Chapter 7: Enigma

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Falco didn't try to restrain his loud and desperate voice. Although Fox had taken Falco into a nearby restroom near Katt's hospital room, Falco's screaming could be heard loud and clear from outside; Fox did what he could to calm his friend down. "Falco, I know you're angry, but…"

"Well, no shit, Fox! You expect me to put on a happy face and pretend everything gonna be fucking a-okay?" Falco heaved long and hard, his hot breath burned against the flesh underneath Fox's fur.

Fox sighed. Being the Starfox team leader, he was used to dealing with, and finding solutions to, extreme crises. However, he had experienced nothing like the situation Falco was in, nor the consequences of not finding a solution to as big a problem Corneria would find itself in if he didn't think quick. "Falco, I need you to calm down so we can think of a logical way to get out of this mess."

Falco appeared to calm down; his body relaxed and his demeanor seemed more focused. "You know what? You're absolutely right. I shouldn't be wasting my time in here moping." Suddenly, Falco whipped out his blaster; Fox didn't like the vengeful glint he saw in his friend's eyes.

"Uh, Falco, what do you think you're doing?"

Falco shot back a look that told Fox he wasn't going to be denied. "I'm gonna look for this Zolao creep and blast his ass straight to hell, where the fuck did you think I was going?" The avian flung the bathroom door open, almost bumping into a waiting Krystal in the process.

Fox rushed out behind his friend. "Falco, you're going about this all wrong. You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Falco stopped abruptly; Fox did the same as his friend turned to face him. Falco pointed a finger directly in Fox's face. "Do me a favor, Fox. Don't follow me or so help me I won't hesitate to beat the shit out of you."

Fox's expression carried shock and disbelief. Upon hearing Falco's threat, Krystal raced ahead and stood defiantly in Falco's path.

"Krystal, get the fuck out of my way! I don't wanna hurt you, but I will if I have to."

The vixen stood still. "What you're doing is suicide! No mortal weapon can hurt him! I can't let you do this!"

Falco's expression wrinkled with irritability and aimed his blaster right between Krystal's blue eyes; again, Krystal refused to move. "Dammit, I'm doing this whether or not…"

Without warning, Fox yanked Falco's gun arm down, a burst from the blaster narrowly missing Krystal's left foot as she dodged out of harm's way. Falco swung his captive arm in order to break free of Fox's grip. While the avian's back was turned, Krystal found an opportunity to catch Falco in a full nelson. Before Krystal could get a firm hold, Falco stumbled backward while still wrestling with Fox and sandwiched the vixen against the wall. Krystal slumped to the floor, clutching her ribs in pain. Shortly afterwards, Falco managed to capture his squirming friend by the back of his shirt and throw him – Fox halfway stumbling – against the same wall Krystal sat against. Fox grabbed at his lower back, but in too much agony to moan about it. Panting heavily, Falco hung his blaster limp at his side, looking at his friends as if they had committed the ultimate sin, but his expression was unwavering and determined. Yes, he had fought two of his friends, but to Falco, they were hindrances on his ultimate mission, no matter how suicidal it seemed.

Fox looked at Falco as if he had just betrayed him. He tried comforting the vixen at his side while still maintaining his icy stare on the avian. At last, Falco pocketed his blaster and ran off, not caring what awaited him.

Peppy, Slippy, Bill and Rose soon appeared after Falco had finally disappeared. "Fox, are you and Krystal okay?" Peppy asked with a fatherly concern.

Fox looked up at the elderly hare. "I think so, but I think Krystal might have some broken ribs."

Peppy sighed. "Bill, you take Rose back to the base while we get Krystal healed up." After Bill and Rose left, Peppy continued. "Fox, Pepper just informed me that a prisoner down at the correctional facility might know something about these monsters. I'd like you to go there first thing in the morning and see what you can find." Fox simply nodded.

