paused as his stomach growled loudly again. "maybe."

"We'll be okay. Trust me." San replied from the other side of the bunk.

"Really? How do you know?" Axel asked.

"I dunno, just a gut feeling."

At this point, everyone cast strange looks at him. San scanned the room with his eyes and grinned sheepishly. "Erm, no pun intended." He said as he gently waved his hand in the air and sweatdropped. He cast his gaze down at the bed and faced no one. "Let's just try to get some sleep." With that said, everyone who was already dressed for the occasion climbed into their beds. Axel layed back on his pillow and closed his eyes. He rolled over to his side and exhaled gently as he began to feel sleep claim him.

Pretz and Kaila eagerly volunteered for the task of locating and destroying the enemy hijackers. The boys were in trouble and they were their only hope. Miya, Gena, and Sabrina had also volunteered to help with the search as well. Now Pretz and the girls found themselves sailing miles above the ground and scanning the entire area with intense vigilance. Through the dark cover of the early morning it would be hard for them to be spotted. That made their job easier, but it was only a matter of time before the sun rose and blew their cover. Nevertheless, they continued with their search.

"709, unidentified ground object to your right. Check it out." A male voice spoke in Pretz's headset. "Roger!" she replied as she scanned her small screen for any signs of life. They've got to be around her some where. She said in her mind as she strained her eyes. The fate of the entire Army branch was in their hands, as well as the lives of Riley and Axel, and she was certainly not going to let them down. Some sort of blob came up on her heat censors. "680, I've detected something to the South. It appears to be a….." she trailed off when she realized the mysterious object was gained altitude. "HOLY SHIT!" she cried as she pulled on the controls and sent her plane into a steep barrel roll.

"What is it, 709?" the same male voice asked. Before she could respond, the large object shot past Pretz's plane and into the air. In less then the blink of an eye, the missile had chosen another target and caused fatal damage the unfortunate pilot that lacked the reflexes to evade it. Pretz looked up just in time to see pieces of metal and fire spark over head. Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Oh no," As what remained of Gena's plane fell to earth, Pretz could've sworn she saw what was left of Gena's body fall with it. "We have confirmed their whereabouts, keep your eyes open." The voice in her headset said, jarring her from her thoughts. A dot on her radar suddenly appeared. Those bastards. She thought as she switched to combat mode. "You're gonna pay for this,"

"709, do not engage in combat." Pretz blinked as if she had just been brought out of a trance. "All units report back to base now." She sat there for a few seconds as if her mind had gone completely numb. She sighed in anger as she steered the plane back towards base. Her hands shook as she gripped the controls tightly and tears escaped her closed eyes. "Gena," she whispered as her shoulders began to shake. She slowly opened her eyes and snarled in anger. "Next time, I'm going to kill you bastards by myself if I have to." She fiercely wiped her tears away and flew towards the base with the others to give their report to the Uppers. Although they were specifically ordered not to engage in any type of combat, Pretz wanted nothing more than to disobey her orders. "I'll get them back Gena. Don't worry."

Hours later that very same morning Axel opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then immediately tried to get back to sleep. It had been three days since he and the other soldiers had eaten. Axel had found that even after a full night sleep free of nightmares, he was still tired as hell. As he closed his eyes and buried his face back into his pillow, he felt something soft hit him hard on the head again. "Riley, give me a break here, man." He said without opening his eyes. "But harassing you is so much fun," Riley said in a tired, but somewhat cheerful voice. "Besides, they're not letting anyone else sleep in. Get up." Axel grumbled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position on his bed. He slid off the side of his bed and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed the bedpost. It took a while for his body to wake up what with the food shortage and all. As he slowly began to regain the strength in his legs, he carefully made his way over to his trunk and began taking out his uniform.

"You holdin' up all right?" San said from the other side of the bunk. As Axel slipped his pants on, he gave San a strange look. "I should be asking you the same," he said with a tired grin on his face. San blinking for a few seconds then shook his head. San had fainted the day before. He had lost quite a bit of blood when he was shot and the food shortage wasn't helping him with his recovery.

