CHAPTER 5

"True colors of deceit"

Fox sunk into his favorite chair. The laptop computer built into the armrest drew itself about, but he quickly pushed it back into it's foldaway spot. His face was filled with anger, his heart was bursting with emotion. His parents are dead and now by putting Fara into his life, she would wind up with the same fate. His paws were welled up into fists from the anger inside.

"It's my fault," His words were murmured to himself, as he sat alone, quivering with rage. Sure he finished the mission. Fox dedicated himself to getting the escorted Ulanburg safely to Corneria, praying that Fara had to return to base or even the planet. He told himself, at first, that she was so banged up that she didn't have radio ability, but soon found out that she was completely unaccounted for. Even her Arwing's homing beacon failed to put out any kind of signal.

And yet... There was no debris. No Arwing shrapnel littering the space just beyond Narconi4. It was if she had vanished or never existed in the first place. Sitting here alone, Fox was reverently silent. Slippy had come onto the bridge a bit ago, to get some tools he left behind and Fox quickly had chased him away. Later on, Rob had come for Slippy's tools and also found himself chased away by Fox's absolute rage.

Hours had gone by and Fox still found himself on the bridge, alone. His mood had changed to somber and for the worst. His melancholy grieving had spouted tears that were still fueled by an anger, disallowing them to pour from his eyes, but rather, to well up inside of him. He wasn't sure what it was that he was angry at, himself, or his apparent curse.

It was pretty much then, that Falco Lombardi stepped into the room.

"Get off my goddess damned bridge," Fox sneered, not bothering to look up at who it was.

"If the goddess really damned this bridge, I'm pretty sure GreatFox wouldn't have held up this long," Falco said with a chuckle. Fox didn't respond. Instead he reverted to his angry mood, glaring at the avian in an accusing manner.

Lombardi rolled his eyes and simply spouted out the reason he'd come. If Fox shouted, he wouldn't listen. "If you didn't hole yourself up here to mope, you'd have found out that according to the black box recorder of both my fighter and your own fighter, Slippy has deduced that her fighter has disappeared. She didn't blow up or die or crash-land. She disappeared via cloak. But we haven't been able to decide what caused the cloak," Falco explained.

"What...?" Fox glanced up, his gaze boring into Falco as if demanding to know everything and anything.

Falco folded his arms. "Dude I just told you what I know. She disappeared, most presumably by cloak. There are power signatures recorded into our sensor data that suggest she was cloaked by something big. I can't tell you more than that, Slippy doesn't KNOW more than that." The Avian shook his head, looking back over his shoulder for no apparent reason. "Besides, we locked a trace on her homing beacon. It was apparently jettisoned from her Arwing by an unknown source, less than two hours ago. Slippy picked it up, floating between Narconi 2 and 3. Again, if you didn't chase everyone out of here, you'd KNOW," Falco accused. With that he turned about and walked off the deck.

Now Fox's interest was peaked. He leaped from his chair and hurried after the tall azure raptor, with renewed strength in his soul to get to the bottom of this.

x

Fara lifted then dropped her head weakly. Her body was aching as if she'd run a full length marathon. Part of her knew that it was nearly true, with how much her body had shaken and quivered from the pain nodes. Her muscles were tense for a full 40 minutes, in a way that her body had never been put through before. She felt sure that if she had an adrenaline rush, she could probably flip an automobile.

Her chest burned from the stress that had been put on her lungs the night before and her throat was sore from the shouting. The only good thing to happen so far was that her previous evening's headache had subsided. It gave her a clear mind to think with, for the most part.

The door slid open and Fara glanced up, still laying in the same place she had collapsed on the floor the previous night. Iliria was dressed differently today, sporting something a bit more militaristic. A black uniform reminiscent of the one that Fox once wore, minus the cape, with well polished brass buttons up her shirt. A sort of ranking insignia was upon each shoulder and the collar of her dress uniform. The trim was a purple color, lining the front of the shirt, her sleeves and the breast pockets.

