Starfox Evil

WARNING! This chapter contains strong and detailed intimate activities. It will be marked by a page break on either side, so you can skip it if you so wish.

If you decide to read it you will find out just how screwed up I really am.

I am not held responsable for the blindness, numbness, or schizophrenia that may surface.

Otherwise

ENJOY!!

Chapter Two: Fall of a Hero

As his car settled on the tarmac in the spaceport Fox was greeted by a liaison officer from the office of Rear General William McNeal, "Captain McCloud I presume."

"That's me."

The red hawk saluted, "Sir, I have orders from General McNeal that you are to take along a contingent of marines with you on this mission."

Fox rolled his eyes. General McNeal and he never saw eye to eye on things, "Look", Fox read the tags on the front of his uniform, "Commander Robins. No offense to you or the general but my team works best by itself."

"Under normal circumstances the General would agree with you sir. However this mission will take place far outside the system where you won't have any backup or assistance that you can't provide yourselves. Therefore you have been assigned a group of marine troopers who are waiting for us with your team in your ship's conference room", the commander handed him a data-pad.

Fox sighed, "Then let's go, we don't have much time left before liftoff."

They caught a tram over to the Great Fox were they saw a large military combat shuttle sitting in an adjacent slot. As they stepped off the tram Fox saw a pair of legs sticking out from under one of the wing stubs, there were small parts and tools strewn around. As they neared Fox whispered "I thought you said all your troops were waiting in the Great Fox?"

"They are sir. This is their drop pilot, Captain Michael Lemming. He will also be accompanying you on your mission."

Suddenly there was a loud splat and a mass of blue hydraulic gel came flowing out from under the wing, along with a string of very colorful curses. Fox chuckled and said, "Well let's leave him to his work."

The pair walked up the gangplank, down a corridor, and into the elevator, were Fox said, "Observation deck."

Once the doors closed Fox turned to Robins and said, "So, what should I expect from these guys?"

"Well they are all highly trained. They all passed their basic and advanced training courses with flying colors. For example Private William Trident. He is a master with his LR-7 sniper rifle. In fact he was the only person in his class to come close to your old records, sir."

Fox hmmed, then, "Sounds like a good kid."

As the elevator rose Fox looked over the list of names that Robins had given him. None of them really stood out until he came to one name he never thought he would see again, "Hey Robins, am I reading this right?"

Fox showed Robins the name and the commander said, "Yes that says Panther Caruso", the lift came to a halt and the doors opened, "Why sir? Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I just thought he was dead."

The two stepped out into the corridor and headed past a long bank of tall windows towards an ornate oak door, the only non-metal door on the ship. As they opened it Fox saw that aside from the unit commander and his six squad leaders, who were seated in front of the others, all the Marines were seated in three rows of eleven talking quietly to themselves. He easily picked Panther out of the crowd and decided to talk to him afterwards. As the two of them walked around the group and up to the front of the room the chattering quieted down some. And when he stepped up to the podium the noise stopped abruptly. Fox looked at Krystal and she thought to him, 'They're confused, they haven't been told why they're here.'

'Gods damn you McNeal', Fox thought back.

"Gentlemen as I understand it you came here under the impression you would be doing a simple search and rescue mission", there was a murmur of agreement, "Well I'm afraid that there is a little bit more to it than that."

All the soldiers leaned forward in their seats and the unit CO said, "Alright Captain McCloud … you have our attention."

"Well for starters Major, this mission takes place out of system. Now I know what your thinking, that an intersystem mission isn't anything special, but I'm not talking about the Lotus system or even the Orchid system on the edge of our territory. I'm not even talking about the Void past our boundaries. No our mission takes place way out there, on the other side of the wormhole in a small out-of-the-way system we are calling Ambrosia, on a planet we are calling PC-01. We are going to investigate why the science team that was sent there hasn't been responding on the COM and extract them."

"Sir", a red fox in Marine urban fatigues asked, "What if this is just a mechanical failure?"

"Um, Corporal-- Mayson, is it", when the soldier nodded Fox continued, "If this was just a mechanical failure I'm sure the team of technicians on board the SOS could have repaired the defective systems. Even if they experienced a total core shutdown they have a replacement on board. So the only two viable options are the station was destroyed, or they were overrun by an as yet unknown second party. Whatever the case we are to extract the team and bring them back home. Anymore questions?"

A husky raised his hand, "Sir", Fox nodded to him, "Gunnery Sergeant Mitchell sir. Uh, just how far away is this place?"

Fox rubbed his chin and ran the calculations in his head, "Well the wormhole is near the mining colony of Zenus so that's four hours, and then once we get out the other side we're still about two light years from our destination so that's a five day trip at full warp. That answer your question?"