Then again everyone felt as though they would pass out. Despite the crisis, the Uppers demanded the soldiers continued with their usual duties. Today Axel and the guys had to relocate the ammo to another part of the camp. The Tediz were known for throwing lighted matches over the fences of camps and igniting the ammo, causing huge explosions and killing several soldiers in the process. Weekly relocation of the ammunition was the only way to prevent this.

All six squirrels struggled to move a large ammunition box. Usually it would only take two of them to push a box that size along, but the task was much more difficult with low energy and hungry bellies. "We're obviously not gettin' anywhere." Rin said as he leaned up against the box for support. "Any suggestions?"

"I suggest we take a break," Riley said as he slid to the ground. A few others mumbled in agreement as they each took a seat on the ground and leaned up against the box. Only Rin was left standing. "You know the Sarge is gonna be pissed if we don't get this done."

"Yeah, but there's no point in straining ourselves." Hunter said. San put his paw to his forehead and moaned slightly. "San?"

San looked up and grinned weakly. "I'm okay, just a little lightheaded."

"See? We're all dead tired and we've only managed to move this box a total of twelve feet in the last half-hour. We need a break." Hunter then put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Besides, Rin, why are you so worried about what the Sarge'll think? I think he'd understand considering the circumstances. I mean, we know you like to kiss his ass and all, but….."

"I do not kiss the Sarge's ass! I just don't wanna be yelled at!"

"He's not gonna yell at you." Axel said. "You're his favorite or something."

"That's 'cos he sucks up to him." Hunter said.

"I do not dammit!"

"Yeah ya do. That's why he let you be leader of our group."

"He didn't let me, he assigned me! No need to be jealous of my superior skills, you guys."

"Yeah, his superior ass-kissing skills." Axel said.

Riley stuck his thumb in his mouth and began sucking and blowing on it. He then slowly removed it from his mouth and grinned with his eyes halfway shut. "So, did I get that promotion now, sir?" he said erotically in his best impression of Rin's voice. All six squirrels, including Rin, busted out laughing. "I can't believe you guys." Rin said as he held his forehead in his paw. He paused now and then in his speaking to catch some breath that was forced out of his lungs by laughter. "Meh, whatever gets our minds off our hunger." Hunter said shrugging. Axel sighed as the laughter died down. For those past few seconds he had completely forgotten about the pain in his stomach and his weakness. As the saying goes: Laughter is the best medicine.

"We better get this done before we get yelled at." Rin said in a serious voice. The others groaned silently as they got to their feet. The sooner they had gotten the task at hand finished the sooner they could rest for the day. Axel placed his paws on the box and leaned against it was he waited for the others to get to their feet. He sighed heavily through his mouth. Relocating the ammo sucked. As the others joined him at the side of the box, Axel inhaled deeply through his nose and froze. There was a strange aroma in the air that he hadn't noticed before what with his previous laughing fit. He sniffed the air again. His heart skipped a beat and his stomach churned. He couldn't believe what he was smelling, but at the same time he knew his nose was right. "Food…" Axel mumbled as he moved away from the box and in the smell's general direction.

"What the hell is wrong with you Axel?" Rin said when he noticed Axel's strange behavior. He looked over his shoulder at the others and blinked plainly for a few seconds. "Food. Someone has food. Can't you smell it?"

"I don't smell a damn thing! Hurry up, we gotta get this done." Rin said.

"I'm illin', someone has food." Axel mumbled without even facing them.

"And I'm desperate enough to believe him," Hunter said. "Lead the way, Slugger!"

San and Riley silently agreed with Hunter as they began to follow Axel to the supposed food source. Chitter and Rin leaned up against the box as the four of them slowly walked off. They stood blinking silently for a moment before Rin turned to Chitter as if to ask if he'd 'abandon' him as well. "Ah well….food." Chitter said with a shrug before he went off. Rin watched at the five of them walked away. He shook his head then remembered the task at hand and sighed. There was no way he would be able to move the box on his own. A sudden pinch-hit his stomach. "I don't believe these guys," he mumbled as he walked off to join the others.

