.

Here's Chapter 9, basically what I didn't get to add onto Chapter 8. Basically, it shows a load of events that followed the ships destruction, leading up to the discovery of Founder number 3.

The bridge of The Survivor was silent, with only the voice being the Captain, speaking to Command over the communicator. Outside they could see the scattered remains of the destroyed warship floating in the void of space. The near death experience had had an effect on the whole crew, especially the younger, greener recruits, who had no experience of such events. Arguably, however, the Star Falco team was the most shaken up, only they had been refusing to speak of their experience.

When the Captain had finally ended his report to command, everyone on the bridge turned to face him. The Captain composed himself, ready to give the orders.

"Turn us around and bring us back to the planet," he ordered, his voice carried authority, but there was what sounded like doubt in his voice, "And have the Star Falco team assemble on the bridge in ten minutes."

When the Star Falco team finally arrived, they looked completely shaken, though they were trying to hide it. Falco stood in front of the Captain, his eyes were slightly wide and glazed, his mind was away, remembering when they encountered that…thing on the bridge, its horrid red eyes still chilled his spine.

"Captain Lombardi!" The avian immediately returned to where he was, standing in front of an officer who had no idea of what he had encountered.

"Since your team reported the ship Self-Destruction process had been activated, what did you exactly encounter on the Bridge?" asked the Captain, clearly desperate to hear what had happened on that ship.

"With all due respect Captain," began Falco, "I will inform you of what transpired, but only in private."

Falco was hoping to prevent fear and panic spreading through the ranks of the ship. The Captain's raised his left eyebrow out of curiosity, but guided the avian out of the bridge.

-x-x-x-

A tired and dripping wet vulpine crawled out of the sea and onto white sandy beach. When clear of the water, the vulpine collapsed to the floor. Fox slowly rolled onto his back; his eyes shut and began to take deep breaths. After all he had experienced, to rest for a short moment, just to catch his breath, was a luxury. Night was nearly upon him as the sky above darkened.

"Fox!"

The vulpine's eyes snapped wide open, he heard a voice call out his name. The voice itself, sounded familiar, like an angel. The exhausted vulpine forced his head to look in the direction of the voice. Running towards him across the beach was a vixen with dark blue and white fur, wearing a distinctive golden loincloth that was very familiar to Fox.

"Krystal…" he whispered in surprise, how did she know he would be here? The vulpine held out his hand to her, trying to reach her.

But she was no longer there; she had vanished with no trace she was even there at all. Fox closed his hand into a fist, and smashed it into the wet sand. Krystal had never been there at all, it had been a trick by his mind. Fox released a small growl as he stood up. His gazed locked on the city in front. With each heavy step, Fox walked towards the city.

-x-x-x-

General Peppy Hare sat in his private planetary transport, with an armed guard of four soldiers. Inside the transport was very little, there were a total of five chairs, two in front with three behind them. Peppy was sat in the middle chair on the back row, with the guards surrounding him. In front were three doors, one led to the cockpit, will the two side doors used for boarding.

The general was to attend a meeting with the famous vigilante group that was calling themselves the Kew Security Force. Though it was a nice thought to have some security on this planet, how they were able to assume such control was something of concern, or whether they could be trusted or not was also an important matter.

There was a slight shake as the ship gently rocked from turbulence, before they could feel the ship descending. A slight jump signalled they had landed; a soldier was quick to stand and open the left door. A small set of steps deployed from underneath the transport as the door opened.

Peppy and his armed guard quickly disembarked from the transport. The General used this time to get a good look of his surroundings as the other transports descended. He was standing in front of the large Nova-Corp Tower, with the structure itself still bearing the scars of the battle that took place here not long ago. The neon sign on the front was heavily damage, with the letters N, V and P missing. The plaza where the transport had landed was missing much of its surface, where the roof of the underground car park caved it.

Scattered around the plaza were men and women dressed in battered armour, and wielding weapons that had not been well maintained. However, despite the rugged look of the equipment, some of it was unfamiliar to Peppy, despite the visible condition; it would be wise to assume that the technology was far more advanced than much of the equipment used by the Cornerian Military.

The patrolling vigilantes were surprisingly ignorant at the presence of the Cornerian Military, with only a few sending the odd glance in their direction. Leaving the tower, was a group of three dressed in armour which was in very poor condition, and aside for the small pistols they had holstered on their belts, they were unarmed and walking towards the group of soldiers. The group consisted of a silver vixen, a dark green lizard and a golden jaguar.

Peppy could see some of his bodyguards tighten their grip on their weapons, despite giving strict orders not to fire unless fired on first; it wasn't hard to see that some of the troops were struggling to resist. The small group calmly and slowly approached the General until they were only a meter apart.

"Are you General Peppy Hare?" asked the Vixen in a calm tone, Peppy nodded his head. "Would you come with us, our Commander would like to talk to you."

Peppy thought over the offer, whether these people could be trusted or not was a mystery, but if they were willing to offer diplomacy, it would be a better option than starting a pointless conflict while they were already at war with the remains of Andross' forces.