The husky nodded and lowered his gaze in thought. Fox looked around and saw that everybody was thinking about all this information, "Look I know that this mission will be tough. We'll be possibly facing an unknown enemy, days away from backup. But the thing is there are Lylatian lives at stake here and I will not leave them to rot on the other side of the galaxy. Nor will my team", he looked left and then right, "However I cannot give you the order to follow me yet. So I leave it up to you to decide. Those of you that wish to leave please do so before my team and I return."

With that Fox called out to his team mates and they left the room, with the good captain right behind them. As the doors hissed closed Krystal pulled into Fox into a gentle hug, "You did good love."

Fox smiled and leaned both of them back against the wall. He glanced over the top of Krystal's head at the others, Slippy was fiddling with some gadget he'd had in his pocket, and Falco was talking to Katt on his personal COM. After about five minutes they all headed back towards the door just in time to see the Marine Major step out into the hallway, "Captain McCloud, they're all yours", and with that he walked down to the lift and off the ship.

Fox turned to his teammates and said, "Alright folks you know what to do, I'll go talk to the troops."

His friends walked down the corridor as he turned and reentered the conference room.

"CAPTAIN ON DECK", someone shouted and they all snapped to attention and saluted. As the doors hissed closed the XO walked up to Fox and saluted, "Sir! Major Otoya has relinquished his post. We are yours to command."

"All of you", Fox asked.

"Yessir. All thirty-nine of us."

"Allrighty then, Squad leaders please accompany me to the bridge everyone else please report to the cargo bay and await the return of your superiors. Dismissed."

There was a chorus of 'ayes' and 'sirs' as everyone filed out of the room. While Fox, the XO, and the four NCOs stepped into the turbo lift and headed for the bridge, the remaining marines stepped onto the cargo lift and descended into the bowels of the ship. As the lift rose Fox described their orders in more detail to the others around him. When the officers' lift stopped they stepped out onto the bridge where Fox said, "Gentlemen this is the Great Fox's command center, the brain of the ship."

Suddenly the holopad in the center of the room lit up and a female grizzly bear materialized, wearing nothing, but with all her 'unmentionables' covered by a swath of light that wrapped around her body, "All upgrades complete Captain."

"Thank you Diana, but why didn't Slippy inform me?"

"Because he's a little", the hologram looked over her shoulder, "tied up at the moment."

"Amanda's here isn't she", Fox said, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes. Yes she is."

Fox sighed, "Alright I'll take care of this", he turned back to the marines, "Sorry gentlemen but I must cut this little tour short. Diana? Would you please guide these gentlemen to their quarters for the night."

Then the XO stepped forward and said, "Actually sir we would prefer to stay with our men, if that's alright."

"Very well", Fox said.

As the others started down the corridor, heading for the cargo lift Fox turned into the main elevator and said, "Engineering", He let out a slow breath, he was a little bit disappointed in Slippy. Then again he couldn't really blame him either. If it were Krystal that couldn't come along on a mission, he supposed that he would want to spend as much time with her as possible before he left. Suddenly he realized he was standing in front of the Engineering door. He passed his Starfox badge over the scanner and the door slid open. He stepped inside to see Slippy and Amanda sitting on the floor just holding each other. Fox stood to the side, allowing them to mutter sweet nothings to each other, before he stepped forward, "Ah-hum, Slippy we ship out in five minutes, could you wrap this up?"

"Sure Fox", the green frog sighed, "Sorry for the delay, but…"

"She's worth it buddy", looking at Amanda Fox smiled and said, "Just make sure you're offloaded before we lift off, or else you'll be tagging along for the ride."

"Don't worry Fox. I was just getting ready to leave", the taller frog said. Then she turned to her stout boyfriend, "Promise me you'll come home."

"I promise."

Fox stood politely off to the side as the two kissed goodbye and then Amanda turned and found her way off of the ship. Slippy watched her leave and then stared lovingly at the door after it had closed, "You O.K. Slip", Fox asked.

"I think she's the one Fox."

"Well I'm happy for you", Fox said, patting Slippy's shoulder, "Now how about you reactivate the core so that we can get on with our mission, hmm?"

"Comin' right up buddy."

Fox smiled and left Engineering. Once he got to the bridge Falco and Krystal had already taken their seats. Slippy's voice came over the intercom, "We are running hot Fox."

"Falco, lets get going", Fox said as they all heard the in-atmosphere engines start up. There was a quiet rumbling of in-air flight followed by the roar of the hull breaking thru the atmosphere as the avian piloted the large ship, and finally silence as they entered the vast open blackness, heading out of system towards the wormhole. "Diana, as soon as we reach the wormhole set the shields to compensate for the tachyon radiation and take us in. ROB I need you to go and replicate enough com-badges and FOF tags for the marines. Falco, Krystal, lets set in for a long ride."

After a few moments of silence, what with Falco and Diana doing all the real work, Fox turned to Krystal and said, "Take a walk with me?"

"Of course", she replied.

