Author's note:

Av 0ei sud hout kxaj, 0ei'ho xehd0. Ted'k kh0 ke tod0 ak. 0ei'lo uchout0 hout kxheiwx kxhoo jmik sxufkohj zijk ke wok kxaj vuh. Den uffc0 edo redb ke kxo vehoxout veh kxhoo tu0j nakx veet, scejo kxaj khudjcukeh, udt cok'j wok rusb ke kxo jkeh0.

Chapter 32: The First Cerinian Space Program

The Palace of Kezamat. The head that leads the city and its surrounding territory. Though no more splendid than a small, Middle Age castle, by Cerinian standards it was as grand as buildings could be aside from the holy temples. The palace stood in a pyramid shape. Each level was smaller than the one below. Archers loomed on every balcony while armoured guards protected all entrances. With so many guards capable of telepathy, it was virtually impossible for any intruder to slip inside undetected.

A person honest or brazen enough to approach the front gate would be stopped before entry. Special permission authorised the guards to screen each visitor's mind for their intentions. Andross was frequently subjected to such invasions. Anyone who knew his history would have innumerable reasons to turn him away. However, Andross only ever bothered to visit the palace for one purpose: to barter. That was his golden ticket.

He was found unarmed and escorted through stone hallways. Rugs and tapestries kept the palace somewhat warm in the early spring chill. Murals that Andross had seen a hundred times depicted the city's history to its founding. It was a remarkably stock-standard story. Many smaller fox colonies settled together in one place and prospered from the natural resources surrounding them. They later established laws, government, and commerce. Tools and trades crafted stone walls and sturdy houses. It all amounted to the Kezamat that stood today.

Andross's escort led him to a small room on the third floor. There, youthful pages served refreshments since his arrival. Andross sipped at a mug of green, herbal tea and propped one leg over his other. A common man seeking audience with the chief would be made to wait out in the hall. The palace staff must now consider him a more esteemed guest to offer such comforts. As they should, for all that Andross had done for these people over the years.

An hour passed before he was summoned to the throne room at last. To call it a throne room would be a generous overstatement. The furnishings were too modest. It also lacked a throne by any definition that Andross ever came across. Instead, cushion seats laid along low tables arranged in a 'U' formation. Those towards the sides were where the chief's court would sit, including the temple's High Priest, the Captain of the Guard, the masters and Grandmaster of the Lythan Jad, the heads of important clans, as well as the city's guild masters and wealthy merchants.

Presently though, only one seat in the middle was occupied. Andross stood just shy of his place in the heart of the room. Chief Gylis observed him quietly. There was more silver in his fur than the day they first met all those years ago. Little else had changed in his stern and unwavering gaze since that time.

"Doctor Andross," he addressed gruffly.

"Chief Gylis," Andross replied in kind. Only then did he perform the customary bow. A bout of wills between them always made these meetings more interesting. Gylis returned the gesture. Finally, Andross knelt upon the seat provided for him.

"State your business," Gylis crossed his arms.

Those few words summed up the entirety of their interactions, Andross reflected. Gylis never wholly trusted him, and Andross despised having to offer this stick-waving primitive any sort of reverence. Yet they benefited greatly from what the other possessed. Through Andross, Kezamat grew swiftly as the most technologically advanced city across the known continent. In exchange for his scientific expertise, Gylis provided Andross with the resources needed for his own pursuits.

"I require more labourers," Andross replied. "As well as more precious metals. The quantities that I currently possess are insufficient."

"You have been given plenty already. Why should I grant you anything further?" Gylis challenged. "Any other craftsman would fund his own creations."

"You of all people know that no craftsman on this world has ever created what I have. What I'm now working on is far more ambitious than anything you've ever seen before." Andross smirked. "But we both know that you don't care one bit about that. Just name what you want from me, and we'll trade for it. Then I'll be out of your hair."

The chief's frown deepened. "You intend to trespass the gods' domain with this spaceship of yours. Was it not that same crime that incurred Arethan's wrath and entrapped you upon our lands in the first place? Do you wish for further punishment?"

"What happens after I take flight will be between the gods and me. No one else," Andross darkened. It annoyed him to drop his own intelligence to meet this superstitious fool's point of view. "Now, do you have a price to make, or should I take my services elsewhere? Galthumarata's people were quite fond of me during my last visit."

