Ch.5: Destrophy

"Hey! Slow down!" Rojas ran to catch up to Cyn that had been walking through the forest toward the Rail Guns position.

"Well then pick up the pace. If we don't hurry we won't be able to catch up," Cyn was walking at a fast pace, much quicker then usual. Both of them had been up for about a half hour and were continuing their mission to hunt down what command now called "Destrophy".

In the early days of Venom, there was a huge hunt to kill a man who no one had known and no one had ever heard of. This man had been slaughtering people and stealing items without anyone being able to find out until they found them, dead or gone. Destrophy was a Venom word for the mysterious killer. Unfortunately the hunt was unsuccessful and no one ever knew what had become of him, "If we are going to catch up to Destrophy we need to get the led out."

"hmp!"

"What?"

"Well it's exactly like we signed up for this."

"At least the pay is good," Cyn said

"Yeah, but still, if we do finally catch up to this Destrophy character what makes you think we will be able to kill him?" Rojas was calmer now, and slightly more mentally prepared for the journey.

"Nothing," Cyn replied.

"Nothing?" Rojas asked confirming what he had heard.

"You and I will are going to do our jobs. That's all there is to it," Cyn stepped over a log, "What do you think Rojas?"

Rojas was somewhat stunned. It wasn't very often that Cyn had asked him questions. It had always been the other way around, "If Destrophy is anything like the Venom legend he will just disappear without a trace. Leaving us to clean up the mess he made. If he is more advanced fighter and smarter then the legend himself, then he will probably kill us both," Rojas jumped the log that Cyn just made it over and he noticed that Cyn was staring at him, "What? What is it? What? Is there a bug on me!?!"

"I think that's the smartest thing that I have ever heard you say. Until that last part that is."

"What can I say? I think I am beginning to accept the way that life is going for me."

"Good," Cyn said, "the sooner that you accept it, the easier it will be."

"I guess I'm no used to see dead bodies. But seeing them makes me really want not to end up with the same fate that they did. I am still a little scared though," for the first time ever Rojas spoke with sense and clarity.

"Good," Cyn stepped on a twig and it snapped half scaring him, "fear is good."

"How's that?" asked Rojas.

"Fear is what keeps you tentative. It makes you expect things are going to go wrong. And above all it keeps you alive," Cyn answered, "You're probably correct too."

"About what?"

"If Destrophy is anything like the legend he will just disappear. Or like you said, kill us. Judging by what had hit 2-6, Destrophy has a lot of firepower with him… or her. So relax. If it was like I was saying earlier if he decides to strike, you won't feel thing," Cyn said.

"Yeah but… wait did you say girl?"

"Well it's possible right?" Cyn offered his theory to Rojas.

"Sure it is. Yeah of course!"

"But it probably isn't," Cyn said, "It could be a machine too. With all the advances it technology we could be hunting something that is way stronger, faster and smarter then both of us put together."

"But that can't be either," Rojas said, "If Destrophy were a machine, it would have probably been to the destination by now. It would have probably have already killed us by now too. And I think the radar would be able to track such an object moving through the forest like that. We probably would have found him by now too. What ever is out there is being careful. Plus remember, Destrophy was talking through the radio. So that rules out robot I think. I mean we don't even know if we are on the right track."

"We do now," Cyn leaned over and looked in the dirt, "Look at this," he brushed some leaves and out of the way, "It looks like a boot print. But it doesn't match any of the standard tracks of any of our men," he looked closer, "Its fresh too. No longer then 6 hours old."

"So that means we are going the right way. Should we tell command?" Rojas reached for the radio.

"Yeah, I think that would be best. Give it here," Cyn took the radio from Rojas, "Command this is 1-3," they both listened for a reply. But nothing came. Cyn tried again, "Command this is 1-3, can anyone hear us?" Once again nothing came.

Rojas looked over the radio, "What's wrong with this thing? The battery is good, but almost none of the circuits are operational."

"Military equipment… always works, put it down, it's fried," Cyn let the radio drop to the ground, "The moisture must have gotten to it. These things aren't really meant for extreme use."

