TEN
"You know Mr. McCloud; I must say I'm quite offended."
Fox stared at Krystal's undamaged limb, his expression of unease now a wreck of shattered confidence; careless to realize that Dash had moved beside him.
Bowman continued, "You should be thanking me for what I did for her; I saved her life. Without my resources, she'd be dead right now. But all I get is silence?"
Fox had begun to tense up the second Dash had finished saying that he should be thankful. Once Dash was done talking altogether, Fox turned on him. "How?" He snarled, his heightened aggression overcasting the flicker of terror strewn hope in his eyes.
Dash smiled with a vicious intent. "Don't worry, the time is very near for you to learn everything." As he finished, Bowman stepped away from Fox and placed his hands behind his back as he walked over to the table where all the pulled items were waiting; facing Fox again when he got there.
Fox had made his way over to Krystal and knelt beside her while Dash's back was turned; unsure if she even knew he was there. Barely conscious as she was, she still seemed tormented; as if she were currently undergoing a nightmare. He looked closer at her arm, finding it hard to make out any surgical repair through the minute details of the blue hologram of her furred limb; though he swore he caught traces of foreign, tech-like lines tracing her muscle, all the way up through her neck to her lower jaw, cheek, and temple. Fox's eyelids tensed as he viciously fought back another flow of tears; his jaw clenching tight as he swallowed. I made it, Krystal… I'm not far now from-
"Don't waste your thoughts Mr. McCloud, I've got her drugged up enough to be no more responsive than Sleeping Bunny." Bowman stated humorously, smirking as he added darkly, "Though, you're welcome to try a kiss."
Fox launched up and approached the table, glaring at Dash the entire way. "What is it you want from here, and you'll have it within the next two hours."
Dash held his grin. "You've had it this whole time."
Fox had reached the table and stopped. "You've given me nothing."
Bowman's grin grew as his brow creased. "You know nothing."
Fox fiercely dug his claws into his palms. "Then tell me what it is I have; you're wasting your own time right now." Fox's body tensed as Dash responded with a chuckle.
"If you say so." Dash stepped back from the table, looked at Dalles, and gestured toward the items that lay on the table's surface.
Dalles nodded, wearing his own casual grin that he'd displayed the entire time, and picked up the scalpel in his gloved right hand.
Bowman continued. "Noticed any pain in your lower jaw, Mr. McCloud? Particularly on your left side?"
A shiver began to creep up Fox's spine. The burning had never left his jaw, only to be forgotten during serious enough distractions.
"On the interior side of your lower left jaw bone, you will find an encased micro-device."
Dalles approached Fox and held out the scalpel towards him as Dash continued.
"You are to retrieve it and hand it to captain Dalles, who will deliver it to its intended location."
Fox's heart rate spiked as his pupils dilated.
Bowman couldn't look more pleased. "Sorry, not sorry; it was the only way to get it past the scanners in this facility. I honestly did pick the most efficient place for it to be extracted; just think of it as a way to tap into the pain that she felt." Dash added, gesturing towards Krystal.
Fox looked over at her slouched, drugged state, then looked down at the scalpel; his heart rate increasing to the point where he could feel his entire body pulsing.
"The card is awfully small Mr. McCloud, so cut with care." Dash added with mirth.
Fox screwed his eyes shut tight and began taking deep breaths, preparing for what he was about to do. He held out his right hand, and Dalles placed the scalpel in his palm. Fox's fingers slowly closed around it as his breathing heightened.
Suddenly, he felt his childhood friend rush over and place his hand on his shoulder; his voice was filled with pure terror. "You could let me cut it out! It'd be easier for you that way?!"
Bowman cleared his throat as he waived his index finger back and forth at Slippy. "Commendable effort Mr. Toad, but this is something Fox will do. We could give him a mirror though?" He asked, looking over at Dalles.
"Seems like the decent thing to do." Dalles said with a nod, reaching into his dress uniform jacket and pulling out his tablet. He selected its camera application and set its view so that Fox could see himself on the screen.
Fox opened his eyes and stared intensely at his image; his breathing growing deeper and faster; he hadn't even felt Slippy's hand withdraw as his friend backed away helplessly.
Fox looked up at Captain Dalles. "Let's step away from the table." He said as he put three meters' distance between himself and the table.
Dalles followed Fox to the spot, keeping the tablet in Fox's view as he held out another item: the electric razor. "You'll want to shave the area first."
Fox stared at the item for a moment before grabbing it with his empty hand, switching it on, and shaving a thick line along his lower left jaw bone; using the tablet to check his work. Once satisfied, Fox turned the razor off and handed it back to Dalles, who carelessly tossed it rearward with a smirk.
Fox ignored the comedic gesture. "Kneel with me." He ordered as he pulled off his white gloves and slid them into his down jacket.
Dalles nodded as both he and Fox took a knee.
Fox looked into the screen again and positioned the blade along his lower left jawline. He stared into the screen for a moment longer before screwing his eyes shut; his entire body tensing up. His lungs still raced until suddenly, he fell completely silent and still.
