Its...its just so empty...

Oh...right, its Tuesday, and this is long overdue I guess.

So, this chapter should have been up a long while ago, but, well, life has been harsh these past few weeks. It started Easter Weekend, or rather the Friday night before. We took my dog into the vet, and found out he had cancer, we told them to operate, and I went to bed Friday night knowing that the operation went good and my dog was doing great.

Then the next Saturday morning I get woken up to find out that Faust died during the night. I suppose I should say at this point that I grew up with Faust, I raised him, and he me, I loved him like a brother, and he was also part of my writing inspiration. My daily schedule for the past year has involved him in someway, and now, with the empty house, and my empty room where he used to sleep. I just haven't been right ever since, it feels like part of me is missing.

Then, just when I started to try and write again, which was about last week, something else happened. I was sitting in my backroom at work, enjoying my break when I get a call from a family friend, and she tells me that my Dad is being life flighted down into the nearby hospital. The only good news on that front is my Dad is still alive and somewhat well.

Still, all of this has needless to say, thrown me off my groove rather badly. So, this chapter is short, and I'm sure its not the best. For that I apologize, and I hope that the next update won't suck so hard, and won't be so short. Also, I haven't even looked though this chapter, so lots of mistakes I'm sure.

Star Fox: The Dead Planet Chapter 7: The Fate of a Cerinian/Part 1

Fox glanced around at the large clearing that Kursed had called their landing zone. Large vibrant trees, of dark yellows and glowing reds, stretched up around them, their big green leafy canopies touching each other to help blot out the sun underneath them. In the center sat a stone circle with a raised central point that looked like it once held a torch. But now the stone was worn, its edges ground down into a smooth edge. If there ever was a torch in the stand at the center it had long since rotted away as well. Around the stone sat the three ships, Katt and Kurseds ships with Falcos Arwing sitting in between them, the positions of the ships forming the shape of a triangle.

Katt and Falco were standing next to his Arwing, Falco keep a wary eye on the jungle while Katt bent down to examine one of the many colorful plants that decorated the clearing. Falco was dressed in long jean pants that hugged his legs but still allowed him some free movement. A belt holding various forms of ammo and explosives ran across his waist and his left thigh, a green tank top tucked into the pants covered his upper body with another ammo pouch strapped across his left arm. He, like the rest of them, were all wearing hiking boots. From the belt on his thigh hung his revolver and he cradled a light machine gun in his hands, strung across his back in a loose sheath was a large blade, over top that was a small bag of supplies.

Katt had elected for cut off jeans and a green tank top as well. Lashed across her waist was her tool belt, and although a few of the loops still held some of her tools one of them had been replaced with a holster for a heavy blaster pistol, and from another loop hung a short sword that just barely touched the edge of her jeans. Her bag of supplies was smaller and strapped to her belt and snuggled into her lower back.

Fox glanced down at himself, his outfit was similar to Falco's except for the fact that he wore a normal brown t-shirt with his jeans and while he had a belt across his waist it was also connected to the bag he wore on his back full of supplies for the trip, dark brown gloves covered his hands, made of a tough but flexible material. His custom blaster was in a holster across his right thigh and he had a machete strapped to his left thigh. He turned his gaze to where Kursed was kneeling next to the stone platform and rubbing its smooth edges. She was dressed in loose jeans, a black t-shirt, and her black fingerless gloves, her hair was pulled back into a high pony tail that hung down to stop just shy of her shoulders. She had one knee on the ground as she examined the stone and in her left hand she held her staff, a holster for the collapsed version hanging from her right shoulder. From her right hip hung a holster for a large handgun that had Falco raising an eyebrow when he first saw it. Her own pouch of supplies was laying on the ground next to her, and on her left hip hung a holster for a normal heavy blaster.

Fox walked up to stand just behind her where she was still rubbing the stone. "What's so interesting about this platform?"

Kursed glanced over her shoulder with a frown. "This." she said as she stood up and quickly drew her heavy blaster and shooting at the platform which sent the energy blast soaring into the sky as it bounced the beam away. Falco and Katt looked up at the sound of the blaster firing and Fox took a step back in shock. After a moment he drew his own blaster and fired it as well, again, the blast was sent into the sky.

"What the hell is that stone made of?" Falco asked as he came over, having watched Fox's shot.

Kursed kept her gaze on the stone as she knelt back down to examine it. "The stone of this platform is special. I've never seen it take damage, not even when a ship crashed directly into it. Yet, something has worn the edges down." she glanced at the three behind her as she stood up. "The fact that it was worn down like that is not a good sign." Fox watched as she tightened her grip on the staff. "Come on, its a five hour hike to the village."

"Whats the village like?" Kursed paused at Falcos sudden question.

"What do you mean?"

Falco shrugged "Is it walled up or something or just this open area?"

Kursed paused. "It has a wall around it, a big thick thing made of a reddish brown sandstone from the near deserts at the poles. Around the palace the village is a little cramped, but it opens up around the outskirts near the wall." She glanced at Falco. "Why?"

