A/N: Glad you guys enjoyed that little reference at the end. Honestly, I couldn't NOT put that in. :)

Before your regularly scheduled update, I feel the need to address a guest review I got on the last chapter to clarify things. The transmitters have the trackers, but the people themselves have one too. They used She's personal tracker instead of her transmitter. Whoever posted that review asking how; you're welcome. :)

Alright, anyway, here's part two. As usual, tell me what you guys think and maybe even some questions because I know this will probably get your brains moving a little bit. I'll do my best to respond to each and every one of them as long as it doesn't require me to spoil later parts.

That being said, hope you guys enjoy this update, and to the person who demanded two chapters, I believe this has enough to be counted for the weeks I was on hiatus. You'll see what I mean soon. Take care fellas!


Ten miles east of Des Moines, Iowa

Sharp cringed as the weapon was fired, but strangely did not feel anything enter his body. He opened his eyes just in time to see the human soldier fall over sideways with a hole melted into his helmet. He cranked his head around to see a silhouette of a tall soldier holding a small handgun that was pointed at where the human was standing. Sharp strained his eyes, then opened them wide as the frame came into visible view.

"Hawkins!" Sharp yelped, bolting up and smacking the avian's shoulder. Kurt instantly cringed and dropped the weapon as the sting of the husky's paw sent waves of pain through his body.

"Ah, fuck, that still hurts," Kurt groaned, lowering his head. There were many gashes in the avian's body, dying part of his white feathers a deep shade of crimson. His right sleeve was torn off, which was wrapped just under his left knee as a few drops of blood seeped out of the improvised bandage.

"Sorry Kurt. Come on, we need to get you out of here," the husky stated, pointing towards the direction they had come from. "We got a transport coming in soon. For now, we just need to hold tight until they get here."

"Alright, gimme your gun," he commanded. "Grab Brendan. He's hurt bad, and I can't carry him anymore."

Sharp handed the avian the carbine as he crouched down and grabbed the unconscious vulpine from the ground. He was noticeably pale, even under his red fur, which made the dark husky's haste increase. He quickly threw him up on his shoulder, then ran as fast as he could down the sprawling fields toward the Arwings. He could hear the gun going off behind him as Kurt was firing at the advancing soldiers precisely and efficiently.

Sharp glanced up just in time to see a medium sized Cornerian transporter descending on the point designated for their pickup. The transport noticed the commotion down the way and started firing; launching numerous volatile projectiles toward the ground where the human soldiers were hiding out at.

"I didn't know transports were armed," Kurt remarked. Sharp nodded and adjusted the small frame on his shoulder.

"This must be a new one. Look, she's coming down."

The transport landed a few feet away from where the Arwings had come down, but with the Destroyer's materialization system they could remove the Arwings just in case of a commotion that could damage or destroy the fighters. This was the case as the huskies Arwings were nowhere to be found, which required the transport to come pick them up. The main door of the relatively small transport opened wide, and two small soldiers exited and gestured for the party to come aboard. Garrison, who had held back with his sniper rifle, was the first one to disarm himself and board the transport.

"Kass! Chris! Let's go!" Sharp barked, but after taking another step he heard the strangest sound he had ever heard before. It sounded like a faint nova bomb launch, and as soon as he thought of the word 'bomb' he instantly turned his head around to see what it was. A long but sleek tube was hurtling towards them with a bright orange tail behind it and had no indication of slowing down before it collided with something. He cursed, pushed Kurt into the ground, and then dove to the dirt himself.

That tube carried incredible speed, and the only time it stopped was when it came into contact with the transport. A deafening explosion was heard behind the husky, and he felt a wave of hot and charred air wash over himself. He picked his head back up, then gapped at a massive blaze with pieces of shrapnel scattered around where the transport was once located. The two soldiers and Garrison were nowhere to be found.

"Fuckin' dammit," Sharp muttered, slamming both of his balled paws into the ground to lift himself up. He managed to stand up, then shouted over at the two huskies he still thought were located in the trench. "Transport's down!"

"Get over here guys!" Kassian's faint plea resounded from what Sharp deduced was from behind the Destroyer wreckage. "We got a truck!"

