Another delay, and because of it, a very long chapter.

Redbay - Honestly, I have no idea what I intend to do once I actually get done with this fic. All I know is that I'll be happy once it's all written, uploaded, and done. Will I write again? And if I do, will it be in the Starfox world? Those are both very good questions, questions I simply don't have answers for right now.


Chapter 49: The Last Mile

How many of those android things does Andross have under his command? I hope that that's the last I see of them. I don't think I could shoot another one of my teammate look-a-likes if I tried. – Fara

Thank goodness Fara is okay. The feeling of dread I had when I woke up, surrounded by lizards, was unnerving. Then again, the fact that I escaped, guided by only a momentary homing beacon, was amazing. How much longer will my luck hold though? – Fox

"Hold."

Fox raised his paw as he followed his own order, making sure Fara heard what he said. He thought he'd been hearing something echoing off the trees around them over the last few minutes, but their near-rhythmic tromping through the bog was keeping him from identifying the noise.

"What do you hear, Fox?"

The vulpine peered out into the dimming light and tried to focus upon what he was hearing. While he could tell that there was something out there other than the two of them, the environment itself was so harsh to any noises that trying to pinpoint them was nearly impossible.

Until a very clear shout of "Follow me!" floated their way.

"Andross!" hissed Fox as he recognized the unmistakable voice. "How is he following—"

As one, the pair turned around and looked at the clearly visible imprints they were leaving behind in the mud with every step they took. Fara loudly sighed.

"Yeah." Fox looked around and tried to find a defensible position, but there wasn't anything to hide behind short of the trees that littered the swamp. "How close are we to the base?"

Fara had drawn her blaster and was waving it around menacingly into the gloom. It was clear to the vulpine that she wasn't going to go down without a fight. "A mile or so, maybe more."

"Let's make a run for it. Maybe we'll find better cover, or even our teammates, when we get closer." He just hoped his good fortune would hold out a bit longer.

"Just as poor of a plan that I had." She laughed. "Race ya."

Wasting no further time, the pair ran as fast as they dared through the swamp. Guided by only the fading light and Fara's compass, they passed by lower lying areas covered with water and more trees than Fox could keep track of. He debated on changing their course into the ponds, but the last thing he wanted to do was to swim in the murky water.

All the while, the vulpine could hear the sounds of pursuit from behind him. Even though they were making good progress as far as he was concerned, he knew it wasn't going to be enough.

Before he could consider his next move, the trees suddenly thinned out and left the pair facing a large bed of water. Without thinking, the vulpine veered left and followed the pond's edge. His intention was that he'd shoot back into the trees after a short distance.

He never got that far.

As they approached their goal, at least two dozen lizards, all clad in animal skins and wielding spears, flowed from the trees like water directly towards them. He skidded to a halt and was about to change direction when an equal sized force came from back where they came.

They were trapped.

Fox desperately looked around for a way out of their predicament, but he couldn't find one. He inched backwards towards the water, Fara doing the same. A quick glance told him all he needed to know about her thoughts – she was ready to go down fighting.

And then he saw something that brought a little hope – another of Andross' cubes, hovering a few feet over the lizard's heads. He took aim with both weapons and was about to pull the trigger when the ape's voice caused him to pause. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, McCloud."

"And why not?"

"Because it's only my mental control that's keeping these savages from tearing you to pieces. You're outnumbered about thirty to one, outgunned, and, well, my pets are hungry."

Fox had to fight to maintain his steadfast composure in the face of this opposition. Even from this distance he could see the grin upon Andross' face, as if begging the vulpine to make the first move. A move that could surely lead to his and Fara's death. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? That's surely the question of the universe now, isn't it? The answer is far less complex, however. I want you two to die."


Andross laughed as he watched the two vulpines from the safety of his control room. Fox was bravely in front, covering as much of his teammate as possible. Fara on the other hand was trying her best to hide the fear clearly present on her face.

He had paused briefly when Fox asked what he wanted. He was annoyed with his continual inability to simply kill off the pair in his view. Every time he tried, they somehow always escaped his grasp in the end.

And as much as he'd prefer to take one of them alive to see what information he could add to his repertoire, he was not going to fail again.

If he still had access to his Telekinetic Amplifier, he'd crush them like the bugs they were. Instead, his mind-controlled savages would make a fitting, albeit messy, end.