"Very well," replied Peppy, the vixen nodded her head, and led the General and his bodyguards into the tower.

Inside the tower was in a much worse condition. Large sections of the numerous floors had been destroyed, leaving large piles rubble that was being cleared away by the troops. Laser scorch marks and bullet holes devastated the walls and floor. In the middle, was a large golden statue that was surrounded by scaffolding, with people wielding plasma cutter and powerful saws to cut off parts of the statue. The vixen led the General to the back of the tower to an elevator.

After the long elevator ride, General Peppy and his bodyguards were standing in what looked like the CEO's office, but had seen conflict. Large burns were spread across the walls and a few covered the floor. An empty conference table stood at the side of the room. At the back, the only sign of damage was the smashed window. Leaning against a desk that stood in front of the window, was a female Labrador wearing a battered but well maintained suit of armour. Beside her were several figures, all wearing similar apparel. The woman dismissed the group that had escorted the General and greeted them was a small smile.

"General Peppy, might I start by saying it is an honour to meet a hero such as yourself," she greeted, her pleasant tone was rather unsettling for Peppy, "I believe you are here due to our recent disposal of the Death Bringer Crime Syndicate."

"That, along with other things," replied Peppy. The woman pointed her hand at the table, gesturing him to sit, the hare complied but not without his suspicions. Both he and the woman sat down on two of the nearest chairs, while the others remained standing.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Becky, and what would you like to discuss?" asked the woman, again surprisingly welcoming.

"First of," began Peppy, "What exactly happened that forced you to destroy the heart of one of Lylat's most prosperous companies and kill it's CEO?"

"Well, long story short," began Becky, her posture was calm and relaxed, "Max Nova was an notorious crime lord, he was somehow able to take control of the street gang the Death Bringers, and used his business to convert them into a system wide crime organization, using his company as a front."

"Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" inquired Peppy, hoping to see how they would react. Surprisingly, Becky was still calm and placed a data disk in front of him.

"All of their info is stored on that little disc," she replied, "Please, take it."

Peppy picked up the disc and handed it to one of his bodyguards. The guard stashed it away inside pouch on his belt.

"Secondly, I see you are in possession in some very unique hardware, very advanced hardware I believe," said Peppy; he noticed the Labrador's eyes lids twitch slightly. "Would you kindly tell me where you were able to get hold of such equipment?"

"Did you hear of the Nova-Corp shipping yard that was destroyed along with medical supplies?" asked Becky in reply, Peppy nodded. "That was bullshit. It wasn't medical supplies that were destroyed; it was weapons from an unknown supplier. We were responsible for burning that place to the ground, but only after we helped ourselves to some of their goods."

Becky's body continued to be relaxed, although Peppy could see that she was slightly tense, whether this was from letting slip she was behind what was believed to be a terrorist attack, or that she was hiding something else, Peppy didn't know.

"Do you have any idea on who Nova's mysterious contact was?" asked Peppy, quickly getting an answer.

"We have been able to identify that they were receiving support from rogue venom forces." The last three words hit Peppy across the face hard, what were rebel forces doing supporting a crime gang? What benefit would this provide them? So many questions were coming to face Peppy, but so few answers existed.

"Excuse me General," asked Becky, Peppy snapped out of his trance, "Is that all you have to say, or do you have any more questions?"

"Actually," began Peppy, "I do have another question. Forgive me for saying, but your followers, are not soldiers, and for them to pull off such actions that would require highly trained soldiers. Did you not receive help yourself?"

This time, Becky wasn't so calm; her hands had tightened into fists and began to shake slightly. Her calm smile had vanished, replaced with a frown that looked rather stressed. Peppy had finally hit something, something that this woman didn't want to share. It was only after a few tense seconds did she finally reply.

"We were able to hire a few local mercenaries to aid and train us," she replied, though Peppy could see logic in her answer, it wasn't enough. According to the report he received, the vigilante uprising was planet wide, and for them to be successful would require a small army of mercenaries to train and fight alongside this 'militia'.

"How were you able to afford these mercenaries?" asked Peppy, unlike him, most mercenaries were often greedy, his former teammate, Pigma, who betrayed him and James over a few credits, was a prime example. So, local mercenaries here would not be very charitable.

"We..." began Becky, struggling to assemble answer, "agreed to pay them with what supplies they wanted from what we recovered."

Though it might seem a possible way of affording mercenaries if low on credits, Peppy could clearly see that it was a foolish method. Paying Mercenaries with equipment risked losing valuable equipment if the mercenary is killed or deserted. However, since it was a foolish method, Peppy could sense that this woman was smart, and someone like her would never consider such actions. She was hiding something, something Peppy couldn't squeeze out of her through word. Standing up, Peppy held out his hand to the canine. The young Labrador took his hand and shook it.

"This concludes our business, miss," said Peppy, rather pleasantly, "I hope we can speak in future."

"Yes...I hope so too," answered Becky, she was surprised their meeting had been this quick.

