Well, here it is. Again, it's been quite a long time since my last update but I figured you guys might want to keep reading, but without any further ado I present to you the next chapter of this story.

Chapter 4: Hostilities

With his mouth wide open, Eric felt as if this was all a fantasy, a fever dream. He took a few steps backwards; he didn't know whether to feel curiosity or fear. After all, it was virtually impossible for him to be there. All the things in sight weren't supposed to exist but they were there anyway.

'This has got to be a dream.'

'I'm afraid it isn't," Eric turned around in an abrupt, yet shaky manner.

Now he was face to face with one of them. That's right, he was right in front of the mysterious owner of that voice he had heard so many times since he had gotten out of the prison he'd been held at.

"You... Y-you a-a-are... Krystal..." Eric couldn't help but gasp.

He attempted to sit up, while his eyes now looked just as big as the biggest crater in the world. There was a creature in front of him; a creature he had only seen through the glass of a TV screen. That creature stood on its two legs and had many human-like anatomical features, including hands. She was a blue-furred vixen; however, there was some white fur on her face as well as on her neck, and on the visible parts of her chest. She was wearing a tight-looking catsuit, and purple high-heeled boots that made light bounce off their shiny surface. The color combination on her clothing was close to being two different shades of purpleish blue. One was darker than the other. Her tail remained the same as it was in the games. It had two silver rings on it, which split the fur in three fluffy sections. The vixen was moving it slowly from one side to the other, curving it slightly. Her ears were stiff and pointing upwards. Her turquoise eyes exhibited a cold and calculating stare, as if their owner was expecting some sort of attack from the young human in front of her. She was armed with two pistols; one hung from a small strap wrapped around her right thigh; the other one from a silver belt around her waist.

"Your t-te-lepathy works..."

The vixen changed her expression. Now she was giving the young human a stare which mixed confusion and interest.

"So, you know who I am, huh?" Her hand went towards the handle of the pistol on her belt. "But let me ask you something first. How did you find out?"

"Leave him be, Krystal," now the man was talking. "We'll get a chance to ask questions later."

The owner of the voice stepped out from behind some tanks that contained some sort of unknown gas, playing around with a pistol of his own. He was a blue-feathered falcon, with a few stray red feathers surrounding his icy blue eyes. His menacing yellow beak looked sharp enough to tear Eric's skin off his body. His outfit consisted of a white flight jacket over a brownish-red one-piece flight suit that looked sturdy and hard, while his footwear consisted of a pair of grey boots.

"Just take him where he's got to be. I'll stick around here for a bit longer since I gotta get the Landmaster in here."

"Alright, fine," the vixen withdrew her hand from her weapon and got Eric back on the move, grabbing him by the upper arm with force. "Keep walking and follow my directions."

Krystal guided him to another door. However, unlike the prison, the door in that ship slid towards the left side automatically when it detected them walking in. The corridor behind the door strongly resembled those in the prison.

'So, this isn't new.'

"Allow me to remind you that I can hear your thoughts loud and clear, if I decide to focus on them."

Eric sighed as a sign of annoyance, but that didn't change the fact he was still afraid. This was just excessively complex to consider it a prank. These anthropomorphic beings were not people in costumes, nor hyper-realistic animatronics. They were real and, taking into consideration his experience with the Star Fox games, it was pretty obvious that he was lost. One unarmed human couldn't stand a chance against the technology of these aliens.

After taking another elevator to the upper decks, they got to the command bridge of the spaceship. It strongly resembled the one that appeared in Star Fox Assault, although it was bigger. The walls of the bridge were also made out of the panels he had seen before in the corridor, but the only noticeable difference was the even brighter light that was behind the panels, which improved the lighting and visibility. The next thing Eric noticed was a big console with buttons, switches and screens that displayed an overwhelming number of maps, meters, and diagrams that meant nothing to him. Behind that console, there was a yellow humanoid robot that possessed a bar of red glass on its head, instead of eyes. It seemed to be fairly busy, judging from how attentively he monitored the console while it worked with its thin metallic fingers.

At the same time, there was a second console that almost doubled the other one in size. Eric couldn't really tell from where he was, but lined up behind it were six leather chairs. In front of the consoles, there was a rather large glass window the size of the room's width that stared into the depths of the enormous cave. However, the amazement the command bridge of the Great Fox brought to the young human caused a small paralysis throughout his body.

"What are you doing?" The vixen asked him before giving him a light nudge on his shoulder.

"You're here. For some reason, all of you are here..." said Eric as he stopped walking. His voice was trembling with fright.