Concentrating on the nearby lizards, he commanded two of them on opposite ends of the line to toss their spears at the Starfox team. While he doubted they would actually hit their targets, he still wondered what plan Fox had. He'd dig into the vulpine's mind and look, but even he had his limits to his mental powers. He instead knew that this would be the best way to force their move.

And as they reacted by how he thought they'd react, maybe the tables could be turned completely in his favor as well…


Fara watched as the cube silently hovered in place, the face within laughing with wild abandon. It wasn't helping her worry as far as their situation went. She glanced over at Fox, but she could tell from his lack of action that he was as out of ideas as she was.

She just happened to be glancing at the line of lizards when she noticed one of them rear back and throw the spear he was holding. Her body almost reacted on its own as she jumped into the air and opened fire on the attacking creature. As she expected, her shots were deadly accurate as the lizard crumpled.

What happened next was anything but.

She was getting ready to land when she was forcibly pushed backwards by an invisible force. She flailed her arms in an attempt to remain to remain upright during the course of her short journey.

Luck was on her side as she landed right-side up in what she thought was the pond just a few feet behind her previous position. That luck only went so far, however, as she sank up to her knees in the mire that was hidden underneath the extremely shallow water.

Fear flooded through her as she immediately started fighting to free her legs. As she struggled, she quickly realized that something was wrong. Instead of the relatively semi-solid ground they'd been walking through, the mud all around her was quaking with every attempt she made to move. In addition, despite her muscles bulging from the strain, every inch she gained with one leg caused her to lose two more with the other.

Fara's heart fluttered as she realized that she didn't land in any normal mud.

Instead, she'd been pushed into quicksand.

What mental stability she had shattered in the face of this knowledge. Even though her logical side knew otherwise, all she could think about was sinking away out of sight. She thrashed randomly against the mud, trying desperately to break free of its vice-like grip, but all she did was cause herself to sink even deeper.

As the quicksand oozed up her thighs, she began to lose what little mobility she still had in her lower body. As her struggles slowed, she happened to look up and saw Fox only a few feet away from her. The mere sight of him caused her fears to fade away just enough for her to regain control of her mind.

Fara looked down at her mired legs and realized that there was no way she'd get free without the vulpine's help. Even though she'd stopped moving, the nearby ground was still unstable enough to cause her to sink even deeper still. Left with no other action for the moment, she flipped on her headset and looked at the muddy ground under Fox's feet with worry.

"Fox?"

Her teammate responded via his headset without breaking his gaze from the mob in front of him. "Yeah?"

"Don't…step back…whatever you do."

Now he sounded worried. "Why?"

"The ground…starts to get really…soft."

Fox finally turned his head around to find out what had happened to her. In that brief moment of eye contact, she could see his face run the full gambit of emotions. The ones she saw clearest though were of his fear about the position she was in, and then one of sadness, knowing that their hopeless position had just somehow gotten even worse. "Can you move?"

Knowing that any chance of their survival depended upon her freedom, Fara leaned forward and pulled for all she was worth. As before, her efforts were futile as she tried to free her legs. Her lithe form simply didn't have the leverage needed to break loose of the mire's grasp. Defeated, she looked at the quicksand's edge. Based on how the ground quivered around her, it seemed to be only a foot and a half away from her. But it could've been a mile or even six inches – it wouldn't have mattered with her legs stuck like they were. "No."

"Great." He sidestepped closer to her. "Don't worry; I'll get you out…somehow."

She didn't have a chance to respond before Andross' voice boomed over to them as the cube approached. "I see that Ms. Phoenix has stumbled into one of the many dangers of my swamp. Here, let me help."

Fara gasped as she felt something push down against her shoulders. It was as if somebody was standing on her. She didn't know how Andross was doing it, but the added force caused her to sink to her waist within seconds.

As the mud continued to ooze higher, what little willpower she'd regained crumbled to dust. All she could feel was the mud closing around her like a cage, a cage she wouldn't ever escape from.

She let out an ear-piercing scream, one fueled by her primordial fear.

So wrapped up in her emotions, she only dimly heard Fox roar, "Stop that! Leave her alone!"

"Stop what, McCloud?"

The sound of both of Fox's weapons discharging brought Fara back to reality for the moment. After realizing that the pressure upon her shoulders had stopped, she looked up to see the vulpine aiming directly at the cube with his borrowed firepower. Unbeknownst to her, Fox had fired upon Andross, purposely missing by inches to get his attention.