The avian shrugged again, his bag rustling gently "I just wanted to know what to be on the look out for."

Kursed nodded "Ah, any other questions?" instead of letting them speak up, she walked past them and headed for a small trail on the side of the clearing. Fox and Falco exchanging looks before following with Katt. They caught up with Kursed as she was rounding a bend in the trail. "Keep alert, there are a lot of things that hunt in Cerinias jungle." she paused "None of them friendly."

The group spent the entirety of the hike in silence, Kursed forgot to mention that there was a lot of sharp hills and slopes along the way. So, although Fox had questions in his mind, things he wanted to know about Kursed and how well she knew the area. He kept quite to keep his focus on the path in front of him, watching for when the trail was overgrown with vines and branches, and for where to put his feet when they scaled the hills and slide down the other ends.

Eventually Kursed came to a stop and glanced around cautiously, causing Fox, who was behind her to close the distance. "Whats wrong?" he asked softly, worried by her actions.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "I would tell you to shut it before you got us caught. But, I don't think that's a problem anymore."

Fox raised an eyebrow at her "Caught?"

Kursed nodded "We're almost to the main village. We should have been seen by at least three sentries by now." Kursed turned back her gaze to further back down the pathway. "At the very least we should have been stopped."

"How far away is the village?"

Kursed kept glancing down the pathway, scanning it for threats. "Not far, ten minutes of walking, if that." she glanced back at Fox. "We should keep moving, its not safe until we get to the front gates."

Fox nodded and gestured for Falco and Katt to start moving again and the four of them set off down the path, a new sense of caution in their stances. In a matter of minutes they found themselves looking at the front gates.

"Oh..." Kursed whispered word had Fox glancing at her before turning his gaze to the wall.

The sandstone that Kursed said the wall was made of was there. But it was buried under a black coating if ash.

Fox knelt down on the edge of the pathway and ran his fingers through the soft fluff. "It ends right here at the edge of the jungle." he pinched a bit of the ash in between his fingers and lifted it up, rubbing it and letting it sift back down to the ground in flakes. "Its like some sort of fire only affected the area around the city."

Kursed took a slow step out into the ash field in front of them. Her foot sank into the dust and she glanced down at the cracks that spread out from her foot. "It's at least three inches deep." she glanced over her shoulder as she continued her slow march towards the wall and the now gray doors that guarded the entrance. "How did it not get blown away by now?"

Falco joined Fox and Katt as they walked out into the ash field as well. "What do you mean?" he asked as they walked.

"Do you smell any hints of a fire? This ash is old, yet its caked to the ground. Something...bad...caused this."

Fox and Falco found themselves drawing their weapons as they got closer to the wall. They reached the edge and Fox walked over to the wall and pressed his finger in, it sank half an inch into the ash before he felt the hard stone beneath the coating of dust. "Its stuck fast to the wall as well, almost like it was pressed on."

Kursed had moved over to the doors and reached out a hand to touch them. As she did so the gray door crumbled away dropping into a pile in front of her. Startled she took a step back before she reached down into the pile and lifted a large piece of metal out a few inches. "Brace for the door." she said softly as she let the metal sink back into the pile. She stepped through the archway above her, keeping a wary eye on it before she turned her view to the houses around her. She couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her as her eyes were greeted with the sight of the collapsed huts. A few stood with a few walls intake, and every now and then there was one that was only missing the grass roof. Otherwise the rest of them laid in crumbled heaps around them.

Fox and Falco stood on either side of Katt as the group made their way slowly through the ash village with Kursed in the lead. Their fur and feathers standing on end as the creepy atmosphere affected them even in the bright sunlight from above. Eventually they reached a grand stairway that led up to the main palace doors. The group stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the ash covered palace.

"This isn't right."

Fox glanced over at Kursed who was staring at the gray walls with a deep frown. "What do you mean?"

"I had hoped there would be survivors, even though I knew it wasn't likely, but, this...this weird ash crap."

Fox nodded "It is...different. More then a little creepy too."

Kursed glanced around her, her paw tightening around her staff. Fox was looking around as well, but his view was on the ground and he bent down suddenly to brush off a large stone tablet. He ran his finger across the groves in the stone. "Hey Kursed, Is this Cerinian?"

Kursed glanced down at the slab and knelt to briefly studied the words. She frowned before she whispered softly. "Darola ta te Prola tel Caranin." She said softly.

Fox stood up. "Whats that mean?"

Kursed stood up as well, she glanced at Fox before turning her gaze back to the stairs in front of them. "Welcome to the Palace of Cerinia." She started up the stairs. "Well, should we see if the King and Queen are in?"

Falco spoke up as the three of them followed her. "If they are in, I don't think I want to see what they have been up to."

The group made their way up the stairs and into the shadow of the palace, as they reached the landing at the top and headed for the doors.