Peppy quickly spun on his heels to leave, his bodyguard swiftly following him like his shadow. As they wandered towards the exit of this battle scared skyscraper, Peppy's thoughts returned to the meeting, there was something off putting about the Labradors story, like she had been holding something back. Upon boarding his shuttle, Peppy spoke to one of the bodyguards.

"Contact Cornerian Intelligence,' commanded Peppy, "Have them monitor the vigilantes and gather any information on that towers mainframe.

-x-x-x-

The noises of Capital City, the capital of Corneria, roared across the atmosphere. They were something of a blessing for the tired, soaked and beaten vulpine, a reminder of what life used to like, something he took for granted a year ago. The wail of traffic and the sound of pedestrians walking and talking, along with the bright lights from the streets and buildings, made everything for Fox seem...normal.

The vulpine carefully slithered through alleyways and clambered over buildings, doing whatever it took to keep out of the public eye, trying to find a place of shelter. As Fox clambered up the side of a building, his right shoulder plate broke off from his armour. Upon reaching the buildings top, Fox analysed his armour. Despite the advanced assembly upon receiving it, all of his recent experiences had greatly worn down the armour, to a point that it was beginning to fall apart.

"I'll need new clothes," thought Fox, although armour provided better protection, it only worked when in one piece, and such an outfit would grab the attention of many people.

-x-x-x-

Falco was in the Captain's quarters with the canine officer. The quarters consisted of a single bed, with a wardrobe next to it, a small metal footlocker at the foot of the bed, and a small desk parallel to the bed. The Captain was sitting in the desks chair, his eyes were wide, and his mind trying to comprehend what the avian had told him.

"Are you sure that is what you witnessed?" asked the Captain for the third time.

"My whole team saw that thing on the bridge," Falco replied, his voice louder than normal, "What that things was, was responsible for the mascara that occurred on that wreck."

Even the Captain couldn't deny that it was the most logical answer, but it felt almost impossible. After all, how could something like that exist?

"When the General returns from Kew, you are to report this information directly to him. Is that understood?" commanded the Husky.

"Yes sir," replied Falco, he gave the officer a salute, receiving on in return, before leaving the Captain.

-x-x-x-

Fox stood in the pitch black alleyway, with the remains of his destroyed armour discarded across the cold pavement. He had raided a clothes shop for a new outfit, and was forced to quickly change in the alley. His new outfit consisted of a black hooded jacket, over a charcoal grey t-shirt, and a pair of dark blue jeans that were loose around the legs. Fox kept the boots and had removed the various pouches, straps and holsters, stashing them inside an old, tattered duffle bag he found on top of a garbage container in the alley. His rifle was stashed away inside the bag, and he hid his pistol inside his jacket. His credit chips were stashed amongst his various pockets.

The vulpine carefully placed the delicate bag over his shoulder, and pulled the hood over his head, before quietly creeping towards the alley's entrance. With the street completely clear, Fox turned left and walked down the street, looking for a place to rest.

-x-x-x-

A group of five panic struck individuals sprinted down a metal corridor, followed by the sounds of battle. Gunfire, explosions, dying screams, all of it echoed throughout the structure. The group consisted of a bright red vixen, wrapped up in a tattered T-shirt and trousers, with thin metal plates covering her chest, and a small pistol in her hands. A lime green cat wearing a heavily damaged suit of dirty, golden armour, with additional components fitted from the remains of broken equipment. A large golden shield was fitted to his left arm, and he had a short sword in his right hand. Its blade glisten red from the blood smeared across it.

A bright orange wolf wore a plain white shirt that was covered with muck, oil and had been burnt slightly and black tattered trousers over his legs. The broken remains of golden armour, that had been strapped together, covered his clothing. A poorly maintained rifle was in his hands. The fourth figures head was encased in in a helmet and gasmask, and wearing a black jacket over simple body armour, his trousers were dark grey and he wore black leather gloves over his hands. Like the wolf, he carried a rifle that was in a bad condition. The final person was a dark blue vulpine, wearing golden armour that had been scorched, bashed and blasted, with a dirty and tattered white cape covering his back. A golden helmet that was ruined from constant fighting was protecting his head. In his hands, was a Golden Staff, with the head split into three and blue gems decorating the pole.

The group raced through the corridors, regrouping with more of their kind as they withdrew from their attackers. They were retreating to the location of their final stand; it was inside a grand chamber. Unlike the rest of the facility, the walls were of rock, with towering metal supports built into them to support the ceiling and partially covered by plates of metal. The ceiling was completely covered by metal plates, with a dozen lights dangling from it. Three passages were connected to the chamber, with large makeshift barriers surrounding them. In the centre, was a large crystal, the rock had a flat base, with jagged edges that ran up the side of the crystal, creating individual tips at their ends, with top of the rock ending in a sharp point. Finally, the crystal glowed brightly a light blue colour, its light shining across the chamber.