It had worked.

"Does your pea-brain self realize what will happen if you shoot me? Those lizards over there will kill you. They will eat you. Yes, you'll end a few of their miserable lives, but they aren't afraid of your weapons like you apparently think."

Andross hovered within inches of Fox's face as he continued. "I've seen them eat their own kind before, McCloud. It isn't a pretty sight. As for Ms. Phoenix over there," he paused long enough to move over to where she was, "I honestly don't know if they'll try to save her, or just watch until they get bored with her. Maybe they'll kill her, maybe they'll let her rot."

He laughed as he moved back to Fox. "Either way, I don't really care. You'll both be dead."

Fara's mind raced as she tried to think of a plan. Somehow, she believed the ape in what he was saying – that blasting him would only bring their demise. If they couldn't shoot him though, what could they do?

All she could think about was the mud that had enveloped her waist and threatened to devourer even more of her. She shivered as she felt the ooze touch her fur and fill her pockets with its weight.

Her eyes lit up as she realized that she did have the solution to their problems. She could disable all their attackers in one fell swoop.

It was just under a foot of mud right now.

"Fox, keep him busy," she whispered into her helmet. "I have an idea."

Fara watched as Fox's tail jerked upwards for just a moment before returning to its normal slow swing. Assuming that meant that he'd heard what she'd said, she waited for the right moment to make her move.

"Let her go, Andross," said Fox, his voice echoing through her headset. "It's me you want."

The ape laughed in response. "You are so naïve, McCloud. While your death would be the blow that the Lylat System simply wouldn't recover from, you two have been the thorn in my side for far too long."

As they talked, Fara tried her best to bury her fears over what she was going to do next. After passing her weapon to her other paw, she straightened her right paw and pushed it into the mud as deep as she could. The object of their salvation was inside her pants pocket. She only had to get it.

"But—"

"But nothing. It's apparent to me that you're simply biding your time for reasons unknown. Nobody is going to save you, McCloud." He slowly lifted into the sky as he continued. "Enjoy the last few seconds of your lives."

Fara looked up in shock, her right arm up to her elbow in gooey mud. She was just inches away from her goal, she could feel it. She just needed more time. "Do something, Fox," she whispered.

"Wait," called out the vulpine.

"You're stalling, McCloud."

He took a few steps towards the cube. "I have a proposition for you. A business proposition."

"A business proposition?" The cube changed directions and floated back down to the vulpine. "What could you possibly propose to me that'll save your furred hides?"

Fox then proceeded to say something that absolutely floored the vixen. "I want to defect to your side."

Andross burst out into laughter. "Now that's rich. But…" He quieted and sat there for a few seconds. Fara felt something brush against her mind during that timeframe, as if the ape was looking into her thoughts. "You're serious. And Ms. Phoenix is as confused as I expect her to be over this."

Fara looked on in shock, her goal forgotten. There was no way that Fox was contemplating for even a moment on joining the other side. Absolutely no way. It had to be a trick. Or was it?

"Okay then," continued Andross. "Sell yourself, because I don't trust you one bit. Why would you even consider turning your back upon the ones whom you've protected for so long?"

"As you no doubt noticed when you looked into my head, I still blame Corneria for the things that happened to me over the years. My parents' deaths, my exile…all their fault. That and the system as a whole has become too peaceful, too quiet. I'm a mercenary at heart."

"Why?" cried Fara. She had to find out if this was all a charade. She dearly hoped it was. "Why now after all of this?"

"As I said, I'm a mercenary." Fox's tail shot upwards again as he responded, giving some credibility to the vulpine making this all up. "My life comes before my friendship. And I don't see—"

"You uncaring bitch!" she yelled as she raised her blaster. Even though her shot would've been off had she pulled the trigger, she suddenly found her weapon arcing through the air. At the same time, she hid a smile as her right paw finally grasped what she'd been looking for in the mud.

Her blaster ended up floating in midair right in front of Fox. "And you don't see what?" asked Andross smugly.

"I don't see a way out of this alive."

"Kill her, McCloud."

"What?"

"Kill her, and I'll accept you as one of my own. Don't, and I'll toss you in next to her headfirst for wasting my valuable time."

As Fox moved to put away his dual weapons to grab the one hovering nearby, Fara made sure she had in her paw what she'd been looking for. It was a relatively spherical object, about the same size and shape of a golf ball. It had only one use – upon contact with a solid surface, it would let out a deafening supersonic shriek, one powerful enough to stun anybody who could hear within a 50 foot radius.

