Mission 19 – Infiltration

Fox watched Obsidian and Jade board the Great Fox from the bridge. They were final asset to their team, added by Admiral Pepper just to be safe. He knew they were skilled, but he felt uneasy letting them on the ship. He himself didn't know them well enough, and Fox simply felt a little suspicious about the two agents. He had to welcome them though, they were part of Sirus' family, and Damon had practically begged to let Obsidian come. He would tolerate them; they weren't too bad, their powers just made him paranoid. He frowned; he had bigger things to worry about besides the two. It was Leon that should be his prime concern.
Obsidian was resting on Sirus' bed, still recovering from his wounds. Damon was lying on the floor, looking up at him, watching him sleep. Damon wrapped the blanket of Sirus' makeshift bed around himself. Sirus and Obsidian had been paired in a room for the trip, while Jade was staying in a guest room. It was Damon who volunteered to watch Obsidian, to make sure he rested well. Damon let out a soft yawn, smacking his lips upon finishing. He realized it was bed time, but didn't want to leave Obsidian. He doubted Sirus would care, so he sank into the little mattress that Sirus had pulled into the room. Damon frowned, the mattress was stiff and uncomfortable, something he'd grown to hate as it was what he was subjected to most of his life. He looked up at Obsidian, lying peacefully in bed. Damon crawled up to the side of the bed, still wrapped in the blanket. He rested there on his haunches, wondering if Obsidian would mind if Damon laid his head on the wolf. He sat down, curled into a little ball, and then laid his head on Obsidian's chest. The little hybrid listened to the rhythmic sounds of Obsidian's heartbeat, slowly drifting off to sleep.

The door slid open, and Jade slipped into the dark room. She had no problem seeing in the dark, and she giggled at the sight she saw. Damon was snuggling up to Obsidian while he slept. She whispered to herself, "Our vigilant little watchman..." she crept over, not wanting to wake either of them. She knelt down by Damon, the little hybrid was jerking slightly in his sleep, most likely another bad dream. She reached he hand out and began to stroke the little hybrid's cheek. Damon's eyes shot open, and he looked straight at Jade. He immediately jerked away, crawling into the nearest corner; he tried to wrap himself tighter in the blanket.

Damon spoke, Jade could hear light sobs in his speech, "Please don't hurt me..."

Jade stood up and walked over to the frightened hybrid. She offered a hand out and he shuddered. He tried to hug the corner tighter and tighter, shivering more and more. She heard him continue to beg, "Please don't hurt me...please don't hurt me..." When he couldn't huddle any closer to the wall he looked at her pleadingly. Jade could see the little hybrid was truly scared.

Jade whispered to Damon, "...I'm...sorry..."

Damon continued to cry, but he looked at the feline in front of him, "What?" he said disbelievingly.

Jade moved her hand closer, "...I'm sorry..." she started to tear. She moved her hand close enough to stroke Damon's cheek, wiping some of the tears from his fur. Damon simply stared, unsure what to think or do. Jade looked into his eyes, "Can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

Damon got a little closer to Jade, "I'm sorry for hurting Obsidian...it was my fault...I'm just a useless incompetent freak like you said..."

"You are not useless." Jade said, pulling Damon close to her, "I should have never said that. It wasn't your fault that Obsidian got hurt. Listen, I'm sure Fox has big plans for you in the upcoming mission, just be confident, you can do it." She then kissed him lightly on the cheek. Damon blushed profusely, causing Jade to giggle, "What's wrong?"

Damon looked embarrassed, "You're the first girl who's ever kissed me..."

Jade patted his head, "You're a cute kid..." she noticed Damon was looking over towards Obsidian, "You really love him, don't you Damon?"

Damon nodded, "He's so nice to me, he's like Sirus, he treats me like family..."

Jade smiled, "I think I'm starting to understand now, why he's so fond of you."