*Three eternal seconds passed in soundless agony before Fox's scalpel-wielding hand began to rotate, and the sound of sliced flesh could be heard.
Every muscle in Fox's body grew tighter and tighter as the blade parted his skin. In a second, both the wound and the blade felt searing hot. He had tried his best to keep silent, but with the final two centimeters he released a loud groan that broke into a short cry. Fox pulled the scalpel from the wound and it fell from his palm to the floor. Fox fell onto his right hand and pressed his left hand against the wound, fighting against the fiery sting that attempted to overwhelm him. Blood actively dripped from the cut and pooled in his palm in seconds.
Fox looked up into the tablet to inspect his progress, tilting his head as far back as possible to get a clear view of the incision and using his hand to wipe away as much of the scarlet fluid as he could. Damn it! He cursed as he dropped his head.
Dalles chuckled. "You got a long way to go, bud."
Fox clenched his right hand back into a fist, the blood from his wounded knuckles slightly oozing further into his bandages from the stress and pressure. Come on Fox!
He had made it past a good few layers of skin, but the cut was hardly six centimeters in length. Fox looked back over at Krystal, his eyes danced back and forth between her beautiful face, and the ghostly return of her arm that flashed several images of its ravaged state in his head. He proceeded to slowly hang his head between his arms. You've never truly understood pain; only fear… Fox brought his eyes over to where the bloody scalpel lay beside him.
He lifted himself off his right hand and straightened himself. His eyes filled with a passionate determination as they returned to the scalpel and he picked it back up. Fox closed his eyes, took a long, deep breath, then let it back out; slow and controlled. His eyes flew back open, and he looked at himself on the tablet. Fox positioned his head so he had a clear view of the wound, wiping away more of his built-up blood before bringing the scalpel back into place.
He vividly imagined plunging the blade as deep as it would go, then dragging it along the left inner side of his jaw bone; starting at the chin and ending at the back end of his jaw. Over and over he ran through the process, until it was burned in his head. You know what you need to do. Fox closed his eyes and without a second's hesitation, he plunged the blade into the scarlet soaked, dripping wound and began to carve alongside the bone. He growled furiously from the infernal sting that exploded from the infliction and remained in its tracks. Fox focused on the image in his head, forcing his hand to follow its instruction and not allow anything to stop his progress. The blade reached the end of his jaw, and Fox pulled it out with a short, tormented cry.
Without rest, he took his left pinky finger and stuck it into the incision, feeling for the case. The burning sensation flared at the intrusion, but Fox stayed focused on the image in his head. There it is! He thought as his finger traced an abnormal, smooth, solid object protruding from the space between the jaw bone and muscle; though it wasn't protruding enough to pull it out. Deeper!
Fox pulled his finger out of the cut and brought the scalpel in his right hand back to it. All of his fingers on both hands were now completely soaked with his blood, and the floor at his knees had accumulated a considerable-sized puddle of it. Fox was thankful for his adrenaline, lest he be passed out on the floor. Must… go… deeper! He repeated before plunging the blade back into the wound, pushing it as deep as it would go into the ligaments around his chin.
He growled and whined sharply in utter torment as he sliced in the same direction he had before; he could feel each and every centimeter of flesh cut by the blade as it went. The bottom of his tongue could feel the foreign point of the scalpel traveling beneath the gum tissue; the pain was becoming impossible to bear. DO… NOT… STOP! Fox screamed in his head, still crying through vicious growls as the blade passed the halfway point.
With one final effort, he finished off the last bit of muscle with a decisive swipe before simply letting the scalpel fall out of the wound and onto the metal floor; knocking loose most of the scarlet that had completely covered it.*
Before Fox finally fell to temptation to let the pain overwhelm him, he shoved his left index finger and thumb back into the wound and pulled out the encased item. His brain alerted him to be cautious when he realized it was no bigger than his finger tip; He looked up at Dalles and held out the device to him.
Dalles slipped the tablet back into his jacket, but only stared at him with dark, excited amusement.
Fox narrowed his eyes back at the Captain, then felt a small itch where the device remained on his finger. His eyes darted to it as he watched the miniscule item transform into a metallic, beetle-like insect; which turned to stare back at him through microscopic black eyes.
Fox could only stare back in amazed horror. His hackles stood straight, his ears flattening completely as he could feel the same, unbridled hatred from the insect he'd seen from the Aparoid Queen's own eyes as he'd destroyed her.
The Aparoid turned and proceeded to spread its hard shell in two, then the wings buzzed as it lifted off Fox's finger and landed upon Dalles' thumb.
Fox couldn't take his eyes off it as he pressed his left hand back up against his jaw wound, desperately trying to ease the searing pain and stop the blood flow. While doing so, he watched Dalles travel over to the in-wall control panel, lifting his finger to it as the beetle flew to one of its ports and crawled inside; disappearing from sight.
Fox finally caved to the sting as he fell to his side and began involuntarily groaning, pressing his hand as hard as he could against the wound.