Kurt shrugged after Sharp had lifted the vulpine off the ground, then began to run over to where the voice was speaking from. Sharp struggled to carry his own weight, let alone the small fox now that he realized his right leg had acquired throbbing and excruciating pain. After winding around the massive Destroyer, they gazed upon Kassian ramming a small blade into the chest of a human soldier. As his corpse fell to the ground, he waved his paw towards an olive green truck that Christina had just started up.

The truck was strange in the Cornerian's eyes. There was no doors, or a roof for that matter. It was enclosed in a steel roll cage painted the same color as the rest of the vehicle. There was also an insignia on what was supposed to be the driver side door, which the husky deduced was the humans' military logo.

Sharp hobbled over to the vehicle, gently tossed Brendan into the back seat, then vaulted over the hood and slipped into the passenger seat with a grunt.

"Let's get out of here," Sharp commanded with a grimace, prompting the female husky to throttle forward after the avian and the copper husky had jumped in as well. Kassian had found a seat in the bed of the truck, and was firing his weapon towards the soldiers who were also trying to fight back. Christina ignored the gunfire and pressed forward through the crop field, and as soon as she found an open stretch of road she turned onto it and continued driving away from the battle.

Sharp cursed again as he let his body slouch into the seat after the gunfire had subsided. "Good job you two on finding this thing," he started breathily, panting loudly. "We'd have been long gone if you didn't take this."

"Actually, it was Kass' idea," she managed to fight out a giggle, swiping some of her long light gray hair behind her ears as the wind from outside the truck picked up. "He saw the transport go up in flames, and he realized we'd be next if we stuck around any longer."

Sharp nodded, then managed to crank his head around to the two severely injured pilots in the back seat. "How you holding up back there, big guy?"

Kurt only grunted, removing the backpack off of his back and began rummaging around inside of it.

"What's that?"

"Bag I grabbed off of one of the humans," he replied. "Looking for some meds or… something." As he said the last word, his eyes wandered to the red vulpine that hadn't made a single movement since the husky had saw him.

"He's alive?" Sharp asked. Kurt reached over and placed a wing underneath Brendan's muzzle right on his neck. After a few seconds, he nodded.

"Barely," Kurt added, retracting his arm. "Barely a pulse on him. We need to get him help right now."

"I can help him out," Christina piped in. "Sharpie; take the wheel."

The female husky pulled off to the shoulder, then three of the truck's occupants switched seats. Kurt tool over shotgun, Sharp vaulted over the center armrest and slipped into the driver seat, and Christina hopped into the seat right alongside Brendan. As soon as Sharp started driving again, the light gray husky inched closer to the unconscious tod and began to examine him.

"What even happened?" Sharp asked suddenly. Kurt started wrapping his forewing in cloth as he responded.

"We made a huge mistake," he replied hollowly. "We ran into a massive storm right before our assault, and for whatever reason the Destroyer couldn't withstand it and went down. The hangar Brendan and I were in took the brunt of the impact, because when the ship dipped down 'cause of the lightning, the ceiling came down on the Arwings and made them explode. I don't know what happened after, but once the smoke cleared I knew we were in trouble."

"How'd you guys make it out?"

"We managed to bolt over to another hangar and stole another Arwing. We didn't make it out in time, but just being in that Arwing kept us alive."

Kurt suddenly grasped at his head and leaned backwards, letting his feathered head rest on the headrest. "You okay buddy?" Sharp asked concernedly. Kurt groaned in response, then placed a wing over his blue eyes.

"That hit the Arwing took was brutal," he explained. "I think I have a concussion."

Christina instantly handed the avian a small bottle, and needed no explanation on what it was. He instantly swallowed a few of the small blue pills, then placed the bottle in the cup holder as he let his head fall back again.

"I've got all the equipment I need here to keep Brendan alive for now," Christina stated, placing the back of her paw on the vulpine's muzzle. "He'll need to get to a medical bay on board one of our cruisers if we want him to recover."

"How bad is he?" Sharp questioned.

"Really," she responded almost instantly. "He's lost a lot of blood, and I can tell right now he's got a lot of broken bones. He's not bleeding anymore, but if we want him to wake up he needs to be treated professionally. We need to get Pepper's fleet on the line and let him know we're in trouble."