Fara smirked, still laying upon her back on the rug in the center of the room. Iliria shook her head slowly, running her paw back over those towering ears, one pearly white; one white, spotted with brown. The white one was half folded over, the tip just above her cream color bangs. Sanguine rubies glistened in her eyes. It was almost a look of sympathy ...was it?

"You never even used the bathroom? You just... laid there all night?" Iliria shook her head yet again, approaching the broken pilot. Kneeling about a foot from Fara, Iliria offered her right paw to the girl.

"I went before my last mission. I'm sure you're dismayed," Fara said, knowing that this crazy hare would have probably liked nothing more than for Fara to have lost her control in the middle of that torture fest the previous night.

"Not at all. I had clean clothes prepared just in case, of course." Iliria kept her right paw extended towards Fara's body. Yet the gesture went unnoticed, to Iliria's surprise.

"I'm not wearing your filthy little uniform. I don't know how you got Fox into it that one time, but I assure you I won't wear it." Fara smiled slightly in her broken state. It gave her an inner strength.

"He pleaded with me until I sewed one for him, with my own paws. He wanted to wear something I made for him by hand," Iliria said with a smile. "The cloak was especially good. I was quite proud of myself, it looked quite good on him, didn't it?" Iliria crept closer, placing her paws upon the pilot's biceps, lifting her up into a sitting position.

"Ah, there we go," She murmured softly. "Now, Fara, let's have a look at you doll," She said in an endearing, motherly tone.

"What do you want from me?" Fara's words were harsh and scolding.

"Your friendship, and yes... I have an ulterior motive for you," Iliria admitted. She glanced down at a medical lab result on Fara's physical health. The girl was ship-shape and healthy. Nothing more. The Iririan needed something to work with here. For now, she'd have to think until a clever lie came to her mind, to use against Fox.

"Wow, you're being honest for once? Well, I must say," Fara snapped, "I must hear this little story."

Iliria looked rather dismayed, shaking her head softly with a soft pout. "I want your help destroying a common foe," She explained. Fara raised a brow, looking somewhat confused. "Fara, dear. Andross is who I wish vengeance upon," Iliria said. "Not your boyfriend."

"What the hell for? You manipulated him. I'm surprised he didn't blow you to pieces," Fara choked out, between laughter.

"No, no." Iliria shook her head with a wanton sigh. "He used me to get Fox on his side. He wanted to destroy StarFox with some grand idea of turning McCloud against the team. He knew I was the best and came to me, seducing me with wealth and the promise of power. Silly, I know. Some women are helpless to the promise of riches and importance. It's part of some female's natures to want to be well off," Iliria explained. Of course she twisted the story of how things really happened. Subterfuge was part of manipulation.

"What..?" Fara shook her head rapidly, sitting up fully now.

"It's true," Iliria said. "I would appreciate it if you don't talk about this. From woman to woman, it's embarrassing to find out that you've been used. Andross only pulled that gun on me when Fox was there, because he was angry that I failed. I was supposed to keep Fox under his control but I failed. Andross was angry with me for being careless, allowing Fox some freedoms like flying missions and the like. My carelessness blew Andross's operation," Iliria lied. To her pleasure, Fara appeared to be buying the story.

"How did you get away from Andross?" Fara wondered aloud.

"It wasn't easy," Iliria chuckled grimly. "Once Andross let Fox go, in desire to deal with my failure, he realized he could have killed Fox there. He grew even angrier at his poor judgment, since he was partiallyconfused at the situation as well,and went into a rage. I fled the room for the nearest escape pod," Iliria again lied. She smiled at the memory of what truly happened.

She remembered it as if it happened the previous day. Andross had pulled the gun on her, as Fox took leave of the room. Iliria sunk to her knees and Andross put the barrel against her forehead. She placed her head submissively against Andross's hip, letting him think that he was truly in control which confused him more.

He had knelt besides her, to look into her eyes. He had to see if Fox was lying or not. Iliria's fake tears spilled down her furry cheeks. Andross felt that Fox was in error, and that she was submissive to him, not the other way around. He stood up and placed the pistol on the table and turned away from her, angry at how the entire mission turned out but wanting to be loyal to his new alliance.