They walked in silence for a while, winding up on the personal quarters deck, before Fox spoke, "While I was down on the surface I did some thinking… about our relationship", all the while Fox was using techniques he'd picked up to shield himself from psychic reading, "and I've come to realize that it's just not enough anymore."

Krystal was dumbstruck. At first she was just a little confused when he set up the mental barriers, but now she was on the verge of tears. She turned away from Fox for a moment trying and failing to compose herself. Then she heard a rustling sound followed by Fox saying, "Will you marry me?"

She was suddenly aware that Fox had dropped his mental barricade, and she sensed nothing but love, adoration, a little nervousness, and a very little bit of laughter. She quickly turned around. He was kneeling on the floor with an unopened ring box held up in his hands. She threw herself at him pressing her muzzle to his in a passionate kiss. When it broke for a quick breath Fox said, "So can I take that as a yes?"

Krystal smiled and nodded. Then she drug him to his feet and down the hall to his quarters.

While they waited for the door to open the kiss they had just shared started back up again. Then the door opened and Fox scooped Krystal in his arms bridal style, "A preview of coming attractions."

Krystal giggled as Fox carried her thru the door. Fox set her down to turn and lock the door. When he turned back she had pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her breasts to the air. Fox got a hungry look on his face as he lost his own shirt. Then the small distance between them closed completely and they kissed again, hungry and full of lust. Fox picked Krystal up by her thighs walked over and tossed her on the bed, making her give a short screaming laugh, then a moan as he climbed on and began kissing her neck. They kicked off their shoes and just kissed for a moment.

Suddenly Fox found that his pants were on the floor, soon followed by her's. And apparently she hadn't worn underwear that day, "Oh crap Krystal waitwaitwait…", Fox stammered

"Oh no you don't", she growled, grabbing the front of his boxers, "You're not running away this time."

"Darling a tank couldn't pull me away from you", Fox quickly hopped over to his discarded jacket and reached inside a pocket to pull out the forgotten ring box, "I just forgot to ask you", he walked back over and opened the box, revealing a pair of silver rings. One with a dark blue sapphire set in it, the other with a bright green emerald, "Which color do you want?"

"Oh! Fox they're beautiful", she said.

"They were my parents' rings. He said as he gently stroked the fur on the back of her left hand, his rough pads dragging thru her soft fur, "Dad told me, 'before you take someone to bed you make sure they've got a ring on their finger'. That's why I restrained myself for so long, I wanted to keep my honor intact, and because I wasn't sure if we were ready for that step", he looked her in the eyes and smiled, "And now…now I can't figure out why I waited so long to give you these."

Krystal stretched out an arm to pluck the emerald ring from the case leaving the sapphire ring in the box until Fox retrieved it placing it on his left ring finger. Krystal did the same with her choice, and she was a little surprised when the large ring automatically constricted to fit her finger. "Auto fit rings?"

"Yep. Dad bought the first two ever made, and had their wedding gems moved to the rings. The original bands are buried with Mom."

"It reminds me of your eyes", the blue vixen said

"And this sapphire reminds me of your fur", the male said as he took her hand in his.

Krystal set the case for the rings down, then she promptly dove back onto Fox, grinding her thigh into his groin making him groan into her kiss. Then his boxers were on the floor, the only thing he wore now was his old dog tags from his academy days. Krystal gasped, "Oh my!"

He looked down at his fourteen inch ebony black length which jutted from his sheath and smirked, "Yeah, a lot of other people thought that bulge was a cup too."

Krystal reached over and just laid her hand on it. She felt it pulse and she gulped, "Well. Lets see if it fits, hmm?"

Then Fox rolled them back over and into the center of the bed and kissed her more hungrily. Then he began kissing down her neck to her chest and she moaned as he began to plant kisses and licks all over her breasts.

She gasped when his tongue found her left nipple. He dragged the wet muscle over the pink nub several times before taking it into his mouth and sucking gently. Meanwhile his left hand was massaging her other breast and his right hand was starting to rub at her damp mound. She moaned softly as he dragged the pads of a single finger over her folds. When she started to moan louder he slipped a finger inside of her, then two, slowly sliding them back and forth inside of her. "Fox, please… don't… stop."

After a few more minutes of this Fox pulled his fingers out and brought them to his lips where he licked them clean before sliding down her body to get his first good look at her most secret of places. As he took in the musky scent he grinned, then he leaned in and took his first taste. Her nectar was sweet yet salty all at the same time. She 'ooohed and ahhed' with each pass of his tongue over her sensitive folds and clit. He drove her closer and closer before pulling away, making her groan in aggravation.

He smiled and dove back in, pushing his tongue into her as far as he could go, making her scream in bliss, and finally he gave her the release she wanted. He moved his mouth up and started suckling on her clit as he slid his fingers back inside her. He felt her walls clamp around him as she came for the first time that night. He rubbed her juices on his member, using them as a natural lubricant. Then he slid back up and kissed her again. "Oh Fox! Take me now, please", the blue vixen whimpered.