Defending the chamber was the remains of the survivors, all had been routed by their attackers. There was a wide diversity in the species of the Survivors, ranging from mammals to reptiles, to avian's and even aquatic creatures. A majority of the survivors wore Golden Armour, which was ruined by laser burns and cracked from constant conflict. The remainder were dressed in the tattered remains of civilian clothes that had been covered with basic protective equipment, such as a chest guard and a helmet. Weaponry was also mixed; most of the survivors were equipped with golden staffs with colour jewels decorating them, the second most common form of weapon was the short sword. The swords had shining blades, although most of them had been soaked in crimson blood, and golden handles with a single sapphire implanted in the hilt. Finally, the last of the survivors were equipped with poorly repaired firearms.

The blue vulpine looked over his soldiers, if he could even call them that. He and his people had lost their homes and lives to their enemy, who ruthlessly and mercilessly hunted down and exterminated them. Most of his soldiers weren't even soldiers, they nothing but folk who had were forced to hold a weapon and defend their very existence. Since the loss of their home, he had led his people on an endless journey, trying to avoid death, and to find more survivors, including his lost sister, who he hoped had escaped death. The vulpine watched as the number of retreating survivors turned into a trickle, until no more returned, and the sounds of battle had faded.

"Marksmen, take your positions! Swordsmen, form your ranks behind the Marksmen!" bellowed the vulpine in a commanding tone. "We must defend the Soul Stone to the last man!"

The Marksmen took position behind the objects that could provide protection, all those armed with a staff or a gun was a Marksmen. The Swordsmen were equipped with their swords and shields, forming columns of 3, ready to repel their enemy should the Marksmen fail. The vulpine felt his senses tingle, he could feel their presence moving closer, hear their footsteps echo down the passages, and sense their thoughts, all consumed with destruction.

At the end of the middle passage, the vulpine saw the sight of their enemy. They blended into the darkness, with the exception of their glowing red eyes, capable of instilling fear into the strongest of warriors. They were armed with the strange weapons that the survivors had stolen from their dead kin. Without need of command, the Marksmen fired on their enemy. Their staffs' producing bright red sparks, while the others produced projectiles or bright sparks different to the staffs.

Two of their enemy were caught in their barrage and fell, before the rest produced sparks of energy of their own. Five of the survivors marksmen were hit, killed before their corpses hit the ground. A few swordsmen grabbed the weapons of their fallen brothers and sisters. More of their enemy started to appear in the other passages, trying to storm their barricade. By what was believed to be sheer luck, the survivors had been able to defend against their enemy, despite the casualties they took; their enemy had been unable to push through their defences.

The vulpine watched as his brothers and sisters in arms fell in battle, he was standing in front of the Soul Stone, using his staff to fire at the enemy from a distance, constantly switching between the three passages. No matter how many of their enemy died, more of them appeared in their place. Suddenly, there was a roar as a large fire ball erupted in front of the central barrier. The blast ripped apart the barrier, killing the marksmen in position behind it along with a several swords men. Their bloody bodies flung across the air, scattering across the chamber.

The vulpine watched both in horror and in anger as the enemy charged through their weakened defence. The swordsmen swiftly formed ranks, branding their shields in front before charging straight on. Their enemy projected beams of light that were blocked by the swordsmen shields, leaving smoking scorch marks. A few well placed shots avoided the shields, instead bringing down their victims to death, or on the edge of it. The swordsmen that survived bashed their shields against their enemy before striking at them with their swords; some went straight for the chest, trying to pierce the armour, while others tried to hack off the limbs. While the superior armour resisted much of the blows, the enemy struggled in the brutal close range attacks of the swordsmen. Only those from behind them were successful in striking them down. The vulpine readied his staff and leaped into the battle, projecting shots at the enemy before savagely striking at them with the staff.

Suddenly, more explosions appeared on both sides of the chamber, firing more marksmen and what few swordsmen remained away. The vulpine watched in horror as their enemy fired on their exposed flanks and rear, slaughtering many brave fighters from behind. The sudden attack broke apart the surviving defenders, as they scattered into three groups to repel their enemy. This dividing of forces sealed the outcome of the battle. As the swordsmen divided to attack their enemy, their numbers that had allowed them to defend the central passage, were no more. Within moments their enemy successfully eliminated many of the swordsmen, forcing them back to the Soul Stone.

One by one, a survivor dropped to the incoming attack waves of the enemy. The vulpine picked up the sword of a fallen swordsman, wielding it alongside his staff, using the staff to stun them, before using the sword to stab or hack off a limb. The vulpine thrust his staff into the chest of the nearest demon, before slashing across its neck, swiftly beheading his foe. The metal encased head disappeared into the battle, as the headless corpse slumped to the ground. Suddenly, the vulpine felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, the vulpine looked down to see a small black patch on his fur, just above his armour.

Another pain pierced his side, before another struck his chest armour. The vulpine looked around to see the enemy surround him, at least six of the fowl demons. The vulpine readied himself and swung out with his staff extended, stunning his targets before striking them with his sword, while desperately trying to avoid their own attacks. A sudden shot to the back critically injured the vulpine and sending him to the floor.