In theory, the helmets that she and Fox wore would protect them from the noise. Everybody else, including Andross she hoped, would be knocked out.

After taking a moment to summon her strength, Fara pulled hard on her arm. To her shock, it felt like it was incased in concrete. It wouldn't move at all.

Fara glanced up and looked down the barrel of her stolen blaster. She tried again to free her arm as she pleaded with the vulpine with her eyes, unable to say anything thanks to Andross paying too much attention to her. Despite her best efforts, her arm was still stuck deep in the muddy trap.

"Can I have one of your lizards' spears instead?"

"What for?"

"A blaster is too devastating of a weapon. If I shoot Fara over there, odds are I'll kill her instantly. At worst, she'll be in pain for a few seconds before she dies. A spear, however, would cause her to suffer that much more before her death." Fox laughed. "It's not like she's going anywhere."

As the pair conversed, Fara used her free arm to try to leverage her mired one loose. As she struggled, her motions caused her to sink ever deeper. Finally, as the mud oozed up to her chest, her right arm broke free with a sickening slurp.

"You have a very sinister mind, McCloud."

"Thank you."

The cube slowly turned, apparently watching the lone lizard that walked away from the pack and towards Fox. It wielded a spear in each of its claws, and a third was strapped to its back.

Fara wiped the spherical object she was holding with her clean paw and exposed the white shell underneath. She let out a small smile as she visually identified the item – it was what she was looking for. Wasting no time, she pushed the two buttons necessary on her helmet to defend herself and any nearby helmet wearer from the sonic shock.

Then she leaned back and threw for all she was worth.

The sphere zoomed by Fox and came to a rest a dozen feet away. Upon impact, the device split apart and let out its piercing scream. While all Fara heard was a muted whine from the object, the affects were immediate to everyone else short of the vulpine.

The lizards clutched their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. They quickly found out how futile that effort was as they dropped unconscious one by one onto the mud. Based on the wincing face in the cube, even Andross was affected. Unlike his lizards though, he remained awake.

Now that the threat from the reptiles had been eliminated, Fox paused for only a moment before he took aim and blasted the cube to pieces. Ignoring the sparks and debris that showered around him, he spun around and looked for any threats that might still be standing.

Fara saw it first. "Two on my far right, in front of a tree."

"Got it." He located the lizards and was about to fire when they panicked, dropped their spears, and ran off. Confused, he continued to watch over the unconscious lizards as he asked, "Why weren't they affected?"

"Either they were wearing some sort of protection, which I highly doubt, or those lizards were utterly deaf."

"Deaf?"

"Yeah." The vixen sighed as she finished looking at their attackers and glanced down at the mud encircling her chest. While she'd stopped sinking, it was taking more and more of her self control to keep from completely breaking down. "That grenade is entirely sonic based, assaulting the ears of any attackers, so if you can't hear it…"

"Oh."

"Now, I don't see anyone standing. Do you…think you can come over here and get me the heck out of this shit? Unless you were serious about joining—"

"No way I'd join that ass, Fara." Fox turned around and tried to find a place to stick his teammate's blaster. Failing that, he just jammed it next to the other two as he cautiously approached. "I tricked Andross, but…damn, it's not easy to fill your mind with nothing but lies and hate."

"Good. I was worried I'd have to dig into my bag of tricks for some way to knock you out of the picture too." Fara concentrated for a moment and realized she couldn't hear the muted whine of her sonic grenade. "I don't hear the grenade anymore, so I'm going to turn off our helmet's protection so we can hear normally again."

"Deal." The vulpine came to a stop where the mud started to slope slightly downward to meet up with where Fara was. He looked back and forth as he continued by voice instead of via his helmet. "How long do we have before they wake up?"

"On your average Cornerian citizen, about 15 to 20 minutes. On these lizards, I'm clueless."

"Great." After a few careful steps, he stopped again, this time with his feet just inches away from the quicksand that held Fara firmly in place. "Have a plan?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Just…just get me out of here, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will. I won't leave you there." He ducked down and flexed his muscles, as if he was debating on what he was going to do next. "Lift your arms."

"Why?"

He smiled. "Because if I grab you by your paws, I'm going to pull your arms out of your sockets."

"Oh."