Seconds later, he suddenly felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and roll him onto his back. Fox laid eyes on the culprit above him. Dalles?! Before Fox could react, one of the captain's hands grabbed his chin and pulled it up to better expose the lower jaw, while the other hand wiped it dry with what felt like a cloth. Afterwards, the captain proceeded to press something else against the wound that came with a sting matching what Fox just went through. Fox shouted in misery as he did everything he could to get Dalles to release him.
Dalles struggled to keep control of Fox's head. "Don't fight me, dummy; I'm fixing your wound!"
"You'd better be!" Fox growled as he forced himself to lie still.
About ten seconds passed before Dalles let Fox go and stepped away from him, dropping a white rag on the ground next to Fox's head. "That's for your hands."
Fox laid on the ground a moment longer, calming his spinning head. His fading adrenaline was threatening to pull him from consciousness. He slowly rolled to a sitting position, used the rag to clean his hands of the blood, and went to inspect his incision with his left hand. A smooth, inflamed scar was all that remained of the wound, though the heavy burning sensation still persisted; accompanied by blood stains on his jaw and neck.
"Your part in this is finished, Mr. McCloud." Dash stated eerily.
Fox's thoughts stopped dead as he slowly turned toward Bowman, making his way to his feet as he did so.
Bowman still stood by the table as he gestured at Captain Dalles, who had retrieved the silver box from the table and walked out the same door they had come in. Fox then observed a male Doberman Pinscher dressed in a security adorned uniform had also entered the room during his self-inflicted operation, but it didn't remain on his mind. He had a single inquiry for Bowman, but he feared he already knew the answer. "I still have to retrieve whatever it is you need."
"You have delivered what I needed. Within the hour, every automated system that the Cornerian military has ever integrated into their arsenal will be mine to control."
Fox successfully stood up, but was still struggling for his balance. Dash's words were slowly causing his nerves to rise. "This was never a pick-up; was it."
Dash shook his head slowly, wearing his usual grin. "No, Mr. McCloud."
Fox grit his teeth. "Why the deceit?"
"Why would I give you a bargaining tool? It'd be all too easy to threaten me with my chip and a hammer."
For a split second, Fox was amused; though amusement left as fast as it had come. "What happens with Krystal?"
"What I promised: she lives, and physically suffers no further."
The answer only partially satisfied Fox. "And her freedom?"
Silence followed Fox's question as Dash looked Fox dead in the eye. "Now, now, Mr. McCloud. Do you remember me saying anything about her freedom?" His grin increased a couple centimeters. "I don't."
Fox instantly felt snared. I knew it was too early to celebrate… He thought as his heart sank, fully aware to how powerless he was to fight whatever Dash claimed to have said. However, Fox kept himself calm. He's promised to let her live, that's bought you more time. "What benefit do you gain from keeping her?!"
"She's a weapon, Mr. McCloud." Dash stated as he began walking over to Krystal. "A fucking weapon." He reached Krystal and stood directly behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder as he continued. "Upon taking her into captivity, she convinced one of my soldiers to draw and fire his weapon upon several of his brethren, without saying a single word. You yourself witnessed her attempt to force me to bash my own head in. She almost succeeded a second time after you left, hence why she is now kept heavily sedated; though it probably won't be long until she figures out a way around that as well… That's where the next step comes in."
Fox listened no further, he knew Bowman's heart was set on this. If I don't act now and get back to her, I'll lose her forever. He looked around for Slippy and found him passed out cold on the floor a few meters from where Fox had cut into his jaw. His eyes softened while his teeth clenched behind lips, exhaling sharply. Fox walked over to Slippy and knelt beside him.
"I hadn't finished, Mr. McCloud."
"There's only one more thing I'm interested in hearing from your mouth." Fox began shaking his friend's shoulder as he looked over at Bowman. "What was on that Aparoid?"
Dash shrugged. "Have it your way. Good catch on the Aparoid; a whole nother speech you're missing out on. It carries a virtual neurotoxic virus. It's currently headed…" Dash looked off towards something invisible to Fox.
Without any warning, Krystal's healed arm began to glow.
Fox's eyes widened in horror, witnessing the glow's source as the circuit-like lines that traced all the major muscle groups of the upper left half of her body. The glow instantaneously traveled up her neck and fractured across the same side of her face. It shone brightly from her eye sockets and mouth as both cavities opened wide, her voice unleashing another loud, core tremoring wail that shared a similar tone to that of the dying, biotech insect queen. All movement ceased until the cry faded in sync with the unknown light bursting out her face, which fell forward back into her harrowed sleep.
"Oh look, the bite was just given." Bowman looked back toward Fox; his nauseating smirk returning.
Fox's growl rumbled through the room before releasing a ferocious bark, "I DID EVERYTHING YOU WANTED! WHAT WAS THAT?!" He demanded, thrusting a finger at the vixen while his stare drilled into Dash.
