Chapter 8: Wanted
Greyson had woken up from another restless night. "I guess I'm more homesick than I thought." The feline yawned, "Better get myself dressed."
After she is in uniform, Greyson steps out to take a walk around the base. She is somewhat surprised as to how big the base was, the hallway that she walked down was almost 20-feet high walkway tiled with a grayish blue color. The windows showed a beautiful view of a nearby city in the distance. "Wow, the view here is better than I imagined, especially at night. But Katina's is better."
The retriever soon found the lieutenant and hurried over to her. "Lieutenant!" The canine called out. Greyson looked over at the dog wondering what he wanted. "My apologies lieutenant." The canine saluted.
"Apologies? For what?"
"You have been stationed here for over a day and I never properly introduced you around here. Forgive me for my insolence."
"That's okay, you don't have to apologize." Greyson laughed, "You can still show me around."
"Thank you. My name is Sergeant Rivet Terrance." The retriever greeted.
"Lieutenant Jennifer Greyson. Nice to meet you sergeant."
"Now I'll introduce you to the one in charge of this base, follow me."
The feline nodded and followed the retriever. "Care to tell me a little about the guy in command here?"
"Well for starters, he has a rank of lieutenant also."
"There's another lieutenant here?" Greyson asked.
"Yes, in fact he was the one who wanted another lieutenant here."
"But why would he do that?"
"To take over that position once he gets his promotion…" The golden dog muttered.
"What was that?"
"N-nothing. His office isn't too far from here." The two reach the office of the hound. Terrance then knocks on the door.
"What is it?" A voice asked.
"It's me, the transfer you requested has arrived."
"Good, bring her in."
The sergeant opened the door allowing Greyson to enter the room first then follows closing the door. Greyson looked around and saw that the office had windows and a nice view of the outside. The room was for one thing larger than Summers' office on Katina. The place was a light metallic grayish blue color like the halls, a desk in the center of the room with a swivel red chair while there was a potted tree in each corner of the large windows. Greyson also saw a dark haired doberman hound at the window.
"You must be the new transfer, Greyson correct?" The doberman asked.
"Yes sir."
The doberman turned around and walked over to the cat. "I'm sorry it took so long for us to meet. Allow me to welcome you to Corneria. I am First Lieutenant Ratchet Serris."
"Nice to meet you. And since you already know my name I don't have to introduce myself."
"I prefer to know who I'm working with. I've heard about you and your battle record. It's impressive to say the least."
"Yeah well, it's not like that anymore. I did lose my ship."
"According to the records you never lost one in a space battle so I still consider that impressive."
"Thanks." Greyson had a close look at the hound's face and noticed the scar on his left cheek. "But mind if I ask why you requested another lieutenant to be transferred here? Is it because since it's your base you have more seniority and that you'll be able to boss me around?"
"Of course not." The doberman laughed, "I want you here to protect the base while I'm gone."
"Gone where?"
"Out on a mission to capture Starwolf."
"You're going to do that on your own?"
"That's right. However, it seems that even in the weakened state that they're in, they manage to still beat our forces." The retriever had an upset look on his face at that comment. "So I'll deal with this matter personally, but in the meantime, I don't want to risk losing this base to any enemies that might be lurking about. Who knows what Starwolf is capable of."
"I know a little of what he can do." Greyson thought to herself.
"We'll be staging an attack soon so until then you should rest up. Things tend to become real busy around here."
"Hm? You're going to attack now?"
"No, not now. But after we have our soldiers prepared first. I want us to go in at our best if we hope to stand a chance against them."
"Understood."
"Good, that is all. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir." Greyson saluted. The sergeant also saluted before opening the door and the two exit the room. The two continued to walk down the hall. "You said your name is Terrance, right?"
"That's right." The sergeant answered.
"I noticed that Serris had a scar on his face. And it doesn't look that old, do you know about it?"
"It was the Aparoids. When they attacked Corneria, this was one the places hit hard. They managed to get into the base and one of them cut the lieutenant's face."
"Wow, he must've been brave to take on the Aparoids on his own like that and in hand to hand combat."
"That was after the soldiers put up a valiant effort to stop them but…they were wiped out. A lot of brave men were sacrificed all because of…" Terrance said while clenching his fist.
"Because of what?" Greyson asked.
"Nevermind, it's all in the past. You better familiarize yourself around this place."
"Yes, and sergeant. I'm sorry if I upset you in any way."
"Don't worry yourself about it."
--
Kazufox was running through a forest on Corneria while in his Tri Bullet alter form and in his original clothes. Suddenly, two giant reddish metallic worm-like alters rose up from the ground and attacked. They lunged themselves at the alter fox but Kazufox avoids the one and jumps off the other and continues running. Then a flock of small violet alter birds attacked and started to peck at the intruding vulpine.
"Ow! I knew this wasn't going to be easy." He said trying to shake off the birds. They continued to attack with their razor sharp beaks cutting up his jacket. "Looks like there's only one way out of this one. Shocking First Bullet!"
