Two Brothers

Darker Power

"My Master had told me to kill his mate but in my heart it didn't feel right."

-Assassin

Sal Chon dropped his ship out of warp and he sighed as Talia's frigate hove into view, he plotted a course for her ship and he pulled into the docking bay a few moments later. Chon disembarked and he slipped his sword on his back as he saw a familiar human walk up to him, they were alone.

"Malion, what do you want?" Sal Chon asked and the human crossed his arms, he was armed with a blaster on the hip but his expression said otherwise.

"Well, your pet returned from his mission. Talia isn't pleased with the results."

"My pet? What mission?"

"You didn't know?" His tone was mocking and Sal braced himself. "He was sent to kill…um, some vixen. I think it was that Cornerian's mate, James McCloud. He didn't kill her, he just wounded her."

Oh God Sal, what have you done? He thought and the lupine pushed by the human, he started to run and Sal dashed to the door where Talia was, it slid open and he stopped. Fox was being held in a stasis chamber, his limbs locked and a plasma current pulsating through his body. Talia was standing in front of Fox and her paws were behind her, she was purring quietly and Sal dropped to a knee.

"Sal Chon, why have you come back?" She asked and he kept on his knee.

"I must protest this treatment of Fox." He said and Talia turned her head.

"Sal, have you come to me just to whine?" She turned fully and unsheathed her claws as she struck Sal Chon, he fell back and his paw flew to his cheek. "Don't you order me around like your pet, Chon. Fox did not obey me and he did not complete his mission, he is reaping the consequences." Fox slowly twitched inside the stasis tube and Sal felt hot liquid running down his cheek as her claws had scored deep.

"Talia, I did not mean any disrespect but you cannot kill him." Sal said and he Talia laughed quietly.

"Are you going soft Chon? Is my hardened mercenary going soft?" She asked and Sal Chon stood up. She struck him down again and her claws dripped with his blood as the wounds on his cheek were deeper. "I did not tell you to stand, lupine. Now, do I have to kill you?" She took out a silver blaster and Chon remained on the floor.

"No, Talia." He said and she holstered the weapon as Talia turned back to watching Fox, he was stripped to his fur but the plasma seemed not to be hurting him. She turned off the tube and the liquid slowly drained as he floated down to the floor as the glass slid up. Fox landed on all fours and he opened his eyes as he took a breath in, Fox had held his breath the whole time he was in the tube. He slowly raised his muzzle as Talia looked down upon him in wonder, his tough form emitted a growl and Fox collapsed.

"Chon, take him to my quarters, you should still know where they are." The panther said and she walked off as the lupine touched Fox on the head.

"Fox, Fox, are you ok?" He asked and the vulpine slowly raised his head.

"No, Hell no. Just do what she says; I can't take another one of those." He whispered and the lupine picked him up, Chon took off his jacket and he wrapped Fox in it as they staggered down the hallway. "I couldn't kill her Chon, I just couldn't. My resolve failed me and I…I just hope that she isn't dead, I mean the knife was above her heart." Fox said and he leaned against Sal as they walked into a large room, it was Talia's quarters and Chon laid him down on the bed.

"Fox, I know you couldn't have killed her. But if you keep disobeying Talia, she'll kill you. With her bare paws, I've seen it Fox, I know she will kill you."

"You let me worry about that." Fox said and he closes his eyes. "Why did you come back Chon?" Fox was lying on his chest and his tail moved slightly.

"Well, I don't know." The door slid open and Talia walked in, she strode over to Chon and placed her paws on his shoulders.

"Sal Chon, I need you to leave, now." Her claws gently poked through his fur and he left them. Talia sat down beside him and drew her paw up his back, Fox did not respond her touch and she stretched out beside him. "Fox, I don't want to put you through another trial. I want you to complete the tasks I give you, if you don't then I will take your life." She slid over to him and moved Fox onto his back.

Cxse't nooir fatle nosprt. I cannot promise you anything.

Fox, dasito ceny'a lako tijo. Fox, you must or you'll face the consequences.

He stopped conversing in Venomian and sighed, he opened his eyes and Talia had her muzzle close to his as she placed her paws on his face. Her shoulder length hair spread around her face and Fox hesitantly moved it back, he stared into her golden eyes and she kissed him as Talia moved her body over his. She laid down on him and licked his face as Fox didn't quite know what to do, he gave in and wrapped his arms around her and let instincts take over.

I paced the room and Vixy was still asleep as my mind wandered to the assassin, he looked so familiar but he had tried to kill my family. He had hesitated to kill Staris and that was what confused me, but someone had sent him to kill, and that was who I had to find out.