With that, Iliria stood up and swiped the gun from the table and put the barrel into Andross's back, knowing that his confusion would soon end and that he would realize that Fox was indeed right. She couldn't wait around for that to happen in any way, shape or form. Andross was obviously surprised, glancing over his shoulder knowing that she could pull the trigger at any moment.

"I spare your life, because Fate may very well bring us back to one another's lives. You owe me for bringing you Fox, but now you also owe me for sparing your life after double crossing me," She told the bewildered Andross.

"You're a fool for sparing McCloud, you had him in your hands and you let him slip away and I lost my prized slave. It's all your fault," She had said to Andross. Slowly she backed out of the room, keeping the pistol on Andross. After departing the FlagShip, she returned to her deserted home, angry that her plot had not worked. It was then, when she wasn't paying attention she tripped and fell into that damned shaft. Ah but that was all in the past.

Fara saw Iliria's smile turn sour, wondering what thought had crossed the woman's mind. Her head craned forward trying to understand why this enigma of a hare would suddenly look so miserable for a moment. "Iliria? Hello?" Fara's words snapped the hare back from her reverie and into reality.

"Sorry," She said quietly.

"No, it's alright," Fara mused.

"I drifted off in thoughts of remembering how things happened," Iliria said apologetically. She smiled sadly, shaking her head. "I would have worried what happened to McCloud after everything was over, but I couldn't help but hate him."

"What for?" Fara said, slowly rising to her feet. Her body was aching but she wanted to appear strong. Being caught on the floor was already bad enough.

"Because I saw things in his head, in his conscious mind, when we linked our minds together. You don't understand, Fara. You were in danger with him. We have the same enemy: Andross. I'm not trying to hurt you, but instead, help you," Iliria explained.

"I don't wanna talk about that right now," Fara breathed. She was sick of this woman telling her that Fox was bad for her. She knew from the beginning of this all, that if it wasn't for Fox, she'd be dead many times over. She knew that Fox was her Saviour in many ways, especially in the ways of love.

"No, you don't understand!" Iliria seemed almost exasperated that Fara didn't heed her warning. "One day soon, he'll have his fill of 'mommy' and want the apron strings cut, like every teenage boy who lived his life normally. Within a few years, Fox will want to get away from you," She insisted.

Fara shook her head in disbelief. "You're sick. She's a red fox, I'm a fennec. We just have the same figure and resemble one another in his mother's dress."

"Didn't Andross make the same mistake? I saw Fox's mental image of his mother. I stood next to her, we talked as friends, to confuse Fox. I've seen her," Iliria continued.

"Do I really look that much like her?" Fara looked a bit confused, herself.

"You're the spitting image," the Iririan lied. They were close in looks, but not a spitting image of one another. "I have to wonder if Fox's mother was reincarnated in your soul when she passed away, Fox is only a few short years older than you... or were you a year older than him? Still, it's possible, you know," Iliria pressed on. It was really starting to annoy Fara, let alone scare her.

"I thought her ears were vertical? Plus I'm pretty sure she had a white muzzle and different color eyes...? I think she was a little shorter too, and..." Fara reeled to remember what that picture of Fox's parents looked like. She usually stayed away from his dresser to stay reverent in a way.

"No, I'm telling you. If you had a few years to you," Iliria went on, "it would be easy for you to convince Fox that you are Vixy and that you never died in that car bomb," Iliria said.

"Good Heaven! What a twisted idea," Fara scorned Iliria for even coming up with such a thought.

"You're just ..." Iliria shook her head. Fara stared at the hare as if to say 'what?'... Iliria shrugged and continued speaking, "You're just a fill in for his dead mother." There it was, what she'd been hinting at for some time now. It hit Fara like a ton of bricks, making her sink back to her knees in tears.

"We'll talk about this later. Go clean yourself up and you can have lunch with me on the A Deck in an hour," Iliria said, standing up. She brushed herself off, dusting her knees with her palms. Fara nodded slightly, looking around the room for a moment. Iliria smiled and walked towards the dresser across the room.