Strike a nerve and watch the rest of the body jerk. Gylis growled softly through his fangs. Andross gave him time to consider. "Your experiments yielded a more abundant poqua harvest last year than any in the last few decades. I would be keen to see what your science can do for our fields if applied when the first seeds are sewn."

"You won't see any results until the crops have fully grown," Andross huffed. "My needs cannot wait for yours to be satisfied first."

"Then your materials and labourers will be provided upfront. After they become available, that is. But for every week of work, I expect a progress report on your repayment. Should I believe you are squandering my investment, I will rescind it swiftly. Do you have any qualms to that?"

A smirk danced across Andross's lips. "I accept those terms."

The frown never left Gylis's. "I will send our quartermaster over the coming days. I then want to know your plans for the fields by the end of the week."

Andross rose to his feet and bowed. "It is always a pleasure negotiating with you, Chief."

"I will remind you to keep your honeyed lies outside of my court," Gylis grumbled. "May your spaceship carry you back to where you first crawled from, so that Cerinia may finally be freed of your taint."

'That is the intention,' Andross thought darkly. Without waiting for the chief's dismissal, he turned towards the exit.

"Andross." Gylis leaned forward. "If you do succeed in leaving Cerinia, I want your oath that you will cause her no harm. You have ruined many other worlds in the past. I will not allow you to inflict such destruction here."

Andross faced him once more, meeting the wary fox in the eye. "You have no need to worry. It's too troublesome to get on and off this planet for any value I'd gain in returning. Whatever my plans in the future are, they won't have any impact on your world as you know it."

Gylis continued to watch him. Andross didn't care for his suspicions. "Now if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."

As Andross was escorted out of the palace, he felt aware of the eyes and minds that followed him. No matter which way he looked, he could never spot his observers. He was blind to them. Yet they could see everything inside and around him. Andross knew that there was little that he could do to conceal anything within the palace grounds. He might as well be naked in a glass house to these creatures.

It gave him the bloody creeps.

When Andross returned to the laboratory, Thene remained busy carving models out of wax. Several dozen laid completed across a worktable, ready to shape moulds for the rocket parts. Thene dusted off her latest product and set it alongside the rest. She then turned to Andross, peering over her safety goggles.

"How did you fare with the chief?" she asked.

"His quartermaster will come by in the next few days. However, in return, Gylis wants us to improve the farms so that they can grow better crops."

Thene tapped a claw over her other arm. "I can think of a few things we can do. An irrigation system and fertilizers would be simple to produce. There's also the insecticide we made for the poqua experiments last year."

"Fortunately, we've been offered resources in advance. That alone will save us time with the rocket."

Uncrossing her legs, Thene stood. "I can sense you're about to say 'but.'"

Andross sighed tiredly. "We'll be able to build most of the parts without serious issues, but there's still the matter of making fuel for the launch. We will need two types."

"A solid fuel to get us off the ground and a liquid one to sustain us through the atmosphere."

"Correct," Andross nodded. "We already have aluminium for the solid fuel, and we can make the ammonium perchlorate needed as well. However, the challenge will be making and storing liquid hydrogen and oxygen in large quantities. We will need to build a solution from scratch. And that will take time."

At that moment, Thene approached to lay her palms atop his shoulders. She rubbed them gently. "We will manage. You do not need to fret over that."

With a quick kiss from her upon his cheek, Andross's thoughts drifted to one side. This new dynamic left irreversible changes to their working relationship. However, the peace that Thene's encouragement now gave Andross obscured any disadvantages to think of. He looped his arms around Thene's waist and let her nuzzle him.

"Do you feel better?" she asked.

"Enough for now." Andross broke their embrace.

Thene smiled for a moment. "So, after dealing with the quartermaster, what is our next move?"

Andross considered his response. "I'd like to build a smelter next to the lab. That way, we can manufacture parts at our leisure."

"The blacksmiths would be able to make them to better quality than we can," Thene argued.

"That's true. But once the moulds are complete, we won't need skilled hands to shape the metal. That will save us money, which we will need. Gylis gave me the impression that he's against testing the Sky God's temper. We can't expect his support indefinitely."

