Rogue Fox Dark Dreams
Chapter VI
The Settlement
~SyxxFox

Falco and his team walked across the busy tarmac of the station. Every member of the team was outfitted in their flight gear. Falco wore his red jumpsuit with blue accents on the shoulders and the sides. Katt wore a very similar outfit, with the same colour scheme. Krystal's however was blue and black, rather fitting to her form while Slippy had generic black flight gear that SFX provided him. The runways and hangers were as busy as they usually were. Squadrons of fighters and gunships took off in tandem, leaving the base just as quickly as they were arriving to refuel and rearm.

Krystal carried her helmet in her paw, swinging it in her arm while she marched toward the team's ships. She wasn't of course surprised to see that Syxx and Pyro were already there. The tarmac was so busy with fighters, space and aircraft taking off, coming and going that they couldn't hear a thing.

Falco had to yell out his commands. "Everyone to your ships! Let's go!"

The Freon gunship was in wait for them. A sleek and stealthy piece of machinery, with two cabs stacked one on top of the other and offset backward. The two wings that stuck out from each side of the ship supported heavy engines under them, while further out, there were cannons and novabomb line-racks. At the bottom of the nose there was a heavy plasma cannon, and the long tail of the unit, balanced it out. This Freon had seen a little bit of custom work since they had bought it, with handles that sat above each wing for the Metal Assets to hold onto. The ship only sat two pilots comfortably, so the warriors usually had to ride on the wings.

Pyro was up on one wing already. Both warriors were outfitted with their suits and weapons. Syxx stood near the nose of the craft, and as he saw the team coming he leapt up onto the opposite wing, making the ship shift as he stepped upward. His battle rifle, now a foot longer with a suppressor that was locked onto the barrel. It was much larger than any of the ones seen for any of the other weapons, and square to match the rest of the gun

Krystal put on her helmet. She made her way to front of the craft, and as steps folded down from the side, she jumped into the front portion of the gunship, while Slippy piloted from the rear and raised part of the cab. She slid down the black visor that sat over her eyes, but above her nose. Her HUD came to life, lighting up readings, targeting systems, and team-link.

SFX FREON
FALCON-ONE
TARGETING... READY
COMMUNICATIONS… GREEN
WEAPONS… PRIMED/READY

She glanced out the side of the craft to the wing, seeing a Slayer standing on each one, as the ship's engines came to life, whistling and howling loudly. The two Arwings that were parked in front of them, took off vertically, slowly rotating as they lifted off and started moving away from the base

"StarFalco is away." Falco's voice came over the communicators. "It's a short flight, gang. The settlement is only a few hundred 'K' outside of the station. Fly in defensive formation. Keep the assets safe until we can drop them."

Slippy's voice rang through the comms. "I've upgraded your HUDs for live feeds to better link to the Vortecs. When in range, the Freon will have active tracking and targeting as well as available battle-cam displays to the ground team."

The ships circled the base a few times, before the Arwrings took position on either side of the gunship and they made their way toward the target zone. They flew low, leaving the light-rail line in sight. One of the trains was parked just outside the base, while others were piled up along the line and at the docks. The ships were almost clipping treetops as they flew by. Each ship was tailed by a brilliant blue stream of bright fiery exhaust.

Krystal touched at the displays, and placed both of her paws on the control sticks. She left her fingers off of the triggers. "Weapons are hot."

The darker voice of the black fox hung in the speaker. "Insertion zone is thirty clicks outside the station. After drop, redirect to the nearest green-zone and standby for instruction. Pyro, after we get the Seeders cleared out, target any infected. This is a covert operation. Let's not draw any attention to us that isn't necessary."

They neared the target zone quickly, as it seemed like just as fast as the ships were up to speed, they were already slowing down.

Slippy lowered their altitude, slowly bringing the gunship down into a small clearing near the rail line. "Hang on, I'll land the ship so you guys can hop off."

The ship shifted side to side slightly as it began its descent. "Yeah, they jumped." Katt giggled into the communications line.

