(Cue the motha fkin' curtain!)
Chapter 1
TIME UNKNOWN, PLANET KYITSUNE
The galaxy Lylat. Impressive, vast, with a diverse system of planets and home to quadrillions of furs, all living amongst thousands upon thousands. A most beautiful piece of the limitless universe.
Nearby, however, a much different star system resides. The Aures Infinite, a galaxy home to twelve planets, mostly uninhabited, still is often visited for the wide range of natural resources it carries. This is where "Infinite" gets part of its name. The first part, "Aures", took its name from the unusual but brilliant electron stream that serves as something of a border around the system.
Among the few inhabited planets, stood two in particular, both of which had become barren of evolved furs at different times.
The first planet, which was consumed by a green blanket of jungle life and colored with a few volcanic territories, was known as Kyitsune. The legacy of furs that once dominated the plant-covered world had become lost countless generations ago, that is, as far as anyone was aware.
The second planet, which resembled Lylat's sparkling blue Corneria, had lost its hosts not much longer than a mere three years ago, save only a handful of survivors.
Its former beauty once helped to boast the mystifying planet's name.
Cerinia.
As fate would have it, the two survivors were siblings, a pair of very similar sisters, though neither was aware.
From Kyitsune's surface, she could see the deceased planet through her familiar crystal blue irises, shadowed by a frustrated and angered brow. Her eyes released small tears that followed through streaks on her cheeks already set in place by previous tears.
Her mouth opened to express the true source of her grief.
"Mother……Father……and.."
The cerulean vixen swallowed hard in a fond but now stinging memory.
"Krystal. Oh God. Whyhyyy?" escaped the sobs.
The crying fox put her hands to her face as she dropped to her knees in agony. So many things left unsaid, so many goodbyes not exchanged, so much that should have happened but no longer could. She saw that now.
Despite the forlorn face and tears, she was a beautiful vixen. Her name was Ice, a blue Cerinian female fox with a mind for adventure. She was the daughter of the now deceased Rae-Saeta and Sapphire, the once ruling chief and bride of Ice's village. Ice herself was a princess, and the slightly older twin sister of the vixen Krystal, also a princess.
Ice was a true beauty, to put it mildly. Her face had a cute snout, shorter than a male's, and with a significantly smaller black nose. Her cheek fur took a slight arc downward that faded very gently from her pointed but shapely ears, and in between them traveled her beautiful blue shoulder length hair. Ice's snout was a pure white that slowly faded into a light blue shade that started from just above the middle of her eyes and about two inches from the corners of her mouth, which was surrounded above and below by her gentle soft blue lips, the top lip slightly curving up to her nose. The blue covered her entire body except for her palms, the bottom of her feet and the edges of her toe claws, as well as her breast, front of the neck, belly and somewhat on her puffed tail, which was divided by a pair of gold rings. The vixen had dazzling eyes, with naturally long and dark eyelashes that bordered her brilliant, gentle cerulean eyes.
The fox's clothing was extremely revealing. She wore a familiar looking set of shoulder armor, a gold necklace, a head band that sat atop her blue bangs, forearm armor, bra, loincloth, shin armor and simple tribal shoes. Her loincloth was a bit shorter than her sisters, but was not a problem, as Ice had wrapped her lower legs, pelvic area, forearms and chest with a series of bandage cloth. It was meant to reflect her unique sense of travel and thrill-seeking. Her shoulder armaments also carried a cloak that waved gently in the light breeze, also with a hood that hung about the back of Ice's neck.
Along with her beauty, she was the holder of special gifts. She could manipulate frozen water, or as her name suggested, ice. Her bloodline was well known for generations of gifted ancestors. She also had powers of the mind, namely telepathy, but that was common to all of Cerinia. Her own sister, as far as she knew, had quite a way with telepathy, but had never seemed to grasp the concept of controlling ice.
Upon the sisters' eighteenth birthday, their parents had granted them the rite of complete womanhood, and even the offer to lead the village while their parents would step down. Krystal had been willing to accept the task, but Ice had always been one for adventure. After consulting her parents, it was decided that she'd be allowed to leave Cerinia to explore for herself and see the universe. Ice could not have been happier, though the farewells were depressing, from her mother and father and then particularly from her best friend, her own sister.