"I'm not asking you to wear a military Uniform. I've got green sweat pants and a purple leotard here. It should be your size," Iliria said with a kind smile and departed the room. To Fara's surprise, it was an identical pair of clothes to her own. Maybe Iliria really didn't want her to wear something like what Fox had. She really didn't know what to think anymore.

"Remember," Iliria said from the doorway, "Our girl talk stays between us. Let people think I got a one-up over Andross. And do NOT tell anyone I care about you. I have a reputation to uphold," Iliria said with a plastic smile. The double doors slid shut and Fara was alone once more. She hated that feeling.

x

Falco found himself pacing the laboratory floor. Anything would be better than this, and really, he wanted to go out and look for Fara or something. Fox had holed himself up in front of the computer that decrypts digital information recorded on the blackbox recorders for two hours now and it was driving Falco absolutely crazy.

"We're NOT going to find her sitting here, McCloud. Let the frog do this, we need to be out there burning some fuel, trying to piece things together," Falco quipped. His words went ignored. A sigh of frustration parted Falco's beak and his pacing continued once more.

Peppy patted Slippy on the shoulder and walked away from the group. He took Falco aside, trying to explain things to Falco to keep him relaxed. Falco dropped his attitude and decided to listen to what the old hare had to say.

"Falco, my good raptor," Peppy started, as he had done many times in the past, "Fox needs to determine what he's up against, yes... but really? He's doing this to burn off his anger and clear his mind. Once he's ready to make a move and his thoughts are clear, he'll make that move. On the other hand, everything you do is like it should be in a movie. Don't have such a flare for being dramatic, go and relax." Peppy's words were paternal and Falco couldn't help but nod in silent reply. He thought for a moment and nodded again.

"I suppose yer right," he muttered. Peppy smiled and patted the youth on his shoulder.

"Yeah...," Falco said under his breath. He glanced around the room one more time then walked out into the hallway. Since his own thoughts were clear, at least to himself, he thought it would be best to fly a patrol. Heading out to the hanger bay, Falco prepped an Arwing and took off.

x

Day 2.

General Pepper scratched his left floppy ear, crunching into a lollipop with a faint sigh. Fox's visage filled his holo-emitter and at a close glance, it appeared the boy had not slept in the last day. The hefty hound shook his head slowly.

"I don't know what to tell you," He said softly. He'd try a bit more reasoning with the vulpine pilot, but Fox seemed to have his own mission to find Fara Phoenix, which was really a military issue. But Pepper wasn't going to step in the path of love, it would only make Fox harder to deal with. "You have my blessing to search every inch of Narconi and Lylat's systems but... All I can do is give you whatever the military finds," Pepper said.

The conversation lasted another several moments before Fox cut transmission abruptly. Pepper was used to that and shook his head sadly. Phoenix was one of his better pilots and for her to go Missing In Action was really something. It was a difficult issue since Fox was Mercenary and only spent time on the base. Fara was flying on his wing as a solo assignment, representing Corneria in the escort. It was the hottest news on TV right now and Pepper really didn't' feel like accepting the plea for a news conference so soon after her disappearance.

Standing up, the General glanced back to his darkened Holo-vid and sighed. It was time to head off to that meeting with the Ambassador and the Prime Minister of Narconi4. He could only pray that the press didn't ask questions about Phoenix in front of those two...

x

Fox shook his head angrily. "He won't help us," McCloud said, pounding his fist on the table. It caused Falco's sugar drink to spill over the edge of his cup. With a frown, Lombardi stood up and picked the drink up off the table.

"It appears to me that the smart thing to do is taking GreatFox back to Narconi4 and start searching the area for traces of anything or take samples of the area to look for patterns or some sort of residue clue," The avian said. To Slippy's surprise it sounded like a rather intelligent idea. His face lit up and he stood up as well, glancing first to Falco then to Fox.

"He's r-r-right ya know. We should swab that area for a plasma culture. Maybe we can find something. Engine exhaust b-b-belonging to a big ship or ... something we overlooked," The excited frog said. Falco gave a light smile, feeling like he did something right for a change.