"All of you?" The vixen felt puzzled after hearing Eric's statement.

Eric lifted his sight and looked her in the eye. He was about to think that he had some sort of advantage against them because he knew what they were like thanks to the videogames he had played, and that they apparently ignored the fact that they were just a bunch of fictional characters roaming reality right there in front of a human being for no logical reason at all. However, he stopped his train of thought and worked his way around the mental images his mind had generated, fearing that Krystal would discover his inner preoccupations and knowledge, so he avoided giving anything else away by keeping still and quiet.

"If you don't say anything, I swear I will-"

"Go easy on the kid, will you?" Came a request in the form of a voice that came from behind the tallest console. "Welcome, human."

"Don't you think he's dangerous, Fox?"

Eric's heart flipped out when he heard that name.

"Nah, it's alright. Get those handcuffs off him."

Krystal obeyed and freed Eric from his bindings. At the same time, a brown-furred fox that looked slim yet toned came walking down the flight of stairs from the upper console. As he reached the floor, the fox walked towards the vixen and the human. His clothes were pretty much the same as the falcon's, except the fox lacked a jacket over his green sleeveless jumpsuit, and silver boots. He also wore a bright red scarf around his neck and a brown belt with a silver clasp on his waist. Like Krystal, a holstered pistol hung from the belt. In addition to the pistol, he also carried a silver hexagonal artifact that had a small blue diode at its center. His wrist had some sort of bracelet going all the way around it. The fox stopped in front of Eric and extended his paw (or hand?) towards him.

"Sorry about the hostile attitude. My name is James Foxwell McCloud but people usually call me Fox."

Eric lowered his gaze and kept his arms crossed over his lower back as if he were still wearing the cuffs and started to shake his head sideways like a madman as if he were saying no with his eyes wide open. Call it panic or nervousness, but that feeling was affecting him in a rather strong fashion.

"I need a moment," Eric said, leaning against the wall and facing away from the foxes while trying to gain control over his breathing. After accomplishing said intention, he took in a deep breath and turned around.

"So tell me," Fox gave him an awkward look. "What the hell was that about?"

"I have no idea," Eric began to examine his surroundings to try and find a way out. When he realized he'd have to improvise, he charged against Fox and pushed him into the wall with ease. Of course, he had been able to do that by catching the vulpine with his guard down. The human then turned on his heel and made a run for it toward the elevator. Knowing Fox had made a terrible mistake, Krystal leapt ahead the escapee and got into a fight stance upon landing and threw a side kick aimed at Eric's face. Due to his lack of training in self-defense, Krystal's kick connected with the boy's head in an almost glorious manner. After taking the whole force of the impact on his forehead, Eric tumbled and fell to the floor. Unluckily for him, his body crashed into the frame of the elevator's door, creating a small gash above his left eyebrow. The good news was that Krystal was now a few feet away from him. Feeling dizzy, Eric hit the switch that made the door open. As the door slid to the side, Eric crawled into the elevator as Krystal dashed for the open door. However, the door closed just in time before she could reach it.

"I told you it was dangerous!" A distraught Krystal screamed at Fox as she pressed the elevator's switch with anxiety.

Meanwhile, Fox had pulled his gun out. Then he began to yell orders into the ship's intercommunicator system while he typed codes on the console's keyboards, beside the robot.

"Attention, Star Fox team. The human is roaming freely through the Great Fox! I repeat, he's free! Find and detain him. No blaster shots at his vital body parts; if he dies, it's our funeral."

"Your access codes are valid. Lockdown mode is authorized and in execution," said the robot as the hectic hunt took over the ship.

"Come on, get to the damn hangar already," Eric muttered under his breath.

He was getting rather impatient about reaching the lower levels and the exit. His heart was now beating at rates that were so intense, he felt it would explode at any time. By the time the elevator reached the level he had been at previously, Eric performed a small victory hop and ran out of the metal box. Thankfully, the way back to the hangar wasn't too hard to remember. Much to Eric's dismay, the gate on the opposite side of the hangar had already been closed shut. Besides, to make things even uglier than they already were, the falcon was blocking the closed gate with his tank.

"Listen, kiddo. Don't even think you're getting out of here," the bird leapt off the tank's hatch, executing a somersault to perfection, and landed with finesse before the human, who took a couple steps backwards, not really knowing what his next move would be. "By the way; the name's Lombardi. Falco Lombardi."

"Get away from me!" A terrorized Eric exclaimed before turning around and running back towards the elevator.