Fox reached down and lined himself up with her passage before gently pressing into her, making them both gasp and groan. As he was sliding further and further into her he felt a sudden resistance which stopped him in his tracks. His eyes shot open and he looked into hers. She was blushing. Fox was slightly stunned, 'You're…',

'Yes', her thoughts were clouded in lust, 'I've saved myself for this night as well.'

"Then I'll do my best to make it memorable", Fox said with a small smile. After a brief pause, he placed his hands on either side of her head, "Are you ready?"

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Very ready", she said sultrily.

With that Fox pressed forward and felt that resistance slip away. Krystal cried out as her virginity was taken, but Fox cooed into her ear to calm her and soon the pain was replaced by a pleasure she had only dreamed of. As he began to pull out she wrapped her legs around his waist to give him freer access. When he was almost out he thrust back inside, and she whimpered in joy, feeling the head of his cock bump against her cervix. His grip on the sheets on either side of her head tightened and he began to grunt with every slow yet powerful thrust, and he closed his eyes in bliss.

When he opened them again he looked down on her face, and couldn't help thinking how adorable she looked, with her hair all messed up, eyes tightly shut, and wearing a big smile and with her face flushed a beautiful shade of purple. She moved her hands to his cheeks as she opened her eyes, and pulled him down so that they were chest to chest.

Fox smiled and picked up the pace and brought himself and his lover closer and closer to the edge. Suddenly climax hit her hard and she clawed at Fox's back as her nectar flooded out of her and onto the sheets beneath them. Fox pounded into her until he felt his control slipping then he pulled out and slammed back home, making her scream as he fired his seed into her. Then he rolled them over so she was laying on top of him, "I love you Krystal."

"I love you too, Fox", she said as she stroked his cheek.

They just stayed that way for a few minutes until Krystal looked Fox in the eyes and said, "So you ready for round two stud?"

Fox smiled and replied, "Just let me turn on some music", he paused for a second, then said, "Aha! I know just the thing."

Fox walked over to his stereo and pressed a few buttons, then a deep and emotional voice came over the speakers, coupled with a slow romantic music.

When no-one else can understand meee,

When everything I do is wrongg,

You give me love and consolationnn,

You give me strength to carry onnn,

" This is perfect Fox, but who is it?"

And you're always there, to lend a hand

In everything I do

"It's the King", he said as he crawled back onto the bed.

That's the wonderrr,

The wonder of youuu,

"The who", Krystal asked as she pulled him close again.

And when you smile the world is bighterrr,

You touch my hand, and I'm a kinggg,

Your kiss to me is worth a fortunnne,

Your love for me is everything,

"You can't tell me you haven't heard of Elvis Presley."

I guess I'll neeever know, the reason whyyy,

You love me, as you dooo,

That's the wonderrr,

The wonder of youuu.

"Tell me about him", she said as she started to kiss Fox's neck.

I guess I'll neeever know, the reason whyyy,

You love me, as you doooo,

That's the wooonderrr,

The wonder of youuu.

Back in the hidden laboratory, after the Great Fox II had entered the wormhole….

"Oh nothing important. Just ah -- the ability to make THE CURE", Alice shouted.

Patricia looked back at the human and shouted, "Make the cure? The damn computer said you were the cure!"

"And just how exactly did you plan on getting the cure out of me", the human retorted.

"Well I know one way", the rabbit shouted as she yanked her combat knife free of it's sheath.

Alena stepped between the two and said, "Ohho Kay! I think it's time we all just cooled our heels for a second. How about we ask you a question then you ask us a question, deal?"

"Fair enough, you first", the human said.

"Alright, what exactly happened here, our scans showed that this planet died about six or seven years ago but didn't tell us the cause", asked the tigress.

"That…is a very long story. It all starts with the Umbrella Corporation, the company that built these facilities…"

One hour later…

"…and then the last few cities fell and crumbled. That was the way the world ended."

The two others just sat there for a few moments, helmets in their laps, in the room the AI had suggested they move to which, apparently, was the directors quarters, lots of leather and satin furnishings, and oak panels on the walls. Then Patricia said, "O.K. I think you've earned a few questions for that answer."

"Fine. How about…what exactly are you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a rabbit and she's a…"

"Nonono, I mean are you aliens or some sort of Umbrella experiment?"

"Oh", they said together, "we're aliens."

"From the Lylat system", Alena added, "I'm from the capitol planet of Cornaria, while she is from one of the biodomes on Futura."

"Uh-huh and have you two always been…"

"Gay", the aliens guessed.

This got an embarrassed nod from Alice.