"I .. I guess," Fox said, quietly. He really didn't know what to do at this point and the somber trio were growing sick of watching their commander go insane over Fara, the entire scene happening all over again.

"Couldn't we use the help of Nolan's team? I mean, Nikki and the gang were Fara's friends too," Falco said.

Fox shook his head. Falco knew it was a stupid idea. They had their hands full with military stuff or something. But he still knew that those guys would jump at the idea of helping to look for Fara. He didn't see anything bad about the idea really. Falco's desire to pull in others for help didn't really yield much of anything from Fox. His only concern was to save the girl.

Falco knew damn well that Fox was close to Nolan's group. He couldn't understand why McCloud was being so cold. In fact, Fox used to date Nikki for a short, short time. The fact that he didn't want to include them really perplexed the Avian.

Peppy and Falco exchanged shrugs but stayed quiet. Fox on the other hand buried his nose back into the computer, casually giving out orders in a way that made the rest of the team wonder if he was even paying attention to his own spoken words.

"Just.. get us to Narconi. Whatever, make best speed. I need a few minutes to myself. I wanna try and crack this riddle," Fox murmured.

"Don't you think Slippy should be doing all that technical jargon, I mean -" Falco suddenly found himself cut off.

"Do you MIND? I'm trying to FIND OUT where I blinked that I didn't SEE her disappear with my OWN eyes!" Fox's words were pushed by a quick snap of anger and it caused Falco to shut up right quick. The group left the room to head up to the bridge and get underway.

"Sheesh, He really gets mad when I suggest things eh?" Falco said with a chuckle as the trio walked down the hallway.

"Kinda like you suggested we become bandits and grow rich off pirating a rich planet?" Peppy reminded with a grin.

"So I don't always have the best suggestions. But they're not ALL bad," he said, defensively. Slippy was quick to agree with that, as Falco had come up with a fairly good idea only a matter of minutes ago.

x

Iliria's gaze met Fara's soft emerald orbs. She smiled slowly, the grin spreading across her lips, stretching back, the smile growing wider. It made Fara uncomfortable but she had to wonder if the woman wasn't right in the headin some measure.

"He doesn't even know what happened to you. To him, you're dead," Iliria said, nodding in a sage manner. Fara shook her head in disbelief then smiled in return, knowing that there was still some will in her heart.

"Fox is just sulking right now. He's about to start his search any minute right now. When he does..? You're in trouble," Fara said with a smile.

"Fara, I'm telling you what I know. I've been in his head, I KNOW how he thinks," The Iriran said, sticking to her story. It frustrated Fara and Iliria knew it. Fara, however, could never give Iliria the full pleasure of knowing that she was worried that Fox really may have given her up for dead. Truly, she longed for his embrace. It was strange, they'd only been dating for a few days, actually a fullweek now,and now she wanted him to rescue her and hug her more than anything. Their relationship started full blast and very quickly.

Now that Fara and Fox were in such an intimate relationship, she was afraid of the possibility of Iliria being correct. It scared the fennec deep in her heart, to think that she and Fox began something sacred, that only came about because of Fox's mental state being in question.

"Fara," Iliria shook her head, turning back to face the wall opposite of Fara's bed. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again, "You just don't get it. I've seen his thoughts. Those deep down thoughts. He doesn't love you. You're not wanted, well.. You are here, but I'm referring to Fox," She went on to say.

"Oh.. Iliria," Fara said softly.

"Yes, sweetie?" Iliria turned back to her with a soft, maternal smile.

"You're... How do I say this," Fara said, trying to smile lightly, in return.

"Go on, dear."

"You're... well... You're a Bitch," Fara said, her soft smile turning to a sneering smirk. It caught Iliria off guard and she stared in disbelief for a moment before anger took her black little heart.

"Why you...!" She drew her paw into a fist and struck Fara across her jaw, knocking the vulpine flat on her face, sprawled out across the bed. But to the hare's surprise, when Fara sat back up, she was grinning through the furry fingertips of thepaw that favored her muzzle.

"Wow... Did I strike a chord?" Fara almost seemed to giggle, feeling on top of the situation. Iliria knew that was her objective, to feel in control. The Iriran decided that this was not going to happen. She folded her paws looking the pilot over with a pleasant smile.