His escape came to a halt as the door opened to reveal Fox, Krystal, and a short and somewhat fat amphibian being that resembled an Earth toad. Its features were defined a bit too well by its protruding eyes, its yellow jumpsuit and a red and white cap that sat on his head. Attempting to intimidate the human, the three of them had their guns drawn. They were determine to take Eric back into custody. Screaming at the top of his lungs, Eric turned around one last time, only to find himself staring down the barrel of one more gun. The falcon had caught up with him while he was messing with the elevator.

This was it. He was surrounded; finished.

"Listen, we need you to calm down," Fox told him as he kneeled to leave his gun on the floor. Regardless of this, the rest of his team were still aiming at the boy. "This is a matter of vital importance."

The fox's emerald eyes displayed a serious, but intimidating look.

"I don't believe you," Eric replied, returning the very same glance with anger and coldness. His hands were now fists.

"Alright, put your blasters down guys," said the vulpine with a gentle tone and exhaled as he looked down at his feet. His teammates were doubtful. They gave him puzzled looks and nervous stares without losing their aim. "I said put them down!"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Krystal inquired.

"Yeah, I am."

As a child who obeys its mother, Fox's teammates followed his order and aimed their weapons at the floor without taking their eyes off the human. Eric simply didn't know what to say or do anymore. His only escape route was blocked off.

"I want you to heed my words very carefully with all of your attention," Fox took a step forward and grabbed Eric by his right shoulder. "I know you don't believe me and that's okay; that's alright. I don't really trust you either but-"

"Explain yourself," Eric interrupted him halfway through a sentence and broke free from the fox's grasp.

"Well-" the vulpine was cut off yet again. This time however, something far graver had been the cause. An immense explosion that split the tank in two halves of flaming junk had just become the center of attention. A big chunk of the wall and the door to the hangar had fallen apart too, making sparks and dust fly all over the metallic floor and the burning remains of the tank.

"What's happening?" Krystal's attitude had changed. Instead of displaying courage and strength like earlier, her eyes screamed confusion and uncertainty. The smoke from the fire began to fill the hangar and limited visibility, thus creating a lack of security for everyone. "Who could've found us?"

"Slippy," Fox stood still, not letting Eric go unwatched. Not even for a split second. "Could you please explain what just happened?"

The toad was all sweat and shivers; he grabbed his gun with strength. He cleared his throat and began to elaborate on the matter with a rather high voice tone.

"Well, apparently our system is compromised. When the Great Fox enters Lockdown mode, all doors are closed shut and locked. No one comes in and no one comes out," Slippy paused to make sure the point got through. "The downside is that, given the mode's stealthy nature, our weapon system and our shields are deactivated in the process to avoid detection on radars. Basically, uh… we're sitting ducks here. What they hit the hull with, I wouldn't know. The ship's armor itself is supposed to be enough to protect the interior."

Fox picked up his pistol, his sights were now focused on the hole the explosion had created. Eric, however… He couldn't comprehend what was going on.

Fearing a fight was about to go down, Fox got himself some cover by positioning himself behind a stack of blue metal crates and motioned everyone to do the same. Krystal picked a group of barrels placed eight feet away to Fox's right while Falco and the toad got comfortable behind another tank in storage on the left side of the hangar. Eric may have felt paralyzed and shocked but, if there was something that watching movies had taught him, it was that he had to hide before a shootout, so he was the last individual to find cover behind one of the spaceships in the hangar. He couldn't stop wondering if he was going to be able to get out of there alive. Since he didn't even know how to fire a gun, Star Fox pretty much were his only hope right now. He could only wish that they would protect him from the attacking party.

After waiting quietly for a few minutes, Fox decided to make a move and fired blindly at the entrance, hoping to at least injure an enemy. The red bolts of light that emerged from the vulpine's weapon crossed the hangar in the blink of an eye and hit the rocky walls of the cave. Not even a second passed before Fox's shots were countered by a flurry of green energy beams that hit the metallic walls of the ship, leaving a few holes and burn marks.

No one could be sure about what the opposing party would do in this game of uncertainty, which prompted the attackers to reveal themselves. A caramel-furred German shepherd and a black wolf in military gear boarded the Great Fox, firing their guns left and right without really caring for hits. Fox took this opportunity and used his athletic abilities to perform a mid-air roll to the right, leaving his hiding spot, and shooting the intruders while he was in the air. As soon as he landed, Fox saw the bodies of the soldiers collapse to the floor, but he retreated back to the crates' safety once he spotted six more soldiers entering the ship.

