"Fox. The station has given us the go-ahead to get our asses out of here." Ryan said, as he turned off his headset. "According to the people down there, they said the engines will gain enough power and spin in a matter of seconds, not that ten minutes you enjoy so much."
"What? Don't tell me they got rid of the bang?" Ryan didn't answer, he just stared at me. "Those mother fuckers! That was my favorite part!" I said, falling into my chair, covering my eyes with my hand. "Adrian. If you do the honors." "My time to shine."
The arctic wolf pushed a sequence of buttons, as power started its journey to the engines. In a matter of seconds, seven seconds to be exact, just like they said, the turbines spun to idling speed. Though, we all cursed after what we just saw.
From the view outside the ship, nobody knew that the Matchitehew released a sonic boom. As the engines fired, the energy produced destroyed the rear of the station, and tossed ships a great distance until finally the wave dissipated.
"Hurry, Adrian! Get the fuck out of here!" I yelled at him, as he pushed the power to full, causing the ship to move at a fast, increasing rate. Even though my ship just destroyed their station, people were happy to see the giant vessel leave. They heard about what's going to happen on Corneria. Seeing the ship fly away, gave them hope that everything will be fine.
"Adrian. Your last honor, activate the NOS Drive." "Might want to hang on. I may have added a little something for a quicker flight." I just glared at the wolf, as he could feel my cold stare at him. He regretted turning around to meet it. "You shouldn't have touched my ship."
"But it gave the ship an extra three hundred fifty meters per second." My stare, turned into a wide-eyed expression. "That much, huh?" The wolf just nodded his head. "If you will." I said, giving him the go-ahead to activate the jump.
The blue indicator showing the power level, slowly made its way to Max Power. The Engage button began to flash, which Adrian was very excited to press. As soon as he finger lifted from the button, everyone just froze.
The engine turbines began to spin faster, but a new noise emerged, from all over the ship. A winding started to get louder by the second, it was the NOS turbines spinning, trying to catch up with the engines, until finally, the engine and NOS turbines were in what anyone would call, 'Direct Drive.' The ship lurched forward, at a speed no one would ever predict.
Finally held on, trying to stay where they were until the anti-resistive shield surrounded the ship. Immense pressure crushed everyone's body, even mine, but did no harm to my metal implants. The pressure subsided, as the shield protected the ship completely.
"Natasha? How long till our arrival at Corneria?" The computer took a moment to calculate, until finally its Russian voice was heard. "Approximately seven hours and forty minutes." I looked at Adrian, who seemed very pleased with himself.
"You have to tell me what you did. You just cut forty minutes off of our trip." "I'll tell you sometime." He said, dusting off his hand, feeling awfully damn proud of himself. "You cocky bastard. Natasha. Get this ship ready for battle. I want everything to be working at one-hundred and fifteen percent. You have…" I stopped to look at my watch. "One day and twenty-one hours." "Of course, Krieger."
I just smiled and chuckled. "I love that computer." "And I love you." Everyone just shot there head at the speaker on the ceiling in the middle of the bridge. "She's never said that before."
Krystal just laughed and wrapped her arm around me. "Back off, Natasha. He's mine." She said, starting to a laugh a little harder, as I just stared at her. "And you're mine." Almost in a whisper, but she stopped her laughing and smiled at me. Finally pressing our lips together.
We separated and everyone just stared at us. "Mother fuckers. Do something productive. What do you think this is? This is war!" Wolf just stood up, pounded his chest. "That's all I need to hear. Come on, Fara. Let's get our Wolfens ready." Putting on a slight smirk as the two walked out of the bridge.
"Thanks, Fox. This is going to be an arousing night." Fara said, as the two disappeared around the corner. I just stared at the doorway, not even moving or blinking. "I didn't need to hear that." Ryan said, pushing himself out of his chair.
Everyone did everything they needed to prepare the ships or to prep themselves for the upcoming battle. I found myself once again with Ryan and Adrian in the mess hall, drinking a couple sodas.
"What kind of name were you thinking for your business, Fox?" I just looked at the husky, only to shake my head. "I don't have a clue. Never really thought about it just yet. Been too busy with getting things ready, you know?"
"How about Fox the Bounty Hunter?" "Too cliché. I need something that people would fear when they heard we were hunting them down." "Reapers? Every time when I heard your voice when I first met you, you sounded like the Grim Reaper."
"Better, but I couldn't keep up that voice. Too hard on the vocal cords." Everyone just laughed, as our attention was brought over to the doorway, where Zeria entered. I waved her over and she didn't hesitate when I gave her the permission.
She took the seat between me and Ryan. She mouthed 'hi' to me, but when it came to Ryan. She mouthed 'hi' and spun her finger next to her temple. I just laughed, along with Adrian, as Ryan just stared at her, giving her an annoyed look.
"Relax, Cooper. She's just messing with you." I said, patting her shoulder with my hand. She just nodded and waved at him. Adrian just stared at her, even when she caught on and gave him a confused look.
"I got to admit one thing. She's got a tough heart. She knows that she may not make it through this, but she's willing to fight along side you, McCloud." I just stared at Adrian, before shifting my vision towards her, who just smiled at me.
"She's tougher than we all may think. I betcha she may be one helluva shot." "How much we wagering?" "I bet she can outdo both of you, with just one shot. I'll even let her use my revolver." I said, pulling my weapon out of its holster and slid it in front of her.
She cautiously picked it up, as the weight was a little heavier than she would have anticipated, but still lighter than any normal blaster. She aimed the gun, testing its weight, before retracting it, and nodded with a smile. "Loser. Has to wear a purple suit at my wedding."
Adrian and Ryan just stared at me, before nodding almost simultaneously with each other.
Adrian fired his first shot, used the blaster I used during the Aparoid invasion. Accurate to his liking, as he smiled, seeing the smoldering hole made in the outer ring, next to the bulls-eye.
Ryan, taking his normal stance, gave a quick spin of his neck, releasing a series of quick cracks. He aimed his pistol, .50 cal Desert Eagle. He heard about this gun and was excited to try it out. Though, the power he did not expect, bit him in the ass. A hole was made, two rings away from the bulls-eye. "Shit."
Zeria took her stance, aimed ever so carefully with my revolver. I just stared at her, and for a moment, I thought I saw her switch the setting from plasma rounds to bullets. She knew that bullets produced more of a punch. She had confidence, had to admire that.
She squeezed the trigger, the gun jumped with recoil as the bullet traveled out of the barrel. She gave a yelp, as no one could've handled the recoil, except me. She caught her balance, but no one was staring at her. We were focused on the target.
We slowly walked up to the target sheet, unable to believe our eyes. Especially me, took me a couple times before I mastered the steady hand of my own weapon. She, first time user, shot a dead center bulls-eye, with just one bullet.