"I guess you'll just have to see for yourself. But I must say," Iliria giggled as she stood up, tucking her bangs a bit with her left paw. "He's quite an exceptional kisser," Iliria said, walking to Fara's door, the doors parting for her.

"Liar." Fara said this word with a smirk but she was visibly shaken and it showed the most in her voice. Iliria shrugged, not turning back.

"If you say so," She said with a secret smile. Her form was nothing more than a shadow in the door way now. Fara's dark little room had her ready to feel alone again, there on her bed. She really hated feeling alone after Iliria left each time.

"I hate you." Fara's words were full of contempt but there was a longing in those once whiskey smooth tones that showed she was shaken now. Iliria continued to stand in the room for another moment before turning back to Fara letting out a small breath of displeasure. It was usually easy to get a woman on her side. This one was apparently rather faithful to McCloud. She'd just have to see about that.

Walking back into Fara's dimly illuminated room, the doors slid shut behind her. Stopping in front of the girl, Iliria folded her arms, staring down at her. Her gaze was almost accusing in some ways. Fara looked confused by the glare and shook her head in rebuttal of it.

"What...?"

Iliria continued to stare at her, her gaze hateful and full of malice.

"What?"

The Iririan hare shook her head and smirked again. How Fara hated that expression. "Fara Phoenix... When was the first time you kissed Fox? Have you ever?" Her question only got a blink from the responsive pilot's eyes.

"Answer me," Iliria demanded.

"That's not your damned business, woman," Fara said with a hateful tone.

"Wrong answer," She said to Fara, reaching her arm gauntlet up, her finger hovering over a pain node button. Really she could have just willed it to happen but it was like cocking the hammer on a revolver. An action of intimidation, not necessary to pull the trigger and kill. Just an effect for drama.

"I'm not talking," Fara growled, knowing that she'd be on the floor in another moment. She wasn't looking forward to it, that was for sure.

"I'm sorry to hear it," Iliria said. She smiled lightly and pressed the button.

x

2 weeks... (Day 14)

X x

Fox McCloud made his way down the hallway passed his quarters. He'd had enough sulking as of late and the misery of loosing Fara so quickly after beginning what seemed like averyfruitful relationship... it was all a great deal of stress on his shoulders. Suddenly something filled his ears and he paused outside of Peppy's door. The soft, melodic shey-ran filled the hallway from Peppy's playing. McCloud couldn't help but peek inside. It was then that a small memory returned to him... It was the sound of a Shey-ran but not like this. This was a thunderous thrash of lightning arpeggios that sounded oh-so angry.

Suddenly, Fox blinked. It was another memory of Iliria. It hit him like a punch in the gut. His stomach simply turned at the memories... but it was Peppy's soft playing that brought him back to reality. He continued to watch from the hallway just outside of Peppy's room, staying silent.

It was then that Falco rounded the corner, bumping into McCloud on the pass. Falco grunted and stepped back to brush himself off. Fox gave him a look, told him to watch where he was going and resumed his quiet position outside of Peppy's room. Falco shrugged and stood besides him for a moment.

"Why don't we go do a bomb run on Andross or something?" His words seemed to fall upon deaf ears one more time. Falco just shrugged at the silence and continued on down the hall to see what Slippy was up to.

Fox on the other hand made his way into Peppy's room. Their eyes met but he gestured for Peppy not to stop. The soft piece was soothing in many ways and Fox didn't want it to end right yet. As he milled around Peppy's room he stopped to pick up a novel on the counter.

"A novel by Andromeda Hare..." Fox gently thumbed the cover open reading the dedication to her loving husband and brave pilot, Peppy J. Hare. Fox replaced the book on the stand and smiled softly just as Peppy finished the last line upon the instrument.

"You know," Peppy started, just as he strummed the last chord, "I'm thinking about going home for a while. It's been 4 days since I've seen her, and before that, it hadn't been since... before Fara disappeared. You don't mind to ya, Junior?" Fox shook his head and shrugged softly.