"So we're on our own now?" Rojas asked.

"Seems that way right now, let's keep moving."

"Cool."

"Yeah, you just keep thinking that Rojas!"

"Well what else do we do?" Rojas asked, "If we do manage to catch up to Destrophy, what do you want to do?"

"I want you…" Cyn paused, "To fire like mad and kill him, it, her… what ever."

"And if I fail?" Rojas asked.

"Then we both die," Cyn answered without thought or question in his own mind. Cyn had already accepted the fact that he would probably not survive this next mission. And knowing how cowardly Rojas was, Rojas would still probably survive. He would most likely run. Leaving Cyn behind to fight Destrophy, oh well Cyn would fight Destrophy and he would most likely lose.

"What do you think it's going to be like when we fight him?" Rojas directed his question to Cyn.

"Rojas? Do you really want to know my opinion?" Cyn answered Rojas's question with another.

"Yeah, I do."

Cyn sighed, "We are going in, we will probably meet him at one point or another and we will most likely lose."

Cyn's thought started Rojas. Rojas wasn't ready to deal with death, "You really think we are going to lose?"

Cyn nodded, "Yup."

"And you're ok with this?"

"Nope, but something tells me yet that we have an advantage," I have something that Destrophy doesn't!"

"What's that?"

"I have a good felling," Cyn joked but Rojas hated it.

"That's it? That's all? All we have to go one is a boot print and your good feeling?" Rojas grew agitated with his comrade.

"Yeah. That's the way it is, deal with it!"

The artificial lights came on in the Fox's quarters, where the vixen slept. She slowly woke and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. For some reason she slept very well the past night. But still wasn't used to the schedule that the Great Fox ran by. She sat up in the bed and pulled Fox's crumpled sweater back over her stomach. Then the vixen suddenly remembered, "Fox!" She whispered.

She placed her paws on her head and searched though the mind waves off all the others and placed her thoughts. It was so hard to find his thought waves, she had been trained while she was on Cerinia but the vixen was still young when it had been destroyed she still would have had some techniques to learn to help her sharpen her sixth sense and it would have become more accurate. But it was still good enough, and it would have to do.

"How's Fox?" Krystal jumped. And turned to the door were Peppy held a tray with a small mug, "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's quiet alright Peppy. But… I haven't found him this morning yet though. Is this bad?"

"That's ok. It's still early for you. Try some of this. I don't know if you had it on Cerinia but here we call it coffee," Peppy place the tray on the nightstand, "Be careful it might still be a little hot."

Krystal grabbed the mug from the tray and smelled the new the substance. It had a very pleasing aroma and the warmth of the mug felt nice against her paws. She slowly drew he lips to the edge of the cup and sipped some of it out. It was still very warm but it felt good to had something hot in the morning, "It might take a while to get used too. We use it to wake our selves up in the morning. It contains the element caffeine. It makes the body hyperactive, that is if you have too much of it."

Krystal sipped it once again. The first few were stale and strong. But after a few more drinks it became very pleasing, "Thank you," she said. She held the warm mug with paws wrapped around it, "I would like to learn more about this Fox McCloud. I understand that you were like a father to him," she didn't know why but she eager to learn about him. He thought differently from the others and had a very interesting history so far. She was intrigued.

Peppy laughed and pulled a chair out from under the vulpine's desk and sat down. "Yeah I guess that is true. Once his father died I helped him. I figured it was the least I could do for him. Fox came to live with me in my apartment until he was 18. He had dropped out of the Army Academy when he was 17. He went back to finish but naturally his marks weren't as good as they had used to be. But he still graduated," Peppy leaned back into the chair and continued, "He has a good spirit and a strong will. I couldn't believe that he was even strong enough to go back to the Academy. This ship is his too. Fox had inherited it from his father after he died. Of course he couldn't actually own it until he was 18, so I put my name on the contract until he was old enough. So I am his father in a way."

"What about his mother? What had happened to her?" Krystal asked.