"Well I always new", Patricia said, "I just didn't like males. However my better half here wasn't always into girls. No she used to be straight as an arrow. Then we got stuck with a shit detail out on the frozen tundra plains of Futura, where once the sun goes down, you can die from exposure in minutes. Well we got shuffled into the same unit and then dropped out in the middle of nowhere to do some 'scout training'. Personally I think the captain just wanted to be a dick. But anyway, she couldn't get her tent up so we shared mine but it was still freezing out, and you know what they say about cold weather", she looked over at her lover and squeezed her hand, "It brings people together in the strangest of ways."

There was a pause then Alice said, "Oookay. Oh! I forgot. I'm Alice", she said as she extended her hand.

The tigress took it first, "Alena Jackson."

Then the doe, "Patricia White. So, Alice, you got a last name?"

"Not that I can remember", at the strange looks she got she replied, "I suffered amnesia a few months before the world went to hell. My family name is one of a few things can't remember."

"Well look, back to our original problem here, is any of that stuff back there reparable", the tigress said.

The young girl materialized again to say, "Put bluntly, no. You completely destroyed the lab. The latent energies from that weapon of yours fried all of the electrical pathways in that room. Even the shielded circuits and networks that make up my hologrid ceased functioning. What is that thing?"

"This is a high grade Concentrated Energy Blaster, model number seven, or just CEB-7 for short", Patricia looked down at the dead firearm, "This weapon fires a concentrated and condensed charge of plasma particles. They are ignited by an electro-kinetic circuit at the back of the vent chamber. The result is a bolt of energy about as long as my finger flying thru the air at about five thousand feet per second, with a speed and altitude loss of less than one percent per second. Basically, if you miss, the bolt will fly until either burns up all it's fuel or hits something. It's worthless now though, the charge is totally gone."

Then Alena said leaning forward in her chair, "That Isaacs guy should have been in pieces after the first few shots let alone an entire charge from our Light Automatic Blasters. And yet it took not only that but an overcharged shot from a CEB-7 too! Those overcharges are reserved for tanks!"

Alena continued, "Now the only pieces of Lylatian tech we've got left are her Nova bomb and my emergency net uplink, which hasn't been working since we sent those samples up to the station…Oh God!"

"What love? What's wrong", Patricia asked even though she didn't need to. She knew that they had condemned all their friends and colleagues to a premature demise, and something worse, but she knew that Alena needed to let it out. She just let her feline lover break down and sob into her shoulder as the doe embraced her, "Alice could you give us a minute?"

Alice started, "Oh! Yeah, sure. I'll just step outside."

As soon as the tigress had said samples she knew what they had done.

Once the door closed behind her she started walking down the hallway and she called out to the AI, "Hey Queenie, will you show me to the armory?"

The child materialized again and floated alongside Alice, "Of course. But what are you planning? The main entrance is sealed and there is only one other way out, on which I have no information and thus do not recommend. Turn left here."

"What do you mean you don't have any information on it? I thought you had access to all systems."

"After the incident in the Raccoon City facility with my sister computer, the Umbrella corporation decided that it would be wise to have an escape route that wasn't controlled by the computer. Third door on the left."

As Alice entered the weapons room she turned to the floating hologram and asked, "Which facility is Wesker at?"

"Chairmen Wesker is currently in the Tokyo facility."

Then from the door came Alena's voice, "Wesker. Is that the bastard that's responsible for all this", her voice was dripping with suppressed rage. When Alice turned and nodded the tigress grabbed a 9mm handgun off a shelf slid a magazine home and pulled back on the slide, "Then lets pay the fucker a visit", and let it go with a CLACK. Suddenly a beeping from her waist drew their surprised attention to her beacon. It had received a return signal…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wormhole, just as Alice started shouting at her new 'friends'…

Fox was sitting in his office, one of the most rarely used rooms on The Great Fox II. He only ever came in here if he had to view classified transmissions or divide up the pay from a mission. He was looking over the schematics for the SOS when suddenly a message popped up on his personal holoCOM unit, "Hello, this is Internal Affairs unit number 871259 sending a message to, Fox…James…McCloud, to inform him that the Marine unit known as the, Hell…raisers, has failed to comply with a direct order from a superior, one, Major…William…Francis…Otoya. All members have also contributed several years of loyal and excellent service far above and beyond the call of duty to Cornaria and her colonies. As such, all members of the, Hell…raisers, unit have been honorably discharged from the Royal Marine Core", there was a pause as Fox soaked up this information, "This decision is final. Have a nice day."

As the recorded image dissolved back into the projector's base Fox downloaded the message to a portable device and stepped out into the corridor, 'They need to hear this', he thought to himself as he stepped onto the lift, "Cargo bay."

When he stepped out of the lift he took in the troops as they had not yet noticed him. About half of the men and women where asleep. The other half where involved in a number of activities ranging from exercise drills to sparring. A group of about six had set up a game of cards. A shout from the table indicated that the current hand had just come to an end. Fox smirked and tapped his COM badge, "Mr. Lemming please report to the barracks."