Falco sped down the nearly deserted road on his motorbike through the eerie night. He gripped the handlebars tight enough to make his hands hurt, but physical pain was the last thing on his mind. Falco was even questioning himself as to the sanity of his decision, but he was too blinded by revenge to reconsider playing it safe; he wanted a piece of Zolao and he wanted it now, no matter how powerful Zolao was. Falco stopped in the turn lane heading to Katt's house. "I've got a pretty good hunch I know where this scumbag is."

Falco pulled into the driveway of his girlfriend's suburban house, hoping that Zolao would return to the scene of the crime. He took out his blaster and kicked the door open, opting not to proceed quietly into the house. His hand hovered over his blaster, ready to zap anything that moved within the marooned abode.

"COME ON OUT, YOU CREEP! I'M HERE TO BLAST YOU TO HELL!" Only silence greeted him. Falco ventured further into the house, inspecting behind the curtains, in the garage and in the bedrooms and closets, but no Zolao. If Falco wasn't uncomfortable before, he was now. He wasn't scared, but Falco got real edgy when a sadistic freak could possibly be lying in wait, especially for him. Falco angrily pounded a fist into a nearby wall, creating a dent in it. His mission having apparently failed, Falco stormed out of the house. Surprisingly, a police motorcycle sat at the edge of the driveway, but its sirens weren't blaring. The officer calmly approached Falco as the avian approached the officer. His face was hidden underneath the shadows cast by the street lamps.

"What the hell do you want?" Falco spat impatiently. He looked as if he was about to unload a blaster round into the officer's chest.

"I'm here about a domestic disturbance. What seems to be the problem?" The officer asked with a composed demeanor.

Falco eyed the figure suspiciously. "There was no damn disturbance. I was here looking for my girl…." THUNK! CRASH!

Falco felt himself thrown headfirst into his bike. His head squarely connected with the exhaust pipe as he slumped to the ground. His wavering eyes caught a glimpse of blood on the dent in the reflective chrome where his head hit. Before Falco had the chance to rub his sore spot, the next thing he felt was a strong claw wrap around his torso as it lifted him off the ground. The claw turned Falco around so that the ace pilot looked in the evil eyes of Zolao himself. Falco glanced at the pelt that was once an ordinary officer, and then he turned his attention to the smirking monster.

"So that's what you really look like?" Falco said as he looked at the ugly face of the monster. "I've seen prettier stuff in my toilet."

Zolao frowned and growled at the bird. He flung Falco hard onto the unforgiving concrete; Falco rolled and slammed hard into the garage door, grasping his left knee in pain. "You've got a lot of nerve to insult me like that, you flimsy mortal. I shall put you out of your misery." Definitely not one to back away from a fight, Falco stood upright and removed his jacket, tossing it across his bike. He glared at the demon and cracked his knuckles loudly.

"I'd sure as hell like to see you try."

Zolao grinned and leapt high in the air toward Falco just as the pilot took out his blaster. Falco took pot shots at the demon, but Zolao's gummy hide absorbed the energy like a sponge. Zolao landed in front of Falco and viciously swatted him across his head, knocking his blaster loose in the process. Zolao stomped on the blaster, crushing it to tiny pieces. Falco was struggling to stand up, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth, when Zolao grabbed Falco and crashed his head into the house's banister. Falco began to stagger back when Zolao suddenly grabbed one of his arms and twisted it hard behind his back. Falco growled in pain as Zolao forced him face-first into the grass. Zolao pressed a knee into Falco's back and clenched the back of his head. Falco's eyes grew heavy from the lack of oxygen forced from Zolao's immense weight; the demon bent over close to Falco's head.

"What'll it be?" Zolao taunted. "I could break your arm or crush your puny little head just like that." Zolao's breath was horrid, and he made sure Falco could smell every bit of it. "But I won't. You know why? I want you to watch your little girlfriend become mine as I dominate this pathetic Lylat System, and neither you nor anyone else will be able to stop me." With that, Zolao released Falco and soared away into the dark night. Falco gingerly stood up as soon as the demon left.