"Command!" Falco barked through the communicator. "Assets are deployed! We're enroute back to FOB-One, to standby for Metal Asset taking!"

Krystal could see through the small overlay on her visor, the battle cam of Syxx. She had watched him jump off the wing of the ship, and she was able to see his view of them both plummeting to the ground, landing as a cloud of dust was kicked up around him. And before she knew it, he was at a full-out run.

Two voices, one after the other filled the airwaves:

"Striker is online!"

"Apex is online."

Krystal could see Pyro running in front of him, with his ringed tail waving behind him, as his boots kicked up dust from the service road. It was like getting a first person view of Syxx's line of sight. She watched as he lifted the rifle, pointing it into the trees, holding it perfectly steady at a full out run. She wondered if he saw something, but just as quickly the rifle dropped back down, as they both ran. It wasn't long before the screen began to fill with static. The screen flickered and turned black as text filled it: No Signal.

Pyro laughed as he ran. "Ha! Stealth mission huh!? It's been a while!"

Syxx's voice rumbled. "Don't get too cocky."

"Yeah! Too late for that!"

"We're in the scramble zone now. Let's start tracking Seeders."

Pyro toyed with his display as they ran down the dirt road. "Looks like the radar is jammed on a few places along the line."

"Keep an eye out for infected."

There was smoke in the distance. The soldier's run slowed to a jog as their weapons raised to their shoulders. The sound of their cloaking activated, as the armour vibrated when the thermo-optic camo activated. A shimmer sound filled their ears for a brief moment. Smoldering wreckage of a convoy of trucks laid on their side, upside down and smoking.

"Seeder on the track." Pyro marked it on the active display.

"Plant a charge on that bug." Syxx neared the convoy. "I'll check for bodies."

Syxx approached one of the overturned trucks. He raised his weapon. It was invisible even to him, with only a slight distortion of the air in front of him. The windshield of the transport truck was smashed out, and there were claw marks all over the hood and the roof. There was a body in the passenger seat, hanging from the seat belt, as old blood pooled on the window. He moved on to the next vehicles. Two more army SUVs were behind the transport. Two bodies were in the dirt, motionless next to their rifles.

Syxx's ears flickered at the sound of scratching on the ground. He placed his finger on the trigger, and moved around the side of the overturned SUV. There was kicking and scratching as a pair of legs clawed through the dirt, while over half of a Lylatian was through the broken out window of the truck. He had on camo army pants with black boots and silver knee pads wrapped around his legs. The boots had long claws that had cut right through the the steel toe, and now scratched through the dirt. In addition to the clawing, Syxx could hear the rough sound of teeth on bone, as the infected beast feasted on the decaying body of another soldier.

"Charge planted." Pyro's voice rang in his ear. "Hostiles on the track. Two Dragoons, multiple Infected and Walkers backing them up."

Syxx crouched beside the hood of the truck, he just watched the legs of the infected soldier kick through the dirt as he devoured the flesh and bone of the dead passenger. His paw was on his chest, wrapping his fingers around the handle of the knife, before he hesitated, and uncurled his knuckle one finger at a time. His paw returned to grip of the rifle.

The vulpine started making his way back from the truck. "Maintain cover."

"Copy."

Pyro stepped back a short ways from the Seeder. The three-legged bug-like machine was dug into the tracks, sinking it's long spikes into the ground. Accents of yellow glowed brightly as the machine hummed and buzzed. The raccoon tapped at the control board on his forearm, and blue bolts of electricity encased the Hatcher. It sank to the ground in pile of rubble, and a small trail of smoke drafted from the glowing center, which soon after, went dark.

"Hatcher diffused."

"No survivors. Call it in."

Pyro changed to an open channel. "FOB, this Asset Metal Zero-Two. Multiple hostile forces on the light rail line. No survivors. Moving on to target zone."