After travelling quite a few feet in food's general direction, a faint smell reached the noises of the other squirrels. It was very difficult for them to pick up and they may not have even noticed had they not been searching for such a smell. As they continued to follow Axel to the supposed food source, the smell grew stronger and it was no longer mistakable what it was. It was in fact food. As they reached a distant bunk the smells were easily identified. Cooked chicken smothered in BBQ sauce and macaroni and cheese. There was no doubt about it. Some greedy bastard had food and wasn't about to share it with anyone else.

Axel and the others stood at the door of the distant bunk. He looked over his shoulder and gave them a classic of 'I told you so' look. "First he hears the Tediz, then the reinforcement, now this. Do you have super senses or something Axel?" Hunter said. Axel shrugged and grinned. "Ever since I was little I've had an advanced sense of hearing and smell. Can't really explain it." Axel replied. "That's only good news for us." Riley said. "Now let's bust this greedy asshole!"

Inside the bunk three soldiers selfishly chowed down without a second thought of their suffering Brothers in Arms. They were so engrossed with their eating that they didn't even notice the door slowly and quietly open. Neither did they notice the six figures creeping into the bunk, a few brandishing pieces of wood they had found. They didn't even acknowledge the presence of the intruders until one of them spoke. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" The soldiers looked up to see Riley standing before them with his arms crossed and a mean grin on his face. He was backed up by Axel, who stood with a nasty leer and ready for a fight, while the others hit their open paws with the pieces of wood they had found. Axel's face fell when he caught a glimpse of one of the selfish squirrels. "Jones! I should've known."

"How the hell did you find us?" Jones said leering at Axel. Axel smirked and leered back. "Did you really think you could bring food into this camp without anyone noticing?"

"Well, it sure took you long enough to catch on…."

"What?!"

"What? You think this is all we bought?"

"Where did you buy this?!" Hunter demanded.

"Travelling merchants out to take advantage of the food crisis out here. Some people can be pretty sick when it comes to making money."

"And you bought it all for yourselves. Figures."

"Do you have any idea how expensive this was? Food's not cheap out here you know."

Axel suddenly grabbed Jones by the collar. His paws were shaking with anger and looked as though they might shatter under their own grip pressure. "Do you have any idea what's going on outside!? Everyone here is suffering. I sometimes here guys moaning at night because they're so hungry! San here and the other injured soldiers need food more than anyone else here in order to recover! These aren't a bunch of strangers suffering. These are your comrades, your fellow soldiers, your Brothers in Arms! And here you are stuffing your face while everyone else slowly starves to death! You make me sick!" With a sudden movement, Jones sent his fist flying into Axel's chest. He was blinded by his anger and didn't even see the hit coming until the force sent him to the floor. Jones was a lot stronger than him at the moment and he couldn't prevent himself from falling in his weakened state.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same if you had the money!" Jones yelled at him. "Can you really blame us for not wanting to starve to death! Can you!?" Axel glared at him as he picked himself up. "I can't blame you for not wanting to starve, but this is no excuse! There are guys out there who would give their tail for just a nibble of food. Just a small hope of survival and relief, that's all they want." Jones shook his head. "You don't know what you're saying. It's easy for you to say how wrong I am and how noble you are for suffering with them. You can't tell me you'd do differently. You hate being hungry, don't you? You'd give anything for a meal, wouldn't you? Who are you to say I'm wrong here? Survival of the fittest I say." Axel crossed his arms and sneered at him. Just maintaining the nasty look he was giving Jones was giving him a headache. He grunted as he turned to the others and nodded. They turned on heel and slowly walked towards the exit.