The lower blade on Kazufox's back disintegrates and turns into energy and shoots him out away from the birds. Then a giant twin headed wingless dragon stomped through the trees and gave a loud roar. "Aw man, how many alters are in this forest?" Kazufox wondered. He had no time to think as the light gray dragon tried to cut up the fox with its large claws. Kazufox managed to duck underneath it and start running but then the dragon swiped him with its tail. Kazufox had blocked with his alter arm but he still went flying. He then gets his balance and continues running until he finds a small clearing. Tired and out of breath, the vulpine only walked until he found a large fountain.
"So this is where a large amount of alter power is kept. Well Wing, I hope you're right about this." He said to himself as he walked over to it. He stopped when he noticed that small drops of water was coming out and was going somewhere. "What's this?" He wondered noticing the drops becoming larger, "Only one way to find out."
He followed the trail of water drops as it continued to move to a source. Kazufox finds the water gathering together near what seemed like a small abandoned house. The water soon began to stand and take its form and there stood a creature made of dark matter that had looked almost of a canine breed of some kind but had a distinct appearance with a black right arm and a white left one. "Is this the thing that holds alter power?"
The mysterious figure gave a small cry and raised its arms to the side and then fired large bolts of lighting creating a large explosion decimating the old building. Kazufox managed to survive but he looked around and saw the crater filled with the bodies of some of the animals that lived in the forest. The figure then raised its arms into the air and with a loud cry, the animals' bodies began to disintegrate and become absorbed into the creature's hands.
"What are you doing!?" Kazufox demanded, "Leave these animals out of this!"
The figure didn't stop until the bodies were completely absorbed. It then looked over at the alter fox and stared for a short while. The creature then raised the white arm and started shooting dark lightning orbs at the vulpine. Kazufox jumped out of the way but only to be bombarded with even more energy bombs.
"I don't care if this thing is it or not, I'm not gonna let it beat me." He said to himself as he leaped into the air, "Terminating Second Bullet!!" The second blade turns into a rush of energy launching him at the figure. The creature only held up the black arm and blocked the attack and threw the fox back. "So, I see I have to get up close to get you." Kazufox said after he landed on his feet. He then charges at the figure as it gives out another cry shooting more lighting bombs at him. "Obliterating Last Bullet!!" Kazufox yelled out as the final blade changes into energy and launches him right at the creature but this time he was too close for the figure to block. Kazufox strikes the creature through the side of its chest and has his alter arm buried inside of it. The creature gave a loud cry of pain. "Got you now!" The fox said but then he realized that he was stuck. "Dammit, I can't move it!" Kazufox tugged and pulled as hard as he could and used his legs to push off the figure and break out but it was no good. The creature then brought the black arm to Kazufox's face and pointed into his left eye. Then suddenly, it shot an energy orb into Kazufox's eye blowing it out.
--
Kazufox yelped in pain as he quickly got up in bed covering his left eye with his hands. He soon realized that he was on the Great Fox. "It was all…just a dream…" He said to himself breathing hard. However, the fact was it wasn't a dream and it did really happen. He lost his left eye because of the creature but he had tore out one of its ribs. The bone then merged into his alter arm transforming it as well as forming a curved yellow propeller on his back and formed a new eye from where the left one was after Kazufox had rubbed the socket while having the rib still in his hand. It was because of that very incident he had gained a new alter, the Shell Shurigun. Fox entered the room a short while later.
"You're finally awake. Are you feeling okay?" Fox asked.
"I've been better."
"You were out for three days."
"Three days!? Man, I must've been tired." The younger vulpine said scratching his head, "But I had these strange dreams. But the one that seemed to be the realest was being on Fortuna and…" Kazufox's voice trailed off when he saw cut marks on his right arm. "Where did this…? Wait, we really were on Fortuna weren't we?"
Fox lowered his head, "It wasn't a dream."
"If that's the case then…" The alter fox then remembered everything in an instant up until the point after he destroyed Ralph's ship and remembering his last words, "Take care, little buddy…? No…No!! It can't be true! It just can't!" The fox yelled as tears started to stream down his face while he held his slashed arm. Fox didn't say anything else and just left the room. He saw Krystal waiting outside.
"Krystal?"
"I came by because I thought he had woken up."
"He did." Fox said solemnly.
"What is it?" Krystal asked worriedly.
"He remembers everything that happened and he isn't doing so well."
"Is it what Wolf did to him?"
"No, I've got a feeling it's something else that happened."
"Perhaps one of those thugs may have been his friends. It could be who Kite is."
"I'm not sure. But it's probably best if we leave him alone for a while."
--
The Sargasso space base was a wreck. There were scrap parts everywhere inside the base, several bridges and walkways had been demolished and the pirates had only damaged battle suits. The outside looked even worst as one of the engines at the bottom was severely damaged and the others had been hit almost as hard. Holes and burn marks from laser fire had been put all over the fortress after two days of battling against the Cornerian forces. It wasn't only just one group from a single base but multiple military commanders from all the nearby bases staging an assault to capture the Starwolf team. Wolf was nearly at his limit, with his Wolfen in bad shape from the constant fighting and lack of sleep. He knew that the only thing keeping them from being placed on trial that very moment was the power of the refined alters.