She walked up behind us, and did her best to peer over our shoulders. When she finally saw, all she could do was smile. "Looks like you both lost the bet." I said to them, as I shoved the sheet into Adrian's chest, as I just turned around and hugged Zeria.
The two dogs, continued to stare at the sheet, before turning around to stare at the winner. She released from me and stared at the two, stunned canines. "Looooo-sssserrrrsss." I just got a big grin on my face, as the two just walked away, their head hanging low.
I hugged the vixen from behind her, saying something into her ear. "That's the way to show how cocky you can be." I said, laughing, as I let her go. She turned around, keeping her cocky streak going.
She spun the revolver on her finger, before finally tossing it to me. All I could do was shove the revolver into its holster, and give her the respectful bow.
Wolf and Fara, laid underneath her Wolfen, just going over checks just to make sure everything was in working condition. They decided they wouldn't be helping with the attack onboard the Matchitehew. They would be attacking the Allmachtiger from their fighters.
"Hand me that wrench, will ya baby?" Wolf said, as he wiped some of the oil off of his fur. "Sure." The fennec said, reaching to grab the wrench that Wolf needed. He grasped onto it and began to tighten a nut inside the ship.
"Never thought I see the day that I fight along side Fox again." "Me neither. Kinda weird." "What can you do? We aren't in that life anymore. We're helping Corneria, to try to make up for all our crimes for what we did. Especially me, during my times with Andross."
"Good a time as any to make up for your mistakes." "Your? You mean ours. You with Fox. I heard what you did to him." The vixen remained silent for a moment, "Yeah. I guess so."
Wolf let out a soft grunt, as he had finished tightening up that bolt. "So? How's the little one doing?" Wolf said, placing his hand on Fara's stomach. All she did was smile. "Jericho? Feisty as ever." He leaned in and kissed his bride on her lips, making sure she knew that he loved her very much.
Krystal and Matt sat in the mess hall, drinking a couple mugs of coffee. "I told Fox about that one time you saved me. Why did you have to call me a damsel in distress?" "Well, what would you call it? You were on the ground, your shoulder was bleeding from being shot."
"I just needed help. That doesn't make me a damsel in distress." "Umm, yes it does." "Go fuck yourself, Matt." All the collie could do, was laugh as he took another sip from his coffee. "You know anything about Michelle?" "When I last saw her, she was scared to death after seeing Fox. It was the next morning, after their little incident."
"Hmm. I didn't know that. She always told me that Fox was a great guy and was happy to be his friend. I…I just don't get it." "It's okay, Matt. There's always others. Try Zeria."
"Zeria? Too young for me, Krystal." "You're how old? Thirty?" "Yeah. She's eighteen if I recall. I don't know. It's not that she doesn't talk. I just don't see anything happening. I'm sorry, but if you weren't with Fox. I say she would be."
"Yeah. I know. I don't blame her. She hasn't had any contact with anyone in years, then Fox comes around. If you were her and the first woman came around. Wouldn't you love her?" The collie just stared straight forward, finally nodding.
"I liked Michelle very much. I was going to marry her. Now I find out about this. I'm sorry, but I may love her, but I choose that guy. He was my best friend. Still is." "I know. He's my best friend too."
"Hard to imagine, a low-life like Krieger, no offense to him, ends up being Lylat's greatest warrior. You think you know a guy." Krystal just laughed.
Six Hours Later:
The Matchitehew maintained its present speed and course towards Corneria, the clock ticked down to the last forty hours until the battle would rage. I found myself sitting in the engine room, watching the turbines spin at such an incredible rate. The noise was louder than a normal commercial jet. No wonder I made that door soundproof.
Even though the noise was unbearable at times, I continued to watch them spin. No one could find me either. My telepathy was able to pick up signs of everyone trying to find me. Even Krystal couldn't get a lock on my blocked mind.
I was nervous, nervous of the battle. I would be fighting along side Krystal, Wolf, Slippy, Peppy, Matt, even possibly Falco. This was sending mixed emotions through me. I didn't know how to react. I was happy of having a crew so loyal, which surprised me most with Wolf and Fara.
The fact though that I might find along side Falco, enraged me. How can I forget about what he did to me? Especially now that he cowardly fled the Great Fox, leaving it in the enemy's hands. It angered me.
I raised my head, only to stare at the spinning turbines, and the blue and pink energy flowing towards the rear, spending the power to the engines. Fascinating to watch, but a man, even me, could take so much of the loud wind.
I exited the room, entering the hall, which would take me to the mess hall if I made no turns. I figured everyone had enough of worrying about me. It was time to show myself.
I walked down the halls, wearing my usual clothes, which I had very attached to, even more than my usual uniform of that flight vest, the army pants, etc… I enjoyed wearing normal clothes, which included my forest-styled cameo pants, black long-sleeved shirt and my leather trench coat. Even though I was alone, I had the shades on to.
The only noise I could hear was my feet when it stepped on the floor, the power that coursed its way throughout the ship, the occasional light as it made that annoying buzz.
I was within a hundred feet of the mess hall, after walking for about eight minutes, just to get to this point from the engine room, before someone finally saw me. Miyu and Fay. They looked down the hall, only to see me approaching.
"Oh God. There you are. You know how long we been looking for you?" Fay said, trying her best to stop me. Didn't have an effect on me, as I continued to walk past them. "I just needed some time to think. And yes I do. One hour and nineteen minutes."
I entered the mess hall, seeing everyone had gathered around, enjoying a pleasant meal that surprisingly, Zeria made. "Fox? What's wrong?" Miyu said, as she and Fay burst their way through the door. Everyone stopped to look at me.
I took a seat at the head of the table, signaling someone to bring me some food. Since Ryan was already loading his plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, and peas. He just decided to hand me his plate, as he loaded himself another. I just grabbed a fork and started eating, still with everyone's eyes watching me.
Krystal was worried and decided to exchange seats with Fara. She scooted closer, trying to get me to look at her. I just kept my focus on my food. "Fox. Look at me." I didn't respond at first.
I loaded my mouth with the potatoes that sat on it, before washing it down with someone's cola. Once my mouth was completely empty and inactive of anymore chewing, that's when I put my gaze on Krystal, nine seconds later.
"What?" "Okay. You're putting a block on me. Why? All I want to know is what's wrong with you, sweetie?" "I don't want to say." "Why?" "'Cause I don't want to worry people." "But you're worrying us now."
I just sighed at her. "You're worried because I've been missing for so long and I just want to eat my meal in peace. Is that so much to ask?" I said forcefully at her, pushing myself out of my chair and walking away from the table.
Krystal chased after, but one animal lost interest. Matt. "Did he just steal my cola?" Everyone at the table, looked in Matt's direction, seeing that his can of soda was indeed gone. "Fucking bastard is a thief. If that's the case. I'm gonna steal his food." Matt said, pulling my plate of food in front of him and started to chow down.
"What's wrong with y….Damnit Fox. Fucking stop already!" She yelled at me, pulling at my arm as hard as she could to stop me. I sighed with annoyance as I finally halted. "Thank you. Now tell me what's wrong?"