A distasteful snort blew through Thene's nose. "The sooner we leave this planet, the fewer headaches I'll suffer."

"I concur." Andross gave a brief chuckle. "And the sooner we can start making wires, the better. Both the beacon and the rocket will need a lot. I'm hoping that the workforce we're getting can help us make enough of them quickly."

"We should make use of McCloud while we're at it. He's been idle for quite some time now."

Andross nodded. "I will seek him out in due time." It was a shame that he could not whip a device together to automate the twisting of gold and copper threads. Alas, his time was too restricted to tackle every problem with science. Relying on others to weave the wires by hand was the more efficient approach to take.

Wandering towards his desk, Andross picked up his blueprints for the distress beacon. The sketch showed it attached to a small shuttle. A separate sheet of parchment bore his latest design for a clockwork mechanism. In theory, it would turn the beacon on after clearing the arethanite layer.

If he could just get a message out to the next planet over. Even a passing starship would suffice. He could call for aid. Let the universe know that life did exist on the celestial snare dubbed 'Purgatory;' life that sought rescue from those capable of building spacecraft in a fraction of the time. Communication beyond that would be virtually impossible. Yet, that one message was all that Andross needed to be heard. He could almost see the outside world nearing his reach.

For all the obstacles in his way, Andross couldn't help feeling excited. This would be the first ever space program orchestrated on Cerinia's lands. Perhaps it was an honour to be the mastermind behind it, though that was not what stoked the fire in Andross's soul. Finally, this planet offered him a challenge worthy of his genius. He would take the primitive tools of its natives and forge them into the explosive power that launched his civilisation into the space age.

With this venture, Andross would carve another chapter in the universe's history. He would become the man who plunged into Purgatory and rose again with the planet's secrets. Every being in existence would know that there was nothing that he could not achieve. Dr Simon Kirk Andross was the master of all creation, and nothing would ever dispute that indominable fact.

His body quivered. His fibres tightened. His breath shuddered in quickening takes. Fingers curled like claws dug deep into his palms, yet Falco never registered the pain. All he could think about was the giant, pale, pink ball floating outside the Great Fox's window. Purgatory.

After two and a half years since that day, Falco was back where this whole, ugly mess began. He felt the shaking start the moment they entered Balven space. Visions that haunted his nightmares seized him in the waking world. Venomian warships swarmed like hornets. Nova bombs set the inky void ablaze. A smoking Arwing plummeted headfirst into a pearly veil, never to be seen again. Falco's throat constricted. The knuckles on his right hand began to ache.

Soft, warm fingers closed around his fist suddenly. Falco jolted and turned to Katt. She stood beside him with concern on her whiskers. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Sucking in a deep breath, Falco gripped her hand for all it was worth. "Just got some memories flooding back to me right now," he murmured. Katt pulled him tightly into her arms.

"It'll just be a little bit longer," she promised. "We'll find him."

Clutching her, Falco wrestled to keep the bottle sealed deep inside his chest. "I hope so."

Falco soon looked across the bridge. Vixy typed busily at her computer. At intervals, she consulted Slippy and Lucy manning their own stations. Falco's stare lingered on the latter of them. A couple of weeks ago, convincing Peppy to bring his daughter onto a mission would have been an uphill battle. Fox had struggled for years with no luck, and Falco fared no better during the last few months. Yet Slippy became the one to win Peppy over in less than five minutes. The old hare found it difficult to argue with the simple fact thrown at his feet: They needed Lucy for this mission.

Deploying an unmanned satellite into a planet's orbit was delicate work. Slippy was a wizard with space tech, but even he couldn't pull this off alone. He didn't need to reach far to find the help he needed. Vixy was a planetologist. Lucy was an astrophysicist. Together, they possessed the right know-how to fly the satellite a hair's breadth above Purgatory's dust layer and keep it there without shorting out.

It sucked being only able to watch. Falco hated twiddling his thumbs in the background. He wanted to be useful somehow. Even simply towing the satellite into position would be enough for him. Sadly, this was one of those situations where Falco knew he had to leave everything to the eggheads. Place the satellite too close to the dust layer and the electronics onboard would fry. Leave it too far away and the planet's gravity might not catch it in freefall, causing the satellite to drift out into space. According to Lucy, the margin for error was extraordinarily narrow.