The demons immediately turned their attention away from the wounded vulpine, instead going for the Survivors that were still standing. The vulpine winced from the immense pain as he looked to see his comrades be slaughtered without mercy. He stared in horror when he saw the red vixen lying on the ground, clutching her abdominal as red blood leaked over her hand. The vulpine crawled as fast as his wounds would let him; the vixen spotted him and reached out with her hand. Her eyes were glossy and her cheeks were wet with tears.

The vulpine was within touching distance of his beloved vixen, he knew it was over and they needed each other's company. Their fingers were just millimetres apart when a Survivor wielding a staff was gunned down, a red spark erupted from the staff and zipping straight towards the vixen. The vulpine watched in horror as the spark burned into his vixens back, her body going limp and her dead eyes staring back at him.

The shock of watching her die broke the vulpine's heart, blinding him to the world around him, just as the last of the survivors fell. The silence drew him back to reality; he could see the demons casually stepping over the corpses of his fallen allies, checking to see if there were any alive. The vulpine felt the foot of a soldier kick him in the side, forcing him onto his back. The vulpine caught sight of the trooper, holding his weapon by the barrel. With a strong swing, the back of the weapon struck the vulpines head.

-x-x-x-

Fox McCloud pushed the door of basic apartment building on the capitals outskirts open. He could see a small desk next to a set of stairs, on his left were six chairs around a table next a corridor, while on his right were more chairs next to another corridor. The walls were a dirty grey colour and the red carpet underneath his feet was filthy.

Fox approached the desk, where an overweight tan bulldog, wearing a grey t-shirt, smoking a cigarette and reading an issue of Playbunny sat. The dog drew his eyes away from his magazine when he saw Fox approach.

"Need something?" asked the Bulldog, clearly annoyed that he had been drawn away from his entertainment.

"I want a room," spat Fox, pissed off with his attitude.

"Room cost forty credits; rent will be twenty credits a week."

Fox dug through his pockets to gather the needed credits and dropped them on the desk. The dog got up from his seat and plodded over to a cabinet on the back wall. He opened it and pulled out a key ring with a single plastic key card saying; 146. A sign next to the stairs had 51-300 next to an arrow pointing upwards.

It was only fifteen minutes when Fox reached the room marked 146. Using the card, he swiped the card against a sensor beside the door and it slide open. Inside, was a very small room, with a bed that had a bare mattress, with a dirty cover and pillow on top. Opposite the bed was a small table with a chair underneath, and a small window opposite the door. Finally, there was a door on Fox's left.

The vulpine opened the door to see a bathroom, in an appalling state. The tiles on the floor and walls were cracked, and there was grim around the base of the toilet and sink. The shower curtain was only half hanging from the railing and the inside also had grim along the sides.

The disgusted Fox shut the door and dumped his duffle bag on the bed. Its contents spilt out as he walked toward the window; he stared out at the centre of the capital, its gleaming skyscrapers and the amazing lights. But that wasn't what interested the troubled Vulpine.

-x-x-x-

Peppy had arrived back on Corneria, and was rushing through the corridors of the command centre before he was jumped by personal with questions, reports and other pointless paperwork. Officers and personal all tried to salute him but were ignored. Despite his age, Peppy had regained some of his active lifestyle, mainly to get to his office quickly before anyone stopped him.

The old hare opened the door to his office, only to be greeted by Colonel Silvers and Falco, both looks of impatience and anxiety carved into their faces. Silvers' eyes were wide and the muscles on his face were tense. His gloved hands were wrapped into tight fists and his ears flinched constantly. Falco was in a similar state, instead of the cocky, over-confident ace pilot Peppy knew, there was instead a nervous, alert avian that had a feeling of doubt around him.

"Colonel, care to explain..." began the General right before he was interrupted by the lupine.

"Apologies General, but while you were gone, certain events took place."

"What events?"

"A Venom Warship was detected drifting in Cornerian space, so we sent three ships to intercept," explain Silvers at a rapid speed, "Efforts to contact the ship failed, so Captain Lombardi and his team were part of a boarding party on the ship."

Peppy looked over at the strangely silent Falco, he eyes had been glancing between him and the Colonel but he had not yet spoken. Normally Falco would normally be boasting about such a deed, but why he was so quiet, was very worrying.

"Upon making contact with the crew, they discovered everyone had been slaughtered by an unknown threat,"

"Explain by unknown threat, Colonel," demanded Peppy, Silvers sighed and gripped the back of his neck with his left hand then letting it go.

"According to the reports," began Silvers, speaking more slowly, "All crew had been sliced part, literally, with no bodies or signs of an attacker. Except..."

"Except...what?"inquired Peppy, greatly annoyed that as one the highest ranking officer in the Cornerian Defence Force, he was being left out of the loop. A Venom Warship with a butchered crew had been detected, and none of his officers were willing to explain the details. Silvers sighed again before pointing over at Falco.