"Well, if this isn't a nice pile of shit I've gotten myself into?"

At the crack of dawn, Fox was already heading east toward the outskirts of town and the prison where he was ordered to go. He opted to leave Krystal in the hospital's care; fortunately, she had only suffered minor bruises from the scuffle she and Fox had with Falco the previous night. Fox himself had a sore neck, but at the moment, pain was secondary; he had to find out as much as possible from this stranger he was told to meet before the situation grew any direr.

Fox was granted clearance at the gate; General Pepper had informed the prison staff earlier that he would be arriving. As Fox walked in the main door, the burly badger guard standing there handed him the prisoner's dossier.

"This is the information on the prisoner you're supposed to meet, Fox." The badger stated simply. "She's a bit of a…um…an enigma. She's very strange." The guard walked with Fox until they reached a gray, nondescript interrogation room. Fox opened the folder and inspected its contents. The color mug shot showed an extremely beautiful lupine woman, perhaps no older than 25 years old. Dark tresses framed her face exquisitely and the luscious dark brown eyes stared a piercing hole through Fox. Sorting through the prisoner's personal information, Fox came across something very odd.

"This is weird; first name is Vivien but no last name is given. She has no job, no house, no surviving family, and no source of income. The only sure thing we know is that she was arrested for aggravated assault. It says here she severed an appendage of her victim; what was it…?"

"Uh, I believe you should wait in the, the…um…the interrogation room until the prisoner arrives, okay?" The guard said nervously, ignoring the question. The big badger walked away, allowing Fox to walk slowly into the room himself and sit in one of the cold metal chairs. Fox tossed the folder onto the metal table, but one of the papers inside fell onto the floor. Fox bent to pick it up and saw something on it even stranger: the prisoner's date of birth. Confused, Fox grabbed the color picture and examined it, and then he looked at the birth date, then back at the photo again. What was so baffling?

The date of birth was over one hundred years ago.

Fox stuffed the information back in the envelope and rubbed his forehead. Who exactly was he asked to deal with? Before Fox could think much further, Vivien stepped into the room wearing a blue jumpsuit, followed by the badger guard; she looked exactly as she did in the photo. Her brown eyes still had the same uncomfortable effect as in the mug shot. Her feminine paws were bound with energy cuffs – both on her wrists and ankles. The guard sat Vivien down in the chair opposite Fox and indicated that he would be behind the two-way mirror as he shut the door.

Fox sat back in his chair, while the enigmatic Vivien simply stared at him through her captivating eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, each one expecting the other to say something first. Then, Vivien leaned forward and slowly – very slowly – began licking her lips, as if enticing Fox. Fox felt a bit uneasy at the gesture and slightly shifted his position in his chair, halfway expecting the wolf to lunge at him. Vivien's eyes drank the image of Fox in his chair; the corners of her mouth curled up slightly and she winked – slowly – at him. Fox was having trouble understanding what Vivien was trying to accomplish with her seductive actions.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?" Fox finally asked.

Vivien didn't answer. Instead, looking at Fox through undressing eyes, and then began unbuttoning her jumpsuit. Vivien advanced as far as the third button, and when the slightest sight of her bosom appeared, Fox angrily leaned over the table and looked the prisoner square in her brown eyes. "Dammit! Stop fucking around…!"

"What? You like it?"

Fox stood upright in surprise. "What the…? What?"

Vivien stopped unbuttoning her blouse. "You like to fuck around, too?" Vivien winked at Fox again.

Fox shook his head in impatience. "Could you please stop hitting on me for one second?"

Vivien sat back in her seat and began to play with her dark hair, wrapping it around her thin fingers. "It's not my fault you're such a sexy beast."

Fox opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. "Look, we've wasted enough time already with your flirting. You know why I'm here, so I suggest you start spilling the beans about what you know of the monsters that attacked the base."