Dash's lips stayed locked in their subtle grin as he reached into his familiar jacket pocket, and pulled out another, all too memorable, pointed lead cylinder. Balancing it perfectly on his finger tip, he raised up his arm for Fox to see clearly, then locked eyes with him and stood still; as if in waiting.
Fox swallowed, gritting his teeth tight as he prayed that what would happen next, wouldn't. His gut clenched tight as his expression cringed away from the bullet transforming into a very similar micro insect as the chip. Flashes of an Aparoided Pigma, Pepper, and Peppy flashed like lightning in his head; his skull burning from an oncoming migraine as intense as each bolt's thunderous crack.
"The hive mind takes the telepath;" Bowman spoke poetically. "Science harnesses nature once more. Starting from the very heart of Corneria's virtual systems, the virus will spread throughout its veins and hand complete control over to me. Intelligence databases, operating systems, satellite and video feeds all will be mine to access and command! Corneria will be left only with the treacherous to defend them, whom will be decimated in seconds when every turret, vehicle, shield, robot, you name it, Mr. McCloud, turns on them before they even notice." Dash's voice began passionately rising as he stepped toward Fox and began to circle him. "Venom will rise unopposed, and you, Mr. McCloud, will be hailed as the great deliverer! Everyone will remember your name!" Bowman stopped, faced Fox, and raised his arms above his head for presentation; the insect remaining firmly on his fingertip. "Fox McCloud, reviver of the Lylat system's rightful empire!"
Fox rose to his feet and faced off with Dash. "Then why do you need her?! You have what you wanted, let her go!"
"I may have crushed the muscle, Mr. McCloud." He stated as his voice lowered with his arms. "She will crush the mind. If one thing can be said about you damned Cornerian's, it's your spirit." He nearly spat the word. "But…" He added, recomposing himself, "Though strong, not unreasonable." He motioned at the guard silently standing watch. "Unfortunately, my campaign couldn't influence everyone, so I says to myself… 'Maybe it's time for a new Queen.'" Dash stepped behind the sapphire furred fox; a blissful grin spreading across his face.
Fox's wavering eyes began to widen with a sudden understanding.
"She can mentally read and send messages, bend the whim of whoever she chooses without even speaking to them! Think of what she could do when she's honed in further on her abilities?! One day Mr. McCloud, revolutions will rise against me, and she will crush them before they can even pick up their weapons!" His gloved hand rested on her tech infused arm, tracing it tenderly up to her shoulder. "I curb her spirit, she will curb the rest; no more Aparoids required." His hand glided up her neck and rested on her jaw. "You may have resisted the first queen, Mr. McCloud." He lifted her unconscious head, his blissful grin now dripping menace beside her inwardly tormented expression; the artificial veins stitched into her soft, snow furred face still giving a low, ominous glow. "Do you think you could resist this one?"
Grief and terror stricken as he was, Fox's eyes flashed with an idea. "How did you even manage to recreate an Aparoid? They were a species around before and after Andross; and Star Fox's anti-virus wiped out every last one of them!"
"Hardly a trace to be studied, I know." Bowman replied, seemingly unphased as he released Krystal's chin and straightened himself. "But you know as well as I that my Grandfather dabbled in bio-technology long before the Lylat Wars, long before his exile." Dash raised an unnamused eyebrow. "We're almost offended that no one ever guessed it, were we not so thrilled with your ignorance." His grim smile widened. "Just where do you think that first Aparoid ever came from merely one year before his exhile?
Fox lowered his chin slightly as the emotion in his eyes grew fierce intensly. "There's one revolution that, had you let her go, never would've started. Now, there's no telling how fast and how hard I will bring my wrath down upon you. I'm coming, she will be free, and you will know the mistake you've made."
Bowman held Fox's glare with his usual grin, seemingly unfazed. "Then you'd better get going, you have less than five minutes until I have control of every automated asset in the headquarters; let alone any guard or soldier that will oppose you." Dash glanced over to the security guard that had posted about two meters from the far side of the table.
Bowman looked back at Fox tauntingly. "Better yet, by the time you get here, if you get here, she might not want a rescue." He slowly pulled out the revolver Fox knew all too well. "She's a stubborn thing," He raised the finger of his empty hand that the mirco aparoid clung too, converting back into its bullet form just as Bowman loaded it into the damning antique. "but a few more voices in her head just might change that."
Grave as the threat was, Fox grew eerily calm and collected; only his sharply focused eyes discharging his bloodlust. "If I do reach you, and I find any more of her destroyed by you, I will eat you alive; tearing the flesh and organs from your bones from your feet to your heart, then I'll rip the beating muscle out and present it as the final thing for your fading eyes to see."
Bowman didn't even give the slightest flinch, only stood there looking amused; his body language making a display of mock offense. "Even if you manage to keep me alive during such primal carnage, I am no stranger to pain, Fox. That's you, and you alone; even with your adorable little feat moments ago." He smiled as if he were gazing at a child, and gave Fox a wink. "Good luck, Mr. McCloud." With that, Dash faded from Fox's sight.