"Falco," boomed Peppy, the avian looked eyes with the aging hare, "What happened on that ship?" Falco eyes drifted away from Peppy to the wall opposite him, locked in a glare into deep space.

"We had travelled along the ship to the bridge: where it looked like it had been the last stand. Inside the bridge, above the door was a message."

Peppy remained silent, his mind fully focused on receiving and understanding the information he was being presented with.

"The message was written in blood, it said RUN. Next I find an officer bleeding over a working console. Only I discover that the ships self destruct had been activated and..."

Falco froze midsentence; the words needed to describe what had happened had deserted him. The traumatic recollection of that encounter on the bridge was fixed in his mind, refusing to leave.

"Falco!" the demanding tone of Peppy's voice brought him back, "What happened?"

Falco shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

-x-x-x-

Doctor Eden looked over his fellow founders; all had been summoned for another emergency meeting. Normally these meetings were of how the situation for the 'Grand Plan' had experienced any great changes, beneficial or not. The council room had dark grey walls, with bright white horizontal lights along the walls. In the middle, was a polished black circular table, three meters in diameter. In the middle, was a small triangular pyramid device, was a neon blue light on each face and a larger one at the top point. Ten seats sat around it with a small console in front, but only six of them were occupied.

On his right, was Admiral Siege. A war veteran from the Lylat Wars, he had achieved an outstanding reputation when he was a Commander, for successfully leading a battle scarred fleet in a counterattack after the remaining senior officers above him were killed off. Andross rewarded him a great promotion up to Admiral, but by then the war was at the end.

Next to the Admiral, was General Stone. Stone was also a veteran from the war, where he was a field Brigadier for a Special Forces unit, where his tactical brilliance combined with the unit's skill earned him many victories. That changed when he was wounded on Fichina and declared unfit for battle. However as a reward for his actions, Andross saw to it that he would be promoted to General.

Opposite the Doctor, was Gregory 'Greaser' Jones. A dark brown monkey wearing a pale blue jumpsuit that was filthy from grease and oil stains, and a pair of tinted goggles resting on messy head. Greaser was Ghost Company's chief engineer, being responsible for designing, manufacturing and enhancing equipment for the unit, along with researching and analysing new bits of technology to serve Ghost Company. The Doctor shared a bitter rivalry with Greaser, mainly due to Greaser favouring the use of machines instead of unique biological creations for war.

On Greaser's left, sat a hologram of Jonathan Pierce, a charcoal grey feline and the unit's chief supplier of experimental military grade equipment. Pierce owned one of the largest arms manufacturing companies in Lylat, from basic security equipment to powerful military weapons, vehicles and the like. In the Public eye, Pierce's most famous contract was chief supplier of the Cornerian Defence Force. This worked to the advantage of Ghost Company; system laws forbid extreme development of weapons without Cornerian consent. So as their primary supplier, Pierce was able to develop more powerful equipment for Ghost Company, under the guise of developing it for Corneria.

Finally, next to Pierce, was Ghost Company's spec ops agent, known as Phantom. Phantom was a silvery grey vulpine, with thick hair that covered but the thickest of scars across his face. His body was encased in a set of, aside for the number of scratches, well maintained combat armour that was personalised to suit him. A bandolier ran from his left shoulder to his right hip, a plaudron rest on his right shoulder, the armour on his forearms continued past the joint of his elbows, and a number of pouches ran along his hips. Very little about Phantom was known, including his name, what was known that he was originally a mercenary hired by Andross, used for assassination, espionage and sabotage. Apparently, he enjoyed working for Andross and enlisted into the Venom military, becoming a highly feared and well respected field agent.

Everyone was impatient, due to two missing Founders; one was a spy in the ranks of the Cornerian Military, who would not be attending the meeting. The other was a Field Colonel, who had joined Venom before the start of the Lylat wars. Originally, the Colonel originated from a tribe that lived on Venom. The tribes united to wage war with Venom Forces, but surrendered after much of their number were slaughtered.

However, the Colonel was unwilling to accept defeat; he murdered the war council and mascaraed many tribals and soldiers, before he was taken prisoner. His ferocity impressed Andross and offered him a place in his Military. While bitter for their defeat, he accepted upon viewing Venom as a force of power. Although his feats weren't as great as those of General Stone or Admiral Siege, he had successfully carved out a reputation.

"When will we begin this fucking meeting?" demanded Pierce, "I am taking a great risk here."

"We will begin when the last of us has arrived," shouted Stone, "And Pierce, I do believe our spy in the Cornerian Military is in far greater danger than you."

As if on cue, the door to the council room hissed open as it rose, revealing the last member for the meeting. The Colonel's entire body was covered with thick brown strands of hair. A pair of black pincers stuck out to reveal the location of his mouth, and above, two pairs of pitch black eye on top of each other, with another pair of eyes on each side of the bottom pair, giving a total of eight eyes.