Then he placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled. As the shrill tone echoed off the walls everyone looked up to its source, then jumped to a stiff attention, except for one poor kid who was passed out on his bunk with a book covering his face.

One of the sergeants took a step towards the bunk, but Fox raised finger telling him to wait. Then Fox quietly stepped to the sleeping trooper's bedside and tapped him on the shoulder. As the young private slid the book off his muzzle Fox leaned in and yelled, "BLUAHH", at the top of his lungs. The dozy soldier nearly jumped out of his skin and fell off the bunk with a THUD! The unexpected action from their captain arose a hearty chuckle from the other marines.

When the white mouse got to his knees from his face down position, his eyes caught those of Fox and he jumped to his feet and snapped to attention shouting out, "Captain McCloud Sir! My apologies for not coming to attention upon your arrival!"

Fox raised a hand and read his dog tags, "I understand Mr. Trident, you're not in trouble. Now, seeing as I have everybody's attention", he turned back to the others, motioning for Trident and Lemming to join them, as the drop pilot had just entered, "I have some interesting news. We entered the wormhole about two minutes ago, however, just before we did so I received this message from IA."

While the message played Fox judged all their expressions, and didn't see one shocked face among them, a few that showed a little regret, but no surprise.

"…this decision is final. Have a nice day", Fox deactivated the small emitter, "Now, had I known that you were disobeying a direct order from Major Otoya, I might not have allowed you to come along, but, seeing as that is in the past and thus unchangeable, you are all no longer in the Core. You are now, at least for the time being, all members of Team Starfox, although you will still be treated as marines to an extent in order to maintain efficiency. Effective immediately, you take all your orders from me and my team. And here are the basics. First off, you will be given team badges that not only display your rank but contains a locator beacon so that even if you get lost on the other side of the planet we'll be able to locate you and guide you out of danger and back where you belong. That badge stays on you at all times. I or any of my crew catch you without it on, all your uniforms will be confiscated till we reach our destination."

This got another chuckle from the group, until Fox gave them a look that said he wasn't kidding, "So unless you plan on streaking the whole trip, keep it on! Second, there will be no fighting outside of the sparring area of the gym. If you have a problem tell it to your direct superior."

"Finally, I know that it's been drilled into your heads since basic, but stop saluting me. For crying out loud I'm a mercenary, not a frickin' admiral! If you insist upon formality a simple Cap'n, Sir, or Boss will do. And the same goes for the others, Sir, Boss or in Krystal's case Ma'am. Do you all understand?"

"Hoorah Sir", they all shouted.

"Heh, hoohrah. Mr. Trident", the mouse stood at ease and faced the Captain, "Would you kindly follow me for a moment?"

They stepped into the lift and Fox pressed the close doors button, "So I hear your quite the marksman Private."

"Yessir."

"Even came close to my old records at the academy."

"Well I don't like to boast, but, yeah I did", the mouse said, puffing out his chest a bit.

Fox looked him over a bit, "Been a long time since anybody did that. Listen, join me on the holodeck for an exhibition sometime, alright", Fox said before clapping him on the back and sending him back out to join the others, "Private, would you please send in Mr. Caruso?"

"Yessir. Hey Panther! Cap'n wants to see ya", he said as the doors hissed shut.

Fox crossed his arms as he considered what he was doing. As the doors opened again he opened his eyes to see Panther step in.

"So I guess I…", but he was cut off as Fox raised a finger.

Then he said, "Observation deck", as the lift started moving Fox said, "I want some privacy for this one", a few moments later the lift slowed to a halt, "Walk with me", they stepped off the lift and Fox continued, "Panther I don't care how you survived or anything like that. I do want to know, however, if this infatuation you had with Krystal is done or not."

"Of course not, my love for her is like the stars, it will burn eternal", the black feline said in that Casanova voice of his.

"That's what I thought you'd say. Something you need to know is that I asked her to marry me last night, so she is officially 'off the market", Panther's eyes dropped, "However, seeing as I'm a sporting male, I will give you this one last chance to woo her away from me", Panther's eyes rose up to meet his with a surprised look plastered on his face.

"You would risk your happiness with her just to give me one last chance? Why?"

"Because", Fox said closing his eyes, then opening them slowly, "it's not my happiness that matters to me, it's her's. And if she would rather be happy with you than me, then I'll just have to learn to accept that", Fox tapped his COM badge again, "Krystal, would you kindly come up to the observation deck. Panther has something he needs to say to you."

"Sure thing Fox, on my way."

Fox looked back to Panther, "As I said, one…last…chance. If she accepts your proposal than I'll just have to live with it and move on. If she rejects it", He leaned towards Panther, "Then that's that. No more attempts to take her away from me."

Panther was humbled by this gesture, "You are a true gentleman Mr. McCloud. I thank you."