"When Fox was but a kit of 13 years of age his mother had died in an automobile accident. The police classified the death as suspicious at the least. Mercenaries often had to keep a low profile because the enemy could harm their friends and family. Fox's mother was later found to be killed by the evil scientist now know as Andross. This is when the government, lacking a better word 'banished' him from Corneria."

"I am very sorry to hear that," the vixen said, "Is this what happens when you are convicted of murder at Corneria?"

The hare shook his head, "No, not most the time, Andross had a very sketchy history and had been often convicted of others things such as unsafe biological experiments. After the investigators classified her death as murder he was simply removed from planet Corneria. This is what had started the War. Andross swore to take revenge on James and on Fox and on the entire Lylat system. That's what happens when you let vengeance get the best of you."

"Interesting, what is it that you mercenaries do?" Krystal asked.

Peppy touched his paw tips together as if he was about to make a big decision, "A mercenary is someone who gets paid by the government for handling issues or conflicts that the Army isn't trained for. Because mercenaries don't have uniforms and often carry concealed weapons. It is much more media and civilization friendly. You have to pass a vigorous training course to get a Concealed Weapons Permit. None of the rest of us on the ship has it. Fox is the only one. His dad had it too, it is extremely hard to acquire. Of course we all still have our second class permit."

"I see," Krystal said and took another drink of coffee.

"When the public see large fleets of craft coming and going and Military uniforms on the street, it makes them worry and sometimes panic. So people like Fox, Falco, Slippy and at one time myself are paid to keep a low profile while still doing a military classified job. It gives the public an illusion of peace. But mercenaries are almost always combat ready. It is very rare you see Fox without his fathers Blaster. He usually only takes it off when he is sent on peace keeping missions like the one on Dinosaur Planet or when he goes down to the surface of Corneria. Even then he carries it with his luggage or concealed on his person somewhere. This is perfectly legal as long as he carries his Concealed Firearms Permit with him and if he only uses the weapon for considerable situations. If it weren't for Fox being a mercenary, I hate to say it but you would still be up on top of Krazoa Palace trapped in that crystal. But as you can probably tell we have not received a great deal of cash in a long time."

"So Fox is armed all the time?"

"Yes mostly. In his days at the Academy he also received piloting lessons. He got his pilots license when he 16. By 17 he was a seasoned pilot that could even keep up to his father. Plus he had Special Forces training."

"Special Forces, like with weapons?"

"Kind of, Special Forces are mentally and physically trained to perfection. Yes, Special Forces can assess situations and quickly find a solution, to even the most tight situations," Peppy said, "this is why I think he will make it out."

"Yes, I noticed that he thought very logically, except around me," Krystal giggled.

"Haha," Peppy laughed, "yes that's a bit of his father wearing into him."

"Tell me more about these Special Forces."

"Alright," Peppy said, "Fox himself was trained mainly as a sniper."

"A sniper?" Krystal looked at Peppy in question.

"Indeed, a sniper is a person who scouts out areas from a great distance with a powerful weapon called a sniper rifle. This weapon can be used to kill targets from kilometers away without the enemy being able to detect the shooter. But often snipers don't need to pull the trigger. They are there for security and observation reasons," Peppy cleared his throat, "Fox is a crack shot and he doesn't often miss what he is aiming at."

"Hmm," Krystal thought

"Is there anything else you wanted to know?" Peppy asked.

"Has he been trained in any other ways?"

"Of course," Peppy rambled, "Fox is a born leader. You must pass a course called LTC witch simply means Leadership Training Course. This is one of the courses needed to get your Concealed Weapons Permit. Of course Fox was a natural leader and he soared through it and got his permit."

"What is this course like?" Krystal was still filled with questions.

"I never went there myself but as I have been told, it was in a simulated environment. The simulation tested you leadership and commanding while you were in combat. Only 1 of every 10 soldiers is able to pass the test."

Krystal thought about the test that the military had put the vulpine through, it sounded even more difficult then the Krazoa tests, "Fox must be very intelligent," she complimented him to Peppy.

"Indeed he is. But he is especially talented behind the controls of the Arwing."