"No, it's cool, Peppy. I mean, you're married. You should be maxin' and relaxin' at home. We'll find Fara, I'm more than sure of it," Fox insisted.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you when you need me," Peppy offered a soft smile.

"No, it's alright. Really. So, I hear Annie is working on her sequel," Fox said, starting casual conversation that had nothing to do with Fara or anything else for that matter.

"Yep. The publisher was pleased with the outcome of the first one, felt she should start on her second," Peppy said with a smile. He placed the Shey-ran back upon it's stand, unhooking it from his left arm and placing the bow down upon the night stand. "You sure you don't mind that I head home with Annie?"

Fox smiled, wishing deep down inside, that it was him going home to his wife, but if he didn't find Fara, he wouldn't even have that pleasure. There was no reason he should or could keep Peppy from his own wife. "It's all taken care of," Fox reassured. The two embraced and Peppy started to pack. "I'll call if we find her. You can help us, then. For now, there's no reason you shouldn't be at home, on Corneria."

20 minutes later...

Fox found himself on the bridge yet again, aimlessly pacing it. The view screen alert tone was piercing in his ears as he approached the control panel to raise the communication. He was half expecting General Pepper but what came up on screen was something he'd never forget.

Iliria. Fox's jaw dropped wide open. Was this another illusion of his fading mind? Was he seeing things again? His right paw formed a tight fist as he stared face to face with Iliria.

"Did you miss me, sweety?" Her sickeningly sweet tone made his stomach churn immediately. His fists were slammed down upon the control panel as he would finallyget the chance to talk to this... this illusion of a memory.

"Get out of my life, you don't exist," McCloud growled.

"Don't I? Are we having some sort of issues Fox? I'm right here and I have someone that wishes to speak to you," She said cheerfully. Fox's eyes seemed to burn with the fire within. It was almost as if she could see the passionate anger in his gaze and it made her giggle with delight before her image was replaced with that of...

"Steren?" Fox's jaw dropped wide open, remembering the guy he was living with for several months in a jail cell on Andross's base. He stepped around the control panel approaching the view screen, eyes wide with disbelief.

"No, McCloud. Steren is dead because of you. I'm going to return the favor," The man said, folding his arms over his chest. He wasn't wearing any sign of Iliria's uniform, making Fox wonder who this guy was and if he was acting on his own will.

"I... You're...? Who are you?" Fox looked confused and frowned, forgetting his anger, plagued with guilt from the strange way he destroyed Steren in that cell, vaporizing him in a fit of confusion.

"I'm Steren's brother. And may I assure you, I serve Iliria of my own free will. You murdered my brother, I've seen the video of how you disintegrated him with a dishonorable death and I promise your death will not be as quick. I promise you'll suffer before you die... and on that note, McCloud," The man said, leaving Fox gaping, "I have someone here who wishes to speak to you."

The next image to grace the screen was something that Fox would have burned in his memory for all time. His body gave out on him and he slumped into a chair on the bridge, staring up at the screen in disbelief. His heart dropped into his stomach and yet exploded at the same time. Immediate hope was crushed with hurt and disbelief.

"No..." His murmur was almost a plea.

Fara Phoenix stood before the view screen, a com-link covered her face and a smirk upon her muzzle. Her eyes were far away and the black and violet uniform she wore was a military dress style shirt and pants. A solid black cloak rested upon her shoulders and a folded hood was behind her neck. Her gaze bore into Fox showing no signs of any emotion.

"F...Fara..?" Fox's heart sank and he felt crushed.

"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite Nemesis," Her words struck with the sting of the most deadly Fortuna bee. Fox felt weak inside for the first time...ever.

"Nemesis? I.. I don't understand," He said, shaking his head.

"No? Yet another lie I'm sure. It's all clear for me now, let me assure you." Her words seemed bitter and full of anger.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, ILIRIA!" Fox's guttural shout caused Fara's chin to slightly lift in surprise. Fox brought his fist down on his knee, shaking in rage. Falco and Slippy ran in from the back of the bridge both gasping in shock at the image of Fara on the screen.

