In Evil, Residing

Corneria

Scion was awakened a while later by the pair of foxes walking into the cockpit of the craft. Fox sat next to him and he dialed a number on the Comm.

"Who are you calling?" Scion asked and Fox hit the send button.

"My commander, General Pepper. He is also the Commander of the entire Army and Navy for Corneria and he trusts me; he'll order the fleet to mobilize. If I don't have to go down to the planet's surface, then this will be better."

"You better use that cloaking device." Krystal said and Scion strapped it on.

"Good idea." He said and Scion vanished just as General Pepper came up.

"Fox, where the Hell were you? You're three months late from you last job!"

"Pepper, you need to mobilize the Navy."

"What for?"

"A race of dragons has attacked Cerinia; they have taken over and are now aligned with Venom. And they are only a few hours away." Fox said and something completely unexpected happened.

Pepper laughed.

"You have got to be kidding me Fox. A race of dragons, oh you crack me up."

"Pepper, this is serious!" Krystal moved over where the Comm was and she started to speak.

"General, I am Krystal and I am a Cerinian, I have witnessed this firsthand; I am also the daughter of the Ruling House. My parents are captured and I don't know if they are still alive, you must do something." Pepper stopped laughing and he adopted a concerned expression.

"Ok, I give in, I'll mobilize a small force, we can take them on."

"Pepper, no disrespect but you are seriously underestimating this!" Fox said and Pepper turned to him.

"Fox, the last I knew, I was in charge of the Navy and you were only a mercenary that I hired." He replied and Fox clenched his paws.

"Are you going to do this or not?"

"Yes, I will send up a contingent now."

"Pepper! Send the whole Goddamn Navy! I am not shitting you!"

"Fox, don't raise your voice to me!" He yelled back. "I am in control here and Tr-" He caught himself and Fox frowned.

"What were you going to say?"

"I'm dropping you from my services, you are released and you and I will never have any affiliation." The vid shot vanished and Scion reappeared.

"Well, that went well."

"What was he going to say Fox?" Krystal asked and Fox shook his head.

"I don't know, but I smell treason. Corneria won't stand a chance if the dragons attack."

Treylon sat in his chair on the bridge of the Maru, deep in thought. The fleet was halted for the moment and the bridge was empty since he had dismissed them. He stood up and looked out of the view screen into space, it was a beautiful sight; the stars were shining in all their glory and Treylon felt a smile come onto his muzzle.

Some day, the dragons will rule the stars… He thought and he heard the door to the bridge slid open. Treylon turned around and Lex walked up to him.

"Treylon, why is the fleet stopped?" She put an arm around him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"On my orders, I need to think about a few things before I order the assault." She nodded and they looked out into space.

"Aren't the stars beautiful?" Lex asked and Treylon nodded.

"Yes, and someday, our race will rule them all." Lex smiled and Treylon put an arm around her. "But I do have a few things on my mind. And no matter how I look at the stars, it will not solve my problems."

"What is wrong?"

"A few prisoners escaped, the Venomian leader, Wolf O'Donnell I think his name is, let a vixen go and a fox escaped my brig." He sighed and Treylon clenched his paw. "I found the guard dragon lying dead in his cell. The field had been deactivated and his neck was broken, his gear was also missing and that worries me." He replied and Lex stood in front of him.

"Treylon, are we going to kill Cornerians?"

"If they resist us, then yes."

"That doesn't seem right; I mean why can't we just negotiate a peace?"

"Because we're not at war with them…yet. And the Lylat System is rightfully ours." He said.

"But, what if the Hierarchs are wrong?" Treylon looked down at her and he saw doubt in her eyes.

"They have never been wrong, never in the history of dragons have they been wrong. We are the superior species and the Lylatians are the inferior and need to be dealt with." Lex had a shocked expression on her muzzle and she took a step away.

"Listen to yourself…you're talking genocide here!"

"I know," He took a step toward her and Lex saw something in his eyes. "And if you can't accept that, then you are the enemy of the Hierarchs and the enemy of me."

"But Treylon, what about our love for each other?"

"Then don't let this get in your way, accept the fact that the Lylatians are doomed." Lex shook her head.

"No, I can't accept the fact that we could be killing millions." She walked past him and he grabbed her arm.

"I didn't dismiss you Lex; remember I am still your Lieutenant." He said and the dragoness tore away from him.

"Not anymore." She ripped the emblem from her Standards and tossed it on the ground. "Go to Hell Treylon." She walked out of the bridge and Treylon felt anger build up inside of him, but it soon gave way to loss.

"Lex, wait…" He fell to his knees and took the emblem in his paws. "I love you Lex."

Lex walked out of the elevator and she moved onto the docking bay, she had to find her ship and get off the Maru. Dragons passed by her and they noticed the missing emblem, she kept going and no one tried to stop her. Lex walked into the docking bay and she found her small craft, the hatch popped on the top and she vaulted in.

"Hey, you're not cleared to leave!" The Dock Master said as she powered up the engines. The hatch closed and Lex engaged the engines as the craft shot out of the bay, she powered up the Slipstream and the craft vanished into nothing.

Fox sat in the cockpit as he saw a small contingent of Arwings come up from the planet's surface.

Corneria, I hate to see you go down in flames… He stood up and walked into the craft's small kitchen, Scion and Krystal were sitting at the table talking and they stopped.

"If we stay here, we won't survive."