"Damn, they just don't know when to give up do they?" Wolf said to himself.
"Wolf, at this rate we'll be wiped." Panther said, "Perhaps we should pull back and think of a new strategy."
"We're not just gonna hand the base over to those mutts." Leon said.
"We're not but we have to think of something." Wolf said, "But since we haven't been able to repair any transfer gateways, things have been a lot more complicated."
"Hey, we could try to have supplies from the other hideouts sent to this one." Panther suggested.
"The military would take them out and find the location of our other hideouts." Leon protested.
"I know that but we have to do something." Said Wolf biting his thumb.
"We should split up and head to each of the hideouts and get the supplies we need." Leon said.
"The only problem with that is that if they happened to follow one of us then that person will be outnumbered."
"What do you propose we do?" Panther asked.
"The only thing I can think of right now is for all three of us to head to Volstra to restock on supplies and alter users then head over to one hideout at a time and gather more troops. That way, if we get jumped after we made our stop, our ships would be powered up to the point it wouldn't matter how many they sent."
"Great idea but when do you plan on us actually doing it?" Leon questioned.
"We'll just have to wait until we find an opening between attacks."
Suddenly the alarms began to go off. The remaining pirates scrambled to get to their battle stations while one on the upper level went over to the edge. "Boss! The Cornerian army came back!" The chimp pirate cried out.
"Tell everyone not to head to their ships." Wolf ordered. Leon and Panther looked at Wolf when he said that.
"Are you sure?" The pirate asked.
"Did I stutter? Now go do it! Tell them to be prepared should they enter the base!" Wolf commanded. The pirate then ran off to tell the others that were heading to their ships.
"Wolf, have you finally lost it?" Leon asked.
"We're low on troops and their ships are to damaged to do anything. They'll be able to handle things if those dogs get in here anyways. All we have to do is keep that number to a minimum." Wolf explained.
"I see, desperate times call for desperate measures." Panther said.
"Shut your trap and let's get to the Wolfens."
--
Fox was walking down to the medical room with a tray of food when he saw Krystal standing at the doorway. "How is he doing?" Fox asked.
"He's calmed down but I'm not sure if he's doing any better." Krystal answered.
"I brought him something to eat. You better get something yourself."
Krystal shook her head, "I'll be fine."
Fox enters the room and sees the alter fox sitting up in bed with an almost blank look in his face. Fox goes over to the bed and places the tray on Kazufox's lap.
"It's time to eat." Fox said, "You have to keep your strength up." He looked at the younger fox as he just looked at him then down at the tray of food. "I'll come back later." Fox said turning back toward the door.
"Fox." The alter vulpine called out.
Fox quickly turned back around, "What is it? Do you need something?"
"On Fortuna, I heard what Wolf was threatening you for. And I bet he told you about me and how I was with his pirate group."
"Yes, he mentioned that."
"But you still never told him where I was. Even if you knew you were going to die for that. Thanks."
"Sure." Fox said as he turned to the door and started walking out. When he walked out Krystal was still waiting by the door.
"Is he doing any better?" Krystal asked.
"Yeah, he's starting to talk now. But it'll be a while before he can put those things behind him."
--
Serris continued looking over his notes from an attack made on Starwolf. He had secretly been sending in spy ships to take pictures of the Wolfens and record each battle that had been going on. He looked over the pictures of the strange hands on one of the Wolfens and he figured that it was a secret power source for the ships. Once he had all of the recordings gathered, he pressed the call button on his desk turning on the monitor of a collie.
"Patch me through to the general. I've found some important information he would like to know."
"Right away." The collie soldier replied. The screen then changed to the Cornerian military insignia. A minute later, General Pepper was on the monitor.
"Yes, what is it?" The general asked.
"General Pepper sir, I have some important information in regards to the capture of Starwolf."
"Good, tell me what you have found."
"Well sir, I've discovered that Starwolf has somehow upgraded their ships with some sort of new energy source. I'm sending the data to you now."
Pepper had received the information that the doberman had sent but what had his interest were the images of the Wolfens and noticed red hands protruding from all over the ships. The general instantly realized what they were but kept a straight face about it.
"As you can see general, this new energy source that gave those pirates an extra power boost comes from these strange 'hands.' And not only that, but those 'hands' are even doing damage and destroying our ships."
"I see. You must make capturing Starwolf a first priority." The general said but then he remembered what he found in Summers' report about a powerful fox and how he believed that Starfox was holding onto a criminal, "No, instead I want you to do something else."
"General?"
"I want you to locate the Great Fox. There's an extremely dangerous criminal onboard but Fox and his team don't realize it yet. I will try and contact them and let them know of the circumstances while you and your men arrest this criminal."
Serris had realized that this direct order from the general himself was the best way to get a promotion and had eagerly answered, "Yes sir! Can you give me some information as to what this suspect looks like?"
"He is a young red fox. But don't be fooled about how young he might seem, he is extremely dangerous."