If Falco so much as stuck a feather in their way, all the work they had done to get to this point could blow up in a shower of scrap metal. The only thing keeping him sane right now was Katt's reassurance. Dash tinkered away in the hangar with his starfighter, and Peppy was catching up on the team's invoices in his quarters. Falco wished he could be as productive as they were under the circumstances.

"How are things on your end, Slippy?" Vixy asked.

"All good so far. The satellite is launched and ready to move into position. How are the calculations coming along?"

"Almost done," Lucy replied. "I just need to double-check my math first."

"Once you're done, send the data through to Slippy," Vixy instructed. "We'll then move the satellite to where Fox was… where Fox…" Her voice hitched. Vixy clasped one hand over her mouth. A fresh tear fled down her cheek.

"To where Fox was last seen," Slippy finished for her. Grief weighed his head like a stone. Falco empathised. Old wounds were tearing open in everyone lately.

Lucy sniffed. She wiped her eye. "Yes, Auntie."

Shortly after, Katt offered to make tea for the crew. Three half-hearted replies gave thanks. Falco followed Katt to the kitchen. It gave him some small opportunity to help, so he snatched it with both hands. Unfortunately, making tea didn't consume a lot of a person's focus. Falco ended up staring blankly at the kettle.

"A watched pot never boils, you know" Katt told him. Falco snapped out of it with a start. "Now's a good time to talk if you want to get something off your chest."

A heavy sigh broke free from Falco. He tore his fingers through his crest. "We need this to work," he said. "I need this to work."

"Slippy and Dash built that machine as best as they could. And Vixy and Lucy know their stuff. I won't say that we won't run into a few hiccups, but we are going to find Fox in the end."

Falco kneaded Katt's words into his head with his hands. "I know. You're right." He swallowed through a tight throat. "God… When I saw that planet again, all I could think of was when Fox… Fuck! I can't even say it right now!"

Katt held him again. "It's okay. I know what you mean." Her touch carved a rock for Falco to cling to against the storm inside.

"I hate not knowing what happened to him down there," he choked. "Whether he survived or he didn't… I'd feel better just knowing that. I could fucking do something with that! But it's this in-between, I-don't-know shit that's driving me mental!"

"I know," Katt cooed, stroking Falco's back. "I know."

"And now we're so close to finding out." Hot tears ran down his beak. "It's just… It's just hitting me harder for some reason."

"I feel the same way." Katt pulled away and wiped Falco's face dry. "I know it's because I wasn't here when the accident happened, but I always found it hard to believe that Fox might be gone for good. But now that I am here, I've got this sick feeling bubbling inside my gut. It's like I'm finally starting to realise that the worst-case scenario might actually be real."

"Imagine that, but it's because you might have let your best friend die," Falco muttered bitterly.

Katt cupped his cheek. "Wouldn't be hard to imagine how that'd feel if we lost you instead." Falco reached up to hold her hand. "I'm holding on to hope that Fox is still alive down there. If there's even a chance that he is, it's up to us to stay strong so we can prove it."

Falco bowed his head and sighed. "You're right. I'm being a total pissant crying about it now."

Katt forced him to look at her. "There's nothing wrong with feeling. It's healthier than ignoring the pain. That's why I want you to talk about these things with me." She then cracked a smile. "Having said that, we do need you to keep it together. At least until we know for certain what's down on Purgatory."

How was it that she could always lift his spirits? "I think I can do that," Falco said. He nuzzled into Katt's cheek. Her purr tickled his beak.

A ding soon rang from the kettle.

The bridge felt just as sombre as they left it. When Falco set the steaming black tea into Slippy's cup holder, the little guy didn't so much as look at him. He just kept staring desperately into his computer screen. Falco couldn't make heads or tails of what he saw on it. Taking what Katt said to heart, he laid a hand atop Slippy's shoulder. Slippy jolted and snapped around to face him. Nodding once, Falco gave his friend a thumbs-up. A small smile crept across Slippy's face. He returned to his work with a new vigour.

"The planet is almost in position," Vixy reported. "What's our status?"

"I'm ready to go," Slippy declared strongly.

Lucy straightened in her seat. "We're all clear."

"You guys are doing a good job," Falco surprised himself by stating. "Let's get this show on the road."