Their target zone was only a quick jog for the Slayers. The settlement was rather quiet. It was a small town, with a train station in the middle of it. There were massive loading bays at the edge of the station. Besides that it was mostly residential. Old roads with cracks in the cement filled the village. Small single family homes lined the streets, all with small yards. That wasn't all that filled the streets though. Bodies. There were bodies everywhere. Bodies of various Aparoids, Cornerian Soldiers and even civilians. The sidewalks had trails of blood on them, both purple and red.

The streets were not completely empty of life though. It seemed like the Aparoids marched around at random. The larger Dragoon's claws scraped through the pavement, making eerie scratching sounds through the town. An Infected Marine clad in silver and black armour stood in the front yard of a home, with his head against a tree. He growled and screeched softly, as the German Shepherd hit his head against the trunk of the tree over and over again. He drooled his purple saliva, getting it all over the armour, as it dripped off of his chin. He mindlessly idled, as he knocked his head against the trunk. His eyes were filled with blue-purple electricity.

Syxx and Pyro sat atop a tall industrial building at the edge of the village. Their boots dug into the synthetic roof coating of some dull metallic brown. The seven story high building was easily the tallest in town, giving them a good vantage point of the rest of the settlement. They sat there, overlooking the village, both with their cloaking turned off. They rested their rifles down on their laps, as they observed the situation.

Pyro lifted the rifle to his shoulder. He scanned the town with the scope of the weapon. "Don't look good for survivors."

Syxx pointed his paw up. "See that building? It's the Military's vehicle depot." He pointed to a large and flat building near the train station. There were large bays around the backside of it, with an even larger parking lot, nearly baron of vehicles entirely.

"The one by the station?"

"If there're going to be survivors, that's where they'll be."

"What about the houses? Lots of residential."

Syxx put his eye to the scope. He looked through the streets, seeing all the dead bodies, and the Infected of both civilians and armoured Marines alike, along with occasional Walker and Dragoon. "We don't have time to go house to house. That can be the military's job. We'll check the evac site for survivors. That warehouse is their best chance. That's where the military would have been."

Pyro kept scanning the area, spotting the infected Marine as he hit his head over and over on a tree. His scope scanned across the rooftops. "Looks like Seeders have already set themselves up."

The racoon put his finger on the trigger as he spotter one of the Seeders on a roof at the center of the town. He put the scope right on top of it. He began to squeeze the trigger, and the rifle kicked back on his shoulder, but instead of the thunderous boom that it usually made, the ACX only snipped. It sounded just like someone was cutting with a set of scissors, and after just two more shots, the bug-like machine tipped down on it's side, catching on fire in a display of green.

Syxx tracked an Infected soldier. He watched it through his scope as it leapt on top the roof in a single bound. It had heard the commotion of the Seeder getting smacked with solid plasma and the machine ignite in green flame soon afterward. The Marine had dark grey fur and a long wolf-like tail. It's oversized claws made marks on the roof as it approached the destroyed Seeder. It neared it slowly, walking on all fours, and getting its nose close to the fire and smoke. It suddenly stood on two legs again, darting its head everywhere. But the moment it took a pause, it's head was nearly taken right off it's body.

Syxx's rifle smoked as he watched through the scope, tracking the dispatched Infected, as it tumbled off the roof, leaking purple blood on its way down. It fell from the roof and landed in the shrubs at the base of the building.

"He's down."

Syxx kept his eye up to the sights, scanning through the town. "This place is crawling with Infected."

Pyro was doing the same. "If there are survivors, we'll never get them out of here if we're detected. Even if we can secure a DZ, we'll get overrun. We'll have to bug-out, and we're not going to be able to protect them." The raccoon raised his eye from the scope of rifle, as it reflected back on his glossy black visor. "They'll die."

"Maintain cover at all costs. If we stir this place up, that'll be it for any survivors that we're trying to pull out." The fox looked up from the weapon. "Sniper overwatch would be a good asset from here."

"Well on the next one, you might have your wish." Pyro took knee before he hurtled over the crest of the roof. He slid down the roof, and landed seven stories below onto the grass. His camouflage activated soon after hitting the dirt, and Syxx watched as the raccoon disappeared mid-run. "I'll S&D Seeders, Syxx. Have a look at that warehouse."

