"If he makes it through the night, I'll be surprised."
That had been what they were told when they entered the emergency room. Now they sat back at the safe house. Each sitting around in their own wallow. The only sound was an occasional shutter, and the ticking of a clock.
"I'll fucking kill'em." Falco said under his breath, causing a few to look up.
"Take a number." Dean was quick to agree.
"Shut the hell up!" The outburst was unexpected, but not surprising. Falco couldn't hold anymore in. "You… you people! You humans! None of this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't shown up! Fox would be just fine, those people wouldn't be dead! I wouldn't be sitting here, having to wonder if I'll ever see my best friend again! So shut up, sit down, and be happy if I don't shoot you myself!"
Dean shot out of his chair, taking off across the room, fist held back, ready to strike the falcon in the face. Falco was ready, he drew back at the same time, only to have it caught by Bill and Katt while Mei and Jackie grabbed Dean, holding him back as he struggled.
"Let me go! That smart ass wants to run his mouth, someone needs to shut him up!" Dean yelled, struggling hard with the two agents.
"Come over here and say that!"
"I'm trying to!"
"Hey!" Bryan's first yell, fell on death ears. Having quite enough he pulled out some pepper spray, allowing a small amount into the room. The effect was light, but immediate.
"What the hell…" Bill coughed out, holding a paw up to his mouth.
"That is enough!"
All eyes fell on the single yelling human in the room.
"We have fought, and we have suffered just as much as you! We lost one of our own, two of our own, in a war that we could have just as quickly said 'screw you, you deal with it'! We came, we fought, one of us died for place we didn't know more than seven days! You think you have right to shoot your mouth off! Guess what, you're friend is still alive, chances are he may even pull through! So what chances did Kasey have? Huh, smart ass?"
By the end of the rant, Bryan was panting hard. Anger telling him to simply reach for his pistol on the table and press it to the falcon's skull, thereby inputting fear and intimidation.
He held that demon back.
"We came here because you needed help. We came here because we wanted to help. We are here because we still want to help a planet that some of us consider a second home! We all knew when this started that some of us won't be coming out alive. We know that with every mission. That we may not be going home that night. Its part of the job. And yes, sometimes innocent people get harmed or killed. But we try, and we try, and we train so that we can avoid that at all costs. Sometimes the cost is beyond our control. There is nothing we can do when that happens. We can do as much as humanly or whatever, possible. Now shut up, before I go over there and shoot you myself, understand?"
What had started as a yell, ended in a low, threatening growl, almost like the demon had been let loose and it was warning it's prey of its danger. That the prey had entered it's territory.
Everyone looked stunned at first. No one had ever seen their commander blow up like that, even go so close as to threaten and shoot another alley.
The only sound to dear break the silence was a ring. It was coming from Bryan's pocket, he grabbed it - voice rougher than he meant.
"What?"
"I need you down here at RND."
"I'm busy."
"It's important."
"Fine."
He nearly threw the device across the room. "I am leaving for a little while. Do not shoot each other while I'm gone." He hissed, slamming the door behind him.
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"What?" Bryan's voice pounded down the halls of Cornerian Military RND.
"He's here." A grinning Lab Tech stated, not looking behind her.
"Listen you, it has been a very long day for me. I had a bomb blow up in my face, and a team back at the house ready to shoot each other. This had better be very good."
She grinned turning around to look at him. "Just thought you may want to know something." She whispered. Something in her demeanor changed greatly over the past thirty seconds.
Bryan's eyes searched her's for the reason. "Brea? What's wrong?"
She seemed to look to the ground for strength. "There is something I should tell you… need to tell you… but… I just can't yet… its nothing bad, really! But…"
She seemed almost on the verge of tears, and for some reason, Bryan found himself worrying why…
"There is something you're not telling me…" He repeated to himself.
"What is it? What can't you tell me?" It was more pressing then he wanted to. Brea just shook her head. "Never mind, either way, Pepper wants to see you."
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Brea's voice filtered through Bryan's head as he opened the General's door.
"Pepper, sir. To what do I owe this please?"
"I wanted to check on you. You had a rather shaking experience today."
"We're all fine… for the most part."
"Yes… I heard about Fox and Krystal. It will be a great loss to the people should they not make it… but Krystal is a strong spirited girl, along with Fox, especially with Krystal with him…"
Bryan shook his head after a moment. "I've noticed something… where I come from, when a specialized force is on the scene and a bombing or such occurs, the public is screaming for blood. Yes, around here, I've yet to hear a yell."
Pepper's grin was almost unnoticeable.
"That is the difference between our lands. Around here, we accept fate and understand where true fault lies. We don't blame people for things they were not aware, nor ready of."
Bryan sighed. "Maybe… Hey, General, one of the lab Tech - Brea is her name, when did she start here?"
"Few months ago… not much longer than after the first attack, why?"
"Something about her…"
"You think she is a danger?"
"Not at all, General. I must be going…"
"Wait." General Pepper started, holding a paw up. "What do you wish to do with the Cord boy?"
Tommy, he meant. "Cornerian law demands death for treason. But, my consult with our government says that we are willing to do things your way, saying as he is one of yours."
Bryan stopped by the door, tapping his balled fist lightly on the frame before turning to face the General, leaning on it with his feat crossed slightly.
"Do with him what you will, under one condition. Keep him alive until after we succeed. I want him to see what betraying his team will get him."
Pepper nodded, knowing full well what the agent was going through as Bryan walked out.
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"Fox McCloud?"
"Fifth floor, ICU, seventh door on the right." Was the response given from the fur behind the desk. Bryan made it up to the ICU level, flashing his badge in front of the camera after verbal access was too far away.