They were swift and organized enough to cover themselves behind the first thing that they could find upon entry. Amongst these soldiers, there was a purple-eyed lynx that stood out thanks to the myriad of badges and medals he wore on his red jacket, opening up a possibility that he was a high-ranking soldier. Unlike the distractions that Fox had just shot down, these soldiers bore shiny metallic gray assault rifles. These weapons didn't really intimidate Fox McCloud but that didn't make them less deadly.

The blue falcon holstered his gun and took a stealth approach, as he creeped up on one of the enemies, a Siamese cat to be exact, and pinned him to the floor. Feeling desperation build up within his body, the cat clawed and kicked at the blue bird in an attempt to get him off. However, the avian was far quicker, nimbler than his opponent and grabbed him by the neck, intending to use him as a shield and dealing a single blow to the cat's arm to make him drop his weapon. Noticing this, a hyena opened fire on the falcon but ended up hitting the cat instead. As the hyena cursed at Falco, the latter drew his handgun out and ended the hyena with one clean shot.

"Let's bring the laser show out, gentlemen! Shall we?" In one swift motion, the avian took the hyena's rifle and unleashed its green fury to herd the remaining enemies together behind another set of crates. "This is one fancy gun!"

"You idiots, it wasn't supposed to go down like this!" The lynx yelled with a raspy, deep voice as he raced towards the crates with his men. However, one of them; a raven, got hit by one of Krystal's shots. "Open fire! Now!"

The remaining two soldiers took turns reloading their guns and, while one fired blindly, the other one would leave the safety of the crates to get better shots. No matter what they did, their accuracy was terrible enough to miss a still object. While they played around, Fox, Krystal, and Falco just kept making business tougher for them, as they were closing in and shooting the crates to make the lynx and his people fall back and leave. At the same time, the toad hadn't left his hiding spot but he fired a couple times every now and then. It was evident that firearms and combat weren't his thing.

Eric couldn't believe his eyes. He had watched the whole thing unfold from his hiding spot without even blinking. Even though they had been taken completely off-guard, Star Fox had done a perfect job eliminating the attackers in a reasonable amount of time. However, he could not afford to be distracted by their tactical expertise. He needed to get out of that madhouse, even if no one in the real world was to believe his story. Fueled by his own wishes and desires, Eric gathered all the courage he could muster and sprinted away from his hiding spot and into the shootout, the light beams, the sparks that flew through the air… He jumped and ducked to avoid all the obstacles that got in his path to the exit.

In the middle of the brawl, the lynx spotted Eric making a run for the cave. Growling, the feline dropped his weapons and chased after the human. Meanwhile, Eric was too focused on escaping and failed to avoid the lynx, who tackled him to the floor. Eric tried to break free from the lynx's grip but, being stronger and taller than the human, the lynx tied his arms up and lifted him to carry him over his back. Strangely enough, the feline went back into the cave, while Star Fox were still trying to take out the remaining two soldiers.

After shooting a rat in the leg, Fox lost his focus for a moment and spotted the lynx carrying Eric away. 'Shit, I have to stop that lynx.'

"Krystal, do me a favor!" He called returning the gun to his belt.

"What is it?" She replied as she crouched to catch her breath and check how she was on ammo.

"The lynx is on the move with the human in tow. Distract these bozos, will you?"

"Sure; just hurry up. I'm starting to lose their thought patterns. They can't be that far."

While Krystal and Falco showed no mercy to the last few soldiers, Fox made his way through the nearly quiet hangar, only stopping to pick up a rifle for the flashlight it was equipped with and sneaked past Krystal's targets. Being a fox, he was quick and swift to move through the mess that was the collapsed wall and the destroyed tank. Once inside the cave, Fox turned the rifle's flashlight on. It was bright enough to spot the lynx's footprints on the mud. Not knowing how much time he had left, Fox ran through the cave, being careful not to lose the trail set by the lynx until he found the exit ramp. As he ran outside, he threw the rifle away and perked his ears up. The day was pretty much the same as before. Sunny with a little to no clouds and all he could hear was the sound of the gentle breeze playing with the foliage of the trees, making them swing from one side to the other. Fox didn't like the quietness of the environment at all. Not one bit.

However, this apparent tranquility was ruined by something that sounded like the turbines of an airplane on a runway. When he heard it, the fox could only think about the worst and ran towards a tall bush from which the sound seemed to come. His concern only increased when he got through the bush only to find a jet-black fighter ship about nine feet away from him. The ship was shaped like an arrowhead, with its cockpit located at the tip. It was a two-seater, but it was already occupied by the lynx and the human, who wouldn't stop banging his hands against the canopy. Wearing his best smug smile, the lynx worked a lever that made the ship start to rise from the ground.