As suddenly as a lighting bolt, all six squirrels were knocked to the floor with the door slamming shut in front of them. Axel felt Jones's boot pressing down on his spine. "You didn't think we'd just let you go to tell everyone we've got food, did you?" Jones said as he increased the pressure on Axel's back. "You're not going anywhere until the evidence has been….taken care of if you will." Another squirrel said. From his position on the floor Axel recognized the guy as one of Jones's lackeys from boot camp. He felt his anger rising and he struggled out from under his enemy's foot. "I'm going to kill you, you butt fucking greedy son of a bitch!" he shouted.

The wind was suddenly knocked out of Axel's lungs when Jones's foot came down on his back. "You don't have a chance against me now. You're too weak to fight. Fortunately for you I'm in a good mood. I'll spare you a royal ass beating and if you're good, I might even share some of this food with you and your friends. What do you say?" Axel looked over his shoulder at Jones and leered evilly. "I'm not like you. I could never eat knowing everyone else is suffering."

"Same here," Riley said

One by one the squirrels stood by Axel's decision to 'boycott' whatever food Jones offered them. Jones stared at them and shook his head. "I don't understand. You want food yet you refuse when it's offered to you."

"It's called compassion!" Axel said. "I guess that's something you'll never understand."

Jones sighed and chuckled softly. "Guess not. You guys are way too soft. You'll never survive this war. I doubt you'll even last a week unless they manage to get some food here soon. This could be your only chance for survival." He gently lifted his foot from Axel's back as he took a bite out of his BBQ sandwich. Although he was physically free to move once again, Axel remained motionless on the floor. He was worn out and he felt sick. For a second he even thought about just going to sleep on the floor. He must've eventually dozed off for a few minutes because Jones and the other squirrels had finished their food and ushered them out of there after getting rid of whatever evidence there was before he knew it.

Pretz and the others stood at attention as their commanding officer explained the situation to them. Pretz was still enraged about Gena's death and her heart pounded with adrenaline as the thought of getting the chance for revenge entered her mind. "We are usually not so rash as to suggest bombing such small enemy posts, but in this case we have decided to make an exception. Your mission is to escort the bombers to these enemy posts. The Tediz have incredibly powerful missiles and they have an arial defense base hidden nearby. You'll have to protect the bombers at all costs. Are there any questions?" The commander looked over the crew of men and women and continued when there was no response. "All right. When the Marine scouts have given us their stats we will begin. I suggest you all rest up for your mission. Dismissed."

Pretz walked down the hallway towards her bunk with her fists clenched at her sides. Kaila walked close behind with her hands behind her head. Although she was just as angry about the death of their comrade, her eyes didn't harbor the same anger leer as her blue-haired friend's did. "Pretz, don't be so tense. Everything's going to be fine." Pretz stopped suddenly and looked at the floor. She slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. "I know," she said softly. She took a few deep breaths and continued to walk.

"I'm going to get them back. Nothing can be okay until then," Pretz said almost inaudibly. "Excuse me?" Kaila said, still maintaining her pace next to Pretz. "For what they did." Pretz spoke softly again. "They killed her. THEY KILLED HER!" Kaila took a few steps back and let her arms fall to her sides. Pretz stood there shaking and taking deep breaths. "They killed her," she whispered again. Kaila looked at her then lowered her gaze to the ground. "I know. We'll get them back."

"Damn right we'll get them back!" Pretz said suddenly as she turned towards her friend. Kaila was taken a bit by surprise by her friend's eagerness to battle. Pretz slowly allowed her gaze to float from Kaila to the ceiling. Even though there was a roof just above her, her mind painted the perfect picture of the night sky for her to gaze upon. "Riley, Axel. Please don't die. Hang in there."

Axel gripped his fists as he stood looking his opponent in the eyes. The hot wind of the desert rushed past them as a few tumbleweeds blew by. There were several rocky mountains and suaro cactuses around as the sun slowly sank behind the enemy, creating a black silhouette of his body. The sky was blood red and a few vultures flew over head squawking. Out of nowhere, the enemy charged at Axel. Axel stood still as the enemy ran towards him. He slowly twitched his tail back and forth as if showing sign of impatientness at his enemy's speed. Before he knew it, Axel had swung his foot up and kicked the enemy in the jaw a split second after he had reached striking range. He charged at his enemy and swung his fist into his face. He then spun around and delivered a round-house kick to the side of the enemy's head.

