A/N: Another longer than usual update today because why not?

This one is... I'll let you guys read and react to it before I spoil. One thing I will admit was that proofreading was becoming a chore with this particular chapter so I just said screw it and uploaded it as it was. Please disregard any beginner mistakes because of my laziness. ;)
Also, this chapter is very different. I want to hear from you guys about it because I've never done something like what I did in this chapter before. It's not bad in any way, shape, or form, but it is different than what you would be used to seeing from me. I'll leave you guys to respond to it.

Lastly, I'm gonna ask you guys for a big favor. One of my buddies on FF Demo ODST has a story here called "Star Fox: Deception", and I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say I absolutely love this story. However, it really hasn't gotten all that much attention, and that story is way too good to not receive any attention. I want you guys to check it out, and maybe even leave a review on it too. Like I said, it's a damn good story, and it doesn't deserve to be neglected as it has recently. Please, go check it out and leave a review too. It'll make his day. :)
(it is an M rated fic, so discretion advised)

Alright, I'm done here for now. New chapter; please tell me what you think of it 'cause like I said it is a bit different but in a good way, and I'd love to know if you enjoyed it. Take care fellas!


You don't have to be so loud
Everyone can hear you in this whole damn crowd
You don't have to try so hard
I think they got the message, you were out of your mind
It's not so good to see you this upset
But the next generation will forget…

…(skip)…

They're never gonna let you understand
Or show you what it is to be a man
You don't wanna sit down and think or hear
You don't think anyone is in your ear
I never wanna see your face
Accuse – It's no one's fault

Is it gone?
I hope that, that, that it's wrong
Is it gone?
I hope that, that, that it's wrong

*The Strokes – Slow Animals*


North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Mark grunted loudly as he slammed the stock of his rifle down onto the doorknob of a small, secluded house, causing the lock to instantly become unlatched. His brutality wasn't done, however, because as soon as the knob clattered onto the porch he took his stock again and drove it into the side of the door, snapping the chain lock that kept the door shut. He brought the barrel of his gun upwards and poked the door open, then after a quick scan of the one story house he lowered the rifle.

"All clear," he announced, then not soon after he stepped inside the house everyone followed suit. Kyle made sure everyone was inside their little secluded safe haven, then shut the door and barricaded it with a small bookcase propped against an adjacent wall.

The house Kyle's group had located was a very quaint and cozy abode. It was made entirely of wood; the floors, the walls, the furniture, and pretty much everything else. Two somewhat large wooden framed couches with some rather soft cushions covering them sat neatly around a colorful and ornate rug. Towards the far end of the house was a small kitchen, along with a hallway to separate bedrooms and a bathroom. Everything about the house seemed to blend together perfectly, with the choice of décor and arrangement of the furniture.

Derrick instantly dropped his equipment by the left wall near the door, then grunted as he threw himself on the couch; still holding at his midsection. Sabrina did the same, but instead she slipped alongside the sandy vulpine and sat near his feet. Mark and Alex found the other couch, while Austin and DJ instantly started to scavenge the house to look for something useful. Kyle found a chair that was neatly arranged by what looked to be a bar counter near the kitchen, then pulled it towards the group and exhaled as he relaxed on the wooden construction.

"And now… we wait," Alex mumbled, letting his head fall back onto the cushions.

"For what?" Sabrina instantly questioned. The white vulpine shrugged his shoulders.

"Something," he continued. "Guaranteed the CDF is gonna know the Destroyer went down, so they might look for survivors."

"Why would they?" she replied sourly. "The party that went to look for Destroyer two never came back. They won't waste their time and resources to look for us; knowing we may not be alive."

"Well, we are still breathing," Alex remarked.

"Then why don't you get on the damn transmitters and tell them that?" she snapped.

"Guys, chill," Mark pleaded. "Fighting won't get us a rescue party. We need to find a way to get someone to come looking for us."

"Ya hear that Austin?" Alex suddenly yelled.

"I'm working on it," he replied in a muffled and annoyed tone.

"We don't pay you to go treasure hunting," the white vulpine joked with a smirk.

"And we don't pay you for your attempts at humor," DJ's muffled voice shot back. Derrick started chuckling softly, but cringed when the pain returned because of it. Sabrina caught his pain and attempted to calm him down by rubbing behind his ears.

"You alright Derrick?" Mark asked.

"Damn human soldier hit him," Sabrina answered for the vulpine. "Might have cracked a few ribs. He'll just need to sit tight until we can get him help."

"I'll be fine, you guys," the sandy vulpine announced weakly. "I'm not dying."

"But you still need help," the cheetah interjected. "We'll get you to a medical bay as soon as we can get someone to pick us up."

"I thought we already had this discussion," Alex muttered as he started to rub his muzzle. Sabrina ignored him and continued to try and relax the vulpine.

"I'm alright, Sabby," Derrick pleaded, gently grabbing the feline's wrist. "Really. I'm alright."

"You don't look too alright," Sabrina replied with a subtle grin.

"I may not look okay, but believe me, I'm good," he responded, and during the last portion he looked up and stared at the cheetah warmly. Sabrina inched herself closer and found a seat right in front of the vulpine's injured chest.

"You wonder why I never turned you in," she remarked smoothly.

"I already told you why you didn't," Derrick replied in his own smooth voice. Sabrina blushed noticeably and tried to avoid eye contact, which was all the ammunition the white vulpine needed.

"Girls always fall for the tough guys," he remarked slyly, causing the cheetah to bare her teeth slightly.

"You know that from experience?" she retorted, causing both Derrick and Mark to burst into laughter. Alex bit his lip and glared at her with a friendly stare, then shook his head and sighed. He was about to come up with one of his signature comebacks, but was stopped when DJ suddenly jerked the kitchen door open.