Left with no other options that she could think of, Fara followed his request. Fox ducked down and grabbed her by her armpits. He then shifted his weight and pulled.

Fara gasped at the sudden pain from Fox's attempt to heave her free of her miry prison, but otherwise stayed quiet. She didn't want to give the vulpine any reason for him to stop, as she simply wanted to be free. She wanted to move on her own again. She'd survive the pain.

She grabbed Fox's arms as he continued pulling. She wanted to do anything to help, and that was the only thing she could think of. As the pain increased though, she unconsciously strengthened her own grip. To Fox's credit, he quickly realized this and stopped his attempt, much to her dismay. "What…what did you stop for?"

The vulpine stood back up and rubbed his arms. "Because you have a killer grip, that's why. And you weren't going anywhere."

Tears started to stream down her furred face. She knew she wasn't going to escape. She was just going to sink away, out of sight. "I…I can live with the…pain. Don't stop…please."

"I'm not leaving you there, Fara. Trust me on this."

She was having trouble focusing upon his words. After Fox's aborted attempt, all she could think about was that he wouldn't be able to free her, that she'd be left behind. She was losing control.

Fox noticed this as well. "Fara? Fara, listen to me."

The vixen blinked and tried to clear the water out of her eyes as well as regain her concentration. She couldn't afford to break down, not with her savior so close. "I…I'm here."

"Good. Fara, look, I'm going to need your help. I can't do this myself. You're simply in too deep."

"O…okay." What if she sank in deeper? Would she ever— "Please, hurry. It's getting…hard to think."

"I know." He ducked back down and looked at her almost eye to eye. "I need you to try to move your legs down there. You need to—"

"But I'll sink further!"

"Not if I hold on to you. The mud has too good of a grip on you. You need to loosen it up, or else I'm not going to be able to get you free."

She was going to sink even deeper. The mud was just going to gobble her up. That's all her mind could think. "Are you sure?"

"Am I sure what?"

"That you'll hold on."

Fox smiled. "Fara, I promise I won't let go."

"Alright." She looked down at the mud she was about to churn up again after she tried so hard to keep still. She pushed her thoughts out of her mind as best she could. "I'm ready."

Without another word, the vulpine leaned forward and grabbed hold under her shoulders again. As soon as she locked her paws onto his arms, she started to kick against the mud.

It was instantly apparent as to why Fox simply couldn't yank her free earlier. During the time in which she remained as motionless as possible, the mud had settled around her and locked her in place. She grunted as she tried again. It had to work. It just had to.

An agonizing dozen seconds later, she finally felt some movement from her long lost legs. Knowing that freedom was near thanks to Fox's help, she redoubled her efforts. Every inch she gained fueled her muscles that much more.

Suddenly, she felt the once semisolid mud that she'd been standing in liquefy due to her struggles. She gasped as she felt the quicksand attempt to grab more of her body.

Unlike when she was originally pushed in, Fox was there to keep her from sinking. She felt his muscles stretch to accept her weight. "I have you," he said as he shifted his arms slightly. "Keep going. I still can't lift you."

She pumped her legs in an attempt to agitate the mud further. She only moved a few inches with each tug before the mud refused to yield anymore, but each time she hit that limit, she felt the ooze around her softening. She bucked and struggled, kicking her legs as hard as she could, all in an attempt to free her body as soon as possible.

She wanted out. She wanted out now.

"Let me go!" she growled as she fought with every ounce of strength she had. She was going to break free of this crafty trap, no matter the cost.

Suddenly, the pain in her shoulders increased exponentially as Fox started to pull. It felt like she was going to be torn in two. For five horrible, agonizing seconds, nothing happened.

Then the mud let go.

With a sickening slurp, Fox pulled her up to her waist. The two shared a quick smile as the vulpine shifted his weight and continued his fight.

Seconds later, her mud covered hips were exposed. She refused to glance down to see how bad she looked. Instead, she focused her energies on pulling her legs loose in accordance with Fox's help.

As the vulpine rose to his feet, Fara's knees came with him. He paused, panting from the exertion. "Almost there," said Fara as she tried to reenergize him. "One more tug."

He was about to take a step back to finish the extraction when he stopped mid-stride. She felt the reason before he could figure out why. "My boots," she said as she noticed the suction that was holding them firmly in place.

The mud had finally decided to fight back.

Fox responded by pulling harder. It got him just as far as it did before. "I can't budge you," he grunted as he continued to pant for air. "And you're getting heavy."