I suspected the sender was the panther but I couldn't place her name, Talio, Talian, I didn't remember. The door opened and police officer, Officer Taylor by the name tag, walked in. He had something in his hand and he smiled at me, damn humans always trying to 'calm' us Cornerians down.

"I'm Officer Taylor; I have something for you Mr. McCloud." He handed me a data pad and I looked it over, similar to a small Comm it was in a black casing and the red display read coordinates. "I found it while searching the crime scene, it contains a map of Corneria, coordinates of your residence, but there was nothing else on it. By the way, my condolences on your wife and son." I shot him a look and he spread his hands.

"Is this all?"

"Yes, otherwise the place was totally clean except for the blood." He chuckled and I let a small growl escape my muzzle as he stopped. "I'm going to need that back."

"Come back later." He didn't move and I bared my teeth. "Do it." The human reluctantly left and I sat down in a chair. There were no buttons and the case itself looked like one piece and I unsheathed one claw. I slid it around the edge of the data pad and I must have hit a hidden switch because it beeped, I turned it over and I looked at the screen. Ship schematics came up and I frowned as I recognized the fighter, it was an older Omega Class and the screen flickered. A figure came up and was the assassin, a physical diagram showed his picture and a description flowed down the side. I read it but it gave no personal information, and the screen shut off. I tapped the side lightly and drew my claw along the edge again, it did not respond and I placed it aside as I saw Vixy wake up.

"James." I quickly walked over to her and took her paw; she squeezed it weakly and smiled.

"The doctor told me that you'll recover in a few days, I thought that wound would have done you in." I said and Vixy sighed.

"You know I'm tougher than that, I mean Hell, I married you." She laughed and I had to join in as she winced, Officer Taylor walked back in and he strode up to us as I gave him back the data pad.

"Did you find anything useful in that?"

"An old ship diagram and the assassin's profile which was worthless but other than that no." I handed it back to him and he nodded to Vixy.

"I'll take this down to the station, if you need us feel free to contact with any new information at all." He handed me the station's card and I took it as he left.

"James, do you suspect that any humans are involved in this?"

"No, I don't think so. That panther," I paused and I still couldn't think of her name. "She must be the antagonist."

"Do you know how our son is?"

"No, he went into surgery the last time I talked to the doctor. He'll be fine Vixy, Staris is a strong fox, and he'll pull through this." I replied and she pulled my paw.

"James, how long was I out?"

"Probably a few hours, I just woke up and it's," I looked at the clock and it read 8:00. "8:00, so we should probably get some rest." I stood up but Vixy wanted me to stay.

"Stay with me, I don't like being alone in a hospital room." I smiled and I lay down next to her as she put her arms around me. I noticed the bandage on my side and I winced as she touched it. "Sorry." I kissed her as a response and she put her muzzle under my head as we fell into a dormant state.

Fox awoke sometime later and he became aware of his surroundings, they comprised of a female panther and her room. He realized what he had done and an odd and unknown feeling surged through him, he had never known regret but it pulsated through his body. Talia was asleep or she looked it as her breathing was almost silent as he studied her position, her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms around his chest as their tails were intertwined. Her chest was pressed to his and the warmth of her body warmed his as he moved his tongue around in his muzzle, there was an odd taste to it and he began to detangle himself from her.

Fox moved with the silent skill of an assassin and he managed to get his body free as he looked her over; her form was lust inspiring but he pushed the emotion out of his mind as he slid off the bed, something told him to get the Hell out of there and he looked for his clothes. He remembered that she had struck him down when he had returned and then he felt the stasis tank; Fox felt his cheek and he felt three claw marks. He looked around the room and there was a locker on the wall, he opened it quietly and there was his assassin suit, he took it out and slipped it on as he also found his sword. Fox threw it around his shoulders and buckled on a blaster as quietly as he could. The entire process had taken a little less than an hour but his training with Sal Chon paid off as she did not wake, once she stirred but she rolled onto her side and her tail flicked.

Talia, noir fostileo cet'oly. Talia, this is goodbye. He whispered in Venomian and Fox took a bag out of the locker as well, he knew it contained stealth equipment and he would need it. Fox tip-pawed out of the room and as soon as Fox reached the docking bay, he ran to a fighter. It was her private bay and she kept no security codes on the ship's lock as he popped the hatch. Fox threw his gear in the side slot of the cockpit and he climbed in; Sal Chon had trained him in over fifty craft types and this was one of them. He started the craft up and he released the docking clamps as his craft hovered in its place, he dropped it and the ship shot out of the docking bay.