"I'm glad you finally see that sister." Damon and Jade both looked to see Obsidian staring at them from the bed. "Damon's as much my little brother now, as you are my sister."

Damon smiled, now crying tears of joy, "Thank you, the both of you..."

Obsidian held out his arms, and both Jade and Damon walked over and hugged him. Damon whispered, "My family..."
"They should be on their way by now." Leon said with a grin. He had caged the King and Queen EarthWalkers, along with the Queen CloudRunner in a single cage on the top of the Krazoa Palace. It amused him to see the rivaling dinosaurs so close together. "And your own people will destroy them for me."

"My people won't do such a thing!" The King EarthWalker roared, ramming his horns against the metal cage. The whole palace seemed to shudder as the mighty dinosaur battled against his bonds.

"Your Majesty should stop trying before he ruins his pretty horns." Leon said, bowing at raging dinosaur, "And your people WILL follow my commands, since I have all three of you in my possession. A simple death threat will be enough to turn friends into enemies, if you know what I mean."

"Fox McCloud will destroy you," said the Queen Cloudrunner with pride. "You will beg for mercy, but you will not receive any."
"I would be quiet if I were you, your Highness." Leon's metallic eye rolled towards the CloudRunner. He snickered, "Unless you want your children end up roasted in an oven."

"Leave my children out of this!" Tears began to stream down the CloudRunner's face. The thought of losing her children was unbearable. The dinosaur queen broke down and began to sob profusely.

"The last time I checked crying was not being quiet." A maniacal laughter followed his sentence, as the lizard turned to leave the cage. Moments later, he returned with a small cage in his hand, and inside was a whimpering fledgling of the CloudRunner Queen. The lizard lifted the cage up and dangled it in front of the Queen CloudRunner. "I am sure he'll taste quite nice with some seasoning."

"No! Not my son!" the queen screeched, arched her neck back, and released a jet of fire towards the lizard. It was a mere defensive move, an attempt to protect her child from harm.

Leon backed away from the searing jet of flames, shielding the flames with his armor. His eyes suddenly flashed with anger. Reaching into the cage, the lizard forcefully tore the fledgling out of his cage, holding him by the neck. The little CloudRunner screeched as Leon's powerful hand constricted around his neck. The dinosaur flapped his wings, struggling out of Leon's grip.

"You see, I wasn't really going to kill him, your Highness." Leon chuckled, squeezing harder and harder. He felt the small dinosaur's weakening pulse through his metal gauntlets. The little prince's screeches were delightful to his ears, "But you should NOT HAVE BREATHED FIRE ON ME!"

The CloudRunner queen watched in horror as her own son was strangled by Leon. She tried to reach her son by reaching through the bars, but she was inches too far. The queen whimpered, "Leon . . . Don't, I am begging you."

"Well, this is not your only one." Leon chuckled as he held the fledgling's neck between his thumb and two other fingers. The lizard's grin widened as he applied more and more pressure on the dinosaur's thin neck. There was an audible snap, and the young CloudRunner went completely limp. Even the King EarthWalker grimaced at the sight. The lizard casually threw the fledgling's body through the bars, in front of the queen. "I'll keep the other three in good health, so you don't have to worry."

The Queen CloudRunner cradled her son's lifeless body in her wings, crying audibly. She felt completely powerless at the sight of her own son being murdered. There was nothing she could do. There was nothing anyone could do. She could hear Leon's armor clanking as the lizard walked away, and she only hoped he would never return.
The Great Fox was orbiting Dinosaur Planet, taking satellite images of the once beautiful world, now covered by a thick haze that not even Slippy's high resolution cameras could pass through. The only thing the toad managed to pick up was smoke from the forest fires. Using the inferred cameras, Slippy could see that chains of fires were sweeping across the face of the planet.

"Any luck Slip?" Fox's head popped into the room, Slippy's personal lab. "I need to start planning soon."