"I understand general." The lieutenant grinned. The monitor had went blank leaving the lieutenant to think to himself, "A direct order from the general himself to capture a dangerous criminal? This is what I've been waiting for! Yes, that's going to get me going pretty far in this army."
--
Summers was in the medical bay where the soldier they had found was still in a coma. He looked over at the life support which showed that he was alive and his breathing was slow yet stable. He could only wonder what the soldier was trying to tell him before he was shot and ended up in that condition. He also wondered how Greyson was doing on Corneria and hopefully staying out of trouble. While he was in the room, two other dog soldiers, one a collie and the other a dalmatian, were outside the doorway when they saw him.
"Man, the colonel hasn't really been the same." The collie soldier said.
"What do you mean?" The other soldier asked.
"Ever since the lieutenant got transferred to Corneria, he's been in kind of mopey around here."
"What are you saying?"
"Come on Dan, it's obvious he misses her."
"I don't know. Are you sure?" The dalmatian asked.
"Positive, wouldn't you feel that way if a girl you were close to left like that?"
"I guess you've got a point Steven. But I'd never thought that the lieutenant would go out with someone as stiff as the colonel."
"Yeah, I know. I just hope this doesn't affect how he plans to lead us into battle."
"I'll worry about that." Said a familiar voice. The two soldiers were startled because they knew who it was standing right behind them. They slowly looked back and saw that it was indeed the colonel. "But as for you two, what do you think you're accomplishing by talking about my personal life?"
"Colonel! How did you-I mean we're sorry sir!" Dan said in surprise.
"Yeah, we didn't mean to talk like that about you." The collie apologized.
"Well, you did and the lieutenant isn't here to help you out of this one. I want you two to handle cleaning out the bathrooms for a month. That way, you two can talk all you want."
"A month?" Steven asked.
"Want me to make it two?"
"N-no sir!"
"Then you'll start now." Summers commanded. The two soldiers turned around and started walking away.
"Man, he likes to do the janitor a lot of favors giving us his job." Steven mumbled.
"I know. It's bad enough he made Tyler and Zack do laundry just for finding the lieutenant eavesdropping again." Dan muttered.
"Two months!" Summers yelled out to them. The two then started running before he made it three. After the two were out of sight the wolf then sighed to himself, "Jennifer, I hope you know that you are partially responsible for the way these soldiers are acting. I seriously wish that these troops would spend more time training instead of goofing around." Summers thought to himself as he looked back at the hound soldier, "I don't know why but for some reason I keep having this bad feeling when every time I'm around here." The wolf then walked off heading towards his office.
--
Jetters was in an uproar knowing that the team he sent to recover the capsule containing Kazufox was missing. He continued to storm around the base consumed with bitter rage. All of the other soldiers knew better than to be in his way otherwise he would kill them like the one he already killed. The leopard was pacing around the base thinking to himself, "Dammit! How could this happen!? He was supposed to have been hidden even from any radar! When I find out who's responsible for this…I'll tear them apart!" Jetters then punched the steel wall with enough force to cause a big dent and that's without the use of his alter. "That kid's powers belong to me and only me! I won't allow anyone else to use him! I need strong alters like him or else my plan won't work!"
While the leopard continued with his fits of anger, the dark brown horse with a slight hue of green in his hair, Darian and the light gray mouse with fur that sticks out at some places, Suichi kept an eye on him while keeping their distance.
"I don't see what the big deal is." The mouse said, "He's been like this for the days!"
"I'm pretty sure that the capsule on Fortuna must have been important." Darian said.
"Yeah, no kidding. But what's the big deal about some recovery pod? We've got plenty of those here. And it's not like anyone can trace the parts to us."
"Maybe it's what was inside it that he was trying to get. Should we inform the general?"
"Nah, we'll see what it is he's looking for first. And speaking of which, shouldn't the general be waking up soon?"
"I guess, it's been a few days since he went into recovery but then again he did use a lot of his power with Solar."
"Yeah, yeah I know. But I just don't like it here on this snowball of a planet."
"I hear ya."
--
Krystal had decided to pay a visit to Kazufox to see if he was doing any better or to somehow try and cheer him up. She thought about bringing Slippy to try and lighten things up but maybe it wasn't the best time. The blue fox was standing outside of the door not really knowing what to expect. She took a deep breath before she went in the room. She entered the room and found out that it was pretty much still the same. The strange capsule she found him in was missing from the floor and Kazufox was sitting up in bed with an empty in front of him. The blue vixen walked over and sat down in a chair next to the bed.
"How are you feeling? Any better?" Krystal asked.
"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better." Kazufox answered.
"I see you have quite an appetite."
"Yeah well, I haven't really had much to eat for a while."
"What happened to the capsule?"
"Fox and Slippy took it out of here."
"Oh, I see. Would you mind telling me where you lived? Before what happened with Wolf?"
"Huh? Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious about where you were living at before-"
"I was a space pirate?" Krystal looked up at the young fox. "Listen, I know you guys probably already knew about that so you don't have to be so surprised. So, do you plan on turning me in to the military?"
"No. You did help us find Wolf's base after all."