Three smiles beamed in front of him. When Falco glanced over to Katt, she was smiling as well. If his face were more expressive, he felt like he'd be doing the same. What a weird way for him to react, Falco thought. It wasn't like he did anything special. Falco then decided to call Peppy and Dash up. They would want to be on deck for this.

"ROB, I'm going to need your help steering the satellite," Slippy called. The robot rolled over to his side.

"Acknowledged. Deployment simulations yield a 99.8321 percent success rate."

"Cross your fingers," Falco quipped.

Slippy swung a fist that missed him by a mile. "Don't jinx it, Falco!" Despite the gravity of the situation, Falco laughed.

While Slippy monitored ROB's progress, ready to intervene if the unexpected happened, everyone else on deck watched the projector as it tracked the satellite's flight path. It was like one of those movie scenes that kept people on the edge of their seats. Disaster could strike at any moment. The suspense twisted Falco's stomach in knots. He'd rather fly through Sector X while blindfolded than sit through this much longer.

The bridge doors hissed open. Peppy and Dash rushed into the room. "Anything yet?" Dash panted.

"Just about to finish setting up," Falco answered. The pair took place quietly among the team. Meanwhile, Slippy held ROB's arm like a crutch.

"Hold her steady, ROB," he cautioned anxiously as the satellite neared the planet. "Easy. Eeeeasyyyyy!"

Katt swatted the back of his chair. "Don't micromanage the robot," she scolded.

Slippy shrank. "Sorry."

The satellite drifted closer to the pink sea. Falco tasted his heart in his mouth. "The Purgatory-Proof Observation Satellite has locked into high planet orbit," ROB finally announced. Slippy, Lucy, and Dash all sighed in relief.

"Great work, ROB," Slippy praised. He typed away at his keyboard. "Looks like all systems are still online and running normally. Altitude is stable for now, but I'll keep my eye on it for a while."

Vixy nodded. "Thank you, Slippy. When you're ready, extend the cable."

"Way ahead of you. Deploying it now."

Part of the P-POS's base broke off from the rest of the body. A thick line fed from the satellite with the smaller piece hanging off like a sinker. It lowered towards the planet, disappearing into the dust screen. At that point, all the crew could do was wait for the cable to reach its limit. Slippy checked the P-POS's diagnostics every 30 seconds.

After a painfully long wait, an alert flashed over the screen. "That's as far as the line will go," Slippy told them.

"Do you think it made it through to the other side?" Katt asked.

"Only one way to find out. Let's see if the camera works after all that."

Inside the sinker, a high-powered camera slept protected from the dust clouds. A press of Slippy's finger sent a command through the Glass Noodle tether in a stream of light signals. The sinker's shell split open, extending the camera device lower into the planet's atmosphere. A tense silence charged inside the bridge.

Static across the screen froze Falco's heart. It fizzled for but an instant, shifting into a flickering sea of coloured pixels. Soon, the image began to render. Haphazard dots formed vague shapes. The screen quality enhanced gradually. Within a minute, they could make out a vibrant, green forest surrounded by vast plains and mountains.

"Yes!" Slippy cried out, pumping two fists into the air.

"Look at that!" Dash exclaimed.

"I'll be darned," Peppy breathed.

Katt brought her hands to her chest. "It's beautiful," she murmured. "I wasn't expecting that."

Vixy rose from her seat. As though entranced, she moved slowly towards the projector. "Incredible… To think there was a thriving ecosystem underneath all that dust…"

"Okay! Can we keep talking about how freaking cool this is?!" Slippy exclaimed. "I mean, we've got to be the first ones ever to see what's inside Purgatory!"

Falco's awe evaporated. His head hung. "Fox found that out long before we did."

Just like that, the mood fell like a stone. "Right," Slippy wrung his hands shamefully. "We'll start with searching for Fox's Arwing. ROB, assuming that Fox was able to make an emergency landing, could you scan the region for it?"

"It's been two years. And Fox could have bailed from the Arwing before it crashed," Dash added. "So, it's possible that the ship could be in worse shape now." He then noticed Vixy bite her lip and shied away from her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to imply…"

"It's fine," Vixy said with shaking breath. "We shouldn't rule out any possibilities until we know more." Peppy placed an arm around her for comfort.