"Why do you want to know?" "What the fuck? What you mean why do I want to know? I fucking love you, you dick. If we are going to get married, we need to be honest with each other all the time, and right now. You are pushing me away. Why the fuck you doing this to me?"
"I can't say." "Fox. Don't give me that shit. You can tell me anything." "Not this thing. I can't tell anyone. It'll cause a panic through everyone." I said to her, starting to walk away, making her follow me once again. I had to give her one thing, she was always persistent.
"Well then we don't tell anyone, but you have to tell me. Alright? Otherwise, who are we kidding with getting married." "I don't see why telling you effects our wedding?" "One of the things that commits to marriage is honesty and right now, you are being selfish for not saying. I know you aren't selfish. You are better than that. What is your FUCKING PROBLEM?" She yelled at me, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.
"I'M AFRAID!" I yelled at her, as I spun around to yell directly into her face, only a couple inches away. She completely back-off from me, as all we could was stare at each other. "Now you know why. I can't because if the crew knows, they might give up hope on winning this battle."
"It's okay to be afraid…." "That's not why I'm afraid though. That's only a small fraction of it." I said to her, as I cutoff her sentence. "What are you afraid of?" "I'm afraid of losing you again. Krystal…If you died, I could never be able to go on. God. I'm repeating myself with this shit again."
"Oh shut the fuck up, Fox. I want you to say it. It makes me feel special knowing that you really care about me." "That's the thing. I do care so much about you. So much that I don't want to see you die."
"Fox." Krystal said to me, as she stepped closer and started rubbing her hand on my chest. "I don't want to see you die either. My heart would be devastated, but don't you think that it the shadow of darkness, there's always that light of hope?"
"Of course, but what do you mean?" "What I mean is that if you follow that light of hope. Nothing bad can truly happen. I know it may sound dumb, but how do you think I've been successful with my life, fighting along side you and as a bounty hunter?"
"Matt helped you that one time though." "He was that light of hope, Fox. He was the light that saved me. You follow the same, we'll be seeing each other on that altar, ready to marry."
I just smiled slightly. "I tell ya. It'll be nice raising our kids with you. Couldn't imagine anyone else I rather spend my whole life with." I thought for a moment, before I placed my gaze upon her eyes. "The only reason I haven't killed myself, was you. Even though, you hated my guts and I changed. You were that light that kept my dagger and revolver away from my harm. You have been my light."
Krystal just smiled, before leaning in to kiss me. I could feel her tongue search my mouth, as I return the favor, before we ended our kiss. "You okay?" I thought for a moment, my mind started a whole new subject to think about.
"Fighters." "What?" "Natasha?" "Yes, Krieger?" "Are you fully capable of controlling this ship into battle?" "With the proper authorization by you, of course." "We're going to lead a squadron of fighters into battle." "Okay? Why?" "Been far too long since I flew with you in battle."
"Oh, now there's the Fox I know!" Krystal said, as she jumped up to wrap her arms around my neck, as I held her by her waist, suspending her off the ground a good foot.
Twenty-Seven minutes till arrival:
"Something ain't right." "What you mean?" Wolf said to me, as we were standing in the simulator room, watching Zeria control the simulators. "She's finally that thing like she has been for decades. I'm mean. How can someone adapt…so quickly? First my revolver, now this. Am I missing something?"
"What do you mean? Your revolver?" "She went up against Adrian and Ryan in a shooting contest. One bullet, closest to the bulls-eye. I saw her switch the setting to bullet-rounds, the recoil kicked her ass, but she managed to shoot the round right through the bulls-eye. Dead center."
"Really? That's pretty impressive. How long did it take you before you mastered your own weapon?" "Couple shots." "She's gifted man. That's all I can say. A fast learner." "She may be fast learning, but she still has a hard time trying to talk."
Wolf just sighed, as we both turned our heads to watch Zeria continue to outperform the simulator. "Even though, she's mastered this. What will she fly? There aren't any ships left. Not to mention for Adrian. You destroyed his ship."
"There are some necessary sacrifices that have to be made, in order to get things done. I already went over this with him." "I still be pissed if you destroyed my Wolfen." "I did. Twice and you were pissed both of those times." "I meant the one I fly now. I've been flying that since the Aparoids. Did a number of refits, but still flies like it should."
"That was what? Like five years ago?" "Something like that. Who keeps track?" "Yeah." Was all I said to him, before the simulator shutdown, as Zeria was finally done. As soon as she got out of the machine, her results printed right next to Wolf and I.
I ripped it out of the printer and started to scan through it. Zeria just stood there, nervous and anxious as she tapped her foot rapidly, and I could feel heart rate increasing. "Have you ever seen anything like this? Nobody has ever gotten a score like this."
Wolf looked at the piece of paper, and cocked his right eyebrow. "Except for us. Even though we were competing against each other, we still managed to pull off the same score in the finals."
I looked at the results, then back at Zeria, who was getting agitated that we were stalling, which made both of us laugh a little. "Zeria. I don't know how to tell you this, so we're just gonna say it as it says on the sheet." I said, handing the sheet back to Wolf.
He gave one final chuckle, as he shook his head in disbelief. "You're an ace, kid." He said, handing her the sheet, as she quickly snatched out of his hand and began to look through it. "Basically, it says that you got a perfect score and you are considered an ace. We are the only three to have ever aced that test. Knowing that you aced it on your first simulator like this, makes you better than us."
Zeria looked up, after looking over her test results, and all she could do was smile and laugh a bit, as I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. I walked up to her, and embraced in a hug. "Congrats, kid. That was very impressive."
Wolf followed behind me, and only shook her hand, which she gladly accepted. "This doesn't mean that I like you." Her face changed from happy to sad, as she looked at Wolf, who had a stern look on his face. He couldn't hold it eventually.
He started to laugh, and pulled her in for a hug. "I was just kidding and that was very impressive. How'd you learn all this so quickly?" She gave the hand gesture that she was going to speak in her head. I probed her mind and spoke what she said out loud.
"I remember watching Fox fly his…..ship and I remembered everything he did, but somehow it just came….natural to me. I can't explain it. All I remember was just trying to impress you." "You meaning me? Or you meaning Fox?" Wolf asked, as he was confused by the last part.
She just pointed at me. "Figures, pup. She's attracted to you." He said, while starting to chuckle a little, as an unexpected punch hit him in the arm. He turned to look at Zeria, as she placed her index finger, vertically in front of her mouth. He just grabbed his arm. "That bitch is strong. Stay on her good side."
I just stared at Wolf, as he started to walk out of the room, as I turned to look at Zeria, only to wink at her with my right eye. "Where can I get a face like your's?" I paused, and turned around to look at her. "You don't want my face, Zeria. It's bad enough looking the way I do. Would you really want people to look at you, as if you were some sort of monster, because half your face was metal?"