"Well, all I can see is smoke . . . more smoke, and even more smoke." Slippy shook his head sadly, "Looks like we'll have to go blind with this one. All we have is the old model Pepper gave us and your maps. This is probably part of Leon's tactics. This way we can't bomb them with our Arwings . . . In fact I don't think it's a good idea to use our Arwings at all, with all the smoke."

"He is a genius, what else can I say?" Fox looked at Slippy's pictures, "And he had four weeks to prepare. I am not so confident with this one."

"Hey, you forgot you have a genius on your side too?" Slippy said with a smirk, crossing his arms. The toad took picked up a metal case next to his foot and slammed it on the table. He flipped open the case, revealing a large rifle-like blaster. It had a distinct dark metallic luster, along with a few mysterious attachments. "I've got a new toy for you. Want to give it a try?"

Fox smiled picked up the large blaster, and was surprised at its immense weight. He frowned, rolling his eyes. "Slip, have you picked up this thing before?

"Err . . . Not really." Slippy scratched his head and snatched the blaster from Fox. The toad had to hold it with two hands to inspect it. It was indeed heavy. "I basically came up with the plan and ROB put it all together for me . . ."

"So much for a genius on my side," Fox slapped Slippy on the back jokingly. "Any more new toys I can play around with?"

"Well, this thing has a six round grenade launcher, a flame thrower, and a battery that can support about a hundred and fifty blasts before recharging." Slippy grinned at Fox holding the blaster in a rifle stance, "Still think it's too heavy?"

"Well . . . Err . . ." Fox looked uncomfortably at the lethal weapon that was pointed straight at him. It was tempting to take the powerful weapon to the firing range, but they were running out of time. The fox coughed, carefully turning away the blaster from himself. "How many of these things do you have?"

"Two." Slippy said, putting the large blaster back into its case, "Do you think they'll help?"

"Hmm. . .Tell Jade and Obsidian to try them out." Fox said thoughtfully, looking at the large rifle, "I have a feeling they'll like it."

"Alright," Slippy piped. The toad found another identical case lying next to his coffee, then slid open the door. As they were walking down the corridor, Slippy suddenly turned and asked Fox, "Is Damon coming with us?"

"We need all the help we can get." Fox replied coldly. Damon's presence may not be necessary in this mission, but the vulpine wanted to give the boy a chance, perhaps to redeem himself. "I have a special task for him."

Slippy nodded and walked off to show Obsidian and Jade his new test weapons. Fox sighed, strolling towards the common room himself. He didn't have a plan for this upcoming battle, nor did Peppy or Admiral Pepper. With the information that he was given, it may take many days of searching for him to find Leon, who may already have a myriad different traps set up for his arrival already.

Fox slid open the door and entered the common room. It was empty save for one person, Sirus Ares. The wolf stood in front of the holographic display, staring thoughtfully at a detailed model of Dinosaur Planet. The middle aged wolf reached out and marked a few points on the map: the Krazoa Palace, ThornTail Hollow, Ocean ForcePoint Temple, and Volcano ForcePoint Temple. He drew a circle around the Krazoa palace after some thought, "Leon must be here."

"The Krazoa Palace," Fox looked up at the map, "What makes you so sure?"

"It is simply the best place to hide." Sirus pressed a button on the hologram, bringing up a series of maps, of all the levels of the palace. "First, the Krazoa Palace can be easily fortified. He could roll in a few Anti Air cannons here on the top level, a few turrets here, here, here and here, making him completely invulnerable. Second, the Krozoa Palace is isolated from everything, and the only way to get there is by our fighters, and if I was right about the anti-airs, he can just blast us out of the sky, especially in all the smoke. Third, if we manage to get in at all, the only way up is by the air lifts, and those things can be defended easily from every level."

"That's a good analysis." Fox smiled at Sirus, "But it is not flawless."

"Well, what do you say?" Sirus asked, still staring at the palace's floor plans.