"Hey guys, we got something," she announced with a breath of relief, then soon thereafter the rest of the room followed suit and slipped into the kitchen. Sabrina was the last one in the line, but hesitated when she was within range of the door. She turned her head back to Derrick, then slowly dragged her feet towards him as she found her previous spot again.

"You should go listen to them," Derrick suggested. Sabrina shook her head almost instantly.

"I want to listen to you," she replied sweetly.

"I'm not the one with answers," he continued.

"Who says I'm asking questions about the war?"

Derrick picked his eyes back up to her and stared at her expectantly. "Well, I… I…"

"You sure you didn't hit your head?" Sabrina giggled. Derrick couldn't help but not keep a straight face, and eventually he was laughing along with her. After her laughter died down, she stood up and attempted to walk towards the kitchen, but not before sneaking a small kiss on his cheek.

"Feel better soon," she said sweetly, then trotted into the kitchen where the group of five were standing around a small device set on the table. DJ poked at a few of the buttons on the side, but nothing seemed to be working on the human device.

"No, try that," Austin suggested, pointing at a button on the top.

"I've tried that four times Austin," DJ explained, continuously eyeballing the bulky device. "I didn't– Hah! Got it!"

DJ pressed a small indentation on the back side, then all of a sudden an antenna shot out from the middle of the box, and not soon after a faint sound of static was heard from the device.

Austin leaned forward, managed to sync his device with the frequency of the radio waves, and then brought the receiver up to his muzzle. "Can anyone hear us?"

A few seconds later, after Austin had repeated his message and much to the group's surprise, someone responded. "This is First Lieutenant Green; we read you loud and clear, over."

Kyle snatched the receiver from the blonde lupine and responded firmly. "This is Captain Reeves. Our cruiser got shot down; my squadron and I are requesting a pickup, over."

"Ten-four," the caller replied. "Setting course now. Just hang in there Captain."

Kyle returned the transmitter to Austin, then rested his elbows on the table as a slight smirk creased his muzzle. He sighed and ran his paw over his ears, but right as he was about to speak the white vulpine spoke up.

"Now what?" Alex asked.

"We wait," DJ instantly replied. "We just need to sit tight and wait for that cruiser to pick us up."

"But what if whatever shot our Destroyer down comes back?"

"We just need to pray that it doesn't," Kyle remarked, then lifted himself up and trotted out into the family room. Sabrina was quick to pursue, and in moments was right at the sandy vulpine's side. Derrick let out a slight smile at the sight of the cheetah, then grunted as he repositioned himself on the couch.

"We found a way out of here," Sabrina said reassuringly, rubbing her paw on his shoulder.

"That's good," he said weakly, still breathing heavy from the human's attack. Sabrina again patted his shoulder to try and calm him down, and for the most part it was working.

"I'll see if I can find something for ya," the cheetah said softly, then picked herself up and trotted towards the recently vacated kitchen.

"Mind if I lend a paw?" DJ asked, taking a few steps towards the kitchen. Sabrina obliged, then the two females slipped into the kitchen to search for something worth their while.

"You alright, Sabby?" DJ asked abruptly, opening a few cupboards above the long countertop when she realized the door was shut.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "You?"

"I've been better," the tall hybrid answered frankly, then turned back to the cheetah and smirked slightly. "You sure you're feeling ok?"

"Of course," she affirmed dubiously. "How come?"

"Don't think I don't know what's up with you and Derrick," DJ blurted out quietly with a sly wink. Sabrina blushed up and attempted to look away, which gave the sleek black hybrid more ammunition against her.

"I always knew you liked him," she added.

"And I know who you like, miss tough girl," Sabrina retorted. "Shall I say it aloud?"

"You better not," the hybrid warned.

"I'm gonna," she giggled with a smirk.

"Don't–"

"You like Kyle, don't'cha?"

"Shut up!"

"Ha, I knew it!" Sabrina laughed.

DJ hissed and waved her paws at her. "Keep it down Sabby, I don't want him hearing."

"Why not?" she asked quietly. "You can't still be shy about being in this squadron with him, can you? We've been together in this group for half a year already."

"I know," DJ said, tilting her ears back. "But this is my first group. I joined, and almost instantly I was thrown into this squadron. I haven't really gotten to know anybody really well, except for you."

"You seemed to get along with everyone though," the cheetah added. "You're that tough girl that everyone wants to be around. You just need to loosen up and be a little more… friendly, ya know?"

"Yeah, I get it," the shepherd replied.

"And what better time to get to know everyone than right now, while we're waiting to get picked up."

DJ nodded slightly. "Alright… I'm trusting you here."

Sabrina smiled and placed her paw over her shoulder. "That's your first mistake."

DJ couldn't help but laugh at the she-cheetah's remark, then followed her out of the kitchen into the main room. Much to Sabrina's surprise, Derrick was sitting up with a few small cards arranged in his paws. Austin, Alex, and Mark were sitting around the table as well with those same cards, while Kyle was slouched on the couch, staring at the game with a subtle grin. Sabrina nudged the tall hybrid's shoulder and winked at her, prompting the canine to trot over and hesitantly take the unoccupied seat next to Kyle. Sabrina slipped alongside Derrick and nuzzled closer to him.

"I see you're feeling better," the cheetah remarked slyly. Derrick chuckled and rested his head on her taller shoulder.

"I could be a little better," he responded, clutching at his chest again. "Damn humans hurt."

"Here, I've got an idea to ease the pain," Sabrina said, readjusting herself so that she could face the sandy vulpine. Derrick set his cards face down on the table and turned to face her.