"To be honest, I didn't know where the base even was. I'm pretty sure Wolf didn't know about it either." The was a brief moment of silence before Kazufox spoke again, "And to answer your question, I come from Corneria."
"Would you care to tell me about it?"
"Sure. It's a big deserty area. At first, it was a pretty bad place, a dump. Living outside of the city. Not really a place of luxury."
"Weren't you able to get any help from the city?"
"Not with the wall they had built around it." The male fox laughed, "But then something happened. After something happened that destroyed the city, things changed and now everyone, whether they lived in the city or not are now working together to make things better."
"I'm glad things are turning out better for everyone down there."
"What about you? I'm pretty sure it's not anywhere near here because blue fur isn't really a common fox color."
"You're right, I'm not from around here." Krystal answered, "I'm from a planet called Cerinia."
"Cerinia? I bet it was probably a beautiful planet."
"It was. It was very beautiful." Krystal said before lowering her head a little, "Until it was destroyed…"
"Destroyed?" Kazufox asked surprised, "But who? How?"
"I'm not too sure how it happened but…my home planet was destroyed and I was on my own ever since. Well, until I found Fox or better yet until he found me."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. Can you tell me if you have any family back home?"
"Yeah, I did have an older brother and there's this girl I know who's kind of like a kid sister. But it's not like were blood related or anything."
"Do you miss them?"
"Yeah, sometimes. But not really my brother since I know he can handle himself. It's the other one I'm worried about."
"Why not go back to her?"
"I can't…" Kazufox said clenching his fist remembering how Serena had been kidnapped and how he was powerless to stop it.
Krystal noticed the fox's hands shaking, "I'm sorry, I won't ask anymore about it."
"When can I have my blaster back?"
"Very soon." Krystal answered. When she said that, Kazufox slowly turned away from her, "I gave you my word that I would give it back to you and I'll keep it." The alter fox looked back and nodded. "You know, I also knew someone named Kite."
"Really?"
"Yes, it was on the planet Sauria, where I met Fox. The Kite I knew was a Cloudrunner and he helped me out a lot."
"The Kite I was friends with helped me out a lot too, but he was also from Corneria. Tell me more about the one you know."
Krystal then smiled knowing that she had managed to cheer up the vulpine, "It was a few years ago when this happened. I was out on my own searching across the galaxy until I reached the planet Sauria…"
--
Peppy walks to the bridge where he finds ROB at the controls doing a system scan on the ship. "ROB, how have things been going?"
"Everything has been working at optimal efficiency." The robot responded, "You don't plan to fly the Great Fox anytime soon, do you?"
"Nope." The hare laughed, "I promise I wouldn't try anything like that ever again."
"Good, then we will have a longer efficient status. Incoming message."
"A message? Play it." Peppy ordered. Pepper's image appeared on the screen. "General Pepper, how are you feeling?"
"Hello again Peppy, I'm holding out but this is an emergency." The old hound said.
"An emergency? I'll contact Fox and-"
"No. It's best if Fox doesn't know about this, at least right now." The general said. Peppy looked up at the general concerned wondering what emergency could be so big that he didn't want Fox and the others to know. "First I need to know, is there a young fox boy in the ship?"
"A boy? Yes, there is a young man onboard, why?"
"Peppy, there's something you should know about him…"
--
Krystal continued telling Kazufox about the adventures she had on the dinosaur planet, how she was trapped, how she met up with Fox and how she ended up joining the Starfox team.
"Wow, that's pretty cool." The alter fox said.
"Yes, things were quite exciting." Krystal smiled.
"Krystal, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Before I do, you need to promise me something else. That you won't tell anyone about this, not even Fox."
"Don't worry I won't tell."
"Promise?"
"I swear it."
"Good." Kazufox said taking a deep breath, "Krystal, when I first met you, I knew there was something different about you that made you stand out from the others. Did Cerinians have any powers or anything?"
"Yes, we have telepathic abilities but what does that have to do with anything?"
"I mentioned earlier how I lived on the outer walls of the city. There's a reason for that. The truth is because I'm an alter user and that means that I'm labeled as a criminal. We're known as outcasts."
"Why?"
"Just because we're powerful and different. You see, my alter changes my arm and I can tell you that I've been on the run for a long time." The vulpine explained, "I figured that because of your telepathic abilities that you would've already figured out about my powers. I know you and the others were watching but you're the only one who's similar to me."
"Is this why you left Corneria?"
"No, I have…other reasons. But there's something else you should know. That military you thought was so good and fought bravely for what's right? Those bastards would capture us and use us in experiments."
Krystal gasped in shock of the news, "That's horrible!"
"That's not the worst of it. They take the captured alters and do a refinement process on them and when they do, it kills the person they experiment on. And I'm sure Fox told you about masked fighters down on Fortuna, right?" Krystal nods her head. "They…are the result of the experiments. To be lifeless dolls…They can't even think for themselves! But in some cases, they manage to keep the personality but it really messes with their heads. They don't know who's their enemy or not, they just listen to whatever those dogs have to say."
"That's…that's so awful!"