Syxx followed right behind Pyro, sliding off of the roof and landing on the grass with a heavy thud and making the ground shake. His camouflage activated as the Slayer ran through the open forests surrounding the town. He avoided any Aparoids that he saw along the way as he made his way to the light-rail line once again. The fox approached the edge of the station, spotting one of the Hatchers near the edge of the terminal. His optics started to bounce and distort as he neared the jamming signal of the Aparoid.

He placed the weapon on the carrier of his armour, reaching to his side. He equipped the charge, and switched on the small blue and black brick. He placed the EMP charge on the side of the bug as it vibrated and rumbled. The fox stepped back from the Seeder. He vaulted the rail line making his way to the other side of the terminal. He moved his shoulder around one of the pillars that held up the small shelters around the loading docks.

He heard an electrical snap as the charge went off, and the Seeder came down on the ground with a hard thud. All his optics turned off for a moment from the distortion before each part of his HUD rebooted, and became fully operational again. Syxx checked his rifle, even through when he looked down into his arms it was invisible. He could only see a faint outline of it, but he did the rest by feel.

The Slayer began to move, making his way toward the military supply depot. Only scattered vehicles, abandoned MG positions and a single chain fence separated him from the cache. The fence, though more than twice his height, he was able to leap, more than easily enough. His glove wrapped around the bar on the top of it, as he vaulted over the apex. He landed on the hard ground with barely a sound, quickly lifting his weapon to his shoulder again.

The fox made haste, quickly moving through the parking lot, checking around vehicles as he did. There were bodies of Cornerian Soldiers. Mixed in were a few civilians and collapsed Apariods, where a pool of purple fluid had collected under their bodies.

Syxx could hear the next Infected before he saw it. He double timed it up a set of wide stairs as he approached the entrance. He slowed his movements as he neared the sandbags that were set up near the inlet to the building. He ran to the front of the cover, where his head was rested just beside the barrel of a heavy plasma machine gun that overlooked the parking lot. He peaked over the cover, hearing the Infected Marine just on the other side of the barricade. The Infected hound was skulking around on all fours, back and forth behind the cover, between Syxx and the doors that lead to the depot.

Even though Syxx had his camouflage activated, he proceeded like he didn't, for extra precaution. He side-barred his rifle, and reached over the barricade, grabbing the Marine by the back of the neck. The Slayer yanked him over the cover, and smashed the Infected onto the ground. Before it could make a noise, Syxx's knife was drawn, and thrusted beneath the Infected's jaw, through his mouth, and into his skull. There was only a faint gurgling sound before complete silence as purple blood pooled quickly around the beast's neck.

Syxx opened up the communications line. "Pyro. Status."

The reply was filled with static, and the fox could just barely make out what was said. "Five neutralized. Tracking six and seven. Unknown amount remaining."

Syxx looked up on the wall, just around the corner to the foyer to the depot. He watched a three- legged machine glow bright green as it hummed and whistled. "RV at the depot when complete."

"Five Mikes."

Syxx switched off his thermo-optic camo. The armour made a low pitched buzz as it deactivated. Syxx turned around, looking back over the wide parking lot and short set of steps that he had climbed to the entrance. He glanced up at the Seeder on the wall of the complex, staring at it for a short while. He leaned down, using a pant leg of the soldier he had just killed to clean his knife, before placing back into the sheath that was mounted to his chest. He unlatched his rifle from his belt, and snapped the bolt back.

The Slayer began his walk into the dark building. The glass doors were all broken out, and that glass was shattered throughout the foyer. Syxx raised his weapon as he walked through the broken-out doors. He made careful steps around the building, making sure not to land one boot on the broken glass. None of the lights were on. The only light was from the broken windows and open doors as he made his way into the lobby.