"How?" he asked, but before he could even process what had happened next the cheetah had pushed herself forward and locked her lips with the vulpine's. Derrick' eyes shot wide open in shock, but they eventually started to shut as the sense of surprise shifted to pleasure and elation. The other males in the room let out a chorus of "aww's" as the sudden affection caught their eyes.

"About time you two fessed up," Alex remarked after the cheetah broke the kiss. She stared into the priceless expression the vulpine had on his face, then giggled as she pressed her forehead against his.

"Feel better?" she asked smoothly.

"I do now," he replied breathily, still trying to regain his bearings from the sudden attack of affection. Sabrina embraced him again, and it seemed as though the vulpine's pain from his injury melted away.

"You have something to say DJ?" Sabrina blurted out, making the shepherd hybrid tense up. She glanced at the floor and folded her paws into her lap as the cheetah removed herself from the desert fox.

"No one's gonna make fun of you DJ," she continued. "Better say it now while I've set the mood."

The female canine sighed again, then picked her eyes off the ground and swallowed her nervousness. She turned to Kyle and lowered her ears again, but right as she opened her muzzle she heard the front door burst open with three fully equipped human soldiers sanding their ground right in front of the door with weapons raised and pointed towards them.

"Freeze!" one of them barked harshly. "Down on the fucking ground! NOW!"


CMD Fichina – Cornerian Military Destroyer 8 (Airspace of Des Moines, Iowa)

First Lieutenant Daniel Green sat at his station of the bridge calmly, gazing out of the window into the surprisingly beautiful scenery on the surface. He buried both of his black tinged paws into his excess of white and black face fur, then sighed as he used the paws to slick back his hair.

Daniel, or "Danny" as his friends called him affectionately, was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His superior officer had adamantly commanded him to get his Destroyer wound up and prepare for combat, but to be frankly honest, the black and white collie did not want to be here. He didn't want to be dressed in his flashy dark red Cornerian Army uniform so snug it cut off circulation to certain body parts, or be sitting in a quiet bridge filled with people that shared his same displeasure about being called into work.

Danny sighed again and looked at his notebook, smiling as he saw some notes that had been drawn over by a few sketches. He loved to draw, and it was the only thing that kept him sane in tense situations where he was relegated to sitting back and watching. He'd rather act than react, but in situations where he couldn't, he'd always pick up a pencil.

Right as he put the finishing mark on a sketch of a rather slim and beautiful canine sitting on a beach wearing a skimpy set of swimwear, the bridge door opened with an audible hiss. He quickly closed the notebook, wedged the pencil above his ear, and then gave a smile to the two huskies that had entered the room.

"Ah, the husky pilots," Danny said in a very warm, almost feminine-like voice. "So sorry it took so long to come and grab you g– wait, I thought there was five of you?"

"There is," Christina responded. "They were beaten up pretty bad, so they're getting some medical treatment."

"Oh, I do hope they're ok," the collie said softly, folding his paws near his midsection.

"They'll be fine now," Kassian answered. "Just getting some much needed patching up."

"May I speak to them, perhaps?"

"Sure thing," Christina answered, and as she turned around the collie quickly sped in front of her and trotted down the hall.

Kassian chuckled when Danny wasn't in earshot and leaned over by the light gray husky. "You know the CDF's gone desperate when they pull him out of the barracks."

"Hey, be nice," Christina giggled back. "He's a natural born leader. We need him on our side, even if he's a bit…"

"Feminine?" Kassian asked.

"That's putting it lightly," she remarked, causing the copper husky to start laughing even more. They followed the black and white collie down the winding halls of the Destroyer, and before they knew it they were in the medical bay with the three other soldiers wired to numerous machines. Danny let out a silent gasp as he rushed over to the darker husky.

"Oh dear, what happened, Sharp?" he asked. Sharp opened his eyes at the recognition someone was speaking with him, then subtly rolled his eyes as he recognized the frame and the voice.

"War happened," the husky replied frankly, letting a few doctors work on his severely injured leg. He cringed when one of the doctors unwound his bandage, making the collie whimper in discomfort.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you," Danny said sweetly, gingerly setting his paw on his bedside.

"It wasn't your fault, buddy," Sharp replied reassuringly. "It was Pepper that forced us to wrongly attack this planet. It's his fault all of us are suffering."

"Wait, wrongly?" Danny echoed questioningly.

Sharp let out a faint chuckle and turned his head to Kassian. "You mind showing him the computer, Kass?"

"Yeah, follow me," he replied, disappearing with the collie out of the medical bay. Christina stayed behind, and as she heard the door close behind them she trotted over to the red vulpine that was also being treated by numerous doctors. The thing that put a smile on the female's muzzle was the sight of him awake and alert, staring at her with his deep blue eyes.

She slipped up alongside him, then instead of talking as she usually would, all she could do was smile and let a few giggles surface. Brendan chuckled back weakly, then readjusted his head on the pillow.

"Thanks again Chris," he managed to say after his laughter subsided. "I… I wouldn't be here if you didn't help me."

"Hey, anytime," she replied, clutching Brendan's nearest paw tightly. "You feeling any better?"

"I am now, thanks to you," he replied smoothly. Christina couldn't help but start to feel warm near him, and it was becoming increasingly visible that she had feeling toward him, including to the vulpine in question.

"Christina," he started, getting her attention almost instantly. "Yesterday, when… when I said I loved you… I–"

"It's alright, I knew you weren't thinking straight," she assured.

"No, Chris, I… I was thinking straight," he admitted, gazing into her expression of shock, but mostly predominant joy. "I told you because, honestly, I didn't think I was gonna survive."

"I didn't think you were either, so… I meant what I said too…" she responded, making the vulpine give roughly the same expression back at her. She smiled back warmly, then dropped to her knees so she could get closer to him.