"What's done is done. Remember about what happened to the city? After it fell, the government stopped trying to capture us since there wasn't any way to get in contact with the Lost Ground."
"Lost Ground?"
"Yeah, that's where I live. It's a large island not marked on any map. You mean you don't know anything about it?"
The blue fox shook her head, "No, we had no idea such a place existed."
"It does, and there was plenty of hell to pay during those times…" Kazufox said. He then felt some wet drops on the bed and looked over to see tears coming from Krystal's eyes.
"I can't believe that you went through all that by yourself."
"You don't have to cry about it. Things are getting better sown there now, I told you that."
"But still, how could they do something so cruel?"
"It's all in the past now. But you can't tell anyone anything I just said, understand?" Krystal wipes the tears from her eyes and nods her head. "You better wash yourself up. No point in just crying over someone else's problems."
"No, there isn't." The vixen said getting up taking the empty food tray, "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here to talk."
"Thanks Krystal." Kazufox smiled. Krystal gave a smile back and turned around to leave the room. After the door had shut, the alter fox laid back in bed wondering if he did the right thing in trusting Krystal with something that could have him locked up for good. He soon pushed the thought of it to the side and figured that he could trust her but then another thought had crossed through his mind, "It's all in the past…but why can't I put mine behind me?" He turned over in bed and remembered about his feline friend and got up from bed. He saw a new change of clothes for him on a chair. "Looks like there's only one place for me head to next…" The vulpine thought to himeslf getting the new change of clothes.
--
Back at the Cornerian base, Greyson looked around seeing most of the soldiers mobilizing preparing for battle. She figured that this would be the last attack they would be making on Starwolf. She figured that she should get herself ready too but then Serris called her to his office. The feline found her way around to Serris' office and went in.
"Lieutenant Greyson, I'm glad you're here." The doberman greeted while fixing his uniform in his mirror that he keeps by the wall.
"Serris, if you plan on us attacking Starwolf then why did you call me here now?" Greyson wondered.
"About that," The canine said turning towards her, "there's been a slight change in plans. I'm putting you incharge of the base while I'm gone."
The cat looked at him with a surprised look on her face, "Are you sure you can handle things-" She began to say but then she remembered that this was the opportunity she was waiting for, to have the base to herself, "I understand."
"Good. Tell the guards to prepare the solitary confinement cells and have it ready to be transported on my return. I have a feeling that this catch is going to be the big one."
"Understood." Greyson saluted. She then turned around and left the room.
"Yes, a very big catch." Serris grinned, "And I won't take any chances with you around to steal my spotlight."
--
Falco roams around the halls of the Great Fox thinking to himself how boring and dull things have gotten. "Aw man, this is so boring! The only action we had was that battle on Fortuna with those strange flying thing." Falco yawned, "Man, I wish things would start getting more exciting, otherwise I might have to go out and find some action on my own." Falco continued wondering around until he saw Krystal looking somewhat down and decides to head over to her. "Hey Krystal!" Falco called out but he didn't get an answer. Krystal was thinking about the things that Kazufox had told her and couldn't get it out of her mind.
"He said he lived a harsh life being chased by the Cornerian military for his power." Krystal thought to herself, "But he's still so young."
"Hello? Is anybody home?"
Krystal awoke from her thoughts and looked up to see Falco behind her, "Oh, Falco. I didn't know you were there."
"You and Fox have something else in common." Falco sighed, "Anyways, what's up? You look like something's bothering you?"
"Oh it's nothing! Nothing at all." Krystal said knowing that she made a promise not to tell, "Have you seen Fox anywhere?"
"No, but he's probably with Slippy right now still checking that capsule thing." The avian answered.
"Thanks." Krystal said as she hurried off to find Fox.
"Wonder what's up with her?" The falcon wondered then he shrugged and turned the other way, "It's none of my business to find out anyways."
"Falco." A voice called out to him.
"Huh? Who's that?"
"Falco, it's me." Peppy said looking around cautiously.
"Hey old man, what is it?"
"Falco, you have to listen to what I have to say!"
"Settle down Peppy, what is it?"
"We're all in grave danger."
"We're what!?" Falco said in surprise, "I better tell the others."
"There's no time. And trust me, it would be best if Fox and the others didn't know."
Falco stares at the old hare for a moment then nods his head, "Okay, I'm listening."
--
"Slippy, were you able to find anything about where this thing came from?" Fox asked.
Slippy continued working on taking apart the stasis pod that Krystal had found Kazufox in on Fortuna. Most of its parts were scattered on the ground of the research and development room of the Great Fox which wasn't as good as some of the Cornerian labs but better than some. "Nothing really." Slippy answered, "All these parts are from different planets."
"Which ones?"
"From planets like Corneria, MacBeth, Titania and even Fortuna too." The amphibian informed, "Someone put in a lot of work building this thing."
"So you can't find where it came from, are you able to find out who made it? Was it Andross'? Or did the Cornerians build it?"
"I can't tell you for sure. But my guess is that this is something Andross might cook up."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, the strange liquid inside is made to heal only certain types of DNA. Mainly the type of DNA that Kazufox has. But it doesn't explain how he got inside in the first place."