"Oh?" Krystal said it as if it were a question.

"Though he is not quite as talented as Falco, Fox thinks straighter. This makes him a little more coordinated and focused. He was the one to defeat Andross on Venom so many years ago after all."

"Yes… but he seems completely normal."

"It is truly amazing. Though he has lost his parents, trained hard and has the life of a mercenary, when he is on Corneria he seams to be a regular person. He doesn't dwell on the past," Peppy complimented Fox.

"Fox is quite the gentlemen as well," Krystal had noticed this almost right away about the vulpine. It was true too.

"I don't know how he pulled himself together," Peppy paused, "But yes he is normal and very polite. Why do you want to know all this?"

Krystal back arched so she sat up straight on Fox's bed. She had been caught off guard by the question, "Oh! No reason."

"Haha," Peppy chuckled. Krystal was embarrassed. She had not thought of the fact that the others may become suspicious of her curiosity over Fox. All she wanted to know was his background. But as she learned more about him, she just became more interested, "That all?" Peppy asked.

"Just one more thing…" Krystal paused and wondered if it was the appropriate time and place to ask the question. But Peppy seemed like he was the type with all the answers, "how would one go about to join team Starfox?"

"Uh huh, are you taking Fox up on his offer?" Peppy smiled.

The vixen nodded, "I don't want to just join the team. I want to earn my way on. I don't want to be let on just because you pity me."

"Ok, that's fine but you are still young. By the Cornerian standards you are still a minor. But I will see what I can do. Fortunately you are old enough to get your pilots license and well I can train you aboard the Great Fox for your Firearms Permit. If you want you can come down to the range sometime today and I can put you through the course. If you would like, that is. I am afraid you may not be able to get your Concealed Firearms Permit. But perhaps Fox could pull some strings. His father and he have gained a lot of respect. If you get your Firearms Permit you can challenge the test for the Concealed Firearms Permit," Peppy offered.

"That would be nice. I would like to do whatever I can to fit in with the rest of the team."

"The test won't be easy Krystal. I'm sure Fox can help you pass. I believe he is due to renew his anyway," Peppy said in order to comfort Krystal, "If you get this you may surpass even Falco!"

Krystal giggled, "It would be nice to show him up for once!"

"Falco is cocky, but he is a good pilot. Don't take anything he says to seriously," said Peppy, "So are you up to get your Firearms license? I can issue it to you right after you pass you know?"

"I would love to Peppy. Thank you. I would like to fit in at Corneria too."

"Yes I understand. I'm sure when Fox comers back he can take you shopping too," Peppy rose from the chair and pushed it back under the desk, "How about I meet you at the range at 1 o'clock?"

"Thank you Peppy. That will give me some time to find Fox," Krystal said as Peppy strolled out the door toward the bridge. Krystal closed her eyes, she learned some new things about Fox and now it would make him a little easier to find. It wasn't long before she pinpointed his thought waves. Yes, he was still alive and he was slowly but surely making it to what the Team had called the AA gun. She finished the coffee in the mug and licked her lips. She placed to mug on the tray. There was something else down on the planet, something that was hunting another. Krystal shook her head and thought nothing of it. If the planet was anything like Sauria, there were often hunts for food among the tribes.

She whispered, to herself, "James McCloud…" Krystal took the computer that sat on Fox's desk. She pressed buttons on it trying to remember how to turn it on. She had remembered a certain key on the panel. She tapped it and the screen lit up. Krystal assessed the keys and tried to learn how to use them.

When the password came up. She tried typing keys in attempts the spell the word JamesMcCloud. But they were all so foreign. She tried several times but each time she tried. It failed again. She pressed the one button that she had become familiar with to turn the machine off and on. Krystal felt like she had failed. But still she was slowly learning.

She got up from the bed and headed towards the door. It was still early to meet Peppy but she wanted to get to know her way around the ship.