Fox, run from her, she is all that is evil and you need to find your lost identity. He did not think a reply to the voice and he knew it was his conscious, he thought he had lost it over the years but it had hidden itself and now was making itself known. He brought up the Star Map and looked at the Lylat System, he was close to Venom but Talia would scramble her merc to find him.

He needed to go somewhere where he could hide, maybe for a long time.

Fox was far from Titania but he still remembered the training cave, he input the coordinates for Titania and the Light Drive powered up as his craft shot through space.

Irony was a funny thing; it was called the Light Drive and yet it was being used for darker powers. Fox chuckled at the thought and he took the bag from the side slot, he opened it and a smile lit his face; the stealth gear was state of the art and it would effectively camouflage his ship so that it wasn't scan-able. Fox thought about Talia and how really, she would have killed him had he kept being his apprentice, no, slave is more the word. He truly was her pet, her slave, her toy, nothing more than that.

Fox sighed and he placed a paw on his chest to take out his data pad, his breath caught in his throat and he opened the pocket.

It was gone. Fox rapidly checked the rest of the pockets and it was gone, in his haste to leave the target's residence, he must have dropped it. His pulse evened out and he sighed, the data pad had been with him ever since he was with Chon and he had kept a record of all his training, weapon logs, etc. His personal identity was empty because Sal Chon had never told him who he actually was, his name was just Fox. The data was heavily encrypted in STEGO code so it was highly unlikely that anyone could break it except him.

Fox, don't worry, no one will find out about what you have been doing. He thought, since it was his history from ten to eighteen. Fox was still left in the dark about his family, he assumed Sal Chon was his father but it didn't make any sense since Fox was a vulpine and Chon was a wolf.

Fox shook his head and he brought up the vid screen on the console, he rapidly typed on the keyboard and the word 'connecting' came onto the screen.

Sal Chon heard the beeping and he set an orbit around Venom as he opened the Comm link. The face of Fox came up and the wolf's jaw dropped.

"Fox, where are you?" He asked and Fox smiled.

"Not with Talia, I have left her and I plan to never return to her."

"But she will find you and kill you!"

"No she won't, I know you are afraid of her but I am not. If she finds me, then I will kill her with my bare paws; I don't give a shit if she is the ruler of Venom." Fox replied and Chon couldn't believe it.

"Where are you going? Where could you go?" Chon asked and Fox did not respond. "Fox, dammit, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry Sal Chon, I can't trust you. If you want to find me, you will otherwise, it was a pleasure being with you." Fox killed the link and Chon slammed his fist on the console.

"Fox, dammit. Alright, where would you go?" He asked out loud and one place came to his mind, Titania. He input the coordinates and his craft broke orbit, the Light Drive powered online and it engaged as the craft vanished. The trip would take a few minutes since Chon had recently added a few upgrades to his Drive.

Sal looked over the console and he shut the drive down as Titania came into view, his craft automatically put in a path down to the surface. His ship rumbled as it broke the atmosphere, the sands of Titania covered the entire planet and he shot over them as he saw a cave in the sand.

Well, if you're not here… He thought and Sal Chon put down the craft, he slipped on his wrist Comm and engaged the environmental shield as he popped the hatch. Wind whipped into him and he quickly shut the hatch to protect the interior from the sand. He walked into the cave and so many memories returned as he looked around, Chon flicked on his Comm and he scanned for life signs, there were none and he looked around again.

"Fox, show yourself, I know you are here." He said out loud and there was no sound. "Fox, turn off the stealth generator." There was still no sound and Chon sighed. He turned to go and the breath caught in his throat, a sword blade tip was a fraction of an inch from his left eyeball. Fox had his arm stretched out and his expression was hard as his tail flicked in the air. "Fox, what are you doing?"

"Are you alone? Are you alone?" He asked and Chon raised his paws.

"Yes, I came by myself." Fox did not lower the blade and his eyes burned as he did not trust Sal Chon. "Fox, you can lower the blade, I am not going to attack you." Fox lowered it a bit but kept it out as he raised his Comm, it scanned the cave and Fox raised his blade again.

"You were followed, you were followed!" Fox screamed and he vanished. Chon dove for cover as four sniper shots rang out, Chon took out a blaster and he kept his breathing shallow as a voice rang out.

"Chon, I don't want to get you involved in this but I will take you down. Call it revenge!" Malion yelled out and Sal Chon checked his gear, he wasn't equipped for this kind of fight but he'd been in worse situations.

"Go to Hell Malion!" The lupine replied and he looked around for Fox. The vulpine was still cloaked and Chon knew he would be alright since he had his gear. "Fox, hey Fox, are you alright?" There was no answer as Chon looked past the pillar he was hiding behind, four figures, Malion's group, walked into the cave.