Neither sibling could hide their tears, but Krystal was happy for her twin and accepted it. She wished for her dear sister's safety and to enjoy her adventure, and wasn't really bothered by the challenge of overseeing the village by her self.
Five years after, she had caught wind of a terrible rumor: that Cerinia had been destroyed some almost two years earlier. As far as she was from her home, Ice did all she could to return as fast as possible. It took another year, but she finally made it home.
She soon would wish she hadn't.
Upon setting foot on her home world, Ice immediately saw the damage done to the once flourishing land. In every direction she looked stood burned homes, long-dead nature, dreadful skeletons of people she probably knew and was once a friend to, and many of her people's combat staffs and light-blades lying lifeless and broken across the plains of battle. The larger open areas were covered by the shrapnel of fallen aircraft, the bones of many a riding animal, and a variety of melee and projectile weapons, some she recognized as the technology of the Kyu race, Kyitsune's people.
There had always been something of a conflict between the neighboring worlds, but no real fight had ever engaged, considering the waste of efforts and soldiers as opposed the more than sufficient gap between the two planets. The other interesting thing was that all the Kyu had met their extinction a long time ago.
Something was not right.
Ice had stretched her mind waves as far as she could, even in the retreat catacombs her people had prepared, but saw that had there been others alive, they wouldn't be found on Cerinia.
In despair, the vixen left and checked to see if the rumors of Kyitsune were wrong. Unfortunately, they were accurate. She had nothing to work with.
All this led her to where she was at the moment, crying her eyes out and on her knees, wishing she could have done something.
"That's it then. I'm the last one," she spoke solemnly.
"It's hard, there's no question. But, you can get used to it," came a strange voice.
Ice immediately whirled around in a fighting stance, seeing a truly bizarre creature. She looked upon a large reptilian species, much more menacing and primal in figure and shape than any she had seen before. His body was clad in full cloak with a hood that covered the back of his head. One eye was blood red with a vertical pupil like that of a feline. The other eye was red as well, though that was because of the glowing light it emitted, being a mechanical eye. His mouth, even when closed, still showed many a dagger-sharp fang.
"By the stars! What the hell are you?" Ice demanded. "Some type of…I suppose an Iguanian?"
The strange reptile shook his head. "I don't suppose you've ever heard the term 'allosaurus', a cousin to the well-known tyrannosaurus."
The vixen squinted at the large lizard. "That suffix suggests that you're a type of….dinosaur? Impossible. All manner of those behemoths are extinct, are they not?"
"Not on my world. I hail from the once great planet of Sauria, a sanctuary of the dinosaurs. At least, it was a magnificent sanctuary."
Ice lowered her head. "So we truly are in the same situation, is that it? It just doesn't seem fair. Tell me though, why are you, a native of this Sauria world, walking along the surface of this planet, which was by the way purely mammal-dominated?"
The allosaur's mouth formed a tooth-covered grin. "Well,why is a member, of the Cerinian community, coming to terms with her situation on the ancient Kyitsune? Hm?"
"Touche," was all Ice could think of saying. "I couldn't stomach the conditions of my own home, so I had to come here to try to gather my mind. It would not be so bad if I only knew more about what happened."
The giant lizard's smile faded. "I might be able to shed some light on the situation, unfortunately."
The blue fox turned to the reptile quickly. "What? What do you mean by that?"
"You're familiar with who used to roam this planet, aren't you? The legendary Kyu race, a population of furs who wielded power to an extent that even Cerinians almost couldn't imagine. I'm sure you especially would be familiar with all this."
Ice nodded. "Indeed. They thought themselves to be so superior. Arrogance. Sadly enough, their dynasty concluded a very long time ago, even before my life had began. Why do you mention them?"
The cloaked lizard grimaced. "They aren't extinct. I imagine some of the last members may have migrated to survive, because I know that at least one lives. There's a Kyu in the universe, with incredible power. He laid waste to my people as well as yours. There's the unfortunate truth."