Fox looked over towards where Krystal had been, and his heart sank upon seeing she was gone too. It doesn't matter. Fox observed the security guard. I'll start with you. The pinscher had seemed reactionless to everything that had happened, and was now cautiously watching Fox. From what Fox could tell, the guard was armed with a single hand blaster. Fox thought of the scalpel that he had left lying on the ground, but he didn't dare look towards it.
Fox looked over at Slippy, who's passed-out state hadn't changed. "Well my friend, you leave me no choice." Fox knelt by him and began rubbing his sternum with his knuckle; calling his name.
Still no response.
Fox grit his teeth. I told you I'm not losing you in here, you're coming with me! Fox rubbed faster and fiercer, calling his name as he went.
Finally, the frog cringed as his hands grasped Fox's; his eyes fluttering open.
Slippy's words weren't far from garble. "D-did… did you… is-s it… o-out-t…?"
Fox smirked at his friend. "It's over Slippy, we're getting out of here." He offered Slippy his hand.
Slippy took it, but winced as Fox began to pull him up. "Ah! Head s-spinning… stomach… churning…"
Fox slowly lowered Slippy back to the ground. Come on! I've got a guard watching me, you can't stand; we need to go! Suddenly an idea hit him, spiking his anxiety. "Let me check the first aid kit and see if there's anything to get you up faster." He told Slippy as he stood and headed toward the table.
Slippy's eyes shot wide open. "F-fox, you… y-y-you know I don't like need-dles."
Fox kept his eyes from glancing over toward the guard as he approached the table where the medical kit lay. "Neither do I." He was sweating as he began to sift through the different bandages, a tourniquet, and capped vials filled with injectable fluids. You have one shot at this Fox! He glanced towards the guard, estimating about two meters' distance between them.
The Pinscher placed his hand on his blaster as he noticed Fox watching him.
Fox's heart stopped. Here we go! In a single second, Fox stepped toward the guard, rotated his upper body with force in the direction he stepped, and used his arms to launch the kit toward the guard as hard as he could.
Fox's aim was perfect. As the guard drew his blaster, he was blinded by the array of objects, then stunned by the metal case smacking into his chin and collar bone. Immediately after the case had struck him, the guard was met by Fox's body smashing him against the wall he had stood by.
Fox wasted no time in his movements, he had already planned his assault. The instant the guard hit the wall, Fox drove his right fist as hard as he could into the dog's abdomen. The guard bent forward with the blow, and Fox swung his left forearm up into the Pinscher's jaw; bringing him back to a straight, standing position. Fox then thrust his right palm into the dog's snout, propelling his head into the wall behind it. Fox proceeded to step to his left, keeping his right leg in the way of the guard's legs. He grabbed the dog's right shoulder and mid back, and threw the Pinscher's body forward; causing the him to trip and fall face first onto the ground below. Before the guard could gather his thoughts, Fox landed his right knee in the center of the dog's spine, and brought his right fist hammering down onto the back of the Pinscher's skull, causing his forehead to smack against the concrete floor.
Fox grabbed and kept hold of the dog's uniform collar with his left hand before reaching for the holster of the Pinscher's blaster with his right hand. Upon finding it empty, he remembered the guard had already drawn the weapon before the assault. Fox looked back toward the wall and saw the blaster on the ground. Fuck! He instantly retrained his eyes on the guard and lifted his head up by the shirt collar, finding him out cold with blood oozing from both the back of his skull and his forehead.
Fox's stress shattered as shocked relief replaced it. It… worked… Heck, it worked better than I thought it would... His solemn demeanor returned as he realized that he still wouldn't take any risks. He rose from the body and stepped backward toward the blaster.
Slippy's voice intruded Fox's thoughts. "Dang Fox! D-did you kill him?" Slippy had propped himself up on his elbows as his wide, horrified eyes switched between Fox and the downed guard.
Fox had momentarily forgotten about Slippy and didn't pay too much attention to him as he picked up the blaster and made sure it was loaded. "I'm going to."
Slippy began to get to his feet as fast as his dizzied mind would allow. "F-f-fox, let's just relax a-and think about this; he's o-out cold."
Fox walked over to and stood aside the body, then looked directly into Slippy's eyes. "Any soldier in here loyal to Dash won't hesitate for a second to take us down. I will not have a single one come back to haunt us."
Before Slippy could offer any form of rebuttal, Fox looked down the sights of the blaster, lined them up with the Pinscher's skull, and pulled the trigger.
….
Neither Lucy or Amanda had strayed further from the Great Fox than its loading ramp. When the word came, they were going to be ready. R.O.B remained in the bridge to monitor the ship and ensure it was primed for takeoff, while Amanda and Lucy had attempted to bury themselves in smaller tasks to pass the time; yet it brought no speed to the dragging clock.
Amanda had spent some time in the kitchen whipping up meals to keep the team fed. The chore was bitter sweet, as cooking always made her feel close to Slippy. She had always felt in competition with her husband, his culinary abilities had thrown her completely off guard at the beginning of their relationship. She'd always envisioned settling down with one she'd have to cook for. With Slippy, they'd wind up in a race to see who could make the best meal. Frustrating as the little culinary mastermind could be… She thought as she worked. Oh please Slippy, make it back safe.