He wore a black officer dress uniform, consisting of black shirt, with a black jacket lined with red trim. Black trousers covered his legs until they reached his polished shoes. His jacket and shirt had three pairs of sleeves going down them. Each one covered a hairy arm, leaving only the hands visible. The top and middle pairs of arms dangled loosely at his sides, while the bottom pair was behind his back.

"Ah, Colonel Arachnid, so good you could finally join us," greeted Siege.

"Apologies, my friends," began Arachnid, his voice was slightly high pitched and his pincers clicked as he spoke. He casually walked to the seat next to Greaser, bringing his bottom left arm to pull it away. "I was busy with tracking down those savages."

"You can fill us in on the details latter, but first more important business," announced Stone, he pressed a few buttons on the terminal in front, and a small hologram of Fox McCloud appeared in the centre of the table.

"As you're all aware, Fox McCloud is our primary concern. He escaped our hidden research facility on Venom and has begun a campaign of vengeance against us. Resulting it the deaths of fellow founders Max Nova, and Captain Vander." Briefed Stone, "Admittedly however, this is also partially our fault. Fox McCloud was a prisoner who we ourselves put forward for the 'Super Soldier Experimentation' Program. Despite the Programs failure, Fox McCloud was able to benefit in the form of several mutations that have devastating effects in the field."

"If I may speak Stone," interrupted Eden, "Even though the only stable subject this program produced is loose, I believe McCloud's DNA might hold the key to producing the super soldiers we need."

"I think Eden, that you have done enough damage with your 'mad experiments'," hissed Greaser, his voice was high pitched and a slight hiss to pronunciation, Eden sent death glares at Greaser. "I say, instead of using unpredictable creatures, we use machines. I have already developed suitable prosthetics and internal support systems to make wounded soldiers fit for duty. And I have been studying the subjects we captured during the conflict, and already I have designed new, more advanced prosthetics and cybernetic enhancements."

"So you want to use cyborgs to fulfil the Super Soldier Program?" inquired Siege.

"In a way, yes," replied Greaser with a wide grin.

"We will return to your offer later," announced Arachnid, "Now I would like to return to our primary issue McCloud."

"Agreed," Boomed Stone, "as you know, Vander's ship, The Dark Sun, was destroyed in Cornerian orbit. While no reports of any escape pods have been revealed, no doubt that McCloud is alive and on Corneria."

"Then I am in grave danger," Pierce spoke up, "If that asshole McCloud has gotten hold of any data from Vander or Nova, he will most likely identify and come after me next."

"Then we'll need to do away with McCloud before that happens," proposed Phantom, "I'll prepare ready for the hunt."

"No, Phantom," declared Siege firmly, Phantom stared at him agape, "You are not to hunt McCloud."

"You forget Siege," replied Phantom in a calm tone," I was Andross' favourite agent and still am the best in best in his military."

"Even your skills might not be able to handle the unpredictable behaviour of an abomination such as McCloud, and you will be required for operations in future," stated Stone. Phantom was visibly offended.

"Then what the fuck should we do then?" yelled Eden.

"What about the seekers?" proposed Greaser, Phantom stared at him in disgust.

"SEEKERS! THAT'S YOUR IDEA!? IT'S PATHETIC!" roared the enraged assassin, "They only see the hunt through calculations and fixed planning, never adapting or taking pleasure in it. THEY ARE USELESS!"

"Silence Phantom," demanded Arachnid, the angered vulpine glared at him, "I agree with Greaser, the Seekers should be able to eliminate McCloud. Provided Greaser equips them with effective equipment, of course."

"Oh, don't worry, I will," replied Greaser with a wider grin than before.

"Then that's it settled, we'll send some of the Seekers after Fox," concluded Stone, while they didn't say it, both Eden and Phantom were visibly angered.

"In the meantime, Pierce," suggested Siege, "I would hire some more protection."

"I think I now who," replied Pierce with a fiendish smile.

-x-x-x-

Peppy was trapped in his office, with his head resting in his hands. He was tired, all day something had been reported, including the recent recovery of an empty escape pod that had sunk, nearly a week after the warship incident. Outside, were personal trying to keep him informed with everything that happened. Though it was beneficial to know as much about a situation as possible, it was very stressful and very tiring for the old hare.

A sudden knock on door the forced him to lift his head, before Colonel Silvers and white/light-grey female husky entered his office. Despite not being given permission to enter, Peppy was too exhausted to enforce discipline anymore.

"What is it Colonel?" he asked, his voice weary.

"General, CI Agents have been able to recover this from the database at Nova-Corp tower," answered the Colonel rapidly.

The Husky showed the old hare a data disc, and he tilted his head to the computer on his desk. It took barely three minutes before a video clip was on screen.

"This was the only recording of the battle at the tower we could get, it cuts out at the end but there is something you need to see what happens, General," the Husky briefed him as she pressed play.

The video show a dozen thugs on a balcony, shooting at something off screen in the bottom left corner, where returning fire originated. Suddenly, a severed corpse flew into the recording, followed by a dashing orange blur that proceeded to rip apart the thugs one by one in quick succession, just before the video broke into static.