Sharp nodded and increased his speed. "I saw a small house on the way here. We'll get settled there for now until someone comes for us. Just sit tight guys… We'll be there soon."

After Kurt had opened his eyes back up, he saw the extreme pain that the large husky was experiencing as he was driving down the country road. His breaths were quick, deep, and agonized, and every five or six seconds he'd tightly close his eyes for the same amount of time before he'd make another movement.

"Alex, your leg," Kurt pointed out, looking down at the husky's right leg and seeing the red liquid seep out onto the upholstery. Sharp looked down at the injury, then cringed once again.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath, then before he could process his next motion Kurt was hovering over his leg with a bandage.

"Hold still, I got'cha," Kurt assured, expertly wrapping the material around the gash in his leg. Sharp sighed in relief after the patch job was finished.

"I wish I could help you out bud," Sharp admitted, looking over at the avian that had numerous patches of blood stained feathers all over his face and body. Kurt managed to smirk as he grabbed onto the roll cage.

"I'll live," he responded. "I've dealt with worse before."

Sharp nodded, then picked up his voice. "Kass! Can you let the Destroyer know we're trapped down here? We're almost to that house."

"I already tried; we're not getting service out here," Kassian replied. "We're stuck."

Sharp growled and picked up speed. "I sure hope we can fix that problem," he muttered under his breath, then continued the rest of his drive in silence. Silence because of the numerous thoughts that flooded his mind; especially one that kept echoing in the back of his skull.

What are we even doing here?


Colorado Springs, Colorado

"Put the gun down, James," Wolf commanded, keeping his focus on the vulpine as he inched closer. James made a quick glance out of the corner of his eye to the lupine, not moving his head, arms, or the weapon in question.

"What the hell are you doing Wolf?" James questioned through clenched teeth.

"Proving you wrong," he shot back, putting his open paw on the vulpine's chest and pushing him back. James tried to forcefully insert himself back in his previous position, but Wolf once again raised the handgun to his forehead. James instantly paled under his fur.

"Wolf," James spoke in a broken voice. "How could you? You're turning against us?"

"I'm trying to turn you guys back," Wolf replied, not loosening his grip. "I'm trying to keep the people I love alive. If you don't want that to change, I suggest you take the gun off of Nate. Now."

"You wouldn't," James growled, not letting his crosshairs leave the human's frame.

"I'll tell you again James; put the gun down."

"And what if I do?" James questioned impatiently. "As soon as I let that alien out of my sight he's gonna kill me!"

"He's not gonna hurt you," Wolf quickly explained. "In fact, he's doing you a favor."

"My ass!" James snapped, pulling the weapon back up to his shoulder. Wolf was going to thrust the gun into the vulpine's furry head again, but a familiar German sounding accent instantly froze him in his tracks.

"Don't you dare take another step," Wes barked angrily, keeping a high powered rifle trained on the lupine's skull.

"You too Jaeger? Didn't I say I'd kick your ass the next time I saw you?" Wolf remarked, making Nathan grin slightly even in the situation he was in.

"Looks like you're on the wrong end this time, O'Donnell," Wes sneered, standing his ground just inside the doorway. "I came along to fry these damn humans, but I guess I'll get more than I bargained for in taking your ass down too."

Wes instantly stopped once he heard a click resound from the door on his right. He cranked his head around and suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a small handgun, held by a tall light copper husky that was visibly angry.

"Don't you even lay a single finger on them," Sheila stated stoically, pressing the weapon against the side of his head. James, Wolf, and Nathan all gasped in unison.

"Sheila?" James called out, not looking behind his shoulder to see her as he continued to give the human a death stare. "Why are you helping the humans too?"

"Because Nathan saved my life," she responded, giving a wink to the man in the corner. "I wouldn't be here at all if he didn't help me. He's not hostile, James. Just let him go."

"I'll let him go once he lets Fox go!" James quickly interjected.

Nathan crouched low to the smaller vulpine and patted his shoulder reassuringly, then released his other hand from his chest. Fox managed to hobble around the couch before James let out a loud relieved howl as he threw his weapon on the ground and attacked Fox's head.