Vivien appeared to be in thought. "Well, what has your Cerinian friend not told you?"

Fox train of thought suddenly halted. "Whoa! How do you know about Krystal?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Foxy. When we walk out of here, I'll tell you even more." Vivien said in a sultry voice.

Fox ignored the prisoner's tone. "What do you mean when? I have to get clearance from General Pepper…"

"That's already taken care of." Vivien interrupted, prompting a confused look from Fox. "Look in that folder if you don't believe me." Skeptical, Fox stood up, opened the folder and sorted through the information again. Sure enough, in the back of the folder, Fox found a release form granting Vivien's release from the prison. Fox simply shook his head; the situation could only get weirder. Fox stuffed the information back into the folder, but nearly jumped out of his shoes when he suddenly found Vivien standing dangerously close to him. "Let's go."

Mina felt a blinding light through her bedroom window as she lay in bed. Squeezing her eyes shut and groaning, Mina turned over and glanced groggily at the clock on the nightstand: 7:30 a.m. Yawning, Mina sat up and stretched in her short "I attended F U" t-shirt. Before she stood up, Mina heard her cell phone ringing on the nightstand. She crawled over her messy bed and answered it. "What's up?" She said sluggishly.

"Mina, it's Oscar from the Green Bistro." Said the other voice. "The Bistro's gonna be closed for a couple of days."

Mina looked confused. "What for?"

"It's because of the attacks on the military base and the hospital. The boss wants everything to blow over before she reopens the place."

Mina nodded. "Oh, okay. Hey, have you heard from Katt recently? I tried calling her last night at home and on her cell phone, but I couldn't get an answer."

Oscar's voice on the other end hesitated. "Actually, she's in the hospital."

Mina gasped, her eyes widened with concern. "Oh god. When did this happen? Is she okay?"

"From what I heard on the news last night, she was admitted early yesterday morning and her room was attacked late last night by one of those monsters. She looked really messed up."

Mina bit on her nails. She wanted to check on Katt as soon as possible. "Okay, thanks Oscar." She set the phone down and rushed toward her dresser. Mina pulled off her nightclothes and ripped the drawers open before a realization came to her. She picked up her phone and dialed a number.

Falco stood in front of the mirror in Katt's aromatic bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face and opened the mirrored medicine cabinet. He found a bottle of aspirin and popped two tablets in his mouth, wincing from the pain of his swollen bruise from where Zolao had swatted at him. He had trouble sleeping through the night; his head hurt and his back ached like nothing he had ever felt; his knees didn't feel much better either. Falco closed the cabinet and scowled at his pathetic condition in the mirror; the longer he looked, the more he hated himself and wished he were dead and buried. In a flash, he furiously rammed a fist into the cabinet door, producing a serious dent in it. Falco ignored the searing pain shooting in his arm as he angrily clutched his headfeathers. Suddenly his phone rang from inside his jacket; he furiously yanked it out. "WHAT?" The voice on the other end sounded familiar.

"Well, well, well. I hope you learned your lesson, bird boy." It was Mina. "Maybe next time you'll…"

"What the fuck do you want, Mina? I don't have time to put up with your bullshit. I feel shitty enough already."

"Oh, so you know about Katt already? Serves you right. If you had treated her better, none of this would've happened."

"Dammit, Mina. Didn't you hear me say I already feel shitty enough about what happened? The last thing I need is for you to give me a guilt trip."

Mina tried putting on a pair of jeans, squeezing her tail through the hole in the back. "You brought this on yourself, boy. I'm just telling it like it is."

Falco walked out of the bathroom and fell on the couch in the living room. "You just couldn't leave me alone, could you? You absolutely had nothing else better to do than to rub this fucked up shit in my face, did you, you crazy bitch?"

Mina was just about to put a shirt on when she heard the insult. Instead, she flung the lilac-colored garment on the bed in anger. "Know what? I was just about to feel sorry for you, but you truly are a selfish asshole!" Mina hung up with a loud click.