As the words fell from his mouth, the vixen again fell to her knees. Her mouth hung open in shock and here eyes stood wide open.
"N…no. How did this…? Why? What reason…….?" Ice gasped in air as she bared her fangs.
"WHAT REASON DID HE HAVE!" she roared as she sent a blow to the ground.
"I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that he brought about the end of two worlds. On my own, he set loose a bio-mechanical insect infestation known as aparoids. The one good thing he brought about was the fact that I was able to turn these creatures into a personal advantage after I had been wounded. Let me show you what I mean."
With that, the allosaurus pulled off his cloak. He wore a set of chest and torso armor that also came with some pelvic plates. He had on a left shoulder pad made of a silvery chrome with several intricate and advanced-looking incisions carved into it. From its top shot out three long and thin spikes. The shoulder armament gave way to a cyborg arm, structured in heavy detail, with multiple areas that looked like hatches and a long, almost skeletal looking hand. The index and middle fingers featured extra-long, razor-sharp claws. Other areas all around his green and scaly body featured a few unnatural looking sections of robotic skin with chords that linked to other areas on the same appendage. His rear lower legs seemed to have hydraulic hinge pieces and the insides of his ankles featured mobile, long, curved, scimitar-like blades, giving the appearance of a raptor. The part of his skull between his brows was plated with cyber-skin and it traveled all the way down the back of his neck to his now fully robotic tail, which ended in a drill-like tip. One eye had obviously been a mechanical replacement.
"I've redefined the meaning of prosthetic implants," the cyborg half-joked, half mumbled.
"Truly," Ice responded with no emotion. She turned away to glare at a tree standing by itself. Her eyes glowed a frightening blue. "He'll pay," she hissed.
The cobalt beauty put up both hands as she exhaled. Despite the warm weather, cold mist emerged as she breathed. From her palms, moisture in the air began to accumulate and quickly cool down. She brought back both arms and threw them forward, releasing a glowing blast of blue towards the tree. As the projectile made contact, the tree became encased in layer of ice.
The allosaur's toothed jaw hung at the spectacle. "Incredible………………she may be of use."
The vixen took a moment to look at her work, admiring the effects of her powers. Then hastily, she ran to the tree and jumped into the air, seeming to soar slowly as she ascended. She turned her body and focused her momentum into a single roundhouse kick, strong enough to shatter the frozen tree. All that remained were several frozen splinters.
"You can….manipulate ice? I've never heard of such a trait in the Cerinian race," explained the lizard.
The female turned to face her companion. "It's a birth rite for the royal bloodline. That's why they call me…," she paused as she formed a rose made of ice and tossed it to the reptile, who gruffly caught it in his organic hand. "Ice," she finished coldly.
The creature chuckled. "How very appropriate. One so blue, so cold and melancholy, and her name is Ice. Forgive my amusement, but I'm sure you see the irony."
"Not really," she responded harshly. "I was a very different girl before the tragedy. If my people were still here, I wouldn't be so cold."
"My apologies, my dear Ice. As long as we're getting acquainted, my name is Scales. General, once upon a time, if you care at all."
"How nice," she spoke, obviously irritated.
Scales could see he'd better make a point. "Your highness, if the title still stands, I invite you to join me and my allies. We plan on exacting a perfect vengeance on the rogue Kyu."
Ice turned to face him. "Hmm……you know his location?"
"That is correct. His home galaxy is quite close, so has been revealed by the shared knowledge of my cyborg half. His home planet, his agenda, his past-! I know much about him. Join my battalion, and we can have justice," Scales tried to persuade her.
"Just fight alongside you, is that it? And you and your army are all out to merely kill him. He sounds very strong. Perhaps, more than we can handle."
The once general grinned. "A perfect vengeance, my dear. That means eye for an eye," he seemed to sound sarcastic as he blinked his robotic eye.
Ice could sense a deeper meaning. "What are you referring to, Scales?"
"I want you to join my army, and together we will obliterate the world he calls his home. During this time, his world has entered a season where some of the planets amongst his system tend to receive snow. It would be unlimited ammunition for one of your talents. He shall suffer justly. All I ask is that as a member of my force, you comply with a certain process," spoke the general.