"Best to say we should just look for a crash site," Falco suggested. It didn't matter whether the Arwing was in one piece or a hundred. A dead starfighter was going to hit the ground hard no matter who flew it.

"Acknowledged," ROB replied. "Commencing surface scan for possible starship crash sites. I will factor in habitat regrowth over the previous two years into my analysis."

"Thanks, ROB." Slippy turned to the rest of the team. "It might take a few hours for him to find anything. I say we grab some lunch and meet back here later."

Several heads searched every other gaze for a moment. Sighing haggardly, Falco became the first to reply. "Good idea, Slip. We'll check back in at 1500 hours. ROB, if you find any leads before then, let me know straight away."

"Acknowledged."

There was nothing more they could do right now, Falco recognised. Nothing except wait and hope against hope for a miracle. There was at least one bit of good news. If Purgatory's surface was teaming with life, that meant Fox had a chance of finding food and water after he crashed. If he managed that, he might have survived the last two years on his own.

It was a slim chance, but it was enough for Falco to hold onto for now.

Waiting for news was unbearable. Absolutely nothing – not one thing – could possibly make time race forward for Vixy. It wasn't like there was a shortage of options. She had books; movies; TV dramas; old friends who she could call. Yet none of those could tear her thoughts from the worry that she felt for Fox. So, Vixy sat next to ROB on the bridge, watching him trawl through the satellite feed.

She did not remain idle, however. As images of the landscape panned and scrolled, Vixy made notes on her computer. She took snapshots to convert into maps. She flagged landmarks and their coordinates. She zoomed in on plants and animals that the camera caught, saving those to document descriptions later. The scientist inside her took control. She gave Vixy an avenue to channel her stress into something beneficial.

It was funny. Under any other circumstance, this opportunity would have been a dream come true for a planetologist like Vixy. To be the first person to study a new world – one thriving with unidentified life – would have won Vixy several awards in her field. These notes that she was documenting right now would be worth millions to the scientific community. She could pick any mountain or forest on the surface and strike her claim upon it. Hell, if the planet had no sapient population, Vixy had the right to name an entire continent 'Reinard' if she wanted to. Two years ago, this could have been everything she could ever want in terms of her career.

Except now it was the last thing that she wanted in terms of her heart. With every tree line, with every land formation, with every wild beast that Vixy studied, she desperately searched for her son. She stared unblinkingly for minutes on end for anything that ROB's AI might have missed. If Fox was hiding under a rock somewhere, then Vixy would scour every square inch for the footprints that he left behind. She couldn't afford to miss a single clue. She might lose him forever if she did.

"Vixy."

"God Almighty!" Vixy screamed, nearly jumping clear from her seat. With a hand clutched over her racing heart, she turned to find Peppy standing next to her. "Don't do that!"

"I'm sorry," Peppy said. He wore a dreary expression. In his hands, he held a steaming cup. "Thought you might like some more tea."

Vixy leaned back once her nerves settled. She accepted his gift. "Thank you."

"People don't usually take you by surprise," Peppy remarked. "How are you holding up?"

A tentative sip burnt her lips. "I'm fine."

Peppy knelt to Vixy's level. "ROB will find Fox. I'm sure of it. There's no need to work yourself so hard."

But Vixy shook her head. "No. I can't just sit by and wait. I have to do something, or I'll lose my mind."

Peppy's hand came to rest upon her arm. "Exhausting yourself won't help either. It'll only make the people who care about you worry more. I know that from experience."

He did, and Vixy had seen it in him during the months after Vivian's passing. "I don't know what else to do," she hiccupped.

A strong arm wrapped behind her. Vixy felt Peppy pull her into his chest. "It's okay to help search. Just don't get carried away. Fox would hate to see you burn yourself out."

Vixy found it difficult to argue that. Just like James, their son cared greatly for other people and their wellbeing. If he could see her now, he'd drag her away from the projector and tell her to rest. Stubborn love ran in both sides of the family.

"Maybe I can take a short break," she conceded. Peppy smiled.

"Alert! Anomaly detected in the surface terrain." So much for that idea.

"Bring it up onscreen, ROB," Vixy ordered.