"Fox!" James cried softly, letting tears stream out of his eyes as he embraced the kit's head tightly. He rubbed his muzzle into Fox's mohawk as he continued. "Fox I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have let you out of my sight! This was all my fault!"

"Dad, I'm fine," Fox assured, trying to escape the death hold his father had on him. "Nate didn't hurt me. He kept me safe."

"I don't care about him," James growled. "I only care about you Fox. You're all I have left anymore. I couldn't imagine my life if you were gone too."

"Dad, Nathan wouldn't lay a finger on me. None of the humans would."

James growled again, then picked his head out of the kit's hair and glared at the human menacingly. "If they wouldn't hurt you, they why did his friend try to kill me?"

Nathan's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Taylor… she tried to kill you?"

"She tried, but she was too busy dying to hit me," James retorted coldly. Nathan instantly felt all the air leave his lungs, and a strange tugging feeling at his chest. He clutched at his heart as he faltered down to one knee as his breaths deepened.

"Tay… she's…" Nathan started, but felt his vocal chords get strung as he fell all the way down to the floor in grief. James snickered as he stood back up off the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I kill someone you loved?" James taunted thoughtlessly. "Now you know how I felt when your kind murdered my wife! Doesn't feel good, does it?"

Wolf turned his head towards the vulpine with the stare of someone that had just witnessed murder. "What the hell is your problem James?" he questioned in a harsh voice. "Just accept the fact that mom's death was an accident! They didn't do anything wrong!"

"They didn't just kill Vix," James started, lowering his head. "Think of the millions at home that died too. Think of the hundreds that are dying on this planet right now. That asswipe's friend tried to shoot me, but ended up shooting Sarah instead and killed her."

Fox's eyes and mouth instantly opened wide at the same time in utter shock. James looked at Fox's stupefied look, then gently consoled him as he buried his face into James' jacket.

"That's two people Fox loved that are gone now," James snarled quietly, glancing up at the human who still hadn't recovered from the sudden shock and grief. "You want to go for three? You wanna kill me now while you have the chance?!"

Nathan balled his fists as he slowly pulled himself off the ground and looked at the older vulpine with a look of shockingly pure hatred. He pulled a small black cylindrical stick out of his pocket and placed his thumb on the one end, not losing a devilish stare in the process.

"Don't tempt me," he growled in a low voice, caressing the object. "You make one move and I blow us all to hell. Understood?"

Everyone's muzzles unhinged in unison in utter shock. Fox was probably the one that was the most shocked and confused.

"Nate," he called out softly. "What are you doing?"

Nathan continued to glare at the older vulpine as he responded. "Well, that got you guys' attention. I'll say it again: I've got this entire place rigged to blow. You make another move, we're all dead."

"You're insane!" James half-shouted, reaching for his weapon.

"And if you shoot me this place is going down too," he added calmly. "Pressure sensitive. My thumb comes off, it's all over."

"You can't be serious!" Wes exclaimed, but Sheila forced the weapon deeper into his fur as he tried to move his arms.

James crouched low and put the tip of his muzzle into Fox's ear. "Get out of here Fox. I don't want you getting hurt."

Fox shook his head. "I'm not leaving."

"Fox, please," James pleaded. "Get out–"

"I think Fox is trying to tell you something," Nathan interrupted with a grin. "I think you should listen to him."

James picked his head up and glared at the man menacingly. "Shut the fuck up! He's my kit, and I think I would know if–"

"No, dad, he's right," Fox interrupted awkwardly. "Nathan just wants to talk. He won't hurt you, he just wants to tell you something."

James lifted an eyebrow at the kit confusedly. "What do you mean he's not gonna hurt us? As soon as I turn my back on him he's gonna–"

"James," Wolf piped up calmly. "Please. For once in your life, listen."

James exhaled slightly, then turned his head over to the bearded human. "What do you want?"

Nathan smirked and stared back at the older vulpine. "An apology."

"My ass I'm giving you an apology," he snapped. "You should be apologizing to me for the hell you put me through."

"And what about the others, hmm?" Nathan quickly butted in. "It can't be just you, no? You can't be the only one that's going through hell."