"I wish I had a better idea than this one," Fox said to himself and sighed in resignation.

He dashed for the ship as fast as he could and leapt just as the lynx's ship had reached almost six feet of height. The vulpine clung on to an air intake on the rear of the ship just in time, since the lynx had just turned his thrusters on, sending the ship away from the forest and into the sky at unimaginable speed. Fortunately, Fox had been lucky enough to avoid getting burnt by the green flames that the ship spewed from its rear, but he was having the worst of times trying to hold on to the ship for dear life, knowing what the intentions of the pilot were. Even though it had been a while since his last time doing this, Fox began to crawl onto the ship's body slowly and with the finest of cares. He knew he didn't have much time left before the lynx left the planet for space, so he kept on crawling, getting a hold on openings and parts of the ship so he wouldn't get flung away into nothingness. He growled and screamed from the efforts that it took to perform this dangerous feat took until he reached the canopy.

When he noticed the stowaway on his fighter, the lynx's smug look fell off and got replaced with an astonished gaze. Not really wanting to do it, Fox held on to the ship with his left hand only and grabbed his trusty blaster from his belt. He smiled at the lynx and took aim at a rectangular block on one of the ship's wings. Once he got a lock-on, Fox began to charge the strength of the gun's blast until it reached the highest setting and fired. After getting hit with the charged shot, the block burst into sparks and flames. With this blow, the ship lost height and speed. Knowing what was coming, Fox returned his gun to its holster and used both hands to get a grip on whatever he could use.

Meanwhile, the lynx was all panic and desperation, pressing buttons and pulling levers without really knowing what he was doing. His flight computer insisted that the anti-gravity systems were compromised. On the outside, the ship was spiraling out of control on a collision course towards the Earth's surface. As realization dawned upon him, the lynx accepted his impending doom and jerked the ship's joystick sideways to counter the spinning, bearing in mind that crash-landing was the only option left. The ship then descended into a desert and crashed against the sand violently, sending shards of metal flying all over the place. The ship left a ditch behind it as it came to a stop after sliding for about half a mile. Fox McCloud was nowhere to be found.

Back at the Great Fox, the aftermath of the gunfight that had broken out earlier was finally cleaned up. The bodies of the soldiers had been properly taken care of while the hangar looked like it had been restored to its original condition. This was false, however, as the toad had enabled an emergency setting that placed a temporary plating over the hole on the wall. It was due for repairs once they got back to their planet. Four hours had already passed since McCloud darted out of the ship to stop the lynx and retrieve Eric. His teammates couldn't do much besides sitting around at their dining area, which was made up by one big blue table, white plastic tables, and a full-size kitchen. A fridge, cabinets, cupboards… It pretty much had all the standard kitchen equipment and furniture. After spending hours of their time in silence, Falco decided to try and start a conversation with Krystal and Slippy.

"Tell me why we accepted this mission again?" He still seemed to be somewhat annoyed.

Krystal sighed and put her fork down on her plate of salad in a delicate fashion.

"According to Fox, the pay was good enough for us but the really important part is that this is what we do. We're doing this for Lylat, our home. What else would you expect from us, Falco? It's our duty to protect it," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

"I dunno," the falcon took a sip from a green can of soda. "Maybe the weirdest part is that we crossed half a galaxy to get here. Do you even know where we are? This is a third-rate planet in development that we didn't even know existed, in the first place. Besides, you've seen it with your own eyes. The natives are violent."

"But what do we know, Falco?" The toad added. "Not even Peppy knows what's going on at the facilities of the Cornerian Department of Defense. Ever since they replaced him as General, they've been more secretive and less straightforward about things. Sometimes I wish General Pepper was still around…"

Suddenly, a dry metallic voice spoke over the speakers that were hidden within the ceiling of the room.

"Attention, a distress signal from Captain James Foxwell McCloud's communication device has been detected."

Krystal was startled by the message and stood up immediately.

"The origin has been traced to a point that's 30 kilometers away from the current position of the Great Fox. Awaiting instructions from the first officer."

"We've got to go look for him, Falco," Krystal fixed her eyes on the avian, her face displaying an expression of anguish.

The falcon looked at her indifferently.