She looked at me, only to shake her head. "Be happy you have all your face there. I don't know if doctors will be able to do anything like this. I got lucky the first time. This may take a lot more work." I said to her, as I turned around and walked out of the room.
She just quickly followed me, as we walked out of the room, as I could feel the ship slowing down. We were approaching the rendezvous point.
Fifteen Minutes Later:
Cornerian and Katinan ships were already gathering, over three hundred kilometers away from the blue planet, that has been my home. I could see ships already towing the Orbital Gate into position, it would be a day before Sargasso arrived.
I just stood there, holding Krystal in my arm, as I stared at the Black Mamba, pull into position, parallel with the Matchitehew. "Fox. We got a phone call. It's General Hare." Ryan said, as he held a headset next to his left ear.
I lowered my head, sighing as I wasn't ready to show Peppy what I am now. I didn't have a choice. He'd find out sooner or later. I nodded at him, as I quickly put my shades on over my eyes, trying to hide part of my face. His face soon appeared, just as I lowered my arm next to my side.
"Hello, Peppy." The hare just stared at me, with a big smile on his face. "Oh, Fox. It's so good to know you are okay and alive. I missed you so much." "I missed you too. There have been times I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't."
"Fox. Fighting along side you aga…." I could see his face focus on something as he stared straight at me. I lowered my head a little. "Fox? What is that on your face?" I looked to my left, as Krystal was standing right there. She gave me a nod, as I grabbed the shades, and pulled them off my face.
"Oh my God." Peppy's eyes widened when he saw me. Seeing that half my face was metal scared the shit out of him. He couldn't believe what became of me. "What happened to you?" "I rather not talk about it. It's bad enough as it is."
Peppy's expression was sad, thinking that I no longer looked like I used to. He tried to lighten the mood. "Got to admit though. You look good in white fur." I just chuckled. "Yeah. I've grown attach to it."
"So? What's the plan? You got one?" "Yep. I'm leading a squadron of fighters against the Allmachtiger and its armada. The Matchitehew will pilot itself. I just hope that the Orbital Gate and Sargasso will be enough for turrets."
"It's all we have in such a short amount of time. Are you sure the attack isn't for about two days?" "That's what it said, but you think that they might try to get ahead of schedule. I say, this entire time, we put the fleet on red-alert, ready to attack one first sightings."
"State the obvious, huh?" "Shut up, Peppy." I said, cutting the transmission. I just fell into my chair, only to cover my face with my hand. Krystal knelt beside me, wrapping her arm around me. "Natasha. Put ship on red-alert and stand-by weapons on first sighting of any ship registered to Cyrus Lector."
"Of course, Krieger." I covered my face, and stood up from my chair, immediately straightening my shirt from wrinkles. "Natasha. One more thing. Alert me when Sargasso Station enters the area." "Of course, Krieger." "Thank you."
I just scanned the bridge, everyone looking at me, either with a concerned look or stern, like Wolf and Adrian are showing. "Do what you need to get done. I'll be under the Z.J. Zeria. Adrian. You come with me." I began to walk away from everyone, exiting the bridge, everyone turned to look at the young vixen, who looked a little nervous when I told her to follow. Adrian followed her moments later.
They watched them disappear from sight, as Krystal decided to follow, but Wolf and Fara were there to do the same. They were heading for the hanger bay, continue to perform work on their Wolfens. Ryan decided now would be a good time to see how well Fay shoots. Miyu followed Adrian, as she ran after him.
"Alright. Adrian. Zeria. You two will be joining me battle as I lead a fighter squadron against Lector." "Okay. That sounds good and all, but we got no ships, you dunce." "I'm well aware of that. Natasha. Open hanger garage A."
Immediately as I finished talking, the garage door that I mentioned, began to open. I just stood there, my arms crossed with a slight smirk on my face. Adrian and Zeria just stood there, amazed as what was coming into view.
"Say hello to my First and Second Generations of Arwings. The First Generation was used during the Lylat War. The Second Generation was used during the Aparoid Invasion. People have been searching for these ships for years. Mainly 'cause they were flown by me. No one knew I kept them stored away."
"Holy shit!" My eyes widened immediately, as I turned around to look at Adrian. Who had the same facial expression as me. In unison, we turned our heads towards Zeria, who covered her mouth, giggling a little. "Yeah, that about sums it up." Adrian said, as he just slightly nodded at her.
"Still as beautiful as the first time I've seen them, Fox." I turned my head slightly, seeing Krystal walking through the hanger bay, walking in our direction. "You two fight over which one you want. Once you decide, perform a check on your ship. Haven't flown them in years."
I turned around and started heading towards the Z.J., collecting Krystal in the process by wrapping my arm around her waist. "You okay, sweetie?" "Just not the meeting I was hoping to have with Peppy." "What were you hoping to have?" "Honestly, I don't know."
Ryan watched as Fay kept firing a standard blaster in the firing range. Just as he suspected, she had never fired a gun in her life. He did all he could to help her, but sometimes. When Ryan held her from behind, using his arm strength to help Fay aim, they forget what they were doing, before long. End up making out.
Matt walked into the firing range, and just stared before long, he just approached a booth, aiming his favorite weapon, the crossbow, firing a shoot that distracted Ryan and Fay, before finally realizing what they were just doing.
"Sorry to ruin the moment, lovebirds." "I-I-I don't know what you are talking about?" "Yeah, sure." The collie said, as he reloading another bolt, firing it at the target sheet. "You two better get back to your firing. Fox is going to be sending us on board the Allmachtiger, take over the ship from inside, as everyone else attacks it from the outside."
"Why would he do that?" "From what I can see in his eyes. He wants to see Cyrus' face when he pulls the trigger, ending that miserable jaguar's life." "How are we suppose to get inside?" Matt, just pulled back on the crossbow, getting the bolt ready to fire, immediately after he pulled the trigger. "I don't got a clue."
Everyone, besides Matt, Ryan, and Fay, were all found in the hanger bay. Performing work on their respective fighters. After a long argument between the vixen and the wolf, Adrian got the First Generation and Zeria got the Second.
Krystal helped me change out the fuel cells of the Z.J., which I normally did, but I didn't want her to think I was pushing her away, so I let her help me, which she seemed to enjoyed doing.
Wolf and Fara, this time, were working on his Wolfen, I took a couple glances over there, and I saw Wolf rubbing Fara's belly. I didn't need my telepathy to figure out what was going on between those two.
"Fara's pregnant." Krystal shot a look at me, before turning her head to stare at the couple underneath the Wolfen. "You sure?" "Just look to see what he's doing to her." Krystal turned her head to look at the couple again, this time. She saw him lean forward and kiss her belly. She couldn't help, but smile.
"What were you thinking of naming our kids? Is Matt one of them?" "Nope." I just continued to work, Krystal just stared at me, waiting for my answer, but it wasn't coming. "You going to tell me or not?"