"It's all this damn mud." She kicked her feet and tried to break them loose, but the mud had too good of a grip on her footwear. "Damn it! Let me go!"

"I could shift my grip so you could unbuckle them. At least—"

"No way am I taking a single step in this swamp barefooted." She looked down at the mud. She was so close. So damn close. "Just…hold on."

"Hurry."

Unable to grab her legs with her paws, Fara leaned into Fox and pulled. She alternated legs; first her left, then her right. Her tired muscles burned from the strain and screamed at her to stop, but she refused to listen to them.

She was afraid of the consequences if she did.

She could feel Fox's grip start to slip under her weight. She was running out of time. If she couldn't get free, she knew she'd drop right back into the mud, sinking as deep, if not more so, as she was before.

That worry fueled her muscles as she focused all her remaining energy on her left leg. If she could just get one foot free, she'd be able to stand on her own, dramatically helping Fox.

The strain upon her face was evident as she closed her eyes and pulled. Her legs quivered like the quicksand around her as they tried to ignore her commands. Despite the pain she was now feeling, she didn't give up. She couldn't afford to.

With a suck-plop that echoed across the swamp, her mired foot finally came free. Mud scattered everywhere as her foot emerged, miraculously missing the vulpine for the most part right in front of her.

But that was only one of her formally trapped feet. The other was still stuck deep within the soft earth. With Fox's assistance, she put her left foot onto the mostly solid ground a short distance away. She then leaned forward and attempted to press her advantage.

The mud burped and gurgled as it fought to keep Fara rooted in place. It was a fight that it lost not too long afterward, as the determination of the pair was simply too great.

Finally, Fara was freed of her muddy prison. She stood there, just inches away from Fox, and promptly burst into tears of happiness. She hugged him with her one relatively clean arm and cried into his shoulder.

Fox simply held her and tried his best to comfort her. "There, there, Fara. You're going to be okay. I'm here."

She blubbered pointlessly as she was so overjoyed to be free. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

The pair stood there in relative silence, ignoring the world as it passed by around them. After a minute, Fox remembered that they were still in the process of escaping. "Fara, we need to go. Are you ready?"

She looked up with a sniff and blinked away her tears. She didn't want to let go of him, but she knew they both had a mission to continue with. That and there was still the issue with the unconscious lizards around her. "No. But I don't have a choice."

"Okay." He stepped back and looked her over. "You're a mess."

Now freed of the mud, Fara realized just how much of the ooze she still had coating her body. From her chest down, all she saw was thick, brown mud, covering every inch of her like a second skin. She felt the sheer weight of her new clothing as she tried to shake some of it off. "Ugh. I need a bath."

He smiled. "You'd destroy any tub by just getting near it. You need a rushing river, or maybe a waterfall."

"Funny." She tried again to dislodge the muck, but gave up. It clung to her almost like glue and it was going to take a far greater effort to clean off than she had time to devote. "Let's go."

Fox looked around for a moment, as if he was deciding upon which way to go, before he took off after the pair of lizards which ran off earlier. On the way, he picked up two spears from the still unconscious lizards and returned Fara's weapon to her. "Follow in their footsteps," he said as they left the clearing they'd been delayed in.

"Why?"

He pointed at the imprints they were following. "We need to hide our direction of travel somehow. Andross will be back, and I don't think he's just going to leave us alone."

"Duh."

The pair moved as fast as they dared through the mud. They knew it wouldn't be long before the lizards woke back up, and at that point they knew they'd need to be as far away as possible. "At least they're heading the right way," said Fara after a quick check of her compass.

"They can't hear, but they have a great direction sense. Go figure."

As they continued onward, the darkness that had been slowly gathering around them started to become a hindrance to travel. It was getting more and more difficult to exactly follow the tracks ahead of them. "Fox, I have good eyes, but…"

The vulpine had stopped and was trying to find where to go next in the gloom. "Same here. Have a light?"

"I do, but we'd still be moving too slowly."

He took a few more steps forward before replying. "Yeah."

Fara accidentally let out a noisy yawn. The day's excursions were getting to her, especially after her fight for freedom in the bog. The setting sun and the weight of the mud still on her weren't helping either. "Too bad you can't climb like I can, Fox. These trees would make a great stopping point."

"Never really learned how. And now wouldn't…wait a second."

"What?"

He came to a stop again and looked at her. "But we can fly."