"First of all, we don't have to fly there. There is a guy called Warpstone who lives here in the ThornTail Hollow who has the ability to teleport us directly to the Krazoa Palace. Second of all, the airlifts are not the only way up. We can always scale the outer walls, especially when we have the best climber in the entire Lylat System."

"Do you realize that Leon created Damon, and he knows about his climbing capabilities too?" Sirus arched a brow, "In fact, Leon is probably going to safeguard the outer walls. If we get caught from above, we don't stand a chance."

Fox frowned then hopped on to his chair. The vulpine thought for a short moment, then hope rekindled in his eyes. "The disguises Slippy made! Those things can get us into the palace without a doubt! Leon won't even know about them because he was in jail during our last mission!"

Sirus couldn't help but smile at Fox's brilliant idea, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"I think Jade and Obsidian like my test weapons." Slippy entered the room with a sheepish grin, "So what are you two up to?"

"Slippy, I need you to give everyone a SharpClaw disguise now." Fox said urgently, "Is that possible?"

"Sure! It's only a little holographic display and some software." The toad scuttled off, "Give me about half an hour."

"Brilliant." Fox grinned, "Leon won't suspect this. . ."

"Don't underestimate that lizard." Sirus warned, "He may have some back up plans for this move already, but it is our best hope."

"Alright, so we hop into our Arwings and go to ThornTail Hollow first, then Warpstone can get us to Krazoa Palace. We turn on our disguises and knock on the main door. As a back up plan, Damon will scale the walls, so if we get captured there is still a chance. Once we enter the Krazoa Palace, we head upwards."

"Remember, Admiral Pepper wants Leon alive if possible." Sirus eyed Fox, "Only Leon knows how to take the probes out of everybody's heads, if it is possible at all."

"I'll try, but I won't promise anything." This was his chance to make Leon pay, and he would not easily allow it to slip away. On the other hand, both Krystal and Damon were infected with the probes, and Leon was indeed the only one who knew how to take them out. Fox pressed a button on his wrist and spoke audibly, "All units report to the hanger in thirty minutes."
"This . . . this is ThornTail Hollow?" Damon asked through his intercom, his Wolfen II touching down on the tainted earth. Sirus allowed him to pilot the ship under his supervision. With only three Arwings and two Wolfens, StarFox's landing trip was a little cramped. Fox flew with Tricky, Slippy flew with Jade, and Falco went reluctantly with Obsidian. Damon landed next to a large mound, and gasped at its components. "It's a graveyard . . . A mass grave."

No one replied to Damon's comment. His only answers were a few disheartening sighs. The other fighter planes landed, and Fox was the first to dismount. He was almost knocked to the ground by the rancid smell of rotting flesh. The lower compartment of his Arwing opened, but all that came out was a soft whimper. The once boisterous Prince Tricky was crying, in fear and in pain. Fox picked up the sobbing dinosaur from the ground, embracing him tightly. The rest of the team gathered around the two, some shaking their heads sorrowfully. They were surrounded by mounds of dinosaurs, all lifeless, and many disfigured and rotting. The buzzing of flies was as loud as a swarm of angry bees, and the crawling of maggots was almost audible. It was a sickening sight, a well-planned greeting from Leon Powalski: A greeting of fear.

"Gosh! This place is rancid!" Falco covered his nose with a cloth, groaning. His eyes widened as he witness the death and destruction around them. They were surrounded by hundreds, even thousands of lifeless corpses, piled into heaps. The flacon felt his heart knocking harshly against his ribs, and his limbs quivering uncontrollably. The clouded, lifeless eyes seem to watch him from their owner's sockets, full of hatred and sadness.

"They never stood a chance." Jade muttered, gently closing the gaping eyes of a dead EarthWalker soldier. The black cat briefly studied the wounds on the dinosaur, shaking her head, "The wounds were all made by edged weapons. . . It looks like he was overwhelmed in a battle. The others died of similar wounds too."

"Oh no. . ." Fox muttered, recovering from his shock, "The Warpstone!"