"Oh. I didn't know you wanted to know the names. I just thought you were asking if Matt one of them. I was thinking Marcus, if it's a boy. Penelope, if it's a girl." Krystal just stared, then started thinking about the names. She just smiled. "I like them." 'What were you thinking?"
"Umm. I was thinking….maybe James…and Vixy?" I immediately stopped what I was doing, and turned my head to look at her. "Name them after my parents?" She nodded, nervous of my reaction. "I appreciate the thought, but I think it be a little too painful, ya know?"
"Yeah. I do. I'm sorry." I just turned and hugged her, as I gave her a kiss on her lips. "It's okay."
Three Hours Later:
Ships were now coming in all over the place, I was happy to be fighting along side these two forces once again. The Matchitehew, biggest ship by far, even far more than the Black Mamba. Though, it was about six hundred meters shorter than the Matchitehew, it was the same size as the Bloodhound.
"Katinan Destroyer, Bloodhound, here to assist." General Bill Grey said, as he stepped on the deck of the Orbital Gate, standing at attention in front of Peppy and I. Peppy saluted him back, I just stood there, standing as tall as I can make myself, with my arms crossed.
"Thank you, Bill. You presence here is greatly appreciated." Peppy said, as he offered his hand, which Bill accepted. When the two finished shaking, Bill loosened his grip, but still smiling. "It's good to be working with you again, Peppy. Wish Fox were to join us."
"He's closer than you may think." "What you mean?" Bill said, having a confused look on his husky face, staring at the two of us. "We'll tell you when the time is right. In the mean time, is your fleet ready?" I asked, with a stern, deep voice.
"Katinan Fleet, Hell Hounds, ready to kick ass." "You always were eager to get into battle, Bill." "What can I say, Peppy? I love to fight. Even if I have to stay and fight in a destroyer now. I do miss my fighter days."
"As do I, my friend." "By the way, who is this character right here?" Bill said, pointing his hand in my direction. "Just some bounty hunter, that's been doing some undercover work to get us this far." "So, you're Krieger Aurelius?" I just nodded.
"Awesome. I can't wait to see what your ship can do." "Should be fun." I said, extending my hand, to shake his. When he grasped his hand with mine, a female voice was heard in the distance.
"Hey Fox. Bill. There you guys are." I just cringed my face, as I turned my head towards the right, as the familiar maroon vixen approached us. "Way to show up on time, Krystal." "I'm sorry, but I had to do my last minute check-up with my Cloudrunner."
Bill, just stood there, wide-eyed, looking back and forth between us. Krystal saw this, and gave him an odd look. "What's with Bill?" "He didn't know I was Fox. Now he knows that your Krystal too." "Oops."
I just looked back at Bill, who stared at me, with an expression that looked like he was about to cry. "Come on, Bill. Give your old Academy friend a hug." Bill took a moment to let everything sink in, before I pulled him in and embraced him in a guy-hug.
"Fox? But I was at your funeral. I watched your casket lower." "Did you see my body?" Bill just shook his head. "One of the last things I told Peppy was closed casket." Bill looked at the old hare, as he just nodded his head. "Why did you kill yourself?"
"Too much bullshit going on. Couldn't take it anymore." "Jesus, Fox. You realize how many people were hurting when we heard you died?" "Don't blame me. Blame her for part of it." I said, elbowing Krystal slightly, which caused her to give me an irritated look.
"Get your fleet ready, Bill. I'll talk to ya later." I finally said to him, as I wrapped my arm around Krystal, as we walked away towards our shuttle, which will take us back to the Matchitehew. Bill and Peppy, just watched us walk away.
"He's not the same guy I remember. He's a whole new vulpine." "I know what you mean. He used to perform bounty hunting work for me a while back. I met him in person during that time. He certainly was not that fox I watch grow up."
Bill just watched me enter our shuttle, though I did not bother to look back. "I hope he does return. I miss my best friend." "I miss my son."
Sixteen Hours to go:
I sat in the bridge, holding my dagger, with my revolver right next to me. I was sharpening it, make the blade even sharper than it already was. I had come to the put were I was scraping the blade so hard with my sharpening tool, that sparks were shooting off it.
Matt walked onto the bridge, and just stood there for a few moments. He saw the sparks and was confused at what I was doing at first. When he approached me, he saw the dagger in my hands.
"I remember the day you got that thing. Someone tried to mug you and you spun around and stabbed it right into that cat's jugular." I just chuckled, as I finished and looked at the slightly heated blade.
"The guy deserved it. No one messes with my property. That's a rule I always seem to follow. Even though, it brings consequences such as death." Matt leaned forward and grabbed the blade, and became entranced by it. "What do you plan on doing with this thing? Gonna stab Lector through the heart?"
"If the situation presents itself, yes. Otherwise, this bitch will get the job done." I said, as I picked up the gun, giving the barrel a spin. "You really think we can pull off a covert operation in the ship. I mean, attacking it on the outside is one thing, but fighting inside the fortress? That sounds sui-fucking-cide."
"I wanna be able to look into the bastards eyes as I watch his life come to an end by either one of these two things." I said, referring to the dagger and revolver. "The man put me over the top when I thought he killed my best friend." "How'd you find out that it was him?"
"Remember the guys that did the drive-by? I found them a day later. I was gonna go after him the next day, but that's when I got the call by Reaper. Telling me he was my next bounty. The name never registered until I saw him on that screen. Revenge soon found its way in me."
"That's pretty wild, man." "Yep." I just held the revolver, staring at its beauty, before both of us were distracted by a new voice. "Krieger. A new ship has entered the vicinity. It's the Sargasso Station." "Thank you, Natasha. Is everything on this ship ready for battle?" "Affirmative, Krieger. The Matchitehew is ready to serve you."
I just scanned all around me, smiling as I looked at the ship that I held dear for so long. "I know it is. No matter what happens, you have served me well." "Thank you, Krieger." "Call me, Fox."
"That computer really likes you, man." "This ship has been great." I said, as I started to head out of the bridge, with Matt right behind me. "I just hope it doesn't get itself destroyed."
I walked down the hall towards the mess hall, with Matt closely behind me. I could sense that that's where everyone was. Just either, gaining there strength and reminiscing about their past and what they will do in the future.
I pushed through the doors, seeing everyone look up to stare at Matt and I, as we headed their way. The only seats that were open were between Miyu and Ryan, and Wolf and Zeria. I took my seat next between Ryan and Miyu. I could tell that Ryan was a little nervous that I was sitting next to him, because I always ended up hurting him.
"Will you relax, Cooper? I just wanted to sit down with my friends." "I'm sorry, Fox, but every time you sit or stand next to me, I get hurt in some way." "Because you always provoke it." "Or maybe you just don't like me?"