"17 kilometers out!" Fox said to himself. It had surprised him how far he had moved in such an insurmountable amount of time. He hadn't seen any troops since his encounter with the armored vehicle. It was odd but it was good. Each step he took was one step closer to getting out. Fox was exhausted. He didn't get the rest needed to fuel him since he was last on Sauria. But he knew he had to get out and that it would be tough. It was mid afternoon now and Fox had decided to stop and sleep the rest of the day. It was not the smartest thing to do in the middle of the day but he analyzed it as safe since he hadn't seen enemy patrols for hours. Besides he would be able to gain way more distance in the night. He had remained active since very early this morning and had continued on the whole day and once he would fall asleep it would be dark out again.

The fox ultimately had to find a good spot some were that no one would think to look. The vulpine turned his head into the trees above and started climbing until he was slightly out of sight of the ground. He lay down across a branch with his arms supporting him ensuring he would not fall off. He soon drifted into a state of relaxation and rest.

"This is a standard C Class Blaster," Peppy plucked it from the table of the armory, "The first thing you need to know is how to handle a weapon. So we will start small. I don't know if it different on your planet but we treat our weapons with great care and respect they deserve. Always treat a weapon as if it were loaded. And most importantly never point it at anyone," Peppy handed the pistol to the vixen grip first.

She could tell that this was a very important matter. She reached out her hand and put a firm grip on the Blaster. Peppy continued, "Point the Blaster down range, as you may have already noticed there are two ridicules, the front and the rear sights. You must line these up with your target. Do you understand how these sights work?"

She lifted the Blaster grasping it in both paws and looked down the top of the weapon. She widened her stance, "Yes I think I do."

"Good," Peppy said, "now when you are ready, please pull the trigger at the targets half way down the range. It helps to take a breath and hold it there. It steadies your shot. The gun has slight recoil so be ready to feel a pressure in your palms when you pull the trigger."

Krystal nodded and did just as Peppy said. She tightened her gaze on the small target breathed in and pulled to trigger 3 times. The first 2 missed their mark but the last found its target and washed across it. Making it melt. Krystal smiled. She was very pleased with her progress.

"Well done. The more practice you get in the more accurate your grouping will become," Peppy complimented, "Take off a few more shots," Krystal lifted Blaster once again and fired 7 more shots down range. All but 3 hit their marks, "Now do you notice that there is a safety switch on the left side just above the pistol grip? Please switch it to the 'on' position," Krystal did just so and set the Blaster back down on the Armory table.

"Is that all?" She asked Peppy.

Peppy laughed, "No you must be trained with some larger weapons to receive your Firearms Permit too," he strolled over to a locker and quickly typed in the digital code, "This is a sniper rifle."

"That's what I saw Fox with!" She exclaimed, "But I thought it was something else. Like similar to my Staff."

"Yes, this is the exact same model that he uses. It is called the LSR2. It packs quite a punch and behind the trained eye such as McCloud's, it can take down targets from farther then 2 kilometers away," Peppy opened the bolt and inspected the gun, "It has a 15x scope and isn't afraid to kill on contact. This is an extremely dangerous weapon. You must handle it with the utmost care."

Peppy closed the bolt and handed the rifle to Krystal. It was much heavier then she imagined and her arm dropped down a little when he dropped it into her paws, "There are two different kinds of round for this rifle. A shredder round isn't as powerful as a tracer round but most snipers prefer to use the smaller shredders over the tracers. So we will start you off with the shredder bullets."

Peppy put a fabric strap lined with 5 shredder rounds on the table, "Now, you will notice that this weapon is not as easy to operate as the Class C Blaster. There is a small lever on the right side called a bolt. You may now pull this bolt up and back to expose the chamber. At the front of the chamber is a hole that you will load a bullet into. Please do so."

Krystal nodded and placed the shredder round into the chamber. She then assumed that the next thing to do would be to close the bolt. "Good, you may want to use the bipod to stabilize your shot. Put the butt of the gun securely into your shoulder and put your cheek to the stalk. There is a touchy distance that your eye should be away from the scope for you to get the entire effect of it," Peppy then warmed her, "Don't have your eye right up to the scope when you fire!"