"I know you two go way back, Krystal. Hell, he and I grew up together back on Papetoon; but as much as I would love to go out there and blow some shit up, but this is different than all the other missions we've taken on. We can't risk being discovered by the humans again," Falco then drank what was left of his soda and left the can of the table. "We've already caused a scandal in that city with the portable warp gate device we got from Beltino. I know the weapons of these people are nothing against ours, but we're outnumbered. Also, remember they have the determination of two hundred Aparoid colonies. We're a squadron, not an army. I know he can make it back on his own."

The toad couldn't really figure out what to say, so he limited his actions to chewing on his food while he watched his teammates' argument unfold. His eyes looked like they would pop out of their sockets any second.

"What if we were talking about Katt, huh?" Krystal leaned over the table and placed her face relatively close to the falcon's. "Tell me what you would be capable of doing if she was in danger."

The falcon lowered his sight and gave a small and quiet sigh.

"Alright, Krystal. We'll go pick Foxie up," he responded with composure. "But we'll only be there for a few minutes. I don't want to take any chances."

"Thank you so much, Falco!" Krystal cheered, motivated and ready to go. "I'm sure we won't take more than five."

"Yeah, you keep saying that," Falco chuckled optimistically.

Once Krystal let go off him, Falco straightened the neck of his jacket and left the kitchen.

"Let's get moving!" he yelled from the hallway. The toad and the sapphire vixen followed him to the ship's second hangar, now that the first one was a compromised area. The second hangar held even more vehicles than the first one. After sprinting there, each of Fox's friends got on a ship. In his cockpit, Falco put on a communication headset and opened a comm channel between their ships and the Great Fox.

"This is First Officer Lombardi. Requesting permission to take off."

"Identified. Permission granted," the robot replied.

"Alright, tin man. I need you to take good care of this ship while we're out there. Send us the coordinates of Fox's communicator."

"The coordinates has been uploaded to your navigation systems."

"Alright let's get out of here, ladies!"

The toad rolled his eyes and frowned. Once they were sure that all their systems were online and functional, the pilots lifted their vessels off the ground and blew past the gate to the hangar. Outside, the exit looked like a simple cave on the rocky surface of a cliff.

"Hmrff…" he growled. Seeing he was lying down on his belly on the sandy surface, he stood up and noticed his brown fur was all dirty and unkempt. He examined himself and saw that he had sustained several gashes and bruises all over his body. His flight suit was a mess as well, the green fabric had been torn and ripped by the crash. But then he took notice of one detail. His left arm felt as if it were on fire but, at the same time, there was a warm and somewhat blissful sensation on his forearm. He had never experienced something like it before so, with shivers going down his spine, he lifted his arm, which felt heavier for some reason. With horror surging through his nervous system, he saw a piece of metal the size of a small notepad had embedded in his once strong and healthy limb. His blood wasn't really pouring out of the wound, but it had managed to form a small stain on the ground due to his lack of movement.

He sat down to think and figured out the only thing he could do was help himself, so he brought his other arm up and pulled that shard of metal out of his arm, grunting and gritting his teeth while doing so. After doing this he noticed some drops of the dense crimson liquid leaking from his arm, so he carefully took the scarf he wore around his neck and repurposed it as a small bandage. Once he controlled the bleeding, he ripped some more fabric off his suit and made an improvised tourniquet, thus allowing him to think about this unexpected turn of events. He had forgotten why he was in this state but the remainder of a wrecked starship a few feet away from him easily reminded him while a beautiful red sunset unfolded over the horizon. The aerodynamic shape of the ship had disappeared as the wings and the fuselage had become scrap metal, the cockpit being the only thing that remained intact. His vision started to become blurry and the environment was slowly fading away, but he kept his efforts up so that he could climb onto the cockpit. He put his hands on the canopy and got a good glance of the interior. Yes, the human was still sitting there, knocked out with his breathing happening at a calm pace. He appeared to have sustained some injuries, but he seemed fine. On the other hand, the pilot hadn't been so lucky. The lynx must've been sitting in there, agonizing painfully for hours.

Unluckily for him, his energy had finally run out which made him lose his grip on the ship and fall down to the sand. The only things he really got to see before he went back to sleep were three big bright shapes descending from the sky.

This is it for now, everyone. I hope I can get the next chapter out in a couple weeks since translating everything without changing the story is quite a bit of a hassle. I really hope you're enjoying this story as much as I'm having fun writing it. Don't forget to review, fave, and follow. I'll see you next time.

Updated on 10/05/2016: Minor fixes.

Updated on 31/03/2021: Minor fixes to improve the readability.