James looked down to see Fox nodding slightly. He sniffed a bit and spoke up. "What's your point?"

"You're putting my kind through hell too, and in our case there's no reason for it."

"Oh, NO REASON?!" he barked as his tail started flicking wildly in anger. "Do you realize what you humans did to us?"

"Yes, but–"

"If you tell me it was an accident I'll blow your damn head all over the fuckin' wall!" James snarled, putting a paw around the gun on the floor. Fox impulsively kicked the stock of the weapon before James could get a firm grasp, which slid the gun across the floor and out of the range of the larger tod. James instantly turned his head back to the kit and growled.

"You're agreeing with him?" he interrogated angrily. Fox faintly nodded in approval.

"Dad, you need to listen to him. It'll make more sense once he tells you."

"Fox is right, James," Nathan interrupted. "That missile? The one that blew up your capital and killed your wife? That was a malfunctioned satellite; not a missile."

"Are you–"

"And I know it wasn't an attack because I know for a fact that our government would never blatantly attack someone unless the other country had a reason to start it in the first place," Nathan quickly added before James could blow up. "We made that mistake before, and we promised we would never do it again to avoid the backlash we felt last time."

"You are dealing with backlash," James growled. "You don't work for your government. How would you know you didn't start this?"

"I work for my country, thank you very much," Nathan retorted. "I was on a mission years back that went to shit because our government didn't act on the right grounds, which is what killed a large amount of our troops in the process... And in all honesty, your military is right on those same grounds too."

James opened his maw, but nothing came out as the words took full hold. He hesitated again, then pointed at the human with narrowed eyes. "What are you implying?"

"You have flawed information, and that information will end up killing all of you."

"And you told me he wasn't hostile?" James questioned at the little vulpine next to him after his eyes opened wide in the remark the human made. Fox cringed slightly as his father's loud words continued to spew out at him. "He just openly threatened us!"

"No," Nathan replied softly. "I'm trying to protect you guys. I know my military officers well, and they will not hesitate to defend themselves if these attacks continue. If you want to make it out of here with your tails still attached, I suggest you stop your assault and go home now, before it gets worse."

After a few seconds of silence, Wes dropped his large rifle onto the ground, then gently pushed Sheila's wrist out of his head and walked up next to James. "Why are you trying to help us?"

"I'm not just helping you," Nathan openly admitted. "I'm helping all of us. All of us are tired of our friends and family getting killed, and I want that trend to stop before it gets worse."

Nathan lowered both of his hands, then slowly walked towards the older vulpine. James tensed up and bared his teeth slightly, but Nathan kept on walking. Once his nose was within half a foot of the tip of James' nose, he spoke up again.

"You lost your wife. Fox lost his friend. I lost my friend. I don't want to add to this list."

He crouched down and held his arms out to the smaller vulpine next to him. Fox grinned and leaned into the human's grasp, unhinging James' jaw and making his blood start to boil. He clenched his paw behind his back as the human continued.

"Fox trusts me," he explained, wrapping both of his hands around Fox's back. He smiled as he felt the soft fur against his bare skin, then looked at the blank expression of the larger tod. "He agreed to come with me the day I found him, because even he knew these attacks were wrong. I told him I would take care of him, and he trusted me. He knew I wasn't going to hurt him."

Nathan lifted his head back up to the taller vulpine, who had lowered his ears until they were practically flat on his head. "You care for your son, James. I could see it. You went through all this trouble to ensure his safety, I know. But… If you really want to ensure that he's safe, I suggest you take my words into consideration. I'm not trying to scare you guys away… I'm trying to keep your kind, and mine for that matter, safe. That's all I wanted. That's why I had Fox come with me in the first place, to get you guys to realize that you're in some deep trouble, and it will eventually catch up with you if you don't get out before it does."

The human again let another grin crease his lips as he patted the small vulpine's shoulder. "You've got yourself a very intelligent kid, James. Not only did he help me out in finding Wolf, but he was the one that agreed to this in the first place. He didn't have to come with me, but he chose to because he knew it would get you guys' attention, and maybe get you guys to realize what you've been doing all this time was wrong."