"You… did?" he asked in disbelief.

"I did," the husky answered, surprisingly with no hesitation. "I said it to keep your hopes up, but I really did mean it from my heart. I was heartbroken when I saw you had gotten hurt, and I tried my best to help you because–"

"You care for me," he finished, stealing the words right out of the husky's muzzle. After she had nodded in approval, he grinned and readjusted himself on the hospital bed again. "I know… I do too…"

Christina smiled again, this particular smile instantly melting all of the vulpine's hesitation. "Chris, I…" he started, fidgeting with his bed. "I can't move… Can you…?"

"Will it make you feel better?"

"Yes," he replied with no hesitation, then less than a second later he was shocked to see the gray husky slowly lean forward and press her muzzle into his. The pain of all of his wounds were quickly replaced with absolute sheer joy and elation, finally being able to express his affection with the female husky in such an abrupt, but wholehearted way. Christina backed off of him after a good two minutes of clashing tongues with the vulpine, then gave a pleasured and warm smile back.

"Feel better soon, Brendan," she announced sweetly. Brendan couldn't get his vocal chords to work in time as she was already out the door and walking towards where Kassian had left the human's computer.

She hesitated at the sight of another door very close to where Kassian left his gear. Minutes before, she had left the human child and her strikingly similarly looking companion in that room, and although she was perfectly fine in there, she couldn't help but check on her. She knocked first, then slowly opened the door to the small room.

"Hey Emily, can… I talk to you about something?" she asked.

"What is it?" the little human girl asked right back. Christina was surprised to see that she was tucked into the bed with a large blanket covering her. Bell was lying down near her feet, wrapped into a tight ball and fast asleep. Christina shut the door and sat next to her on the bed, then lowered her muzzle and her ears as she let out a sigh.

"Honey, I… I don't know if your daddy will be coming back."

"Why?" she asked, gripping her fox plushy tightly. The little girl's innocence was really starting to get to Christina, and she had to choke back a bit of her tears so she could speak to her seriously.

"He, uh… He said that he's gonna be at work for a really long time, and he wanted me to take care of you."

"Really?" she asked excitedly. Christina cringed at her enthusiasm and rubbed the human child's shoulder.

"You're awfully excited to be without your daddy for so long."

"He's gone a lot all the time," she answered with a smile. "And you're really cool too! You would do a good job in taking care of me; I just know it."

"I sure hope so," Christina answered, continuing to rub the kid's back until she saw her eyelids shut. She sat there for a few more moments with the child asleep next to her, then let a few tears well in her eyes as she leaned down and gave a quick kiss to her furless cheek.

"I'm so sorry sweetie."

##########

"So…" Danny said slowly as Kassian shut the laptop. "It's true."

"It is," the copper husky replied. "And god only knows how we're gonna get out of it."

"There honestly isn't anything we can do," the fluffy canine stated as he started pacing around the room. "Pepper has all of the authority. I don't. I have no say in this matter, unfortunately."

"But you can refuse to fight," Kassian added. "I am. I know of a bunch of others that aren't either. You have your say on this Destroyer, and you can call your shots on whether or not you follow his orders."

"Orders are orders," Danny said softly. "I can't defy orders from my superior officer."

"In this war, there is no superior officer," the husky blurted out.

"I'm sorry Kass, but I told you; I have no authority."

"Don't tell me you don't have authority," Kassian said sternly. "You're a First Lieutenant for god's sake! You've got a whole hell of a lot more authority than most of us, yet you don't have the spine to use it!"

Danny's eyes instantly shot wide open. "I use my authority," he shot back calmly.

"Prove it," Kassian snapped. "Prove that you can. Show me you can stand against Pepper, 'cause I know you can. I know you disagree with his viewpoint, and without his call, you wouldn't be here at all."

Danny couldn't help but nod slowly. "You're right. Sorry I was so… dense. I know, I should not, and do not want to be here, and I'll tell Pepper as soon as I–"

"Lieutenant!" a soldier yipped as he burst through the door. "Sir, we've got two Arwings requesting permission to dock. They're Star Fox's Arwings."

"Star Fox?" he echoed curiously, and without another word he was pursuing the short soldier down the hall towards the main hangar. He gingerly set a paw on the soldier's shoulder as they continued walking towards the hangar in question.

"Can you call main bridge? Let them know those Arwings can dock?"

"Sure thing sir," the soldier responded, and no too long afterward they found themselves staring into the main hangar of the Destroyer. As soon as his eyes rested upon two open locking mechanisms, they immediately started whirring and rotating to prepare for the landing fighters. As the hangar doors slowly opened with a loud hiss and groan, he saw the two fighters previously mentioned by the soldier hurtling towards the ship.

In a matter of seconds, the two fighters had slowed enough to slip into the hangar without crashing and hooked their fighters into the mechanism. Once the machines rearranged the Arwings in the rather small hangar, Danny heard the fighters power down. The one craft's cockpit opened, and Danny gasped as soon as Wolf's face became visible.

"Wolf?" he called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Surviving," he stated frankly, then trotted over and helped Fox out of the other fighter. Much like what Sheila did before, the kit wrapped his arms loosely around the lupine's neck as he carried him almost effortlessly.

"Aww, Fox too?" he cooed sweetly. "Good to see ya, little buddy."

Fox smiled back as he tightened his hold on Wolf and laid his muzzle on his shoulder, then let a rush of air through his nose as he looked at the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a long story," Wolf replied. "I'll explain later. You have a room he can stay in for now?"

"Sure, down the hall to the left," the canine replied. The one soldier that followed him spoke up almost instantly.