She dropped her head in embarrassment. How could she forget such a useful accessory? There was only one problem. "Fox, how heavy are you?"

"Uh…180 or so, maybe. I haven't exactly weighed myself lately. Why?"

Fara flipped open the small device attached to the wristband on her left arm. She was thankful it wasn't on the arm she'd jammed into the mud earlier as she fiddled with the settings. "The boots require calibration based on body weight so you don't go flying out of control. I can adjust it while wearing them, thankfully."

"I can see the difficulty then. This tree looks sturdy enough for you?"

She glanced at where he was pointing. As luck would have it, they were standing next to what looked to be one of the larger trees in the area. "Yeah."

While she worked, she suddenly heard the sound of two spears implanting themselves into the trees ahead of her. Her heart jumped as Fox stated, "That was me."

"What was that?"

He pointed at a tree behind him. "I threw my spears away to make it look like the lizards were chasing us."

"Good idea." Another few taps on the device changed the settings to what she was aiming for. She closed it back up as she said, "Time to go."

"What do you want me to do?"

She took a few squelching steps closer to the tree in an attempt to find some ground that wasn't quite as soft as what she was standing in. "Come here and stand on my feet."

Fara could see some hesitation as he approached and finally did as she asked. She guessed that he was worried over what would happen next. "Okay."

"Now grab on to me. Tight."

"Okay."

She smiled as she felt his paws encircle her body. It was something she'd dearly missed since last time they were close. She pushed her thoughts about the vulpine out of her mind as she said, "Hold on."

She reached behind Fox and pushed the button to fire off her boots. To her surprise, instead of the rapid acceleration she expected, all she got was the sudden belching of thick, black smoke from below.

"Problems?" asked Fox.

"Must've gotten mud in the air intake or something. Give it a second." She continued to jam the ignition as there was simply nothing else to try. "Come on—"

Like a rocket shooting into the skies, her boots finally worked as designed. The branches rapidly passed by as they ascended. Having over-guessed their weight, she cut back on the thrust and readied herself for the finer adjustments necessary for a proper landing.

Seconds later, the pair touched down on a sturdy limb about 40 feet above the ground. It offered ample coverage from anybody who looked up from below, in addition to providing plenty of branches nearby to aid in descent. She looked up at Fox's amazed face and said, "We're here."

"Wow. Just…wow."

She smiled. "Impressed?"

"Yeah." He turned around and carefully worked his way to the center of the tree. "When can I get a pair?"

"Never, unless Miyu and Fay can come up with a way to get these to work without roasting the ground every time you use them."

Fox sat down and tried to get as comfortable as he could against the tree's trunk. "I could see that as a problem then." He dropped his legs off the edge of the branch and patted the spot in front of him. "Come, sit down."

"Thanks."

The pair sat quietly and looked out into the nearby trees. Darkness engulfed them as the minutes slowly passed by. Their keen eyesight kept them from being completely blinded as they heard noises approach from somewhere below.

"Andross," whispered Fox.

Fara just nodded as they concentrated on the sounds. It didn't take long before they heard the unmistakable voice of the ape drift their way. His yells were as loud as the dozens of lizards stomping through the swamp.

Eventually they reached the tree they were hiding in. They both held their breaths as Andross made a comment upon finding the spears embedded in the trees below. Instead of investigating however, they hurried onward, apparently thinking that their goal was nearby.

Their ruse had worked.

The silence resumed a short while later, a silence only broken as Fox said, "I'll take first watch."

"No. We're safe up here, Fox, and we both need our sleep."

"You sleep, Fara, and I'll keep an eye on things. I'll be fine." A brief yawn from the vulpine betrayed his true thoughts however.

"Uh huh." If he wanted to stay up all night, that was his prerogative. She was going to get some sleep. "Make sure you brace yourself properly for when you dose off."

"Sure. Sleep well."

"You too."

Fara smiled in the darkness as Fox draped his arms around her protectively. She could get used to this close contact, she mused, especially from the vulpine behind her. It was only a question as to what he wanted to do.

Sitting quietly with her eyes closed, focusing on what little noise she heard from nature itself, she felt Fox's grip slowly weaken. She was concerned at first, until she realized that he was doing the one thing that she needed to do as well – fall asleep.

Keeping a laugh bottled up inside her over Fox's insistence that he stay awake, she leaned back into the vulpine's fur and let sleep overcome her as well.