The scene that then displayed appeared unnatural. Countless structures stood in clusters surrounded by what seemed to be some sort of perimeter. Vixy stood up to inspect the projection more closely. Her mouth hung agape. "Is that… a settlement?!"

"As in people?!" Peppy exclaimed.

ROB zoomed in. Fuzzy blocks enlarged into clearer shapes. They became houses, streets, bridges, and other marks of what could be a pre-industrial city. Vixy shook her head. This shattered all her expectations. Plants and animals were one thing; but if there was actually intelligent life on Purgatory, that would go against every leading theory about the planet's inner reaches.

They found people everywhere throughout the settlement. One zoomed-in shot of a native lying on their back revealed that they were vulpine in shape. Their vivid, fuchsia pelt was but the cherry on top of a most extraordinary cake. Speculations ran through Vixy's mind. If Fox survived the crash and somehow met the local populace, might they have thought him as one of their own kind? If they did, would they have helped him?

"ROB! Search the town for anyone who looks like Fox!" Vixy ordered.

"Would you like me to include individuals who match Fox's fur colour only?" ROB proposed.

Vixy considered it. Given the unusual colouring that some of the natives had, focusing on orange foxes would be faster. However, if for some reason Fox dyed his fur in the time he had been missing, they couldn't afford to overlook him. "Prioritise the search by fur colour for now. If that doesn't work, we'll expand to the entire sample."

"Acknowledged."

The scan took over an hour to single out every specimen. Whenever ROB marked a hit, Vixy scrutinised each image herself. She could dismiss women and children easily. Some men were difficult to identify due to the bird's eye angle though. All that Vixy could make out were the tops of their heads and tails.

"This is just me thinking aloud," Peppy said after a long silence, "but is there a chance that Fox might be somewhere outside the city? I'm not saying he's not there, but we should check the surrounding area too."

Vixy nodded. "You're right. ROB, expand the search area to a radius of 40 kilometres from the city's centre."

"Acknowledged… One new hit identified."

"Bring it up," she requested.

The overhead view zoomed into a patch of field beyond the city's eastern border. Two foxes laid together atop a hill. One bore the hue of clear skies. The other of autumn leaves. The image enlarged until their faces were visible. Vixy froze. Her heart skipped several beats. The man resting on his back… He was…

"Fox..." Vixy choked. "It's Fox!"

There was no mistake. He had his father's features, down to the shape of his muzzle and crest of white hair atop his head. Vixy immediately recognised James's scarf around Fox's neck. Hot tears broke free from her. She clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my god! It's him! Peppy, it's him!"

"Good Lord, it is…" Peppy breathed in disbelief. He quickly brought up his wrist comm. "All crew members get to the bridge immediately! We've found him! We've found Fox! He's alive!"

"Really?!"

"Awesome!"

"I'll be right up!"

"Fucking finally!"

"Thank goodness!"

A flood of questions assaulted Peppy. He told them all to simply hurry up so that they could see for themselves. Vixy barely listened as her body began to shake. Her eyes did not leave Fox's image for even an instant.

"Fox…" she whispered tearfully. "My little boy…" A hand gently touched her shoulder. Vixy turned to Peppy and buried her face into his chest. "He's okay!" she cried. "My baby is okay!"

Peppy hugged her fiercely. "It's a miracle." Vixy could do nothing more than bawl in sheer relief. Her fists gripped Peppy's shirt in tight balls. Two and a half years of torturous fear and worry melted suddenly from her shoulders, alleviating Vixy's soul at long last.

'James… He's okay… He's safe… Fox is okay…'

Multiple footfalls charged onto the bridge. A stunned silence followed. "God…" Falco gasped first. "It's him. It's really him." Katt slowly moved behind him, wrapping one arm around his middle.

"Yes!" Slippy jumped and cheered. "I knew Fox was still kicking!" He turned and hugged Lucy tightly, who wept with joy.

Dash approached the projector. Awe struck him. "We did it… We actually found him."

The initial moment of jubilation passed quickly. All at once, tears started to fall as the weight fell from everyone's shoulders. Falco, however, pointed one finger and scowled at Fox.

"Can you believe that guy?! We've been busting our asses off for the last two years trying to find him, and there he is kicking back with some new chick!"