There was a painful snapping sound as the enemy fell to the ground. The force of the kick had broken his neck. Axel approached the dead body and grinned evilly. The setting sun was shining its last few rays on his lifeless face, revealing the enemy as Jones. Axel knelt beside Jones's body and placed his paw on Jones's chest. He dug his fingers into his chest and crushed his rib cage. Blood came seeping out of Jones's dead body and Axel's terrifying grin widened. He brought his paw up to his face and began licking the sour blood off of his fingers. He savored every drop of blood as if it were syrup. After finishing his snack, Axel twisted Jones's arm off and took a large bite out of the bisep. Blood ran down his mouth as he slowly chewed the flesh and once again savored the taste of it in his mouth. He gulped the muscle down and took another bite out of Jones's arm.

Axel's eyes snapped open as he gasped for air. He once again found himself staring at the ceiling of the bunk. He wiped his forehead and placed his paw over his eyes as if he were ashamed to face the world. "Oh my God…." He mumbled to himself in utter terror.

My, my Axel. Are you really that barbaric and hungry?

"Harry, I don't need this right now."

I was only asking a question. I didn't know you hated Jones that much. Although killing and eating him doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Why not?

"I'm not going to carry out another one of your evil suggestions Harry."

Well, it's not like the guy has any purpose here. I don't know about you but I didn't see him anywhere during the ground sweep battle, or performing any duties.

"You do have a point there."

So…..

"I'm not a cannibal dammit!"

I was only kidding! Yeesh! So how have you been?

"Lousy."

I see. Well it's time for me to be going, see you soon.

Axel shuddered as Harry disappeared back into his subconscious. He let out a shaking sigh and rolled over. He wrapped his arms around the pillow and smothered his face with it. Sure, he hated Jones with a passion, but the image of him eating his rival's dead body terrified him. "What am I gonna do?" he mumbled. He felt very lost at the moment. He wasn't sure what was bothering him. The dream, the uncertainty, or maybe just the thought of starving to death. Perhaps it was a combination of these elements, but whatever it was, he just wanted to forget. He just wanted to sleep and forget about the dream, the uncertainty and even starving. If there was a guardian watching over Axel that night, she must've felt pity for the young squirrel for it wasn't long before those disturbing thoughts faded into the back of his mind and tears began running from his eyes as he yawned. He closed his eyes and suddenly felt completely relaxed.

The next thing Axel knew he was receiving yet another beating from Riley's pillow. He moaned as he cracked open his eyes and saw rays of morning light squeezing through the window. "Dammit, Riley, knock it off!" He yelled as he tried to block his friend's pillow. Although he was once again being reluctant about getting up, Riley stopped hitting him and didn't bother telling him how lazy he was. Everyone was running low on energy now and Axel noticed Riley didn't have as much strength behind his hits with the pillow as he did the day before. That was understandable. After all, it was now a total of five days since any of them had eaten. Axel was amazed any of them still had the energy to get out of bed.

The Uppers no longer demanded the soldiers to perform duties under these conditions. The soldiers needed every last bit of energy they had left. Axel pushed himself into a sitting position and placed his paw on the bed frame. He didn't know why he wanted to get up, he really didn't have to, but once he was in a sitting position he felt a little bit stronger. He noticed everyone else was dressed and heading out the door. "Where you guys goin'?" he asked. "Outside by the crates. It's cooler out there." Riley said. This was the first and probably only time the soldiers were allowed to lay around all day. Of course, under the current conditions it wasn't exactly fun, but they were going to make the most of a bad situation while they still could.

Axel allowed the others to go ahead without him. He wasn't in any hurry anyway. After sitting on his bed for a while, he finally got up and searched for his uniform. As feeble as he thought he should have felt, he got dressed rather quickly and sat down on his trunk. Every now and then he would get sort of an energy recharge, but that was always short lived. He was some what surprised how well he and the others were managing to hold out without any food. Sure it was no picnic and thing weren't getting any easier for them, but they could still move and they weren't going crazy. Axel would've expected half the camp to lose their minds and start going cannibalistic right about now. But they were strong. They had to have been to have made it this far.