Lucy had buried herself in her starfighter, running it through it's functions and tuning up any part of it that she could. She currently worked on soldering some weathered wires and circuit boards within her wing, the small torches' flash sending the tattered, blood stained remains of Fox's uniform running through her head. She'd been unable to keep her nerves down after his departure on Katina, and had gone straight to the shower room to reinspect his clothes; hoping to ease her anxiety that she'd overacted to his post Venom state. Piece by dried, flaky blooded piece fractured that hope. The jacket, vest and sleeveless tactical combat shirt told the story of whatever clawed creature he encountered. A large, charred hole in the bridge of the right boot sent an electric bolt tearing straight through her, causing her present concentration to slip as she seared completely through the bundle of wires she was working on. She lowered her tools, her eyes quivering as she looked up from her memories, observing the dried blood on the shower walls that hadn't completely washed away. I shouldn't have let you go… Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head. You've already undergone so much... Where are you going to stop? Lucy opened her eyes and glowered at the singed ends of the multicolored lines, grabbing a clipping tool and exposing fresh copper tips on each wire.
R.O.B.'s voice came on over the intercom. "LUCY, AMANDA, REPORT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. A TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM FOX."
Lucy's heart took off in a sprint as her ears stiffened, feeling a bittersweet mix of excitement and terror. She swiftly re-solderped the wires together and wrapped them in insulation tape, then leaped from the spot she'd been crouched and raced as fast as she could toward the bridge. Please be alright, that's all I ask! She prayed, glancing up toward the ceiling. A loud shriek came from her mouth and the mouth of another as her body slammed into Amanda; who had hopped to get to the control room with as much energy as Lucy. The two exchanged brief, heartfelt apologies.
"Please, after you." Lucy said, gesturing up the stairs.
"I really hope they're both okay." Amanda stated nervously as she shot up the stairs.
"You said it." Lucy replied as she followed straight after her. She suddenly was overcome with immense pity for Amanda, and guilt for even feeling stressed about Fox. I'm not the one with a husband in danger…
They both tore into the bridge and found R.O.B. standing at the holographic table. Lucy's heart sank slightly when it wasn't Fox's form she saw displayed on the table, but planet Katina with a flashing red dot marking the location that was being reached out to, accompanied by a light, repetitive beep.
Amanda spoke right up and over the noise. "Did you lose connection?! Is Slippy alright?!"
"PLEASE STAND-BY." Was R.O.B.'s response.
Amanda's face instantly grew red with fury, but as she went to lecture the robot, the holographic table announced that it had made contact.
….
A soft, cool breeze blew through Falco's vibrant blue feathers, ruffling them slightly as he rested with his back against the lower fuselage window of Amanda's Tadpole. He had found a secluded valley with just enough hills, rock and tall grass to conceal the fighter, but open enough to still give him a view of the mystic green sky. He took a relaxed breath of air, and let it escape with ease. He wasn't sure if any of them would be getting back off Katina, but it was pointless stressing over it every second. Specially when one has this at his disposal.
Falco had separated from the Great Fox II as it was descending onto the planet. It was a last-second call by the entire Star Fox team and considered the most discreet way to stage the Tadpole elsewhere for Fox and Slippy's extraction. Now Falco rested and waited for the call that would give him his destination. His choice to not stress did not leave him thoughtless, however. He couldn't keep himself from continuously wondering if they were making the best choice. He considered Krystal and her life, what she meant to him personally.
Like Fox, he had taken a liking to her straight away. At every glance, his eyes were met with a captivating, arousive, sultry face and figure with a fur coat rivaling the exotic color and markings of his own. She could handle herself in combat and had mastered a mysterious ability to read and send out thoughts. Her personality was adaptable to whoever she was with, making it far too easy to get along with her. She had definitely filled his thoughts whenever they were free. Great in combat, great at a party, and I'm willing to bet great in the sheets. He inhaled deeply then exhaled sharply out his solid nostrils, his head now occupied with all the happy moments he'd witnessed her in with Fox; flying in sync, dancing in and out of their Arwings, planet bound jogs and other exercises, TV and gaming nights filled with laughter, and even all their tender moments that weren't hidden within either of their rooms. If it weren't for her heart for you, pal… Ah hell, even after you dumped her, she never even tried to reach out to me; lucky black cat bastard… It had been easy enough for him to shrug her off though. Always another pretty...
His eyes narrowed as the thought brought him to look at the situation from another angle. Would I do the same for Katt? Falco grinned at the thought of what she did on a job long ago. Him and his team of Hot Rodders had successfully retrieved three small crates from what Falco originally assessed to be an isolated, run down military energy depot on planet Zoness.
Falco and his team had been running down an underwater Acrylic hallway when they saw the door at the end open and were greeted by nearly twenty Cornerian troops; the Hot-Rodders stopped dead in their tracks.