Nathan again tightened his grasp on the kit. "I want you to tell me that he'll be safe. I want you to tell me that all of you guys will be safe. Please, just stop these meaningless attacks and go home. I'm sorry that what we accidently did was disastrous for you, but we didn't mean for that to happen. We're sorry."

James closed his eyes momentarily, then subdued his boiling rage as he crouched down and gently pried the smaller vulpine from the human's grasp. "I understand completely. However, I don't have the authority to call this off. I'll let my general know the situation, and I'll see what he has to say."

After pushing the kit onto the far couch, James pulled out his transmitter and spoke into the receiver. "Yeah, it's me. I'm still here. Turns out this guy... Well, I don't know what to say about him… However, those two are still here, and I already told you repeatedly what I was going to do regardless of any talks."

"James?" Wolf called out with wide eyes. Nathan slowly backed up away from the older vulpine as his heart started to quicken pace.

James ignored the paranoia rising throughout the room and continued. "Yes, both of them are here."

"Who is that?" Fox questioned confusedly.

"Yes, the back is clear," James continued. "One right, one south. I'll take care of that one. Go."

CRASH

The large sliding glass door leading out to the back deck instantly exploded into numerous shards of glass as Rusty and Dustin stormed into the room with weapons raised. Ashley burst through the front door, harshly grabbing Sheila's extended arm and instantly dropped her to the floor. Wolf raised his handgun to the vixen that had taken down the husky, but Dustin leapt across the couch and tackled him to the ground, twisting both of his arms behind his back before he could get his shot off.

"Dad!" Fox shouted as James lifted the rifle back up off the ground and put the crosshairs right between the human's eyes.

"Don't worry Nathan," James falsely assured with a cold smirk. "I'll make sure to keep your word on the safety of our troops. We took out half of your country easily, and we can do the same with the rest of it too."

"James," Nathan called out in a warning tone, shaking the object in his hand.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not accepting this story you've told me," James growled, completely ignoring the human. "We won't be discouraged that easily. You may be right, but who's gonna say 'I told you so' to us once we're done here? We've got the technology; we've got the resources; and most importantly, we've got the upper hand. Accident or not, we're cleaning up the mess you started."

Fox broke off of the couch and attempted to break Dustin's hold on Wolf, but the smaller rust colored coyote picked Fox up by his arms and set him on his shoulders effortlessly.

"Get him out of here Rusty," James commanded. The coyote nodded in approval and stepped over to the door with the smaller vulpine yipping loudly and kicking with all of his power.

"I called your bluff," James smirked, expertly sniping the black object right out of the human's hand. Nathan recoiled slightly, then held his arms up in surrender.

"James, knock it off!" Wolf grunted underneath the large canine.

"Shut it!" James barked harshly. "You and your girlfriend over there have violated numerous laws, and we're taking action against it. You two are under arrest."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sheila snarled as a pair of handcuffs were strapped around her wrists by the female soldier.

"Get those two traitors out of here," James growled, watching both soldiers lift their captives off the ground and slowly force them towards the door with them squirming and fighting.

"Oh, and Nathan," James started, turning his head to the human who was frozen up in fear. "I do have to give my thanks for keeping Fox safe. I was worried sick when he was gone. You went through a lot of trouble to ensure his safety, and I can't say how grateful I am for it. Allow me to repay the favor."

BANG

Nathan cringed as he felt intense pain and heat rip through his stomach. He fell to his knees, but that didn't discourage James from taking another shot which ripped through his torso right under his left lung. James snickered as he lowered the weapon and allowed the human to gasp for breath before falling onto his backside.

Wolf ripped free of the larger canine's grip by kicking his shin, and as he faltered Wolf spun around and drilled Dustin's chest with a wicked elbow that dropped him to the floor. He made an incredibly athletic jump to put his handcuffs in front of his torso as he sped over to the human. James tried to impede the lupine's progress, but all he did was end up on the floor near the coffee table as Wolf completely bulldozed him over and slid next to the human's frame.

"Nate," Wolf called out softly, instantly putting his cuffed paws over the human's hands. "Nate I'm so sorry. I did this to you."