Axel walked out of the bunk with his hands in his pockets. There were grey clouds in the sky and the air was cool. It was actually rather nice weather considering how hot it would sometimes get. Not that it bothered Axel too much. He was a desert squirrel raised in the Southwest. He would sometimes snicker to himself at the sight of the other squirrels struggling in the heat. However he never really felt like laughing when the weather turned cold. Never the less, the temperature was perfect whether a squirrel's coat was made for the desert heat or the freezing air of the north. The cool wind blew through Axel's hair-like tuffs of fur and whipped the ends of his trusty red bandana around. The Uppers discouraged wearing such brightly colored articles of clothes on the battle field, especially in Axel's case where his bandana would be the perfect target for a head shot, but they weren't fighting anyone right now and the Upper's could care less.

Just as this thought ran through his mind, Axel dropped to his knees so abruptly one might have thought he had been shot. He gritted his teeth in pain and clutched his stomach. A sharp pain cut through his body as if a knife was slowly running against the walls of his stomach. This feeling erupted in his body as if he had swallowed several pieces of glass. Sweat dripped down Axel's face as the intense cramping began. It was as if a pair of hands were twisting his stomach like a wet towel. He was in pure agonizing hell. But just as suddenly as the pain started, it was relieved. Axel gasped as he continued to hold his stomach. The hunger pains were becoming unbearable and there was no sign of relief in sight.

Axel swallowed a gulp of air and slowly rose to his feet. The intense pains were somewhat of a common occurrence. However the pain was never something one could get used to, but it was over for the time being. With that as it were, Axel leisurely headed to the crates where his friends were. He found a spot on the ground among the various crates and slowly headed over to claim it. He gently lowered himself to the ground, then finally allowed his legs to give in and hit the dirt with a gently thud. He sighed lightly as he leaned up against one of the crates and closed his eyes. He was thinking about going back to sleep for a while when he felt someone gently touch his arm. "Wha?" he mumbled as he opened his eyes and turned his head to the left.

A large flash blinded Axel's vision and caused him to cover his eyes with his paws in response. "AAAGH! What the hell was that?" he yelled as he shielded his tightly shut eyes with his arms. He heard several fits of laughter in response. "Don't feel bad, he got me too." He heard San say. Axel dared to slowly open his eyes while still keeping his arms up to protect them. To his right he saw Riley leaning against a crate and laughing with a small digital camera in his paws. "It's sad how easily we're entertained, isn't it?" he asked Axel. Axel blinked slightly and lowered his arms. "Where'd you get that?"

"Found it. It's broken but the flash still works."

"What'd you do that for though?! I'm gonna be seeing these retarded purple spots for hours thanks to you, fuckhead."

"I was bored. You're bored. Everyone's bored. This is our only source of entertainment."

Before another word was uttered, Axel quickly found the energy to spring to his feet and snatch the camera out of an unsuspecting Riley's hand. Riley watched helplessly as Axel took off with the camera, skidded to a stop twenty feet away, and turned towards him with a mocking grin on his face and the camera in his possession. "I'm gonna break your face in, Axel!" Riley shouted from his position on the ground. Axel snickered in reply and gently tossed the camera in the air, catching it in one hand. "No you won't, you're too lazy to chase me around." Riley paused in reply to this and scanned the dirt as if searching for a witty retort. After a few seconds of mindless blinking, he pounded his knee with his fist as a realization hit him. "Dammit! He's right!"

Several hours before the boys had been enjoying their terror free time off from the war with child-like horseplay, before any of them were even awake, a serious mission was underway. A mission that would determine the fate of the ground soldiers and possibly held the outcome of the war in the balance as well. The final effort to stop the hijackings was underway. If this mission was unsuccessful, there was a very good chance that everyone of the Army ground troops would perish from hunger. There was no room for error here. Many lives were in the balance. Not just those of the soldiers, but also those of the civilians who would be targeted without military protection. Obviously those thoughts didn't ease the nerves of Pretz or any of the other Air Force soldiers who were on this particular mission.