They had no place to take cover, and with another ten to fifteen troops not far behind, there was no going back.
"Fuck." Falco stated.
"What do we do boss?!" The tall, rugged, saltwater crocodile asked; single handedly carrying all three steel crates.
"I'm thinking!" Falco snapped.
A middle aged, well-built English Mastiff yelled out to the trapped gang. "I am the commanding officer in charge of security for this facility! Drop your weapons now and put your hands behind your head, or we will use whatever tactics necessary to detain you!"
Damn it! Falco cursed. Why couldn't we have run into these guys in the storage room we just came out of?!
"Got anything yet?!" The croc asked tauntingly.
"Of course I do!" There was a short pause, then Falco looked over at the gator. "But just spittin', you wouldn't've thought of something; have you?
The brawny reptile let out an annoyed grunt. "We're screwed."
Falco sighed then looked back at Katt, "Sorry kid, looks like your first real mission with us is…" He stopped mid-sentence.
The fair, pink furred feline was looking up through the top of the transparent tunnel; towards the surface of the ocean. What caught Falco's tongue was the look of crazed determination in her royal blue eyes.
"There's still a way." Katt said. She looked down towards her bare abdomen and pulled out two propulsion grenades from a waist strap just beneath her ample breasts.
"What the hell are you doin?!" Falco asked nervously.
"You there! Put the grenades down NOW!" The Mastiff barked. "In fact, all of you drop your gear too! I'm giving you five seconds before we use force!"
Katt looked up at Falco. "The great, unbeatable Space Hot-Rodders ready to back down the minute they're cornered;" An amused purr resonated from her as she tossed one grenade in her hand, resting the other against her pronounced hip. "I'm kinda' disappointed."
A subordinate Brown Lab leaned towards the commanding officer. "Sir, we should take them now."
"It's just a scare tactic!" The Mastiff replied. "No one's crazy enough to blow this tube, the water pressure would crush us all!"
Falco started to sweat. "Put the grenades down, you're going to kill everyone!"
Katt smiled mischievously, her glistening fangs peaking just beneath her upper frost-furred lip as she looked over at the gator. "Hang on to those crates, big guy." She mewed with a wink.
The croc looked at Falco questioningly while gripping the crates hard enough to crush the metal shell they were made out of.
"Two seconds!" The officer yelled.
Katt took a breath, and time seemed to slow as she locked her undaunted eyes with those of the Mastiff's.
The Mastiff's eyes widened, and before the last second ticked away he yowled, "Take them NOW!"
"KATT NO!" Falco yelled simultaneously, but before either individual could even finish their sentence, Katt had spun a three-sixty turn and used the momentum to hurtle one grenade down each direction of the tunnel. The dogs turned and ran, and though they had stayed far enough from the intruders to clear the blast radius, the goal to clear the tunnel before the Acrylic caved was a mere fantasy. Everything happened too fast for comprehension. The next thing the Hot-Rodders could make out was that they were surrounded by a painfully heavy mass of water and rocky acrylic.
About two minutes later, Katt, Croc, and Falco were back on their carrier with Mouser behind the wheel. The ragged skinny mouse had been flying around in range of the mission site, and Katt had held up a flashing red orb as soon as she had reached the water's surface to signal him to pick them up. Falco hadn't even given either team members time to dry off, let alone heal their many gaping wounds before he began his harsh lecture of the feline.
"Why are your feathers so ruffled?!" Katt scoffed in defense, walking nonchalantly over to a supply cabinet in their measly hanger. "I just saved all of us from twenty years in a maximum-security prison!"
"You coulda killed us!" Falco yelled back. "In all my life, I've never seen such careless action!"
"Scared of the grim reaper Falco?!" She snickered, dragging out their dusty, rusted first aid kit and pulling out a roll of gauze and a bottle from its meager supplies. "First off, I'd take death, and many more of these wounds," she gestured to a cut running the length of the oblique muscle of her slender, sleek furred abdomen, "any day over time at a Cornerian criminal confinement facility! Secondly," she twisted her core to stretch the gnash open to clean it, "I had observed our scenario before I made the choice; we weren't any deeper than eleven," a hiss escaped her lips, her abdomen clenching tighter as she poured the cleansing remedy into the cut, "...maybe twelve meters from the surface. I'll admit that it's close to, but not far enough down for the water to actually crush us; maybe a ruptured eardrum at worst. And thanks to the fetal position that, from what I can tell, we were all smart enough to use, nothing lethal is bleeding." She relaxed as she applied a bandage that meshed with her fur, keeping it in place. "Main thing is we're free, and we got the energy cells."
Falco jerked his burning stare over to the crocodile.
The gator shuffled his feet. "Eh, two of them. The water ripped one right from my hands."
"Careless!" Falco shouted again, looking back at Katt. "Get the fuck back to your quarters while I try to decide whether to drop you right back into the ocean!"
Katt stepped back.
Falco could tell by her expression that that one hurt.
She glared at him, cold as the water still dripping from her damp fur and clothing. Pressing more gauze to a deep cut on the side of her head, she turned and walked away; muttering as she left. "You couldn't give any orders back there, when they were needed."