Then the lift doors opened and Krystal stepped out onto the deck, "Hey hun", she pecked Fox on the cheek as he walked by her to stand behind her, "So, waddya want", she asked as she came to face Panther.

Fox's COM badge chirped, "Fox here."

"Fox should you come to the bridge. I've got something you should see", came Slippy's voice.

"Sure Slip, on my way", he tapped the badge again to end transmission, "If you two will excuse me", Fox said as he stepped onto the lift, "Bridge ."

As the doors opened, he stepped out into the corridor and briskly walked towards the bridge. He stepped into the control room and walked to Slippy's station, "What's up?"

Slippy looked up and said, "Oh good. Check this out", he hit a few buttons and the main holoscreen popped up to show the star system. But something was different than the picture given in the briefing. There was a wavering distortion in front of the ship roughly a mile across, and half that from top to bottom.

"What are we looking at Slip?"

"That, my good friend, is a hyper-temporal slipstream. Basically, on the other side of that portal is this same universe, except time moves faster."

"So why did I have to be down here for this? Log it in the report and let's get going", Fox said crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well Fox, if we go thru this portal, we'll be able to travel to any place faster than even the wormhole can go. We could get to our destination in an hour, instead of five days!"

Fox could tell that his stout, amphibious friend was anxious, "So what's the catch?"

Slippy was silent; then, "Well as far as I can tell there isn't a portal where we need to go, so we'll have to make one."

Fox raised his eyebrows, "And?"

"Well there is a risk that the portal will be unstable, it might collapse the slipstream and, well…", Slippy clapped his hands together, "boom."

Fox was silent as he weighed the options. On the one hand, he had a surefire and reasonably safe way to get to PC-01, however it would take a lot longer than option two. Said option two, was not guaranteed to work but would be a lot faster than option one and would enable him to arrive ahead of schedule and possibly save more lives.

"Alright. Slip, ROB, we're going in! Falco, alert the Hellraisers then get up here, this could get interesting and we'll need you at the helm", Fox said with a smirk, "Slippy once we're thru get us to that planet as fast as possible."

"Roger that", Slippy said as he went to work.

As soon as Falco came in and took his seat Fox sat down in his chair as the ship rocked and bucked in the temporal turbulence. But it quickly settled down and he began looking over some figures on the laptop that swung over in front of him.

A half hour had gone by when his COM badge chirped again, "Fox could you come to the holodeck", came Krystal's voice.

"Sure, be there in a sec", he tapped the badge again and locked his station, then got up and left. When he got to the holodeck, which was literally an entire deck on the ship, he walked in to see Krystal watching a recording of them dancing. They were in formal dress, she in a gorgeous strapless purple gown and him in his red and gold dress uniform with several medals and campaign ribbons pinned to his chest, and his sliver captain's bars on his collar. Krystal's head was laid on Fox's shoulder as they slowly turned in a circle, both of them had their eyes shut in happiness, until the waltz stopped and they looked at each other, then slowly came together to kiss. This was followed by lots of clapping as the unseen crowd apparently took notice, "Diana pause play."

"Sure Boss", the ship based AI said as the image froze. Krystal turned to look at Fox.

"Our first public kiss", He said. When he was in arms reach he asked, "So what did Panther want?"

"He wanted to congratulate me on the engagement, and to find out if you had an open groomsman slot", she said with a curious look on her face.

"I'll be sure answer him when I see him later", he said as he closed the gap and hugged her.

She returned the embrace and sighed, "I almost can't believe it. We're getting married."

Fox chuckled and said, "Yeah", then he looked over her shoulder at the hologram, "You know, that is one of my favorite memories."

"Mine too", Krystal replied.

"Diana play us a good, slow song, would you please", as the music started Fox turned to his fiancée and offered her his hand, "May I have this dance milady?"

Krystal curtsied and said, "I would be delighted."

As they danced to the romantic music Fox rested his head on top of her's. Suddenly the music just cut out. Fox looked up and started to speak, but stopped short, there was no sound at all. He couldn't even hear his voice. In fact the only thing he could hear was his heartbeat, and that got louder and louder.

Krystal stepped back from Fox with a look of confusion on her face, "Fox?"

Suddenly he grabbed his chest and doubled over screaming in pain. At first she jumped back in shock, then she tried to rush to his side. But as she took her first step she felt the deck plating start to give under her feet. She screamed and fell back onto her tail. As she crawled away from the rolling and twisting deck plates she slapped her COM badge and shouted, "ROB medical emergency on the holodeck!"

She then looked back at Fox. He had dropped to his knees. As he fell forward he extended his left arm to catch himself and his hand fell into the deck, quickly followed by the rest of his arm. His eyes which had been screwed shut quickly shot open and he threw himself backwards and promptly blacked out.