"Iliria? Had nothing to do with this. She's on my side. Andross is her enemy. It was you who screwed things up, McCloud. You lied to me," Fara said, her accusing voice full of contempt and stifled rage.

"I... I did what?" Fox slipped from the chair to his knees, gazing up at the visage of the woman he loved, secretly pleased she was alive, but now burning with hurt that this had been done to her.

"You said you loved me... Fool. How dare you lie to me," Fara's gaze narrowed as she spied Falco and Slippy approaching in the back of the room. She looked confused for a moment but then directed her attention back to Fox.

"ILIRIA... IF YOU'VE HARMED HER... IF YOU TORTURED HER JUST ONCE... I'll RIP YOUR HEART OUT!" Fox stood up, resolved in his quest, quivering with suppressed anger.

"I'm disappointed, but not surprised, Fox. But you don't even understand," Fara said, looking on, beyond Fox with a sigh.

"Understand what, Fara? Please... please talk to me, I've been where you are now," Fox said, remembering the confusion spells somewhat.

"You don't understand. You would never make a good father," Fara said, turning away, looking slightly hurt. Fox quickly approached the view screen. Tears were burning his vision, blurring it.

"A good father? Please... please explain! TELL ME, please!" Fara stood up on her end and walked away, leaving Fox with the image of an empty chair. His heart exploded in his chest, scared all over again, for the second time in his life.

Iliria sat down in front of the view screen with a smile, pleasantly nodding to Falco and Slippy then looking back to Fox. "Where's the Pandoran?" Her words were rather random, out of no-where sounding...

"He's with his wife, what the hell do you care? Have you tortured Fara?" Fox demanded.

"Don't be concerned. It's not like I'd do something that would truly harm her... It's not like I would put enough voltage through her body to... say... cause a miscarriage or something," She said with a smile. Fox felt both his paws clinching tightly. His two fists shook before him, as if all his rage was buried in his fists. His vision blurred by anger and tears, he knew now that he was truly resolved to destroy Iliria.

"She's fine, Fox. She's a little hurt by your betrayal of her," Iliria said, as if protecting Fara. Fox shook his head rapidly in silent anger. Iliria saw this and shrugged sympathetically.

"You put her in danger by disobeying me," Iliria said with a wanton sigh.

"You filthy wench, how dare you," Fox said, his gaze narrowing to cold white slits.

"Watch your mouth, vulpinian. An expectant Fara doesn't need to hear things like that," She said ... There it was again, some sort of strange reference to Fara's previous words of Fox not being amounted up to being the Father of her children or something of some such.

"Is... Is Fara pregnant?" Fox fidgeted nervously.

"Oh lord," Iliria rolled her eyes and cut the transmission. Fox, suddenly shocked, ran to the control panel and started to manipulate the controls to try and trace the signal but was unable to do so. He punched the metallic panel, leaving a dent in it then sunk down into the chair behind the communication station.

"There's no way she can be pregnant," Falco mused. "Iliria is just... bull(edit)ing you man," Falco said, approaching McCloud from behind.

"Falco..." Fox shook his head, he didn't want to explain anything, he just wanted Fara safe. He didn't want to give Falco the impression that Iliria was anything more than a liar. It was just that she always said things that cut and things that hurt more than anything. Fox knew he had to get used to this.

"I think she's just trying to tell Fara that I lied about being in love with her or that I used her for sex. I think she told Fara that...were Fara to be pregnant.. I ran out on her by not saving her. Maybe she has Fara convinced she's pregnant and is using it to confuse her and turn her against me, it doesn't make any sense," Fox said, shaking his head.

"You guys...?" Falco said, scratching his head.

"Yes, but dammit, we were responsible about it. Iliria is just playing games with my head, it's none of your business what we do," Fox said, turning back to the dark view screen. He shook his head and sighed softly.

"It's not true. It's just a ruse. But I do think she's tortured Fara. It's how she operates. Later she'll probably drug Fara and get into her head, if she hasn't done it already. It's a mess," Fox sighed, shaking his head.

"Now what?" Falco mused.

"I... I don't know," Fox admitted.