I just placed my left hand upon his right shoulder, then shoved him out of his seat, falling to the ground. Everyone laughed at him, as he made his way back into his chair, glaring at me. "You see!" "You provoked it." "Son of a bitch. I did not!" "Did too." "Did not!" "Did too." "DID NOT!" I shoved him again.
Everyone laughed harder now, as he retook his seat, but just crossed his arms and avoided eye contact. I just chuckled, as my phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was Slippy.
"Slippy! What can I do for ya?" "Fox? Two things. One, everything is in place, but we are still short of a couple ships. They should be here within the hour." "Alright, what's the second thing?"
"We got to move the fleet." "What the fuck do you mean?" "Fox? After our last scan from the Orbital Gate, Lector's fleet is in Meteo." "Meteo? What the fuck they doing there?" I yelled over the phone, which caused everyone to stop what they were doing and listened in on the conversation.
"Somehow, they knew this is where we would place our fleet. Someone must be working for Lector. I don't know who." "God damnit! Alright, start making the preparations to move the fleet, how long will the Gate and Sargasso be in position on the other side of the planet?"
"About three hours." "Three hours? What the fuck! Alright, start now. If Lector attacks now, would the turrets on both stations be able to travel that great a distance?" "It's hard to say. It's never been tried at that range. My theory is, after that great a distance, the missiles will forget what it is they are tracking and might hit an allied ship."
"Oh great. Alright. We can't risk it. Get a few ships and hook them up to the Gate and Sargasso. We will drag 'em there. Because Meteo to Corneria is what, a half hour trip?" "Thirty-five minutes. If we drag them, they could be there in twenty. Due to their massive size, they still have a speed limit. But their engines go below that limit, safety precautions." "Alright. Well, we are going to make them travel at their speed limit. We can't fuck this up. Get to it. Send me the coordinates." "Alrighty, Fox."
I hung up the phone, very angry, as everyone just stared at me. "We got to move the fleet on the other side of the planet. Lector is early and he's attacking the planet on the other side. Trying to attack us with our asses hanging out. NATASHA!"
"Yes, Krieger. Move the ship at the coordinates that you are about to receive from Slippy Toad." A few moments passed before I got an answer. "Coordinates received. Moving ship." "Come on. We got thirty-five minutes. Get your ships in fighting mode. Natasha? Put Matchitehew on red-alert. Prepare to attack in less than thirty-five minutes."
"Affirmative, Krieger." Everyone got out of their chairs and we all started running down the halls. As we made our run down the long stretch of hallway, the ones in the lead were me, Adrian and Wolf. Followed by Krystal, Ryan, Matt and Zeria. Not too far from them, were the rest, Fara, Miyu, and Fay.
"You alright there, McCloud? You gonna make it?" Adrian said, noticing my limp as I ran. "I got to get my legs fixed." "Hope it doesn't slow you down any." "Eat my dust, Wolf." I said, increasing my run into a all-out sprint. "HEY!" Wolf and Adrian said, as the two started sprinting after me.
After eight minutes of sprinting, I was the first to crash through the doors into the hanger bay, followed by the two wolves, who were just out of breath. "Jesus, you're fast. Aren't you tired?" "A little." I replied, as I was breathing heavily, to slow my heart rate.
The rest of the group soon followed thirty seconds later, as a few immediately fell to their knees to gain their breath. I scanned my watch, "Take five minutes and go to your designated fighter. Prepare to launch on my mark." I said, walking over to the Z.J.
Everyone just looked up at me, then just shook their heads. "My God. He's like a cyborg." "Might as well be. More than half his body is artificial." Krystal said, answering Ryan's comment. Though, she was still tired, she had enough energy to stand up and walk over to my ship.
I just sat in the cockpit, activating all the systems onboard. My canopy was sealed shut so when Krystal climbed up the ladder, she had to knock on it to gain my attention. When I saw her, I raised the canopy. "What's up?"
"Be careful, Fox. Do whatever it is you need to do to come back to me." "You do the same." She nodded, as I grabbed the back of her neck, to pull her in for a passionate kiss. I could feel her hand rubbing the back of my head, making our kiss more passionate that it already was.
When our lips parted, I just stared at her with a smile. "I'll come back to you, but make sure you fight your ass off out there. Otherwise, we're going to have a discussion." "You do the same." "I always do."
Krystal smiled, as she started climbing down the ladder, as I closed the canopy once again. Just as my finger reached the ignition switch, I watched Krystal enter her Cloudrunner. I just nodded as I raised the switch up.
As everyone was heading towards their fighter, they all stopped and froze, when the engines ignited, shooting a metal scaffolding across the hanger bay, crashing into the wall about two hundred feet away. I just laughed.
"Natasha? Put a protective shielding around the cars." "Affirmative, Krieger. Good hunting." "Same to you." I said, as I turned my head to see a blue dome from over all fifteen cars.
Final Minutes Before Battle:
All the ships sat there, engines fired and ready to enter the vacuum of space. My hand grasped the joystick rather firmly, enough to cause the skin to turn white if my fur was hiding it.
Adrian kissed Miyu a few more times as he turned around in his chair to stare out the front of the cockpit. Every few seconds, he would do a scan of engines, shields, all his subsystems. As much as would like to trust himself and the ship, he couldn't help it. It was as if he were obsessively compulsive.
"Where did you get that Wolfen, Ryan?" Wolf asked him, as he stared at the blue and black Wolfen, compared to his red and black. "Stole it. It was sitting there for days before I told myself I was gonna steal it." "You realize that's Panther's right?"
"I figured." Ryan said, doing the exact same thing Adrian was doing. Fay sat impatiently in the back seat. "Ryan? How long were you planning on waiting before you marry me?" "Not long at all, babe. Sooner than you think." "I can't wait."
Zeria, of all things, was doing something that only her and my ship were able to do. Playing Pong. She was addicted by the very repetitive game. So old and out of date, but yet. She was hooked on it. Made me laugh when I scanned her thoughts.
Matt was mediating. Preparing his mind for battle. He was also humming a tune, I couldn't tell what it was. It didn't sound familiar to me. I tried to figure out what he was humming, but he beat me to the punch. "Forever Young by Rod Stewart. Come on, man. I taught you the classics."
"The way you were singing, didn't sound familiar to me. Fuck off. Sorry, but maybe you should try singing it correctly?" "I was. Better than you can ever sing or hum it." "Wanna bet…." The alarms began to go off, the spine-chilling tone that caused everyone to flinch.
"THIS IS IT! ENGAGE!" I said, increasing the power to the hover jets, along with everyone else. As the ship slowly increased off the ground, I could see a pair of missiles fly past the hanger bay entrance, missiles from Sargasso.
I pushed the throttle as far as it could go, as I rocketed out of the hanger, entering the vacuum of space. I turned to the left, as I saw the massive fleet slowly arriving in the distance.
"This is the Black Mamba. Lector's fleet five-hundred thousand kilometers away. Do not let them get in range of Corneria." As I sat there, flying through the allied fleet, I had finally come up with a name for my future business. I replied with a deep, dark voice. "This is Styx Omega One. Engaging the enemy."