Syxx lifted the weapon against his shoulder, pushing the butt of it into his armour. He could see the shadows walking around the complex. Infected strolled about with their heads down, making the occasional grunt or low barking sound. The downside of plotting the attack at high noon, was that the Infected preferred the shade, and now that is were Syxx had to be.

The fox stuck close to the wall, blending in the shadows. It was easy to take down the Infected, but taking them all down without stirring the rest was the difficult part. Syxx stuck to the wall. It was a feeling that he didn't get to fully experience all too often anymore. A challenge. It was like a game to him. And more than anything, it was back to the core roots of Slayer: working alone and using forceful stealth.

The fox rolled his knuckle around the grip of the ACX battle rifle. He took a deep breath. He placed his finger on the trigger and went to work. He didn't use the scope, just tilted the weapon to one side and lined up the barrel with his target. It was a sloppy way of aiming, but the Slayer made it very precise. The fox made his way through the foyer and into the lobby. His sharp eye lining up the shadows of the Infected inside. He kept low, choosing each target in a specific order.

The weapon snipped, as the fox handled the extended barreled weapon. First the two in front of the front desk. The power of the rifle at this range was letting getting hit by a truck. Though mostly silent, its stopping power was overkill at close range. Each shot cut through each Infected and its armour. The solid plasma smacked the wall and a painting of blood splashed over it. The fox cleared the lobby quickly, and moved on to one of the two large hallways behind the wide desk.

Syxx walked quickly down the wide and dimly lit hall. As he walked by the open doors, his raised his battle rifle. Without stopping his fast-march, he pulled the trigger, hitting a man right in the chest, and dropping him quickly. Just as fast as the fox's finger pulled the trigger, he moved on. He didn't even check to confirm his hits. He didn't need to.

The armoured vulpine neared the end of the hall, seeing the last shadow in his sights. Syxx reached to his chest, grabbing his knife with one paw, and tossed it, just to catch it by the blade. He drew the weapon over his back and hurtled it forward with excessive force. The knife flew through the air, and the eyes of the Infected Aparoid soldier went dark as the knife hit its neck with a satisfying sound. Syxx raced forward, and caught the body before it fell, letting it down softly on the floor, and pulling his knife free at the same time.

He was now faced with a large double door. He put his shoulder up against the wall beside of the door, and inspected it. They were ballistics doors, separating him from what was inside. He glanced down at the floor of the dimly lit hall, seeing blood marks disappear beneath the doors. Red blood. The metal door was filled with deep scratches.

He leaned in and gave the door a push with his paw, but it was solid. It was locked from the inside. He took a deep breath, and turned his paw into a steal knuckle. He knocked his paw on the metal door, making a rhythm and repeating it three times. He made his knocking rhythm something that no Infected Lylatian could possible duplicate. He waited in silence. He waited for a knock to come in return, or the doors to unlatch, or even a voice. But there was nothing.

He tried one more time with his left paw on the metal. He didn't even turn his head as an Infected came from one of the rooms down the hall, from where the Slayer had come. Syxx's eyes focused on the door, even as he pulled the trigger of the BR. The rifle kicked him as he held it up with one arm, and the monster was pushed back and fell down in a limp pile. Syxx lowered the rifle back to his side, just as he heard the communicator go off in his ear.

"Syxx. I'm enroute." static surrounded Pyro's voice. "Still getting pretty bad interference near your location."

The fox didn't reply. He pushed himself off the wall. The butt of his weapon smashed out the holopad control at the door. He moved away from the door, taking several long strides back from the doorway, as he made his way back down the hallway. The fox spun on his heels and began running for the door. He lifted the rifle far enough so he could line the barrel with the edges of the door. The metal doors sparked as each of the heavy plasma rounds hit the edge of the doors in six places. He was already at a full out run by the time he fired the last shot.

The Slayer lunged with his boots forward. The massive weight of the armour was enough to cave the door in, as Syxx's weight carried him forward into the room. He rode on top of the door, as it flew into the room. His instincts took over. The ACX rifle snapped silently as Syxx flew inward. The Slayer was able to dispatch two infected before he even hit the ground. He rolled and made his way up to his feet. It was a small swarm of Infected that raced toward him. But even the dozen or so Aparoids were no match for the Slayer.