The doors opened and Krystal walked into the room, "Fox, could I talk to you?"
"I'll be out in a minute."
"It's important. This can't wait."
Fox looked up at Krystal and saw a look in her eyes that told him something was wrong. He turned back to Slippy, "Hey Slippy, I'll be right back. Let me know if you find out anything new."
"Sure thing."
The door slid shut as Fox followed Krystal out of the room.
"Fox, what you said about the military after Kazufox, I think you're right about it." Krystal said.
"How do you know?" Fox asked.
"He told me himself. He lived on Corneria and was probably chased off and that's how he ended up with Wolf."
"That would explain a lot." Fox said remembering what Wolf had told him about alter users, "It's because he's an alter user isn't it?"
"How did you know?"
"Wolf told me. He knew about them and he told me about how they have powerful abilities. I can see why Andross would want to get his hands on them but why would the Cornerian government?"
"They…" Krystal started to explain.
"Fox!" Peppy called out.
"Peppy, what is it?"
"Fox, I need to know where that fox boy that's here is at."
"I'm right here." Kazufox said walking down from another hallway, "And I have a name you know."
By this point, Slippy had heard several voices from outside and decided to see what was going on. He steps out and sees everyone.
"Kazufox, are you sure you're well enough to walk on your own?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine don't worry about me." The alter vulpine said, "Hey, you're Peppy, right?"
"Yes, I am." The hare replied.
"It's nice to meet ya. Krystal told me about you and how you were with Starfox for a long time." Kazufox said walking over. He then extended his hand to shake the old hare's but Peppy seemed to be a little hesitant but then shook the vulpine's hand anyways.
"What's the matter?" Kazufox asked stepping back, "You act like you've got something to hide."
"No, it's nothing."
"A fleet of Cornerian ships is approaching." ROB said over the ships intercom.
"Oh no…not now!" Peppy though,"What are they even doing here?"
"But why would a fleet being heading to the Great Fox for?" Slippy wondered.
It didn't take Kazufox long to figure out the reason Peppy was so hesitant, "You…You did this didn't you!?" Kazufox yelled out. Fox and the others were confused about what was going on and turned to Peppy. "You old bastard! You called them on me, didn't you? Well!?" Kazufox yelled as he formed his Tri Bullet alter with his hair stood up except for one strand and his left eye sealed shut, he stepped closer to Peppy, "You knew about me and that's why you called them, didn't you!?"
"Now calm down, there's no need for any violence now." Peppy said while he stepped back."
"Kazufox, stop!" Fox ordered, "Peppy, what in the world is going on?"
"I can tell you, he's working for those Cornerian dogs! All he wants to do is turn me over to the damn government. And if that's the case then, I'll end things right here and now!"
Suddenly, a humming noise was heard then a green charged blast hits Kazufox in the back on the blades knocking him on the ground. The others saw this and turned to see where the shot came from and they find Falco with his blaster.
"Falco! Why did you do that!?" Slippy screamed.
"Oh no, Kazufox!" Krystal said as she went over to the vulpine finding him motionless on the ground.
"Falco!" Fox said grabbing the bird's flight suit and pushed him to the wall, "Why did you do it, huh!? He's still a kid."
"It's not like he can handle worst, and in case you didn't notice, that kid was about to attack Peppy." Falco explained, "Is that what you wanted?"
"What's going on?" Slippy cried out in all the confusion.
"I'll explain everything." Peppy said, "That young man there is an extremely dangerous criminal. Believe it or not, he happens to have incredible destructive powers because he is something known as an alter user."
"So what does that have to do with anything?" Slippy asked.
"He's highly unstable mentally, and physically and can cause a great amount of damage in an instant."
"Is that why you came here?" Fox questioned, "Was it about capturing him!?"
"No it wasn't." Peppy said shaking his head, "I had no problems with him even if he wasn't an alter user. Pepper was the one who contacted me and told me everything. It wasn't until I found out what he had done before that made him such a threat that I began to worry."
"If it's about him working for Wolf, we already know that."
"It's more than that." Falco said.
"Falco!" Krystal called out, "You knew about this too?"
"I told Falco the same story you're all hearing."
"But why didn't you tell me?" Fox asked.
"Because I know you Fox. And after what you told me on Fortuna, I knew you would try to protect him since you felt like it was your fault." The hare said, "That persona as an innocent looking young man is all a lie. He has earned the name 'the Strongarm Fox' because of his powers."
"But what made the Cornerian government find him so dangerous?" Slippy asked.
"It's because of the destruction he caused. Pepper showed me the images of Cornerian bases, airports, and even small towns destroyed all by this young man here. Fortunately, there weren't any civilian casualties." Peppy explained, "And what was worst was when Pepper showed me the recording on the attack he made on one base and left no survivors. But what really had me worried was that this fox here had the look of death in his eyes, the eyes of a cold-blooded killer. That was when I decided that he needed to be stopped and put to justice because I didn't want that to happen here. But I never called in the Cornerian military for any kind of backup or anything!"