Ice looked unsure. "What's the being's name? And then, what's this process?"
Scales growled at the thought. He looked up and roared in harsh memory.
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHRR!"
He looked back down to the female, looking calmly furious.
"McCloud………Fox McCloud."
Ice made a mental note of the name. "And the 'process'?
Scales extended his cyber arm. "Agree to embrace the infusion of this aparoid technology, to show your allegiance. It will unite all of us infected, making us stronger as a unit. We will share each other's strength and knowledge. The perfect army."
As he finished, several beings began to emerge from the forest area. Several Redeye beasts walked out, followed by groups of numerous raptors, spinosaurs and elite sharpclaw. All of them were in a mutated state much like Scales. Though the many beasts ceased to advance, the ground shook in the rhythm of footsteps. Their general grinned in pride, while Ice shuddered nervously.
Three very unique beasts emerged from behind the trees and roared with great intensity.
Galdon, the six-legged, claw-faced beast. The looming and destructive Redeye's king. Lastly, the only Saurian dragon, Drakor.
Ice noticed that they too were all cyborgs, though the dragon's armor seemed to have been much older and scorched in some areas.
"Join us Ice. You don't want to be on the wrong side, after all," Scales spoke.
For the first time in a long while, Ice cracked a small smile.
"Success," Scales thought as he reached out his hand to Ice, while she did the same.
Suddenly, she smacked his hand away.
"What makes you think a prize like me would let herself go to waste, just for some not-so-discreet armor? I'm an independent, Scales. Sorry, but I guess we'll just have to do it our own ways," she said. She gave him a quick salute then turned to walk away.
She hadn't taken a step before she found herself facing the hungry face of the king Redeye. The fox backed up as she turned to look at Scales.
"I'm afraid it's my way, or nothing. Be smart Ice," the general spoke arrogantly.
Ice glared at him, and saw that the other dinosaurs were moving towards her, while the t-rex alpha male behind her let out whispered growls, as if stalking prey.
She clenched her fists. Her ship was a little way away, but she'd need a plan. "Now what was it? You know; that thing that got rid of a lot of the dinosaurs?"
Ice whirled around and placed her hands on the tyrannosaur's face. "Oh yeah. The Ice Age!"
From her hands a blast of Ice emerged and froze the rex's snout, forcing him to back away with a growl of icy pain.
"You idiotic harlot! You'll die for that!" Scales growled. "Kill the fox!"
The many dino-bots began to charge forward, bloodlust swirling in their monstrous eyes.
Ice stood calm and released a large wave of blizzard like snow and wind from where she stood. The dinosaurs slowed down at the harsh cold, unable to see through the mist or use thermal vision. They growled in frustrated confusion.
When the small blizzard had dicipated, Ice was nowhere to be seen.
"So the saying goes, sly as a fox. Now my dear, where are you hiding?" Scales asked chuckling. He scanned the entire area, seeing no trace of her, but a trail of flat ice along the ground leading to the opposite half of the clearing.
"What's this?" the reptile inquired.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a roaring engine off in the distance. He turned his head to see a ship rising into the air and preparing to take off.
"Damn mammal!" Scales cursed. He locked on to the still ship with his cyber eye and fired a plasma bolt at the ship. Right before the burning streak could intercept the vessel, it took off in a flash of light.
The general let out a fearsome growl. "You were lucky, Ice!" He turned to his army, who eyed him impatiently, waiting for another command.
Drakor descended in front of his commander. "My general, what action do we take now?" he spoke darkly.
Scales gave him the 'at ease'. "For now, retreat back to the transports. That fool is no help anymore. We'll stay with plan A for now, and bring down Corneria as originally planned. Soon, loyal Drakor, you'll get your part in revenge," the general assured him.
"Yes, my general," Drakor nodded. He truly could not wait for his second chance at Fox. None of them could.
They turned around at Scales' order as he faced the sky. His mind was wrapped around the events to come.
"Soon Fox…….Soon."