"Rewind it! Right before it cuts off!" commanded the shocked General.

The Husky did as commanded, returning the clip to before it was cut off, and froze the frame. Peppy leaned to look at the orange blur; very little detail could be seen, except what appeared to be bright red eyes.

"What the hell is that?" asked Peppy, in a demanding tone, while pointing at the blur.

"Not a fucking clue sir," answered Silvers, "but based on the description of what took place on the warship, I would guess that they are somehow connected."

Peppy just stared agape.

-x-x-x-

It was nearly midnight, as Fox was searching through all the stolen data for his next target. During the week, he had stolen a variety of supplies for himself, although he did leave the required credits to pay behind. He had taken a basic laptop to analyse the data, along with food. Two new weapons in the form of another pistol and shotgun complete with ammunition. Finally he had taken a set of tools and chemicals to make several explosives.

The vulpine continued to comb through the various bits of data, analysing each piece by piece, hoping to find something to catch his eye. Eventually, success arose upon selecting a message to Nova.

Nova,

You need to keep your pirates under control. I had sent a shipment of weapons sent for Vander to collect. Only for your pirates to attack and raid the entire supply ship. The other Founders are fuming over this; there is no way your thugs will be getting their new shipment. Especially considering they stole the weapons that were to be modified for their use.

I thought that Eden had brainwashed those retards into doing everything you said. If you can't control them, then they'll have to be put down.

Jonathan Pierce.

Jonathan Pierce. It was a name that was very familiar to Fox. It only hit when he notice the small title in the top right corner; Star-Tech Industries, the chief supplier of security and military grade equipment in Lylat. The Company's CEO, was a founder and member of Ghost Company.

Fox clenched his teeth together. How well had Ghost Company integrated itself the very society of Lylat? Shutting down the laptop, Fox walked towards his bed and threw himself on top. Tomorrow night, he was going send a message to Ghost Company, no matter whom or what they were, they would die, one way or the other.

-x-x-x-

Wolf O'Donnell sat in the control centre of Sargasso Space Station, cursing to himself. Upon hearing the news of Fox McCloud's death over a year ago, he felt strange, even though he would have loved to have been the one to kill him, he couldn't ignore the respect he had for him. Leon and Panther didn't care about the dead, Leon cared about nothing except causing pain, and Panther had been attempting to get Krystal spread across his bed, despite her pain.

Out of respect for Fox's memory, Wolf agreed to a deal to offer as little trouble for Star Falco as reality could go.

"Excuse me, Lord O'Donnell," said a nervous red ape.

"What?" growled the Lupine in his usual threatening tone.

"Uh..." gulped the ape, "it appears someone has a job for us, very good pay."

"How much?" asked Wolf.

"Fifty thousand credits a night."

"A night?"

"Yes it appears this person has been receiving death threats and would like the extra security."

"Who's the client?"

"Jonathan Pierce, of Star-Tech Industries."

Wolf's eyes widened upon hearing those words. If Pierce was desperate for protection, he might be able to earn some more powerful equipment.

"Tell him we'll do and get Leon and Panther here, now. We need to leave soon." he commanded.

-x-x-x-

Krystal and Katt were sitting outside their favourite coffee shop. They liked to meet up and talk about various things, such as life, fashion and their boyfriends. Now though, they hardly ever did these things, and to Katt, it was clear why. Krystal wasn't herself since her loss. She had lost everything before she met Fox, and even though there had been rocky patches, he was everything to her. Now he was gone, there was nothing in her life, and she struggled to move on.

"So Krystal," said Katt, "How's the flight instructor job going?"

"So-so," replied Krystal, "Most of my pilots struggle so they're moved around."

There was another silence as they sipped their coffee.

"How's the new team?" asked Krystal.

"There doing very well," replied Katt, being careful not to reveal too much about the warship incident. "Problem is though; we're not getting a lot of pay, so we can't afford a carrier for those long missions."

"Well, I'm sure something will turn up."

"Actually, Falco received a job offer for security for the CEO of Star-Tech Industries. So he wants to negotiate getting hold of carrier ship at last. Hey, why don't you come along? It would be nice to work together."

"Sure," replied Krystal, unenthusiastically.

"Great," said Katt pretending to not hear the unenthusiastic tone. "I'll let Falco know."

-x-x-x-

Fox walked through the soaking wet streets of Capital City as heavy rain down poured all around him. The hood of his jacket reduced much of reflected light off the drenched surfaces from illuminating his face. On his back was his duffle bag, loaded with the explosives, ammo and guns he would use. His pistols were in holsters fitted onto his belt.

Ahead, was the building he wanted. In front of him was a five story high building with and extended layout that was high as the second story. On the front of the building, was a sign with a bright blue star, with Star-Tech Industries.

Fox began plotting his attack, tonight the third Founder was going to die, and he would be a step closer to completing his revenge.

Ok I KNOW there has been a long wait but a load of shit has happened and since this Chapter was a pain, I struggled to cope. Anyway, if you were expecting something brilliant I am sorry for your disappointment.