Present Falco smirked with a grunt. Just another pretty kitty… one willing and able to make life a joyride, he glanced down and stared solemnly into the ocean of grass, better than me...
A loud beeping sounded off from the cockpit of the Tadpole. Wasting no time, Falco stood up straight, walked up the ramp that lowered from the front end of the fighter, and pulled himself into the cockpit seat that sat above the ramp; pressing the control to answer the call as he adjusted himself. "Yeah, whatta we got?" He asked swiftly.
R.O.B.'s upper body appeared on the small screen on his dashboard. "FOX AND SLIPPY HAVE CHOSEN, AND ARE HEADED TOWARDS, AN EXTRACTION POINT. COORDINATES ARE BEING SENT TO YOUR FIGHTER'S MAP SYSTEM NOW. SECONDARY EXTRACTION POINTS ARE BEING SENT AS WELL."
Falco's body threatened to freeze as his mood changed in a flash to surprise and urgency. "They actually did it… I'm on my way right now." He answered as he began pressing more controls and flipping a variety of switches to power on the fighter.
"WE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING OFF AND LEAVING THE PLANET BEFORE WORD SPREADS AND WE ARE CONNECTED TO THE OPERATION. WHEN YOU ASCEND FROM THE PLANET, BE SURE TO CHOOSE AN AREA WITH LITTLE AIR AND SPACE BORN SECURITY. ONCE YOU ESCAPE, FLY TOWARDS VENOM; WE'LL COME TO YOU."
"Whatever works." He answered as the Tadpole became ready for launch and he secured the cockpit ramp. Falco looked down at the screen and saw a notification that coordinates had been received. He touched the icon and a virtual map appeared with multiple points individually labeled with a letter and a number. "Got the coordinates, which dot is the primary?"
"ALPHA ONE IS PRIMARY. BRAVO ONE THROUGH FOUR ARE SECONDARY POINTS. I PROGRAMMED THE TADPOLE TO BE ABLE TO HACK INTO LOCKED DOORWAYS INSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS WHEN YOU ARE WITHIN FIFTEEN METERS OF THEM; THE CONTROL PANEL WILL WALK YOU THROUGH IT. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF FOX OR SLIPPY UPDATES US ON THE SITUATION."
"Copy that friend, see ya soon."
"GOOD LU-." before R.O.B could finish, His upper body appeared to be thrust aside as Amanda stepped into view.
"It still should be me out there, it's my ship! I swear by the Almighty if you don't bring him back!"
"I'm going to bring them both back." Falco groaned sternly. "That's why I'm going, in order to prevent the latter. We all know that if it weren't for Slip, you wouldn't even be here!" Falco's eyes widened when he caught himself nearly yelling that last bit, though it appeared to take no toll on Amanda who was preparing her retort. Falco irritably terminated the comm just as she began, and Amamda disappeared from the screen. "Not like you ever listen. Dear Lylat, no wonder why Fox quit; no better than Katt and the Hot Rodders." He quietly gripped.
Falco tapped on point alpha one, and the screen instantly focused in on it; displaying a route from the outer entry to the water system, leading through the tunnels to the point where he would extract Fox and Slippy. With his direction set, Falco pulled back on the Tadpole's control stick and got it airborne; rotating it in the direction of point alpha one. He looked ahead and pondered his situation again. Would I do this for Katt…? He took his right hand off the joystick and placed it on the thruster lever located at the right side of the cockpit. After a few seconds of thought, he thrust the lever rearward and took off towards the infiltration point.
…..
As soon as Falco's body had faded from the holographic table, the unphased R.O.B. from Amanda's assertion walked over to the Great Fox's controls and began working to get the ship airborne.
Having literally bit her tongue to keep herself quiet during most of the transmission, Amanda began firing off her questions. "So Slippy is okay?!"
"ROGER, HE AND FOX CONTACTED ME. ALL THREE OF US FOUND A FEW SEWER ENTRY POINTS CLOSE TO THEIR LOCATION, AND CHOSE THE BEST ONE. THEY ARE CURRENTLY INBOUND TOWARDS IT."
Amanda didn't look relieved. "Have they been discovered?! Did they find weapons?! What's happening down there?!"
"THEY DID NOT INFORM ME ANYTHING REGARDING THEIR EXACT SITUATION."
Amanda folded her arms and turned away from R.O.B. "Damn it!" Overwhelming sadness and angst filled her face. Amanda closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. "It's okay, it's okay. They've made it this far, they can make it the rest of the way..."
Lucy walked over and warmly placed her hand on Amanda's shoulder. "This is Fox and Slippy we're talking about. They have each other's backs, and they'll do whatever it takes to get out; alive."
Amanda gently covered Lucy's hand with her own but remained silent. The fear of the worst was too strong, and Lucy couldn't blame her in the least. She thought of Fox's uniform she had left back in the shower room, and all the wounds it displayed. Come on Fox, you survived that; you can survive this.