Falco clumsily fumbled to turn off his phone and stuffed it back in his jacket. He bent over, head between his legs. "Why can't I just be left the hell alone?"

Fox waited impatiently in his car outside the prison entrance for Vivien. She had insisted Fox wait outside while she changed out of her prison jumpsuit. Fox was busy thinking about the situation he and the rest of Corneria was in when Vivien opened the passenger door and sat down inside. Fox sped out of the facility first before taking a look at Vivien; his jaw nearly dropped in his lap when he saw what Vivien was wearing.

"What the hell is that?"

Vivien casually propped her black vinyl high-heel boots on the dashboard and lit a cigarette. "What's what?"

Fox tried to maintain focus on the road ahead of him. "Y-You! I could be arrested for soliciting prostitution!"

Vivien took a look at herself and laughed. Fox was confused, expecting Vivien to slap him silly. Vivien wore a tight red tube top and a torn denim miniskirt that could redefine the term "mini". The long hair and sultry eyes completed the exquisite package. Vivien's laughing calmed, but she maintained a smile. "You think I'm a prostitute? Pay up and we'll do it right now."

Fox looked surprised and covered the pocket with his wallet with one of his paws. "What the…?"

"You think I'm sexy, don't you, Foxy?" Vivien cooed as she moved to place a hand on his shoulder, but Fox stopped her.

"Stop it. You promised me information and I want it now, dammit." Fox pointed a demanding finger in the wolf's direction.

Vivien held up her hands. "Okay, okay. I was just having some fun. But you ought to be careful being rough with me, Fox. It might turn me on." She said with a slim smile.

"Just tell me what you know. I'm heading to the hospital so you can see what happened."

"I already know what happened."

Fox kept his eyes on the road. "Oh, really? May I ask how you know?"

Vivien puffed on her cigarette. "They let us watch the news during our lunch breaks in prison and I just happened to hear about it." Fox nodded in satisfaction of Vivien's answer. "Do you know for sure if it was Zolao that attacked?"

"Oh yeah, it was definitely him. He was much bigger than the monsters at the base, plus he left his little disguise in plain sight." Vivien didn't answer, which left an unsettling silence between her and Fox, so Fox decided to break the silence. "So how do you know Zolao? What happened between you and him?"

Vivien's expression slid downward and looked away solemnly. "Let's just say I had an unfortunate experience with him. I'd prefer not to talk about it."

Fox had a question sitting on his tongue, but thought better of it, thinking it might provoke an outrage. Instead he focused on the Corneria City skyline on the horizon.

Fox's blue sports car pulled into the parking lot of the Corneria City hospital. He parked next to some police cars and entered the tall building with Vivien in tow. Vivien caught some ugly reactions from some of the civilians, but she never acknowledged one of them. The hospital was busy as always, but amidst all the bustling, Vivien caught sight of a passing security officer. With a quick flick of her hand, Vivien swatted the canine officer on his backside. The officer turned around, scratching his head in confusion, but saw nothing but a busy crowd.

Fox saw this and turned to his enigmatic companion. "What do you think you're doing?"

Vivien just shrugged. "I was just seeing if his ass was as tight as yours." She said as the pair entered an empty elevator.

Fox rolled his eyes and sighed. "Y'know, the more I think about it, the more I believe you really are an easy strumpet." No sooner than when Fox said this did Vivien shove Fox into an elevator corner and firmly clutched Fox's crotch. Fox yelped, and Vivien held him against the wall with a paw around his neck. Vivien forced herself onto Fox and breathed heavily on his neck. Vivien reeked of feral beauty, but she could be just as deadly.

"My boyfriend said the exact same thing before I ripped his dick off with my bare paws. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" Before Fox even thought about answering, Vivien planted a forceful kiss on his mouth. Fox couldn't do much about his predicament since Vivien held him by the family jewels. Vivien moaned with pleasure as she finally released her death grip on Fox's crotch and used that paw to force Fox to the floor, still attached to his mouth; then she pinned his arms down with both paws and straddled the fox's waist.