"No," Nathan coughed. "I brought this on myself. I should've done a lot of things to stop this from happening. I didn't do a good enough job."

"You did everything the way you were supposed to," Wolf argued, pressing his paw on the human's chest. "You did your job perfectly. It was all my fault. There wasn't one wrong thing you did."

"I can name a few," Nathan chuckled, choking back a bit of blood. "Just know this Wolf… No one is perfect. I was far from perfect. I messed up too many times that I care to know about."

"What are you talking about?" Wolf asked.

Nathan coughed again, getting a bit of blood on the hardwood floor. "Everyone has their flaws. Eventually… those flaws will come back and bite them later. Please… tell James that… He needs to know that his flaws will kill him unless he can fix them."

Wolf sniffed and patted his shoulder. "I… I will… And Nate?"

Nathan glanced over to the lupine with a slight grin. Wolf exhaled as he continued.

"Thank you."

"What'd I do?" he asked weakly.

"For helping me… For helping us… I'll make sure to stop this for the rest of you guys. I promise."

Nathan closed his eyes and chuckled faintly. "Thank you Wolf… You helped me out quite a bit as well… I honestly can't think of a better way to repay you… but this."

Wolf glanced down at the human's hand, which was wrapped around a small golden band with a glimmering diamond attached to it.

"This is yours now," Nathan whispered hoarsely. "I don't have a use for it anymore… but you sure do…. Please… Take it… and give it to her… It's the most I can do to repay you for the sacrifices you made for us…"

Wolf picked the ring out of the human's hand and stuffed it into his pocket, then let a few tears drip out of his eyes as he wrapped his arm around the human and gently tightened his grasp.

"Nathan…" Wolf cried softly. "You… You're the best… I…"

"Again… Wolf… I'm not perfect…" he explained breathily, struggling to keep his eyes open. "The flaws that I had… ended up killing me… And… you guys' flaws… will do the same… if… if you can't… figure out… a way to stop them…"

Nathan gently tugged at the lupine's tank top. "Wolf… Tell them… If they want to see me… in hell… they need… to… to keep up… what they're… doing now…"

"I will," Wolf replied, drying tears from his eyes.

"And…" Nathan choked, feeling blood seep out of his mouth and drip down his cheek. "Tell… tell Fox… I'm… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… for everything… You… you guys were… great friends… and I'm… I'm glad I got… the opportunity… to know you guys…"

"Same here Nate," Wolf grinned. "Same here."

Nathan let out another slight smile as his eyes closed for the final time. Wolf watched his chest stop rising, then sobbed into his arms as he patted the human's shoulder in overwhelming sadness. His moment was ruined as the large canine came up behind him and delivered a brutal slug to his back, instantly dropping the lupine onto the ground. Dustin then reset the handcuffs around his wrists behind his back, then forcefully pushed him up and out the door.

"Now do you know what it feels like?" James questioned, walking behind the lupine. "It's heartbreaking, no? That's how I felt when Vixy was killed. That's how I felt when Fox was taken away from me. And lastly, that's how I felt when you betrayed me. You broke my heart Wolf, seeing you with the humans and helping them fight against us. I can't believe you would do that. I thought you were my son."

"I was only trying to do what's right!" Wolf shouted shakily, choking back tears. "Did you not hear him? He was trying to help! He knew what was going to happen, and he'll be right if you guys don't stop!"

James signaled for Dustin to stop, then clamped his paw around the lupine's muzzle. "You're seriously going to believe that alien? He was just trying to scare us away. I called his bluff with the bomb in the house, and I'm calling his bluff about the outcome of this war. We will easily wipe the floor with the rest of this planet, and we will avenge the lives lost back home. We will succeed."

James released his hold on the wolf's maw, then patted the canine's back. "Get him out of here Dustin. Hold those two up in an unoccupied living quarters on the Great Fox for now, until we can find a better place to put 'em."

"Understood," Dustin said firmly, then harshly pushed the lupine forward and towards a small transport ship. The ship was rather small, but it could still hold up to ten soldiers and could transport them to wherever they needed to go quickly. Right as Dustin stepped inside, a faint siren was heard from way down the street.