"I'll take him down there," he suggested. Wolf obliged, helped the soldier accommodate for Fox's weight, and then watched the two disappear into the hallway. Sheila trotted up to the lupine and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, then turned to face the collie and smiled.

"Good to see ya, Danny," she said, grasping the canine's paw. "I was hoping you'd be on this transport."

"To be honest, I wish I wasn't," he stated frankly.

"I know, all of us don't," the husky replied, then gave a slight glance over to Wolf. "We've got a plan though."

"Oh, don't worry sweetie," Danny butted in, and at the last word Wolf grabbed Sheila's arms to calm her down. "I've got a plan. Here, follow me. I'll give you a rundown on the bridge. You too Kass."

As the group walked out of the hangar and began their long trek through the Destroyer to get to the main bridge, the copper husky placed a paw over Wolf's shoulder and sighed slightly.

"Hey Wolf, listen, I'm–"

"I accept your apology," Wolf interrupted almost instantly, showcasing a slight grin. "I understand how everyone was feeling before the truth came up. And… I'm honestly sorry for attacking you and Garrison the other day. How is he, by the way?"

"He's dead," Kassian answered stoically. "Both he and Mac were killed yesterday in an attempted search and rescue mission when Destroyer two came down."

"Damn," Wolf muttered, then suddenly his eyes shot wide open. "Destroyer two? It got shot down?"

"No, actually, it ran into a nasty storm and messed with the G-diffusers," Kassian explained. "We went to look for survivors, but we could only find two other surviving pilots when we went to investigate."

"Dennis?"

Kassian shook his head in negativity. "Kurt Hawkins and Brendan Evans. We couldn't find Dennis. Sorry bud; I knew you two were close."

"Poor dude," Wolf muttered. "Did any of the other Huskies get killed?"

Again, the copper husky shook his head. "Sharp's hurt pretty bad, but Christina's alright. She's probably with the human kid we found on the surface."

"Human kid?" Wolf echoed.

"We had to take cover in some human house for the night, and we found a little girl in the house. We're presuming that her parents were killed, and Christina's gonna take care of her 'cause she's only six or seven."

"Good girl Chris," Wolf muttered under his breath with a smirk, then turned to the husky again. "You know of anything else happening? I've been in the dark for quite a bit."

"So have I," Kassian chuckled. "I just got here too. We'll have to wait for Danny to explain everything to the both of us."

Wolf nodded, and before he even knew it he found himself walking into the main bridge. He saw the collie and the husky already talking with each other, and being as subtle as possible, he slipped alongside the light copper husky to listen in.

"So, Danny, I think we've got a way to get James out of the question," Sheila started, but the canine politely interjected.

"Actually, you guys don't need to worry about him. I got a call from the Great Fox saying he had a mental breakdown and is currently receiving treatment for it."

Both Sheila and Wolf open mouth gasped. "What happened?" Sheila asked.

Danny shrugged. "They have no idea. Stress related maybe?"

"That, or the fact that we found out he slept with another soldier last night," she added, causing the black collie to gasp just as bad as the other two did.

"You can't be serious," he blurted disbelievingly.

"That's what we heard," she replied.

"Wow," Danny continued, shaking his head slightly. "I never would've thought James would do such a terrible thing. He's always been really faithful and dedicated to his family."

"Don't talk to me about him being faithful to his family," Wolf growled bitterly. Danny instantly raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, I'm… sorry… Wolf," the collie said hesitantly. "I didn't know you two weren't close anymore."

"I'm done with him," Wolf added sternly. "If he thinks I'm coming back home after we retract, he's got another thing coming. He caused all of this, and he refuses to let anyone get in his way. It's like he's blind to the outside."

"Well, can you fault him for it?" Danny asked. "I don't blame the poor fella for the way he reacted to this. He's a grieving husband, and wants to find someone to pin the blame on."

"There's no one to pin the blame on this but him," the lupine responded. "If it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here, and because of him we aren't gonna get out of here unless we do something."

"And that's where you come in, Danny," Sheila piped in. "Now that we're all here, we want you to take this Destroyer home. Leave the people that want to fight here, and have them find out the hard way that they should've listened to us the first time."

"Oh, Sheila, I can't do that," Danny answered quickly. "I can't leave my post. Pepper's orders."

"To hell with his orders," Wolf snapped. "He wants to fight, and he'll die here. Simple as that. You don't want to fight, and you shouldn't sacrifice your crew because of someone like him."

Danny was about to retort again, but the bridge transmissions lines started to flare up. He politely excused himself, then trotted over and lifted the microphone up to his muzzle as the message repeated itself to him.

"This is First Lieutenant Green, we read you loud and clear, over."

"Who's calling?" Sheila asked. Danny only raised a finger as he continued to listen in, then smiled at his caller finished speaking.

"Ten-four. Setting course now. Just hang in there Captain."

Danny sighed as he stowed the microphone away, then turned to face the others. "Okay, I know I just said I'm not defying orders, but that was Captain Reeves' bomber crew, and apparently Destroyer five went down after their first assault. They requested a pickup, and I can't leave them behind."

"Captain Reeves?" Kassian echoed. "He the one with the–"

"Vulpine Spirit, yeah," Sheila finished for him. "Must've found some harsh resistance if they ended up going down. You sure you want to pick them up, Danny?"

"I have to," the collie replied. "I'm not leaving soldiers behind."

"Actually, this is a good idea," Wolf announced. "Not only will we have an entire ship against this viewpoint, substantial evidence backing up the accident with that human's laptop, and an essential hostage with the leader's kit, but now we'll have first-hand experience on why we should leave. Captain Reeves' team doesn't get shot down just like that. Obviously they know something about the humans that we don't, and if we can explain that to Pepper, we'll be one step closer to retracting troops."