They all attacked at once, many running on all fours as they made a dash toward the Slayer. The fox took them down one by one. The heavy rifle sliced the air, as each round contacted fur and flesh, ripping through it. A Marine in full armour lunged toward Syxx, making a long jump from halfway across the room. Syxx timed out his shots, taking down two more monsters as they came at him. He didn't retreat, and didn't dodge. He crouched downward, bending at the knees, jumping back toward the Infected that was airborne. They collided mid air, and the mass of the Slayer's armour pushed the back the Marine. And with a knee to the Aparoid's chest, and a rifle to the top of it's head, Syxx beat him down, as he landed in a roll.

The Slayer raised his rifle to his shoulder once more, dispatching the last of the Infected before any single one could make its blood curdling scream. The last of which jumped for him. The Slayer put his rifle up in the air above him, between him and the monster. He blocked the Infected's tackle and tossed him aside, throwing it against the nearest wall. The Slayer held the massively-heavy rifle up with one paw, holding it like a pistol and pulled the trigger twice.

There was suddenly silence. The dimly lit room was filled with bodies. Not just of the ones that he finished, but of dozens others. Civilians and military alike filled the room as red blood mixed with purple. The fox pulled the rifle back to his chest, stepping through the massacre. It was like an empty supply room. It was filled with empty shelving units, as some bodies hung over them. The Slayer paced through the room carefully as he struggled to not step on any bodies. His eyes scanned every dead body and every corner of the room.

He lowered the rifle, and put his boot forward as he pointed the gun toward the floor. He tipped over a body that was laying on its stomach. He used the sturdy silencer to help turn the body. It was a female. A grey fox, with a blood trial dried from her mouth, and cuts on her neck. Syxx only examined the body for a moment before his ears twitched as he heard something at the back corner of the room. It sounded like something falling from a shelf and onto the floor. The Slayer's instincts kicked in once again, as the rifle went right back up to his shoulder with a quick motion.

He tipped the rifle on the side again, so he wasn't forced to look down the scope at such a short range. He moved toward the back of room, stepping over bodies as he made his way back toward a single door. Even in the dim room, Syxx could see the sign over the closed door written "storage".

There were claw marks on the door. It wasn't an electronic door. It was an older style one with a round knob on it. It was still metal and heavy though. Syxx examined the door a little longer. There was a keyhole in the center of the knob, and the door was locked from the inside.

Syxx took a deep breath and curled his armoured paw around the door knob. His left paw tightened its grip on the handle, while his other paw held the pistol grip of the rifle, and pulled the butt of the gun back into his shoulder so it was still raised. He used all his might to pull on the door with one hard yank, and it was enough to pull the door right off its hinges.

The fox threw the door aside and behind him. It flew backward and with a loud slam as it hit the floor, bouncing a few times before sliding into the wall that shortly followed. The fox pushed forward, and put his finger on the trigger of the rifle, ready to unload on whatever was inside.

The warrior froze in his tracks. He never expected to see what he had inside. On the floor in the middle of the small room, a quivering figure was curled into a little ball, with it's grey tail wrapped around itself. He could hear the short sobs of a child, as a small boy hid in plain sight and behind the small toy in his arms. His short black hair covered his teary eyes. There was blood on his white shirt and dark-grey zip-up hoodie. He was young. He couldn't have been more than eight years of age.

The Slayer loomed over the small child. He didn't even take his finger off the trigger. The weapon was still pointed down at the boy. So many questions went through the fox's head. Why was the child here? How did he survive? But the biggest question to the Slayer was, was the child really worth his trouble?

X

Falco paced around the outside of his ship. His silver boots were dirty as they kicked at the grit of the planet's surface. With each swing of his leg, he kicked a rock, chasing it around the Arwing as he waited, impatiently. "What is taking those guys so long?"