"Fox, you see that?"

Fox nodded at Falco, "Those doors haven't been touched by whatever charred the main gates."

Kursed spoke up as she reached the doors and placed a paw on them. "Or the doors to the huts." She pushed gently on the door. "These have been, reinforced as well. Something is blocking it from the other side." She gave a stronger push, putting her body into it. "Defiantly blocked."

"Uh...guys?" Katt spoke up for the first time since entering the village.

Fox and Falco were staring at the door while Kursed tried to force her way in one more time.

Katt was backing away from the stairs. "Hey! Guys! We got bigger issues back here!"

Fox and Falco turned around while Kursed looked away from the door.

Falco jumped slightly and aimed his blaster at the stairs "Where the hell did they come from?"

A line of figures were standing on the top of the stairs, seemingly formed from the shadows that covered the landing.

Kursed sighed and drew her large handgun from her holster. "I can't sense anything, so they aren't Cerinian. I want to see who barred this door, waste em." Kursed pulled the trigger on her weapon and the round exploded out of the barrel and blasted a hole right through the head of the lead form. The shell landing softly in the ash on the landing.

The shadow fell over as the rest of them backed up.

Kursed scoffed. "They won't-" Kursed paused and drew in a deep breath, her eyes wide.

Fox glanced over his shoulder at her. "Kursed?"

Kursed lowered her suddenly shaky arm, her grip loosening on the now heavy gun. It fell from her hand as Kursed reached out her other arm to brace herself on the door. Her chest was heavy, and she felt like she couldn't draw a breath. She slid down to her knees, tears building in her eyes while a tremendous pressure grew in her head, a roaring sound forming and drowning out all other noise. "Fo..Fox.." she whispered quietly.

Fox glanced at the line of figures, which were still standing on the edge of the landing. "Falco, Blow that door open. If we need to collapse the doorway to bar the way later, so be it. Katt, watch them, let me know if they move toward us."

Falco nodded, throwing his blaster to Katt, who caught it and aimed at the figures. Falco moved towards the door and reached for his belt of explosives, pulling out a small explosive disk and working on priming the device. Fox moved towards Kursed, when he reached her, he placed his hands under her arms and dragged her away from the door. He propped her against the wall and moved around lifting her face gently with his paws. "Kursed. Can you hear me."

Kursed blinked and stared at Fox. "Fo...Fox?" she reached a hand out to rub his cheek, but withdrew it a hiss as she grabbed her head and closed her eyes.

"Kursed."

Kursed pushed away from Fox, sliding along the wall. "No...no...no, no, nonononononono." she paused, as Falco stepped away from the door. Kursed grabbed her head with both of her hands as the figures started to advance. "Orderina Tel Caranin, Ouy tayo te lang ra te tao."

Falco glanced at Kursed. "Whats wrong with her?"

Fox shook his head. "I'm not sure. Hows the door?"

Falco glanced at the door and held up a finger. The shaped charge exploded a moment later blowing the door into splinters. Fox and Falco each grabbed Kursed under an arm and headed for the hole. Kursed continued to mutter. "Ouyr dara sa ta pratc, nar ta deh, nayo gari ouy tae rin." Fox shouted at Katt as Falco and Fox dragged Kursed through the doorway. "Katt. Lets go."

Katt nodded and opened fire at the feet of the figures which stumbled back as the four of them made it into the entryway. Fox spotted a set of steel bars set in the ceiling. "Katt, blast the bar supports."

Katt nodded and waited till Falco and Fox had set Kursed down on the other side of the bars before she blasted the bars, dropping heavy iron across the hallway and barring the creatures who had just started entering through the doorway.

Katt waited while the creatures stared at the iron before they started withdrawing. She gave a sigh as the last one withdrew before turning to the rest of them. "Okay...what the hell was that?!" she pointed at Kursed. "And what the hell is she saying."

Fox shook his head. "I don't know, I think its Cerinian though."

Kursed shook slightly and continued to mumble, her eyes rolling underneath her lids. "Ouy har feem ra ouyr dara. Ouy har feem ta pratc. Sare tare. Sare tare."

Fox sighed and glanced down the hallway. "Come on, lets check the rest of this place out. Make sure they can't get in from another way." Fox stood up and glanced at Kursed before turning his gaze back towards the other two. "Welcome to the Palace of Cerinia."

Well, there you have it, sorry again it so short, I don't have a lot to say at this point, so I'll head right into the Guest reviews.

Leo 3538: Glad you enjoyed, and as for the cover image, I'm working on it.

I'm hooked: Sorry for the long update. Life.

Dayton17: Your last guest review! I look forward to sending a pm to your new account! Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and glad your enjoying the other story.

Fpastrelo: Was confusing at first wasn't it? Hope you enjoyed, and got it.

Thanks for all the reviews, and remember, keep reviewing, even if I'm not in the mood to write, the review still help to churn ideas, so the more reviews the better.

-Emile.