"Damn, that is a great idea," Kassian remarked.

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Danny grinned slightly. "I just… I've never felt this bad about doing the right thing before. Is it always this hard for you?"

"You'll get used to it, big guy," Wolf chuckled. "Believe me… …Where'd Reeves get hit?"

"Says here just a bit north of their supposed target," Danny replied, glancing at his screens. "Trackers are on, so we know exactly where they are. You guys can go and get some rest while we take a quick little ride over there, and we'll call you down as soon as we have Reeves' group on board. Okay?"

Wolf shrugged and let out a slight chuckle.

"You're the boss."


Location Unknown

James opened his eyes and found himself lying in a surprisingly warm and comfortable bed. He was lying on his side with the soft sheets completely enveloping his exposed torso, and once he regained his ability to make out his surroundings he found himself staring out of a large window. The window was lined with navy blue curtains, and they were spread apart to show off a dark, rainy skyline, with occasional flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder in the distance.

However, the skyline looked strikingly familiar to him, but he just couldn't figure out what it was. In fact, the curtains looked familiar too. The bed, the sheets, the atmosphere, the temperature; all were strikingly familiar. He just could not bring himself to put a name onto it.

And what grew his paranoia even more was that he could not remember the day before. Or the day before that. He was completely unaware of his surroundings, his memory, or even the time of day for that matter. All he could do was lie in the bed like he was in some kind of stasis; relegated to staring out of the window into the stormy city.

He tried to move, but the strange feeling of not having your muscles respond suddenly washed over him. He was completely stuck, again, like some kind of stasis. He was conscious and aware of his surroundings, but he just could not move a single muscle. He couldn't even move his mouth to possibly call for help. In fact, his vocal chords seemed to not work either. It was like he was imprisoned in his own furry body. It was the strangest feeling he had ever experienced, or one that he could still remember for that matter.

That strange feeling was quickly replaced by fear and confusion as something fuzzy wrapped around his chest.

"You awake hon?" a female voice asked sweetly and sleepily from behind him. He would have said something or gave the slightest bit of recognition that someone was speaking, but again, nothing would work. It was like he was frozen to the bed as the female arm slowly started to rub his chest. He could feel every hair being rustled by the thin paw, but could not do anything to stop it – implying he wanted it to stop in the first place.

It was starting to drive him up a wall. He couldn't remember his surroundings or his memory, he couldn't move a muscle even if his life depended on it, and now there was a female pressed up against his back, and the worst part was he couldn't even decipher who it was. He was completely unaware of everything, and it drove him nuts.

The female's breath suddenly washed over the back of his neck, and he instantly felt at ease for the first time since waking up. The scent of the female was a very pleasant, almost intoxicating aroma; something the vulpine instantly fell in love with. For some odd reason, he instantly fell in love with her scent, all of the curves on her figure that were tightly pressed against himself, and her beautiful voice that had only uttered three words. It was strangely infatuating to him, and although he didn't know who it was, he still felt calm and secure with her tightly holding on to him.

Yet, he still couldn't turn his head around to see who it was.

Then, it was like his body ran on auto pilot. He suddenly tore the covers off, picked himself out of the bed, then turned and walked towards the door. The weirdest part about it was that he wasn't the one doing it. He had no control. It was like there was a machine inside of him telling him exactly what to do, and although he was awake and alert, he couldn't do anything the machine didn't tell him to do. As much as his inner desired propelled him too, he couldn't turn his eyes just a tenth of a degree to possibly see who the female in the bed was. He wanted to yell, but nothing came out. He wanted to stop, but he just kept inching closer to the door. It was frustrating and, more predominantly, confusing.

He opened the bedroom door, then suddenly found himself gazing into a heavily occupied scientific research lab. It wasn't like a lab, but it was more of a communication room, with countless scientists in pure white lab coats scattered around the dark interior. Screens were lit up in a pale green glow, and the biggest screen towards the front of the room had a distinct linear path mapped out from one point to another.

"So far so good, eh boys?" one of the scientists asked with a chuckle.

"We're entering the system now," another announced.

James watched intently as the screen showcased a red dot, inching closer and closer to its intended destination. He instantly lost that sense of security the female in the bedroom had just given him moments ago. Something wasn't right about this room.

"Corneria is only a few hundred kilometers away," a different scientist said.

James' heartrate spiked.

The missile.

The vulpine wanted to explode right there. He was in the same room that caused all the hell. It suddenly flowed back to him. His seething rage, his inconsolable anger, and his passion to destroy all of his opposition flooded back. Yet, he still couldn't do anything about it. His body still would not allow him to snap.

He stared helplessly at the screen, watching the dot grow closer to his home world. Everything would end for him once that dot hit the marker, and he couldn't do a single thing about it. He wanted to close his eyes, but they were glued to the screen. His body would not allow him to look away to ease his pain. It was like he was torturing himself, and he still had no clue why.

He wanted to bark out again, but that eerie stasis-like state continued to plague him and prevent him from speaking out. He was inches from the truth, and couldn't move to get to it. As before, he was stopped in his tracks; disallowed to answer his own questions. It pained him to be this close but yet so far.

Suddenly the room started to fall into a state of panic. The scientists' mouths were moving, but for some odd and supernatural reason James couldn't hear a thing. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, and even that started to diminish. His heartbeat continued to slow, but his brain was still firing on all cylinders. He wanted to reach out. He wanted to hear what they were saying. He wanted the truth, but the truth was slowly starting to slip away. It was absolutely agonizing to be this close to answers, yet not being physically able to receive them.