Nothing so far. Where are they? Pretz thought as her eyes scanned the control panel before her. The Tediz were out there, that was certain, but where and when they'd attack was the thing that made sweat trickle down her forehead. That and the knowledge that if she failed, her friends in the Army would be doomed. A sudden blink on one of the monitors caught her eye. She stared looking at the image as it slowly drew closer. "I've got something," she mumbled almost inaudibly.

"709, speak up. I can't hear you." A male voice spoke into her headset. As the voice continued, she gently lifted her gaze as something appeared on the horizon. "709, do you read…"

"INCOMING!" Pretz suddenly screamed as a blinding light spread across the sky. Whatever had been launched her way had missed her, but it was enough to send her plane out of control. "All unites prepare for combat engage! Protect the bombers at all costs!" she heard the voice command as she struggled to regain control of her plane. Using every bit of strength she had, she was slowly able to stop her plane from spinning, but not from plummeting. "Cm'on! Up, up…" she begged from gritted teeth. A sudden jerk sent the back of her head slamming against the seat. "Am I up?" she said in shock as she blinked.

"WATCH YOUR BACK!" Pretz never knew if that cry was meant for her, but it might as well have been. Her monitor showed some sort of inclosing objects on her tail. Pure instinct kicked in and Pretz pulled the controls back, sending the plane soaring towards the sky. She was still unclear on her location in the sky, until she found herself staring out into the horizon and behind the enemy that had fired at her. She had done a loop. Hey, that was kinda cool! She thought as she narrowed her eyes and locked her target. "Lock on target…and fire!" she grinned as she commanded her plane to release a pair of missiles towards the enemy's plane.

As the light of the explosion filled the air, a dark figure was hurtling towards Pretz's plane, causing her to pull back on the controls by reflex. She shuddered in fear as a plane flew by her at high top speeds, just missing her. A quick glance at the radar concluded that everyone was engaged in combat. Her eyes scanned the horizon left and right. She wasn't sure who or where the enemy was but she kept her plane moving to prevent herself from becoming an easy target.

She made a quick and sharp turn when she detected an enemy plane releasing several missiles at her fellow pilots. That was nearly a fatal mistake. Upon looking forward, she spotted something that made her heart stop. Right before her was an enemy plane that was on a head on collision course with her. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes grew large. She could've sworn she saw the eyes of the enemy Tedi inside, smiling evilly on a pure kamikaze mission. "Oh, God!" she said as the plane whipped past her. She blinked for a second unable to piece together what had just happened. The whole thing lasted less than a second, but it seemed like several minutes. She slowly looked down at her hands, which gripped the controls of the plane tightly. That's when she realized she hadn't let up on the sharp turn. She had unconsciously turned the plane just enough to steer her to safety. Her own reflexes had saved her.

"They're retreating. Don't let up!" a voice commanded into her headset. She looked around slightly and regained steady control of her plane. The Tediz were after the bombers, however they had underestimated the will of the dog fighters that would be accompanying them. Hold on, guys. It's almost over. She saw the kamikaze Tedi turning back, most likely going for one good shot at one of the Bombers. "I've had enough of this." She said as she flicked up the trigger buttons on the control panels. She leaned her plane far to the left and headed straight for the enemy plane. She hadn't realized until after she made her fateful move that the enemy may have back up guards, but there was no turning back now.

"Die," she whispered as she pressed the trigger buttons. The twin machine guns on her plane began spewing out a river of hot lead at the enemy. The enemy plane swayed heavily as it received several bullet puncture before finally losing the battle to stay in the air. "We are over target coordinates. All dog fighters clear out." Pretz grinned slightly as she maneuvered her plane high above the ground and well out of the path of the Bombers. Once the signal was given, the pilots released canisters onto the target, which later swallowed hidden bases in an ocean of destruction. That ought to quite things down a bit. Pretz thought as she and the remaining arial fighters headed towards base. I just hope Riley and the others held out long enough.