He found himself sitting in the dim light of the room. The steady beeping of the machine assured him that Fox was still alive. They had moved the beds so that Fox and Krystal were side-by-side. Bryan could see that even in their sleep, Krystal's hand had reached across to grab onto Fox's. A sure sign of more than just a mating bond.
He sighed sitting back.
"Son of a bitch was right. We caused this… if we didn't get involved then Tommy wouldn't have turned…" Bryan whispered to himself, running his hands through his messy hair.
"We screwed up bad… and now countless people are paying for it… shit, even two of the best people I've met here are paying for it…"
He sighed. Is it really too late to pull DCTU out? The scoffed at himself. We can't pull out now! They're counting on us!
"Its… its not… you're fault."
Bryan nearly jumped, Krystal's weak voice was amplified by the quiet room.
"You… didn't know… none of us did." She whispered. Bryan moved over to her bedside.
"Hey, get some sleep, ok?" He said, brushing a slight hair from her face. She grinned weakly at him.
"You know… he'll make it… I'm sure of it… so long as I'm here… he won't fear anything… You know… they say he's lucky… a few inches to the right, he'd be dead from a hit to the heart… a few inches to the left, he'd be paralyzed for life."
"I thought you were sleeping during that."
Krystal groaned slightly. Allowing her hand to move slightly, holding it at the bed's edge for Bryan to grip.
"When I touch someone, I can read them… feed off their strength." She wasn't lying, Bryan could feel some of his energy getting drained from him. Krystal broke the connection. "I've been feeding some of mine to him… just enough to keep us alive until our bodies heal. We'll make it… we'll be right back out on the field with you in no time… you'll see."
Bryan grinned, seeing that even in the worst of times, Krystal kept her optimistic personality. "Get some rest, alright Krys?" He whispered slightly, gripping her paw for a moment, letting the warmth of the fur reassure him she was still there, along with Fox.
"Krys… you keep calling me that…"
"I've grown fond of you and the others, what can I say, you're the family I never had. You're the sister who's always helping me out and teaching me that people aren't all bad. Fox is like the older brother who keeps me out of trouble and gets me out of it when I am. Falco's the pain in the ass cousin who teaches me cool stuff that I probably shouldn't know to begin with. Slippy would be the geek of a cousin who knows more about computers than anyone else I know… hell, everyone's got their spot…" Bryan finished, feeling slightly better to have vented all that.
Krystal tried to grin again, only to succeed in a slight groan of pain. "Promise me when this is over, you'll tell me the rest, ok?" She asked of him before falling into a deep sleep.
One that everyone would love to see her wake from, if only in a few hours.
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The entire area was a complete wreck. Anyone could see that clearly. Bryan picked up speed slightly going through that area. He could see the local police forces going through the last of the wreckage, removing the last of the bodies.
"And the worst part of it is that there may be more attacks like this…" Bryan found himself mumbling before he even realized it.
He turned the corner, heading for the high security lock-up that General Pepper had directed them to. He pulled his unit to a stop at the check point to the entrance, rolling his window down.
"Business?" The guard asked him.
"The interrogation of one of your customers." Bryan responded, passing the note the General had given him. "Ah, so you're one of those DCTU guys… Alright, pass right on threw, just make sure to check your weapon at the main desk." He said, making a signal to a guard up in the tower. Bryan just nodded, rolling his window up and passing through the opening gate.
Once inside he check his stuff at the desk, telling them what he was doing here in the process. In return, he was told that Tommy would be brought to "Interview Two".
The chair in the room was cold, hard, and metallic. Tommy didn't even look up to see who had entered the room, he could easily take a good guess who it was.
"I'm only going to ask this once… What the fuck were you thinking?"
There was a long pause. "They promised me things you couldn't… that America couldn't."
"Like what? Freedom? No, wait - you had that. A place to live? Had that too! Hey, how about death! Now there's something you don't have yet!"
The final sentence caught Tommy's attention. "What?"
"What you did was treason Tommy! What? You thought you were going to get a trail or something? Wake up! We are on another planet, even if they allow our laws to apply for our people - I'm tempted to do what their law demands! Now, tell me why I shouldn't."
Tommy's gaze shifted from his commander to the guard in the room, to the one-way glass in the corner.
"How long have you been working for them?"
"Ever since our first assault. Probably a day before we left… I don't remember…"
"Jesus, Tommy… That means Kasey's death was your fault…"
"Wait! Hold on! I didn't mean-"
"You didn't mean for it to happen! Well it did, and you telling them stuff about us was what caused it! Not even that, but you just killed a bunch of civilians! One of them was a family, a freaking' family, Tommy! A little kid! What? You didn't mean for that to happen to! The bomb was under your table, so tell me wither or not you meant for that to happen either!"
"I didn't know it was there… I heard the blast go off and I ran for it! I must have been that one, Wolf!"
Bryan's grin turned deadly. "What? You think turning on them is going to save you now? Bullshit. You are a terrorist, the very people we sworn to fight. I'm not going to try and save you, Tommy. You turned on us… even Killed one of ours! Possibly two!"
"Two?" Tommy gulped out.
"That bomb you guys set sent shit flying everywhere! Fox and Krystal was there! She took a bad hit to the leg, and he took one to the chest! No one knows if he's going to make it! And so help me god, if he dies, I'll come back here and shoot you myself. Understand?"
Tommy looked around, panicked. They had turned on him, not Bryan and the team, but Darkness.
"Look, I don't know what this will do to help you guys, but… they have a temporary safe house here. A warehouse, just east of the plaza."
"This won't get you off of the death sentence." Bryan warned.
"I don't care… And there was something else too…"
"What?"
"They are planning another attack… only… this one isn't on Corneria…"
"Where are they attacking?"
"They plan to make their next attack within the next ten hours… their troops are already on the way…"
"Tommy, where are they attacking…"
"They are going to destroy Earth…"