Although he seemed to be a prisoner of his own body, he still could feel his body start to shut down. His heartrate lowered to a crawl, his near bestial desires were starting to evaporate almost entirely, and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. The dark room was starting to lighten up, and he himself started feeling the weight of stress lift off of his shoulders. He wanted to take in a breath of air, but his body would not allow him to. His beating heart became inaudible to himself, and it seemed as though he fell into weightlessness.

That was when his heart stopped.

His mind didn't.

James was surrounded by white. Pure white. Blinding white. It was excruciatingly bright; bright enough that he couldn't even decipher his surroundings. Just like the bedroom, he was in complete and helpless cluelessness.

And just like the bedroom, he heard one singular feminine voice, but this one was so brilliant and majestic it made the nonexistent ground shake and made the vulpine instantly freeze up.

"James."

That one word broke him from his prison. He was finally able to open his eyes, take in a breath of air, and was finally able to move again. He found himself on his knees, breathing heavily, sweating, but strangely and surprisingly calm. He managed to pick his muzzle up, then gazed upon a figure so bright and vivid that he couldn't help but have his maw unhinge. The figure was beautifully built and incredibly lovely to stare at, and the staring continued for what felt like hours to him, until it finally hit him like a sack of bricks.

He knew who was in the bedroom, calling his name and keeping him company.

He knew who was standing before him.

He shuddered in fear at the recognition of the female figure standing merely inches away from him.

Vixy.

The light around her faded, and although he was still enveloped in a room of white, he could still make out her frame perfectly. Her beautiful sky blue dress, her even cuter rusty red fur coated face and ears, her gorgeous body, and her tender smile; all were crystal clear. Although he finally had full control of his movements, he couldn't bring himself to use that ability out of pure fear and confusion.

Vixy knelt down to his level and brought her eyes within inches of his. "Stand up, James," she commanded calmly, and almost instantly he involuntarily sprang to his feet. Vixy let out a smile that made James' heart melt like ice in a microwave, then took another step forward after she too stood back up.

"Vix," James squeaked pitifully, locked into a gaze with her beautiful deep blue eyes. He was so overcome with emotion that he started to shed a few tears. Vixy placed a finger over his muzzle to stop him, then wiped the tears away from his face with her thumb.

"Why are you crying?" she asked.

"I…" James started, but couldn't bring himself to finish. He was just too overwhelmed with joy to even make his voice work, but plagued by sorrow and shame which prevented him from continuing his eye contact with her. He lowered his muzzle and continued to let the tears flow.

"There's no need to cry, James," Vixy said sweetly, rubbing her paw against James' cheek. The feeling was absolutely divine to him, almost as if she was the softest creature that had ever lived. Although he felt overjoyed he was with her again, he couldn't change the fact that he still was ashamed to be around her. He knew what he had done to her, and the fact that she was taking her sweet time in shaming him kept making his heart split even further.

"Vixy, I'm… I'm sorry," he managed to speak out, choking on tears and sorrow in the process.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked expectantly, but she might as well had just stabbed James with a sharp sword right in the heart. Oh, the torture she was putting him through was practically killing him from the inside. James struggled to swallow his guilt and sorrow and slowly picked his eyes up.

"I betrayed you," he announced, practically chocking on poison as he answered her. He couldn't believe the immense hatred he had towards himself. He just wished she would stop torturing him and just put an end to his emotional suffering. He wanted to end his emotional pain, but he knew Vix wasn't stupid enough to let him go so easily and abruptly. She would take her sweet ass time in making James feel the most regret he has ever felt in his entire life.

Vixy, to James' own surprise, giggled and nuzzled closer to him. "No you didn't," she corrected confidently, giving him a wink as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"…w-what?"

Vixy pressed her nose against his cheek. "You didn't turn on me, but what you did do was that you broke my heart. You broke Fox's too."

She had just made it worse. James let out a quiet sob and lowered his head in overwhelming sadness and shame, but Vixy picked his muzzle back up to face her again. She wasn't done just yet. Not by a long shot.

"I have to ask you… Why did you?" she asked, losing her cheerful smile and donning a concerned expression. Her deep blue eyes seemed to pierce right through James' soul as that question echoed in his mind. He tried to come up with an answer, but it seemed every answer he came up with in his mind seemed to get stuck in his throat and die before it even made it out of his muzzle.

James brought his eyes back up and stared at her, blatantly obvious that he had realized what she was doing to him. She was tapping into that little tiny bit of compassion he had that was buried ever since she had involuntarily left him, and trying to resurface it to make him realize why. She knew why, and she was forcing James to think the same.

"Vixy, I'm…"

"I know you're sorry," Vixy interrupted. "But are you really? Can you really be sorry for all the terrible things you've done?"

Again, James' heart fell. His guilt and regret was at an all-time high, and he was absolutely suffering from it. He couldn't disprove her to ease his heartache. Not even a little bit.

"James, do you realize what you've done?" she asked, prying his head up and holding his cheeks with her paws, not letting him look away from her. James struggled to respond, but instead nodded his head pitifully. He was downright miserable to be reduced into admitting his faults in such a humiliating and degrading way, but in Vixy's mindset, he deserved every second of it.

"And do you realize it was wrong?" she added. Again, James couldn't do anything else but nod. The tears started to return to his face as he was forced to admit his faults that had been blown open by the vixen standing before him. As much as he tried, he could not ease the pain of being proven wrong, and in the manner that he was. The pain he was feeling was worse than when he first realized Vixy was gone from the real world.

"And what are you going to do about it, James?" Vixy questioned. James again was speechless, and was struggling to keep in tears, let alone come up with a logical response. Vixy brought him in closer, then finally leaned forward and locked her lips with his.

It was like a bomb went off inside of him.

It tore him wide open.