"I don't want a firefight just yet," James grumbled, then turned to the open door of the transport and stepped inside. "Get us out of here, quickly!"


General Pepper's Flagship

Vince exhaled as he readjusted himself on his bed in his quarters. He was lying flat on his back with one paw underneath his head and the pillow, and another over his tail he had wrapped over his midsection.

"Now I know how Wolf feels," he mumbled, rolling over to his left side as he faced the wall. "Silenced for speaking out. Exiled for trying to help. Locked up in my own god damn room because Pepper doesn't want anything to do with me. Real mature Pep… Real mature."

He sighed as he closed his eyes and nuzzled into his pillow, but right as he was about to drift off some faint voices from outside his door ripped open his eyelids.

"I'm just amazed they found him alive," a muffled male voice stated frankly.

"Yeah, it's pretty surprising," another replied. "Apparently he's perfectly fine. Not even a scratch on him."

Vince slowly sat up in his bed and tilted his ears toward the door with an eyebrow raised.

"Did they find O'Donnell down with them?" the first voice asked. Vince's eyes shot wide open as he bolted off the bed and put his snowy white ears against the similarly colored steel door.

"Him and Spitz," the other responded. "Both of them were down there, and they were trying to protect that human that kidnapped Fox. I mean, seriously? They were trying to help them? Are they that crazy?"

Vince growled softly as the first voice exploded into laughter.

"They brought charges on them too," the other quickly added after his laughter subsided. "I don't know what they are, but it's probably along the lines of 'treason' or something like that."

"Where are they holding them up?"

"I heard they just locked them up in a room. Great Fox doesn't have prison cells, so that was their best alternative I guess."

Vince shook his head as he walked away from the door and sat back up on his bedside. He pulled his boots off of his feet and tossed them near his nightstand, then rolled over onto his back with a paw over his forehead.

"I'm really starting to question the intelligence of the CDF," he muttered under his breath. "It's like they have no clue what's going on in the slightest… Hell, who am I to talk? I agreed with those sadistic bastards for the longest time, and I just now figured out we were wrong… Man… I'd love to prove them wrong… How I'd love to shove the correct information in their faces and tell them they were wrong."

Vince rolled over once again, then after breathing heavily for a few seconds he suddenly shot straight up as an idea flashed into his mind.

"I can prove them wrong."

Vince shot up off his bed and swiftly rushed over to his dresser while his feet clicked against the hard floors. He crouched down, opened a small drawer at the very bottom of the dresser, and pulled out an eight inch paper-thin screen with a few extra small and sleek devices. He held the tablet in one paw, then grabbed up a small screwdriver from the draw with his other paw, and expertly undid the plating over the intercom speaker near his front door. He unhooked a wire and managed to wire his screen to the wiring inside the plate, then poked at his tablet.

"Step one, get into computer systems; check," Vince started, grinning smugly. He poked around his tablet, selecting option after option lightning fast; not letting a single second go to waste.

"And there's the human satellite grid," he continued, his grin becoming larger. "Let's look for something important."

After scrolling countless options for what felt like fifteen minutes without finding something that caught his eye, he just about gave up. Right as he was going to put the tablet down, he found a suspicious looking file that had a differently coded term on it.

"There you are," he smirked, opening the folder which consisted of flight plans for a human group called 'NASA'. He scrolled down to the supposed date of the launch in question, but could only find a satellite drone being launched from that day. He tapped on the option, then scanned through the info on the screen.

"Launch… ten A.M," he recited to himself, slowly lowering his eyes down the screen. "Took three days, yup… four thirty P.M, system… failure?"

Vince gasped and brought the screen closer. "No way… Oh no fuckin' way."

The white fox let the tablet fall to the ground, and as it clattered on the steel floors he clasped both of his paws around his muzzle. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he continued to stare at the tablet he dropped.

"It was a failure," he continued breathily, beginning to aimlessly pace around his room. "Satellite malfunction. It was a malfunctioned satellite this whole time. This whole fuckin' time! Why didn't we look this up before? That could have prevented all this… this… shit!"

Vince sank down onto his bedside with his paws practically crushing his skull as he stared at his feet.

"What have we done? What… What are we still doing here?"