"Fox, you're just going to abandon Corneria? Can't you go down and talk to Pepper?"

"No, he won't listen to me anymore." Fox sat down at the table and he sighed. "This is a lost cause." He put his head in his paws and Krystal moved beside him.

"I'm sorry that this had to happen." Scion said. Krystal put her arm around him and he let his head hit the table.

"Oh this really sucks." He said and Fox walked back into the cockpit. He sat down and Fox brought up the console, where could he go? He sighed and Fox hit the throttle, the Cerinian craft shot over Corneria and the planet was left behind him and he stood up. Fox walked into the bedroom and he flopped down, his eyes closed and a few minutes later, Krystal sat down next to him. She stroked his head and he sighed. "Ahh fu…shhhh…ck." Fox said and he rolled onto his side.

"Fox, I know this may sound pretty shitty but maybe we should just let them take over." Fox shot up and he had a shocked expression on his muzzle.

"No, I can't let this go over like this. There has to be something I could do."

"Go down to Pepper and I'll come with you." Scion said as he appeared in the doorway. Fox raised an eyebrow and he smiled.

"Well, that could be a good idea." Fox said and he walked into the cockpit with Scion and Krystal. He stopped the craft and something was before them.

"That's a dragon craft." Scion said and he got on the Comm. The vulpines heard him articulate on the Comm in Dragonic and a face came up on the Comm.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I am Scion, a former Dragonian fighter, why have you deserted the fleet?"

"I could ask you the same, Scion."

"I have defected to the Cornerian side and I will help my friends even if I am put to death for it."

"I see."

"Is Treylon still in control of the fleet?" She didn't answer and Fox saw a sad expression come over her muzzle.

"Yes, he is talking about genocide and I felt that he no longer loved me."

"Are you defecting to the Cornerians?"

"I see that there are two with you now. But…yes, I have no where to go."

"Dock with us, we won't hurt you." She nodded and the Comm died.

"Well, what was that?" Fox asked.

"We have another dragon on our side." There was a grinding sound and the ship had docked. The hatch opened and she walked out, Scion was taken aback at her striking figure and she looked him in the eye.

"Scion." He gestured for her name and she walked over to him. She took his paws and touched foreheads in a ritual greeting.

"And your name is?"

"Lex," She leaned into him and he put an arm around her as she started to cry. Fox wondered what was wrong and she fell into Scion's arms; she began talking in Dragonic and Scion listened carefully. He looked at Fox and he stroked the back of her head.

"Her name is Lex; she's experiencing an emotional breakdown. Lex will be ok, just give her a sec. She was with Treylon, they knew each other for a long time and he has hurt her deeply." Lex shook and Scion held her tighter, he whispered in her ear and she started to calm down. 'But she doesn't understand Cerinian or Cornerian so can you find that translator?" Krystal nodded and she went to get the device. Lex broke away from Scion and she wiped the tears away off her muzzle. Krystal came back with the device and she handed it to Scion, he gave it Lex and she fastened it around her ear.

"Thanks Scion." Her voice came out Cornerian and the two foxes walked up to her.

"Lex, I'm Fox and this is Krystal." She looked wary of the Cornerians and Fox stuck out his paw. "I'm really not that bad as dragons say." She tentatively put out her paw and Fox took it.

"Yeah, I guess so." Krystal smiled at Lex and she sent the dragon a thought. "Was that you?"

Yes it was Lex.

"Whoa, how long have you been able to do that?"

"Well, the mind thing only a few days ago but I had the psi power since I was a little vixen."

"So, shall we go to Pepper?" Fox asked and they nodded.

"I can't relinquish my control on this planet."

"That is what we agreed on, is it not General Pepper?"

"No, I agreed that you would come in and I would still be in control of Corneria."

"Well, I have a proposition for you, Pepper. If you do not relinquish control, I will be forced to take it from you, and I know you wouldn't want that."

"But…but…no, that is not what we agreed on. I just can't do that."

"I will give you one last chance General, and then I will take control." Pepper sighed and he rubbed his eyes. "What is your decision?"

"Ok, I relent." The door opened and the four walked in.

"Good General." The Comm died and General Pepper started to stutter.

"Oh, uh hey Fox, um, yeah."

"Hey General, who were you talking with?"

"None of your business Fox, you are no longer affiliated with me anymore so what are you…" He stopped and saw Scion and Lex. "Well, what do we have here?"

"You are underestimating my race, if you don't deploy the entire Navy, Corneria will fall." Scion said and Krystal walked up to Pepper, she stretched out her paw and she closed her eyes.

"Hey, what is she doing?" He asked quickly.

"Finding the truth." Fox said and Krystal lowered her paw a few moments later.

"You would sell the planet out to save your own fur, why Pepper?"

"Because they would have annihilated Corneria if I resisted, I can't risk that."

"Pepper, you sold us out!" Fox yelled and he drew his blaster.

"Whoa, put that away." Pepper said and Krystal touched Fox's arm.

"That isn't necessary." Fox holstered the weapon and he glared at Pepper.

"This will be the end of you, Pepper." Fox said and he turned to go from the office. The rest followed him and Pepper was left alone…

Author's Note: This story is about to wrap up in a few chapters so when it is done, I'll give you a choice. While I'm working on The System, I can either put up a story called The Mendara Project or Black Cell. The first is an adaptation to Conspiracy 6 and the other is a sequel to Dance of the Macabre. I'll leave it up to the readers to decide.

Later.