As Falco and ROB came hurrying thru the door, the avian started when he saw his friend and captain. His entire left arm and shoulder, most of his face, and half his chest from just inside the right shoulder to the lowest left rib were covered in this gleaming, liquid metal. Falco began to run towards him but was held back by Krystal, "What the hell! He needs help", he shouted.

"There's something wrong with the floor", she shouted.

"Miss Krystal is correct. There is a multi-dimensional anomaly in close proximity to Fox", ROB said in his emotionless voice, "I recommend that you allow me to proceed, as I am the least likely to be affected."

He stood there for a second until Falco shouted, "Well get your metal ass over there!"

ROB strode forward and as he stepped onto the affected decking he sank in up past his head. For a few heart gripping moments he was completely gone. Then one of his metal hands shot out of that void and grabbed the 'edge'. He hauled himself up and out, and grabbed Fox. Then, holding him above his head, he waded back thru the decking.

When the android reached the other side he rolled the injured captain onto solid ground where he was scooped up by Falco and rushed out of the room. Krystal only stuck around long enough to watch ROB start to get out of the anomaly, then she was gone after Falco and her fiancé.

When she reached the medical ward she shouted, "Diana! Transfer yourself to the Medibot!"

"Already done", the feminine AI said, her voice coming from the appropriate droid.

"How's it look", Falco said, worry etched on his face.

"Not good. I need more hands", Diana said trying to scrape off the viscous, liquid metal that clung to Fox's body.

Krystal slapped her COM badge and shouted, "Medic! All medical personnel report to sickbay!"

Not two minutes later both the marine medics, Corporals Robin "Doc" Steel and Dave "Geek" Augustine, rushed into the room carrying their medical gear.

"What happened? Oh shit! Is that the Captain", Doc asked, shocked out of his mind.

When Falco just nodded both medics set themselves and dove in.

"Okay what happened", Geek asked Krystal as Doc tried to clear away some of the metal so that he could remove Fox's uniform.

"We were on the holodeck", Krystal mumbled, fighting back tears, "When, when Slippy t-told us that the ship was entering the portal. Then suddenly Fox started to s-say something to Diana but he stopped short", then her sniffling did turn into crying, "Next thing I knew he was sh-shouting and grabbing his chest", she looked up at the reptilian medic, "He was screaming. I'd never heard him do that before."

After that she just completely broke down and had to be led out of the room by Falco. Geek turned to his friend and asked, "How's it look Doc?"

"It could be worse I suppose, though I'm not sure how. His breathing is erratic and his heart rate and blood pressure are really high. We just need to get this stuff off him, so that we can stabilize him. But no matter how hard I slough this stuff off it just slides back", the labrador demonstrated by pressing his hand into the fluid on the vulpine's chest, then slid his hand towards Fox's shoulder. The goo just slid back to where it was at, "See!"

For over an hour they tried various ideas to remove the metallic fluid until finally, "Oh that does it", an exasperated Doc shouted, reaching for the cardiac stimulator.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing", Geek asked loudly.

As the stimulator buzzed with power Doc growled, "I'm gonna zap that shit off, nothing' else is working."

Geek hoped this would work as he stepped aside. Doc slowly placed the end of the stimulator into the fluid encompassing Fox's arm and pressed the discharge node. There was a snap, a sizzle, and the smell of ozone, but the fluid retracted from the discharge point to a distance of about six inches, "It's working! I'll be damned", the viper said, "Alright prepping the I.V."

Once the node had cleared his elbow Geek pressed the needle into Fox's vein, allowing the stabilizing sedatives into his bloodstream. Suddenly the metal fluid surged back to it's former location. It forced the I.V. out of Fox's arm and pressed into the minute hole, entering his body quite rapidly. This apparently caused a great deal of pain because it ripped him out of unconsciousness. And his mouth opened wide in a silent roar, unfortunately that just gave this stuff a larger hole to flood into. As the medics tried, and failed, to stop the flow Fox started to thrash around, forcing Diana to bind him to the bed. As the last of the metal disappeared down Fox's throat he gave one last, violent twitch then fell still.

"No", Doc said then shouted, "NO!"

The door burst open and Falco stepped back in as Geek shouted, "Pulse is down; respiration has ceased, we're losin' him!"

Then the scanner read a flat-line on his heartbeat. Both medics, Diana, and Falco stared with horror at the screen, then there was a flurry of motion as all three doctors tried to save their fallen comrade. Falco hadn't moved at all. Out in the hallway they could hear Krystal sobbing. Over the COM Slippy's voice came telling them, "Guys we will be re-entering normal space in sixty seconds, it's gonna be a little bumpy."

After several tries Diana sighed and reached over to close his eyes. Then she said, "I had hoped I would never have to say this; but I'm calling it. At 1608, Standard Empirical Military Time, Fox McCloud has died."

The only thing that could be heard was the steady tone of the heart monitor, and Krystal sobbing uncontrollably…"

End Chapter Two

Once again: anything but flames-Undead Fox