"But there's no reason to go and try something like th-" Krystal began to say but she was cut off when Kazufox and jumped up and grabbed Krystal from behind by wrapping his left arm around her neck and holding his alter arm close to her face.
"Krystal!" Slippy cried.
"So…you think you know everything about me, huh?" Kazufox asked keeping a firm grip on his captive, "I can't believe you ate all those lies. Then again, you did work for those bastards and it's obvious you still do! And about Wolf, I worked for that cyclops just so I could find something important. When I found out he didn't have anything I was looking for, I decided to make my exit and sure he tried to kill me but somehow, I escaped. And that's when I found you guys. You helped me and after Fortuna, I'm pretty sure all of you knew what I was capable of. And when you could've just turned me in…you didn't. I started to think that I could trust you guys."
"But you can-" Fox began to say.
"Shut up! I see you guys just didn't know about the dirt that your government put on me seems to make you think I'm the bad guy, or that I go around destroying bases just for fun." Kazufox said glaring at Peppy then turning back at Fox, "What that general of yours didn't mention was that they tried to arrest me before I even did anything wrong because of my power. Because it looks like that they even surprised you with how much they want their hands on me. And it's because of this arm-no, because of those bastards! My best friend…is dead."
Those last words took everyone by surprise and before anyone could say or do anything else, Kazufox punches a hole in the floor and falls down while still holding Krystal.
"Krystal!" Fox yelled.
"We have to stop him!" Falco said before taking off heading to the lower levels of the ship.
--
Krystal looks around and finds herself on the lower levels of the ship and Kazufox standing near her.
"Are you okay?" The alter fox asked. Krystal nods her head. "Good." Kazufox said before releasing her and heading off.
"Wait!" Krystal called out as she followed, "Where are you going?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I can't stay here anymore. So I'm gonna borrow one of your ships."
"But you'll be killed if you try and fly out now!"
"And I'll kill you if you try and stop me."
"Kazufox, you don't have to go. It doesn't have to be this way, can't we find a way to work something out?"
At that point, Kazufox stops and turns towards Krystal, "The only real difference between you being labeled as an alter user or not is the fact we come from different planets! Other than that, there's nothing. So enjoy your freedom while you have it."
Krystal wanted to say something but she could only watch as Kazufox started running off toward the hangar. A minute later Falco ran over to her.
"Krystal, are you alright?" The avian asked.
"Yes, but we have to stop him!"
"Don't have to tell me twice."
"No! I mean he plans on taking an Arwing!"
"What? But he'll get himself killed!"
"That's why we have to stop him!"
"I'll contact Fox."
--
"He's going to what!?" Fox yelled into his communicator.
"You heard me right, Krystal says that the kid plans on taking an Arwing out of here." Falco's voice responded.
"But he'll be killed." Slippy said, "We have to do something!"
"I know but what? Hey, where did Peppy go?" Fox wondered as he looked around finding that the hare was nowhere to be seen.
--
Peppy hurries to the bridge and sees that a fleet of ships approaching. "ROB, contact the lead ship!" Peppy ordered. The image of a dark haired doberman hound dog appeared on the screen. Fox and Slippy soon entered the room. "What in Lylat were you thinking!?" Peppy demanded, "I told Pepper not to send any reinforcements! Call off this attack immediately!"
"Sorry, but the general has taken extra precautions and wants us to capture him."
"You fool!" Peppy screamed, "Things would've worked better if you didn't show up! Now we've got trouble on our hands because of you showing up here!"
"Damage detected in docking bay." ROB reported. On a side screen, it showed Kazufox tearing through one of the arms holding an Arwing in place. "One of the Arwings is online."
"So he plans on heading our way?" Serris mused to himself, "Launch all fighters!"
"What are you doing now!?" Peppy yelled out.
"I plan on taking him in one way or the other."
"You'll kill him if you do this!" Fox said.
"If that's the case then so be it." The doberman replied.
"If I knew this was what it would come down to…I would have never agreed to help in his capture!"
"I'll let the general know that you at least put an effort in capturing him even if it was an unsuccessful one." Serris said before the connection was lost.
"Wait!" Peppy yelled, "That arrogant little…Fox, I had no intentions of things getting out of hand like this. You've got to believe me."
"I know Peppy." Fox said, "But the least we can do is help out. After all, I'm still alive because he helped me. ROB, move the Great Fox away from the Cornerian ships!"
"Fox, I'm sorry." Peppy said.
--
Kazufox finished tearing off the arm holding one of the Arwings and jumps into the ship he had started up. He saw how similar the controls were to the Wolfens almost exact. He started up the engine and was about to head out but the hangar doors were still closed tight. He figured that the only way he would get through is to blast his way out but then the doors open on their own. Kazufox was a little surprised but then figured that there would be a lot of ships out there waiting for him and since he had the best fighter ship out of the group, he'd figure he would be fine as long as he doesn't try to fight. The Great Fox had changed course and was heading out from Corneria's orbit and away from the swarm of Cornerian fighters on Fox's orders.
"It's now or never." Kazufox said to himself as he fires up the boosters.