Vixy took a closer look at the person alongside her son. She was a blue native wearing a green tunic that matched Fox's. They dozed on the grass with her head resting atop Fox's chest. His arm held her waist close to him. All signs pointed that their relationship was romantic in nature. Strange emotions tinged the joy that filled Vixy's heart. Did Fox forging ties with the people of this world make her sad or something else? Vixy could not tell for certain at that moment.

"Bloody, smug-assed prick," Falco ranted. "Look at him. Doesn't even have a care in the world. I bet he's even happy down there… Must be having a great time… Kicking back in the sun… with g-girls… and n-nat-nature…" His shoulders started shaking. "And… and…"

Then, suddenly, Falco hunched over. He caught his head with his hands, sobbing uncontrollably into them. Katt turned Falco away from the screen and held him. Vixy finally saw his face and the anguish that spilled to the surface. Falco clung to Katt with a desperation that Vixy had never seen from him but knew well herself.

"He's okay…" he wept. "He's okay…"

Vixy stole glances to the others. Slippy and Lucy watched on. Their own sorrow bubbled inside them. Dash stared as though lost on what to do. Vixy turned to Peppy and saw the dear worry in his eyes. Absently, Peppy held her hand with a tense grip. Meanwhile, Katt whispered soothing words to Falco as he depended on her to keep him standing upright.

Vixy had heard in passing about how Falco struggled with Fox's disappearance. But now the guilt he had been carrying since that day bared itself to all. It left Vixy to realise that she never truly understood how much pain Falco had suffered all these years. She began to see a new side to him, one that cared more than his heart could handle.

When Falco calmed down a little, Vixy approached him. Meeting his swollen gaze, she wrapped her arms around him. Falco stiffened. Another soft sob choked him. He then returned the embrace. His tight grip crushed into Vixy's shoulders. She didn't wince or make the slightest sound against it. Mothers were built for this. She could take every ounce of Falco's strength and more beyond that, so long as it helped him heal.

"It was my fault," he whimpered.

"You did everything you could have," Vixy consoled, fighting to keep from weeping again herself. "And that's what you kept on doing. It's what we've all been doing."

She stroked his back. "You did not give up. None of us did. That's how we've finally found Fox now. I can't thank you enough for that, Falco. Or anyone else." Vixy hiccupped. "I am so grateful to all of you."

Falco sniffed deeply. He released her. "It doesn't mean much until we get him back," he mumbled. Falco dried his eyes. A flame replaced the tears. "That's the next thing we've got to do."

"Let's take it one step at a time. We've still got that dust cloud in our way," Peppy advised.

"We should tell everyone back home about this!" Slippy suggested. "Once people find out that Fox is alive, they'll want to help us out more than ever."

"What are you saying?!" Lucy fumed. "The first thing we should be doing is trying to get a message to Fox!"

Slippy waved his arms to appease. "I'm not saying we do it right this second. I just mean it'll be a lot easier to get Fox back if we have more help on our side."

Lucy calmed down. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about how Fox must be feeling down there. He's been cut off from us for so long now. He must be as worried sick as we've been."

"Looks like he's having a pretty good time from where I'm standing," Katt remarked, staring at the vixen curled up with Fox. "Nice colour."

Falco racked his brain for the best way forward. "We'll start off with letting Fox know we've found him. Dash, Slippy, think you guys can come up with something?"

The pair tapped their chins and scratched their heads. "It'll take some work to set up two-way communication with Fox. I'll have to tinker with the satellite some more," Slippy pondered. "But I think it should be possible to send him a message right away."

"Work it out and get back to me," Falco ordered. "In the meantime, let's get the word out across Lylat. Proof that Fox is alive is going to give people hope. That'll make them more willing to support us, just like Slippy said. Lucy, you're the PR expert, so I'll leave that to you."

"Right," she nodded. "I'll take a few snapshots so that we can learn how Fox is getting by down there."

"Atta girl."

A change took hold across the team. There was no more uncertainty awaiting them. Confirming Fox's survival gave them a solid purpose, something to lead everyone forward more strongly than wishful thinking. It filled Vixy with hope. True hope. With her heart bursting from her chest, she turned to Peppy once more and hugged him. This time there were no more tears. From now on, Vixy would smile always. Because she knew, that one day soon, she would have her son in her arms again. And she would tell Fox how much she loved and missed him.