Chapter 3

The Inherent Gift

Fox closely examined the bindings on his feet; his eyes shifted, taking in every little detail. There's gotta be a way outta this Fox's thoughts raced through his mind; he managed a glance at the dungeon floor. Something caught his eye; a tiny shard of metal that had broken off from his shackles. This could be used to his advantage! He reached for the shard, but it proved to be out of his range. Fox composed himself and decided to try again, it was only thing he could do. The vulpine cleared his mind and focused on his goal, his mother's words still lingered; "there is always hope". Fox made sense of this, if he was determined enough he could achieve anything. So with out hesitation Fox extended his arm concentrating on the shard, it was out of his grasp… But if he could muster enough strength, perhaps he could stretch just a bit farther. But to no avail it was just too far away!

At that moment something triggered deep with in Fox; a flashback invaded his consciousness; He was back in Corneria with his parents. But there was something different about this scene… Or just something more profound, Fox noticed this whole recollection was 'different' then the previous ones he had. This memory was in color and he could here his parent's voices; they were calling him. But why? The vision was clearly more intricate and more meaningful than other reveries he had experienced. There was something Fox's parents wanted to show him. "What is going on?" Fox said aloud. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall this incident. It is almost as if it had never happened. Or maybe this episode of his life was erased from his memory, only to emerge at a particular time during the direst circumstances. Fox trusted this dream; and so he ran to embrace his parents. They enveloped him in a large hug; his mother and father looked down at him with their gentle and honest features. Fox looked up into their eyes trying to read their thoughts;

"Fox…" His mother begun; "You were born with a special gift"

James continued in turn; "Not only are you a born leader my, son. But you have also been granted an innate power that flows through our bloodline"

"Fox… please understand that this is not a curse but a talent bestowed upon you to protect you in times of trouble"

"My son remember; you have the power to achieve anything, as long as you truly desire it. Never have we seen any one who is as strong willed as you are; go forth and make us proud!"

With that his parents vanished and Fox was brought back to reality. He stared blankly into the abyss pondering what he should do. Something drew his attention back to the shard, causing him to focus on it once more. Fox felt a certain drive he had not felt before, almost as if he was consumed by an arcane power. Raw energy flowed through his veins; he could feel his vitality being restored. And there was that sudden glimmer in his eyes. Fox smiled slyly; he felt powerful again; as he did when taking on entire fleets in his arwing, alone. This rush of kinetic power filled Fox with utter confidence. He was ready once more, but this time he wouldn't fail! Fox deliberately opened the palm of his hand and urged his energy out from his body and to the iron shard. The ethereal force directed the object into his hand; floating into his grasp.

"Amazing!" Fox exclaimed. He stared down at his palms; waves of energy were beginning to dissipate. Enough he thought This is not the time, I have to get the hell out of here. Fox went to work with the shard using it as a lock pick. His keen eyes orchestrated his every movement. Surprisingly he managed to pick both locks in mere seconds flat. He stopped for a second and just listened, Fox could here footsteps coming his way. His heart raced, what was he going to do?

Fox maneuvered a quick jump, and escaladed up the prison bars. He was going to hide himself in a dark corner, where the wall met with the ceiling. Fox positioned himself so he could drop onto the opposition when it entered the cell. He watched intently from the shadows; like an assassin about to strike. All of Fox's senses were tuned in on his targets. As he listened the Vulpine distinguished two guards heading his way. Fox readied himself;

They entered; one of the soldiers was a well-built and lithe panther and the other was a shorter and stockier husky. I'll go for the cat Fox decided His lackey will be easy to subdue afterwards. With that Fox dropped onto his prey; and simultaneously cracked the panther's neck. He let the body fall limply to the floor. The action was so smooth and calculated his adversary had no time to react.

"What the heck!" the husky yelled in astonishment. He was about to ready his pulse-rifle when Fox said;

"Let's Tango" Fox round-house kicked the rifle right out of his opponents hands. The husky raised his arms and formed a fighting stance. This didn't nearly intimidate Fox one bit though because he was a full foot taller than the trooper. The husky made the mistake of attacking first; a haymaker was launched at Fox's face. He had a slick counter and grabbed the Husky's arm. Fox ducked his body under the punch and rolled with the motion of the swing. The soldier went flying overhead and crashed head first into the wall. This guy had excellent pain tolerance though and got up and wiped the blood from his face, even spat out a tooth.

"God" Fox said "You guys never make it easy" his sarcastic demeanor sent his opponent into a blind rage. The bloodied husky tried to grapple Fox. But like before he had an answer and grabbed the soldier's wrists. With dexterous agility Fox lifted his opponent's arms over his head and brought them down with blinding speed. Clamping the husky's wrists into a lock; this caused a cry from the canine.

"Had enough yet?" Fox grinned.

The husky growled menacingly in defiance;

"I guess not!" Fox replied

The soldier's upper body was unprotected so Fox butted him in the head once, then twice. For the vulpine's finishing move he placed his foot behind his opponents and tripped him. Causing him to fall backward; the husky smashed onto the floor and Fox slammed on top of him. Fox weight was alone enough to crush his adversary. Why are they always so stubborn? Fox thought If he had submitted I could of spared his life…. He didn't give it an afterthought and stole the panther's uniform so he could disguise himself; Fox pillaged what arms they had on them. He gathered a blaster pistol, pulse-rifle, a taser and stun grenades. These would prove invaluable in his escape…