Krystal sat up on the wing of the Freon, while Katt sat right next to her. They both rocked their legs as they waited for word from the Assets. Their helmets rested each beside them on the wing. Katt was leaned back with her arms catching her. She enjoyed the blue sky of the planet, with the scattered white clouds.

Katt smiled. "Just give the boys some time hun. They'll let us know when they're ready."

"Yeah. I know. Slippy? You still monitoring the comms?"

The toad sat in pilot seat of the support craft. He didn't have the headset on, but had it in his hand, pressed up against the side of his head holding onto the speaker of his visor. "Yeah. Nothing yet. But they are still well within their window, so it's not time to worry just yet."

They were surrounded by an entire formation of Landmaster tracked tanks, boxy Gillies APCs, and a few army trucks. At the back of the fleet sat a small formation of Cornerian Renegade fighters and a smaller handful of Freon gunships. Soldiers sat atop of their tanks, transport and on the wings of their aircraft. They all spoke amongst themselves as they waited for the word to roll in.

The blue vixen sat with her helmet on her lap and with her eyes shut. She took a deep sigh as she let her sixth sense run wild, scanning the patterns all around her as she was lost in her own throught. Her calm breathing was interrupted by a short gasp, as something sparked her mind. It was like getting a small shock of electricity directly to her head.

Only Katt was close enough to pick up on the shallow gasp that came from the vixen. "You alright, Krys?"

The vixen leans forward a little more. She lifted her helmet from her lap and placed it at her side. "Yes. It's just…" She paused, as she placed a paw against the side of her head. She kept her eyes shut tightly.

The pink feline tilted her head. "Just…?"

The fox tuned out everything around her. She calmed her breath again. That entity that sparked her mind felt so faint, yet so close. It was familiar, yet terrifying at the same time to her. She concentrated, keeping quiet. She searched for it again, like it was some sort of signal that she had to tune into. The little vixen's tail slowly flowed side to side behind her, as her telepathic sense struggled to hone in on something.

For a moment it was like her soul had left her body. She could feel an immense weight all around her, and with that weight it felt like she had some sort of unstoppable strength. At the end of her next breath it was like her mind's eye suddenly switched on. Everything all around her was completely silent. The strangest thing was the smell of metal that filled her nostrils. She could start to see something. It was blurry at first, but then it quickly sharpened. At first she could see a rifle with a scope and a long square extension on the end of it.

That wasn't all though. It was what the gun was pointed at, that was more concerning. She could make out a figure, scared, and alone. She could see it move as it slowly lifted its head, revealing the terrified face of a child. She met the eye of the child, looking at him. She felt like she was right in front of him, like she could reach out and touch his face. But just as fast as it came, it all faded away. She could feel herself being pulled away from the vision. She clawed to keep it in focus, but the last thing that she felt as it all slipped away, was her own finger, firmly around the trigger of that familiar heavy rifle.

"Krystal!"

Falco put out his arms, holding the vixen by the shoulders, catching her just in time before she had fallen off the of the wing of the gunship.

The vixen regained her balance, as she winced and shook her head, trying to clear it. Her breathing was quick as she struggled to slow it. "We have to go."

Slippy stood up on the seat of the gunship. "What? What do you mean?"

"We have to go? Why?" Katt asked.

"What is it Krystal?" Asked Falco

The relaxed atmosphere suddenly changed, as everyone spoke at once, speaking over each other. Krystal's heart was racing as she stood up on the wing. "If we don't leave right now, it might already be too late."

Falco didn't hesitate. He tapped at the communicator on his arm and his ship's canopy opened up. The warm up sequence on his Arwring II began.

Katt looked around, feeling rushed and pressured suddenly. "We're going?! What about what Syxx said?!"

Slippy felt the same way. "Fox isn't gonna like this!"

Falco was walking toward his ship already, he turned around and paced backward as he spoke to the rest of his crew. "Yeah, and Krystal's sense has never lead this team wrong. So everyone mount up!"