"I'm in deep shit now. What will Krystal think when she smells Vivien all over me?" Fox wondered. He tried moving, but Vivien had a ridiculously strong grip that killed any thoughts of forcing the lupine off him, at least before they reached the twelfth floor. Vivien writhed sensually on top of Fox, her tongue slithering about in his mouth. Since he couldn't move, Fox could only go with the flow. He could feel Vivien's sensuous curves grab him – her long, shapely legs clutched his waist and her soft, supple breasts pressed against Fox's chest. The experience would be heavenly to any other male, but Fox was in a serious relationship with a certain Cerinian vixen and he could only think of all the bad things Krystal could do to him if she found out what happened.

Finally, the elevator bell dinged, which was a welcome sound to Fox's ears. He felt Vivien's grip loosen ever so slightly, and that gave him the opportunity to break her hold and throw her off him. Fox staggered to his feet and propped himself against the open doorway; Vivien had left him dizzy and lightheaded. He turned to Vivien, who had risen to her knees. She captured him with a titillating grin and Fox instinctively crossed his legs.

"You liked that, didn't you?" The words glided off Vivien's tongue.

"The hell I did." Fox answered back, thoroughly pissed.

Vivien smirked and twirled her glistening brown hair around her fingers. "Not from what I felt in your pants."

Fox felt the flesh beneath his fur turn a deeper shade of pink with embarrassment. "Thanks to you, I'm gonna be in deep shit. Krystal's gonna have my ass for sure."

"I'd like to have it, too…"

"Shut up!" Fox shouted. With a shrug, Vivien stood up and walked past him out into the hallway. Thankfully for Fox, hardly anyone was on the twelfth floor so no one could see how embarrassed he was.

Katt's quarters were now blocked off with police tape and guarded by security officers. Fox flashed his ID and the guards let him and Vivien into the room. The place had been cleaned up, but the police and military weren't taking any chances on any further attacks. The two stood at Katt's bedside through a long silence.

"She's the ex-girlfriend of…" Fox paused, not sure if he wanted to use the appropriate term, "a…a friend of mine."

"Ex? What happened exactly?" Vivien asked.

"Katt caught Falco – my friend – having an affair with her older sister." Vivien simply nodded, not showing the slightest hint of concern.

"Then Zolao disguises himself as some Don Juan and sweeps her off her feet for the sole purpose of impregnating her so she can give birth to the monster that will make her his succubus queen. Am I right?"

Fox looked stupefied. "How the hell do you know all this? Where exactly did you come from? I'd like my brain to stop hurting, please."

Vivien gently patted Fox's rear, prompting a dirty look from the vulpine. "In due time, Foxy."

Fox's attention turned to the noise of footsteps near the door. Krystal, Peppy and Slippy entered the room with permission from the guards. Fox began to feel uneasy when she saw Krystal staring at Vivien, then she walked over and stood next to Fox. The others stared at Vivien in curiosity, mainly her outfit. Peppy spoke first.

"Hey, Fox. Who is this…this beautiful friend of yours?"

"Yes, Fox." Fox jumped at the sound of Krystal's voice. She crossed her arms across her chest and had a fake grin attached to her face. "Who is she?" Fox read Krystal's body language like a book, and its title was, "I smell that slut all over you, so you better explain yourself quick or you're in deep trouble."

Fox nervously scratched behind one of his ears as he looked at Peppy. "Uh, she's the prisoner that you said knows about those monsters. Remember?"

Peppy, although mystified, looked somewhat satisfied with the team's new insider. Krystal, however, appeared skeptical toward the mysterious Vivien; she didn't know if she could trust someone like her, but only one question came to her mind.

"Where have I seen her before?"

More to come in Chapter 8 (read and review)!