"Styx Omega? What the fuck is that?" Ryan said, flying parallel with Wolf. "That's our new call-sign and future name for our business. Give me your status call out your numbers, starting with Krystal being number two."
"This is Krystal, call-sign Styx Omega Two. Ship is doing good."
"This is Adrian, call-sign Styx Omega Three. Thanks, McCloud. The Arwing is doing great."
"This is Ryan, call-sign Styx Omega Four. Panther's old ship is doing pretty god damn good."
"This is Wolf, call-sign Styx Omega Five. Kicking mother-fuckin' ass."
"This is Fara, call-sign Styx Omega Six. Same as Wolfy."
"This is Matt, call-sign Styx Omega Seven. You know me, dude."
"This is Zeria, c-call-sign S-S-Styx Oooomega Eight. You guys…..under…s-standing me?" "Zeria. My God, you are a fast learner." I said to her, which made her smile, as she could hear everyone applauding over the radio.
"This is Bloodhound. Engaging the enemy. Today is a fucking good day to fight along side my friends." "Like-wise, Bill." I said over the radio, as I stared straight forward, particularly, the Allmachtiger.
"Fox. According to my scans, the Allamchtiger's bow is loaded with laser turrets. Expecting heavy resistance." "Thank you, Krystal. You heard the lady. Watch your face. Never gonna know when a laser will punch your lights out."
"Man. I like this Styx Omega name. Sounds mean." Ryan said, as flew increased the speed of his ship, as he was now flying parallel with me and Krystal. "Pretty creative, pup." Wolf said, as he blew his wife a kiss, which she gladly accepted.
"Fighters. Inbound in fifteen seconds. Natasha. Provide assistance with flak, but be sure to concentrate your power on the Allmachtiger. She'll be the toughest to take down." "Affirmative, Krieger."
I stared forward, watching four pairs of missiles flying past us, making there way towards the enemy fleet, some were destroyed from anti-missile fire, two made contact with their target, destroying them on impact.
I held onto the joystick, seeing small dots getting bigger and bigger by the second, before I finally opened fire. Six, white lasers shot out of their designated barrels, heading straight and true, piercing the hulls of enemy fighters, before the ships exploded, blowing up in a glorious ball of fire. "Okay, Z.J. Don't let me down."
Enemy laser fire soon began to fire at us, nearly able to dodge the attacks, but a couple shots were stopped by my shield. Little damage was done, but I told myself no more hits.
Krystal flew through the fight, counting off how many ships she's destroyed. She was having a contest with Fara and Zeria. All three were at about five kills. The battle was still young, someone would come out a winner with the most kills.
"That's eight, you fools." "Sorry, Fara, but I'm at ten." "Impressive, Zeria. I'm at thirteen." "Ladies! Count in your head. I can't count with all of you yelling out YOUR number of kills." Wolf yelled over the radio, as he pursued a fighter.
This fighter was good, had to be an ace, but each shot Wolf fired slowly lowered the shielding of that ship, before long. One shot he fired, pierced right through the canopy window. The fighter inside, a orangutan, began to gasp for air, his life slowly ending. Though, his life quickly ended, when Wolf shot one more round at him, blowing up the crippled fighter.
"Poor bastard. I knew what was coming to him. Good thing I ended his misery early." "What you talking about, O'Donnell?" "I fired a shot through a guy's canopy. He was about to die a slow and painful death from vacuum exposure." "Impressive shot I must say, Wolf."
"Thanks, pup. You ain't doing too bad yourself." "The fighters are being easily taken down, but look at the warships." Wolf made a turn to look at the two massive fleets firing at each other.
The two that stood out most, were the Matchitehew and Allmachtiger. The sight of the two of them, flying in opposite directions, firing all their turret fire at one another, was a true example of 'Clash of the Titans'.
As I stared, I saw an explosion which distracted my line of sight as I then focused on a ship emerging through the fire. The Black Mamba. "This is Black Mamba. Reporting its third kill." "This is Bloodhound. Reporting our fourth kill."
"Peppy! Bill! Keep that between the two of you. I can't keep count." I yelled at them, as a pursuing fighter made a run on me, bringing my shielding down to seventy-seven percent.
"You son of a bitch! You die now." I said, pulling on the airbrakes, slowing the ship dramatically, as the pursuer was now the pursuee. I squeezed the trigger as a series of laser fired from their barrels and destroyed the ship.
Ryan now teamed up with Adrian, as the two fighters did a tag team short of thing, as when one ship made a kill, the other would take over until he made a kill. The process repeated itself and both were having fun. From what I was observing, because they were constantly moving, no one could make a shot on them.
"Adrian? Cooper? I swear you two got an odd way of fighting." 'Whatever works, right?" "Right." I said, as I turned to look at the fleet. The enemy was being taken down, but the allies were falling quicker.
"Krystal. Look at the fleet. We're losing." Krystal stared at the diminishing fleet, a wave of worry coursed through her body. "What the fuck are we suppose to do?" "Fox! The rest of my empire is arriving. Seven O'clock."
I turned in my chair, and saw six Venomium class warships, registered to Wolf O'Donnell. "That's a start, but we still need more." I said, as I turned to look at the Matchitehew, firing its side Pulse Cannon at the Allmachtiger, impacting at the front of the ship.
Fara, her kill count was well over twenty, as she continued to make that number rise. Though, her count was put on hold, as she was now under attack from the rear. She screamed in fear, as whatever maneuvers she was doing, it was easily matched.
She watched as he shielding dropped past forty percent. She feared no one knew she was in trouble. She tried to call out through the radio, but no one could pick up her position. "God damnit. I'm sorry, Wolfy." "Relax, will ya?"
Out of nowhere, coming straight at her, was a second-generation Arwing, approaching at high speeds. With a turn of Fara's joystick, getting out of the way, Zeria opened fired, destroying the pursuing fighter.
"Thank you, Zeria." "Welcome, Fara." Zeria darted off into the distance, getting back into the fight, as Fara took a moment to calm herself down. She almost would've never seen Wolf again. The thought of that made her sad. She loved him very much. Not only would she have never seen him again, but she would take their unborn child with her.
"Wolf? I think I better retreat." "What? Why?" Wolf yelled over the radio, causing me to listen in on their conversation. "My ship is in a bad state and I don't know how much longer I can take."
"That ain't the real reason, Fara, but you are right. Your shields are down to thirty percent. Get back to the Matchitehew and prepare for the assault on the Allmachtiger." "Roger, Fox." Fara said, as she broke off her fighting and turned towards the Matchitehew.
I watched as the large warships battled each other, fire breaching through the hulls or the fire enveloping the whole ship, before certain destruction soon followed. Natasha was doing a good job battling the Allmachtiger, but it could only handle so much. I just hope something good for us happens soon.