Krystal moved her cheek up and down the stalk of the rifle, "I see," She said. Krystal was fascinated with how the rifle scope worked. It was so much easier to see targets at the end of the range. But it was hard to stay steady.

"The scope is set to the standards of Fox McCloud, so you may need to adjust. When you are ready to pull the trigger, do so," Peppy looked to the very end of the range, "Oh yeah and one more thing you should be aware of. This sniper used a large round so there is a fair amount of recoil, so be ready."

Krystal focused her eyes on the targets at the end of the range. Though it was not realistic distance to achieve the full ability of the sniper, it was a start. The target moved up and down with the scope until the vixen remembered to hold her breath. Even after she did so, it was still very hard to keep the ridicule steady on the target. She fired. The sniper kicked her in the shoulder quite a lot harder then she would have expected and the shredder missed the target. She leaned it down an rubbed her shoulder, it didn't hurt but she could defiantly feel that something had hit her.

"It's alright, it takes practice. Now pull the action back and the spent shell will automatically pop out of the rifle. The down side is that the rifle requires manual reloading after each shot. Now that you know how, you may load another shredder round into the gun."

"Ok," she said. Krystal pulled the lever back and jumped as the empty she casing flew through the air and bounced to the floor. Peppy laughed at her, "It must hurt after you fire more shots," she said.

"I remember that Fox had a dead arm the first time he came home to his father's house from his first day learning to fire it. Go ahead and try again," Peppy said.

Krystal tried again. She held the butt of the weapon closer to her shoulder so it wouldn't buck her as hard. Her paw fluttered over the trigger until she decided to fire. She felt the gun kick and the scope jumped as the recoil took effect. The shell missed its mark once again. She was a little disappointed.

"That's ok Krystal. The sniper rifle is one of if not the hardest to use weapons in the Corneria Arsenal. It takes a lot of practice. Especially using the LSR2 at extreme distances," Peppy said.

The vixen put another shell into the gun just like Peppy had taught her earlier. The scope to her eye, Krystal spotted another target and slowly pressed the trigger. The silencer on the sniper snipped as the round powered down range once again to miss the target. Krystal spent each last round of the shredder rounds and the shells fell to the floor. When it came to the last one she concentrated hard and fired. The target popped and Krystal smiled inside.

"Now, this is a tracer round. It packs more of a punch then the others. Snipers can often aim for the weak spots on the most powerful of vehicles and destroy them in one shot of it hits either the fuel tank or another source of power," Peppy handed her a single bullet.

Krystal took the bullet and placed it into the chamber of the sniper. It only looked slightly different from the others. It was a bit longer and instead of a round tip the tracer round had a aggressively spiked tip. She put her eye to the scope once again and focused on another target. She breathed in and fired. The rifle bucked her in the shoulder and the bipod slightly jumped off the table where it had rest but the shell had clearly missed its target and pounded a large hole into the protective shielding of the backstop of the range, "Wow," She said, "This is hard," she rubbed her arm.

Peppy nodded, "Yes it takes some getting used to, behind the eye of a well trained marksman it can be one of the most deadly weapons ever. Fox himself can hit can hit all the targets at the very end of the range without the bipod. He simply stands there and picks them off one by one. It had taken him a great deal of practice for him to get that far."

"It must have," Krystal thought allowed. She only hit one target and she had the sniper to rest on the bipod too. If Fox could hit all of them just standing, he must be good. It made her happy that she was still learning about the red vulpine.

"Let's move on. There are only 2 more weapons for you to handle. It won't be necessary for you to handle the Gatling Gun because it's just a bigger version of the P32 Machine Gun," the training for the machine gun went by quickly but when she had come to the M6D rocket launcher Krystal hesitated.

"The proper way to hold this is to swing in over your shoulder. Unfortunately we can not fire live M6D rockets inside the Great Fox. It is unsafe. So we will have to make do with these live 'dummy rounds'. They have the exact same effect as the live rockets except for the impact with the enemy vehicle. You must undo the safety clip witch will make the rocket launcher split in half. This is where you slide a rocket into the chamber. Make sure that it locks into place or it will fail to fire. Make sure also that there is no one is behind you when you fire the rocket or else the scoring could seriously injure them. Remember these dummy rockets are realistic to the shooter. This gun has an extreme amount of recoil so be careful and take a wide stance."