The warmth, compassion, and overall love expressed towards him instantly snapped him out of his real-world angered state. The warmth of the kiss melted the tensions between him and the humans, the compassion eased his shame and guilt towards his loved ones that he had inadvertently deserted and broken his relationship with, and the love that was stemming through Vixy's body made James feel something that he hadn't felt in the longest time, and something he had needed since day one of the war.

An ability to think clearly.

The sudden ability to perceive without being hindered by outside interferences made James almost scream in realization of what he had done. All the terrible things he had done. All of the lies and deceit he had produced just to make up an excuse of getting revenge for his wife. They were all uncalled for. Every single one of them.

He caused the war. He caused all the death and destruction of his family and friends because of his inner desire to get back at the humans. He finally came to his senses about the lack of justification for his actions. It was senseless and uncalled for, just like everyone else had tried to convey to him, and he pushed it away because he could not accept the honest truth. It was an accident, but the sheer fact that he wanted to get revenge for Vixy made him not understand that key element.

He needed to pin the blame on someone, but in reality there was no one to pin it on. There was no one at fault.

It took Vixy herself to make James' instincts and rationality return.

It took the first victim of the war to make him realize there was no need for one.

When Vixy backed away, all James could see was a warm and proud expression plastered onto her muzzle. Her job had been completed, and he knew it.

"I will still love you, James," Vixy admitted sweetly, rubbing the back of her paw on his cheek. "No matter what you do, I'll still love you. But the fact that you did something so terrible and so evil as to kill innocent people just to ease your emotional pain… it broke my heart… it broke Fox's heart... …Do you want to fix that?"

"Of course," James replied instantly, but still shakily because of his tears.

Vixy lifted his head up again and stared into his eyes, bringing the tip of her nose inches away from his. "Promise me you'll fix this," she pleaded with her signature smile; the one James instantly fell in love with when he first met her. "I know you can, but will you?"

James finally let out a grin and nodded. "I will."

Vixy smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips against his once more. James closed his eyes and kept a hold of her head, tightly locking himself into a passionate kiss with the vixen. All of his tensions were long gone, and the feeling of determination and the inner desire to repair the damage done overtook him. But right now, he was locked into a deep and loving embrace with his wife, and did not want the moment to end. It was the first time in a long time that he felt genuinely loved, and he relished in the moment for as long as he could. As he backed away and opened his eyes back up, Vixy was gone. In fact, he opened his eyes to a completely different scene.

James found himself lying in a small medical room aboard the Great Fox. All of the lights were on, completely bathing his frame and the rest of the room in excruciatingly bright white light. His arms and ankles were strapped to the bed he was lying on by thin wire straps, and there were various IVs sticking out of his arms. He was completely bound to the bed, and there was no way of him getting out, even if he tried.

He couldn't try and escape at this point. He was absolutely stunned and dumbfounded at what had just transpired while he was out cold. He had an apparition; there was no doubt about it. He saw Vixy alive and breathing for the first time since she died, and instead of condemning the humans for killing her, she sympathized with them and made him feel the same. It was the right way of thought, yet he was too dense to realize it; and he knew it. He was wrong this whole time. The entire time.

He needed to get to Wolf. He had Fox, and the only way he was going to get him back was if he confessed to his wrongdoings. It wasn't because he wanted his kit back, since he knew he was safe in Wolf's care, but because it was what Vixy wanted from him. She wanted him to fix everything, and the first stop on his long way to reconstruction was apologizing to his family. Wolf was family, and like Vixy said, he pushed him away and did terrible things to his family. He let his impulsive reactions ruin his relationships with his family, and he needed to fix it as soon as he could get out of the damn hospital bed.

"How is he, doc?" Riley's faint voice resounded from beyond the main door. His voice got progressively louder towards the end, so James quickly shut his eyes to listen in without making a scene of his awareness.

"I'm not sure," the feminine voice of the doctor replied frankly, stepping into the med room. "He was perfectly fine when I examined him after the mission yesterday. I've never seen such a sharp swing in mental state before. He just… snapped."

"So he's not sick?"

"No, he just… lost his mind," she corrected. "Probably stress related. He just snapped so suddenly, it's still baffling to me."

"Do you know if he's got anything wrong with him? PTSD maybe?"

"It might be possible, but the only way for us to know for sure is if we transport him to Pepper's medical bay. His ship is more adequately equipped, and we were going to take him over there to run some tests… …Would you mind helping me taking him to the transport?"

"Of course," Riley answered, then not soon thereafter he felt the bonds on his wrists and ankles loosen. As soon as he felt the IVs leave his arms, he suddenly shot up and bolted from the med room. The doctor screamed in shock and terror while Riley instantly chased after him.

"James!" he squawked.

James slid to a stop in the middle of the hallway, and before the avian could slam into him he dropped to his knees and started breathing heavily into the floor. Instead of feeling the bird crash into him, he felt his wing start to rub his exposed back as he lowered his voice.

"James, are you alright?" Riley said in the most reassuring voice he could muster.

James caught his breath, then cranked his head around to Riley and stared at him shamefully.

"Riley… I…"

He let a long breath of air through his mouth and lowered his head, tilting his ears back behind his head.

"I fucked up."


I'm in love with an angel who's afraid of the light
Her halo is broken but there's fight in her eyes

Walls are built to keep us safe
Until they're crashing down
Words apart we were the same
Until you hit the ground

Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm weak
Maybe I'm blinded by what I see
You wanted a soldier, but it wasn't me
'Cause I could never set you free
So fly on your own
It's time I let you go
Go

*Theory of a Deadman – Angel* (If there is one song I'd recommend looking up, it's this one. My favorite song as of right now. 10/10)