"And it was the best sandwich I had ever eaten in my entire life." Axel and the others were laying in the dirt and staring up at the sky as they exchanged stories of food. Their hunger had finally caused them to go a little crazy, but they thought nothing out of the ordinary about their conversation. Axel placed his paws behind his head and watched the clouds above him slowly passed by. "I could really go for some homemade macaroni and cheese right about now." He mumbled to no one inparticular. "Macaroni and cheese?" Hunter replied. "Tell us! Tell us! I gotta hear this one!"

"Well," Axel began. "The macaroni and cheese was the cheesiest in all the land. None could measure up to its pure wholesome goodness. It was first in its class and all the other macaroni and cheese turned green, but I think that was because it was old."

"How did it taste?" San chimed in.

"When I took a bite of that Holy Cheese and Pasta Beast, it was like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited. Except for Jones, he sucks."

"The Holy Beast must choose well," Hunter said.

"It did," Axel said, his eyes dilating as he looked onward into the cloudy sky. "It is in the clouds! It needs no ketchup!"

"You put ketchup on macaroni and cheese?" San said. "That's gross!"

"No it's not! You should try it." Axel replied.

"No way! That sounds disgusting!"

"Not as disgusting as putting nacho cheese on Hostess cupcakes."

"Who the hell does that?"

"Riley,"

At this point, four squirrels turned their gaze towards Riley. "Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it." Riley replied nonchalantly. Axel continued starring at the sky and didn't even acknowledge the food conversation anymore. He felt so tired and the weather was so cool and relaxing. Every time he blinked his eye felt heavier and heavier. "I'm goin' to sleep," he mumbled almost inaudibly and he closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh before he lost himself in the sleeping state. Although it was hours later that Riley began punching Axel in the arm, it only seemed like minutes. "Axel! Get up! It's a miracle or something!" he heard Riley say. "I don't care about what you got for Christmas! Leave me alone." He mumbled as he rolled onto his side, trying to get back to sleep. Riley gripped his arm tightly and shook him, but he refused to open his eyes. "Come on, Axel! They've got food!"

This time, Axel's eyes snapped open and he launched himself into a sitting position. "Wha? They…who has what?!" Axel stuttered as he was still half-asleep. "Them! They got food!" Riley said pointing in the direction of the cafeteria. "Holy shit, are you ser….WAA!" Riley grew tired of Axel's questions and pulled him to his feet. He quickly took off for the cafeteria and left his drowsy friend behind. Axel slowly sped himself into a run when he noticed several other soldiers heading towards the cafeteria. "My friends suck," he said when he realized everyone had left him behind.

It wasn't too long later that Axel managed to catch up to the others in the cafeteria where food rations and food donations from the civilians were being served. Although most of it was cheap store brand non-perishable food items, the soldiers didn't seem to mind at all. Axel sighed slightly as he placed a spoonful of macaroni and cheese in his mouth. The flavor of those tender noodles smothered with cheese sauce brought back some rather pleasant memories from his childhood. Of course, this mac and cheese was no where near as good as his mother's. It was definitely missing something. "That is really disgusting! I can't believe you actually put that shit on your food!" Hunter said as he watched Axel generously drown his mac and cheese in an ocean of ketchup. "Try it before you rip on it, you stupid stuck up bitch." Axel replied as he stirred his mac and cheese around.

Throughout the remainder of the meal, the boys continued their random comments of such things. After words, they could laugh about their episode of temporary insanity, but for the moment all they cared about was besting the rest at insults and eating until they felt sick. Well, they'd be able to laugh when the indigestion had passed.

A/N: Aren't I a bitch? I make you all wait ALL this time to read chapter eight, and this is what ya get! Mwa, ha, ha! I am evil! I don't know what it was about this chapter that took me forever, but I'm glad it's finally done! Don't forget to review!