She slowly worked her hands over the gun and placed the rocket into its resting place making sure that it would lock into place. She looked at Peppy just make sure that she was doing it correct. He nodded. She continued and looked down the sights of the M6D rocket launcher. Krystal knew that this was a large gun and most possibly the most unsafe to use of them all, "Is it safe for me to fire?" She asked. Peppy nodded and gave her the thumbs up.

She knew it didn't matter where she would fire the rocket. But she aimed for the backstop just incase. She braced her body and pulled the trigger. The force of the weapon had almost knocked her flat on her tail. The large barrel of the gun was aimed at the ceiling before the recoil let it come back down to its horizontal point. Krystal could feel the heat radiating from the rocket launcher's barrel.

"Nice job. It takes a wide stance or a more steady position to fire the M6D accurately," Peppy said.

"Fox must be quiet a marksmen to take these targets," Krystal said.

"Yes he is calm. This is what makes him a crack shot. You can take your time to shoot but he has a quick draw and a sharp eye."

"Umhm," Krystal murmured, "Peppy? Have ever heard of something called Destrophy?"

"The name sound familiar, I could have come across it in my research. It had something to do with Venom. A hunter perhaps? Why do you ask?" Peppy answered her question with another.

"I sensed that someone or something was hunting another. In the stray waves I caught something about the word Destrophy and how it was a mysterious being that killed others without a trace," Krystal answered.

Peppy adjusted his glasses and as something in his mind clicked, "Now I remember! It was a Venom legend. Hundreds of years ago according to the legend that is, there was an almighty being that would assassinate unjust and unruly people. No one had ever found him and eventually there was a hunt to find this being and kill him. However it was unsuccessful and Destrophy had just disappeared. However Destrophy had remained undetected the whole time."

"Like a sniper?" Krystal asked and now was worried.

Peppy's eyes widened, "Like a sniper. If I am right and I have a good feeling that I am, someone knows that Fox is there. He is being hunted and if he doesn't know it he will be in some major trouble. Just like Destrophy was. Someone knows the he is down there, and they are after him!"

Krystal was now genuinely worried for the wellbeing of the vulpine, "Is there some way we can warn him? He has to find out that someone is after him."

"Is he still ok? Is he still alive?" Peppy asked Krystal.

Krystal closed her eyes and looked for the young vulpine, "Yes," she soon said, "he is still alive but he is sleeping again. Or he is unconscious, I can't tell."

"That means that they haven't found him, yet. We can't get any form of contact to Fox though. So that leaves him on his own," Peppy said, "If you know that he still breathing, all we can do is wait and hope. He has a great deal of danger resting on his shoulders, but Fox has been in and out of tighter situations, I think," Peppy then changed the subject, "Any way, this is the end of your training. You are now familiar with the standard Cornerian weapons. Please fallow me."

"Of course," Krystal fallowed the hare out of the armory.

Soon they came to a dark room and Krystal hesitated to fallow the hare into the room until her turned the lights on, "Krystal please take a seat in that chair," Peppy pointed to a chair in behind a machine. She sat down, "This will take your picture for your Permit," Peppy touched a button and the machine started to whine. Krystal posed a smile that felt awkward to her.

Peppy handed her a card with her picture stating her completion of the course and that she was certified to handle weapons. The awkward smile she posed made her look cute. At least that was what she thought, "If it is alright I would like to go back to the range and practice."

Peppy shrugged. "I don't see why not. You have completed the training. I will bring your supper if you are still shooting by then."

"Thank you Peppy," Krystal stepped out the door and went to the armory. She held the card in her hand. Krystal was very proud of what she had accomplished. She hadn't realized how fast the day had gone by. It was already almost 3. It didn't feel like she had been in the Armory for 2 hours.