However, the fighter battle has shifted and now fought within the titans. Every chance I had, I fired upon the warships, trying to assist in any way possible.
Matt flew around, his shielding still close to one hundred percent. The one thing that I told him, that helped me very well during the Lylat War. 'Do a barrel roll.' There have been a few times were I watched him perform that stunt, deflecting the fire in other directions.
"You enjoying yourself, Matt?" "You know it, bud. This is great." He said, squeezing the trigger, as a pair of blue laser flew through space, impacting a small squadron of five ships, all of which were destroyed.
"I can't believe they fly in groups. Didn't they know that wasn't effective during the war?" Krystal asked, as she fired a Nova Bomb, destroying six ships within the blast radius.
"I don't know, but we may be causing serious damage the fighters, but look at the fleet. It's diminishing. Start taking out some of the turrets on the Allmachtiger. All those lasers are kicking our asses."
I turned my head and I watched a series of lasers fly through space, impacting the side of the Black Mamba. Fire brewed within the ship and along the hull. The ship was hurting bad.
Then, a saw a mass of energy forming in the forward cannon of the Allmachtiger, it fired upon the Black Mamba. An attack like that, would surely destroy it. There was nothing I could do. I could only watch in fear, as the hare, that may as well been my father, was about to die.
"This is cutting it close!" A voice over the radio said. It was Bill. He ordered the Bloodhound to intercept the attack, as it flew right in front of the Black Mamba, just as the attack was within a few hundred meters. The blast round from the Allmachtiger impacted the ship, just behind the bridge section.
The ship ripped in half, as I stared at bodies fly out into space, as the Bloodhound was now just taken out of battle. "BILL! You alright?" I yelled over the radio, hoping to hear the husky's voice. "Is Peppy okay?"
"Of course I'm okay, Bill. You crazy son of a bitch." "Couldn't let you die, old man." I could hear laughter, as I turned my head as the Allmachtiger was preparing another attack.
"Well. At least I performed a good act before I died." Bill said, as he leaned back into his captain's chair, waiting for the cannon to fire. "I don't think so." An unknown voice said over the radio. Unknown to most, familiar to me.
"Nova Strike in process!" A female voice now came over the radio, as I stared at the Allmachtiger, as sixteen Nova Bombs, struck the front of the massive juggernaut. Taking out some of the turret fire and the main cannon.
I turned my head in the direction the bombs flew from and saw the Ultra Falcon II, larger than the original, but about the same size as the Black Mamba. I stared at the silver ship, similar in design of the Great Fox, with the four wings and the dorsal fin. However, the wings were more shaped like bird wings and the back-side of the dorsal was like a razor. Four cannons sat where the two would normally sit, with turrets the same design all over the ship. Sorry to say, the Ultra Falcon could definitely take on the Great Fox. "Sorry I'm a little late. You wouldn't believe the traffic I went through just to get here."
"Falco. I'm so glad you finally made it." Peppy said, as he did an attack run on a enemy warship, disarming it before a shot from Matchitehew's Side Pulse Cannon destroyed the damaged vessel. "I remember that ship. But Fox is dead. Who controls that ship?"
"Just attack the fucking enemy, Falco so we can call this a day. Don't expect me to be thrilled seeing you. You back-stabbing prick." A moment of silence. "Fox?" "Falco! What did Fox just say? Attack the bastards!" "Krystal?"
"Slippy? Will you fire a shot at Falco, so he can get his head out of his ass and start fighting?" "Sure thing, Fox." "Don't you dare, Slip. Alright. Ultra Falcon engaging." Falco said, as he ordered Katt to fire the main cannons, which sat below the head, which resembled a falcon's head.
"Krieger? Matchitehew suffering massive hits. May not last much longer." "Natasha! Do everything you can to stay in the fight. We cannot lose you." "Calculating new plan. It's been fun serving you…..Fox." "Natasha? What are you talking about?"
I turned my head in fear, as I watched my beloved battleship increasing its speed and heading right at the Allmachtiger. Natasha was planning to ram her head right into the bigger ship's side. A classic head butt, however. It wasn't likely that the ship would survive. "Natasha! Don't do this! Make a new plan!"
No change. Lector did everything he could to stop the thundering ship, nothing was stopping it. I just stared as the port cannons began to fire at the engines, trying to disable it. I was able to watch one of the engines, the bottom engine, get blown off from laser fire. Matchitehew was not stopping.
I just stared at the energy readings of the Matchitehew's forward cannon. It was gaining strength by taking out power from the sensors and engines, making the powerful attack gain strength by forty-nine percent.
"Fara! Hang on to something!" I yelled over the radio, which caused Wolf to look at the Matchitehew. "Oh fuck! Fara!"
The Matchitehew was now a few thousand meters away, on the verge of losing its other engines, but not letting up its speed. I just stared, tears in my eyes, as I saw a bright, white flash emerge from the front of my vessel, firing it straight into the Allmachtiger.
Only took three seconds before the pulse round impacted the side of the giant vessel, bringing down its shields a shit load and weakening the hull integrity, particularly in that area.
A few moments later, like the sound of three trains colliding each other, the Matchitehew breached the hull of the bigger vessel, causing severe stress on both ships. The force Matchitehew drove into the Allmachtiger, was enough to bend the ship in half. I just stared in shock, as the Matchitehew came to a halt, while the Allmachtiger, had a ship inside it, the ship now sat with a thirty-five degree angle. Explosions emerged from the impact point, but the ships sat there, disabled.
I did a scan on both ships, showing that the Matchitehew was basically dead. Even life-support. Especially, Natasha. While doing my scans on the Allmachtiger, its shields were down. Its weapons were done. Sensors, everything was down. Except for its life-support, which was holding at about forty percent.
"Alright Styx. Natasha just gave her life to help us. This is our chance to board the ship. Regroup at the collision area. Fara, get ready to attack with us." "Roger!" Everyone said in unison, as I disengaged and left the battle zone.
The area we landed in was barely vacuum tight, though we feared one of us was going to fly into space. Fires roared around us, sparks flew everywhere, but everyone continued our journey to the bridge. Where I was sensing that that's where Cyrus was sitting, in disbelief.
"I can't believe Natasha did this. What a brave computer." I just lowered my head, as I wanted to punch Ryan right there, but the truth was. She was a brave computer. Self-sacrifice was a huge human trait. I always admired her for that.
I pulled back the hammer on my revolver, as everyone else got their rifles cocked and ready to fire. "You know. It's funny." Krystal said, which caused me to look at her. "What's funny?"
"Well, what started off as a simple bounty hunting job, ended up being a full-scale war. Who knew it would end up like this?" "I sure as hell didn't." I said, as I sighed, as we marched down the hall, weapons ready to fire.
Our first encounter, after five minutes of walking down the long, burning hallway, was a small group of mechanics. With their backs turned towards us, we quietly crept up behind them. In the process of our stealthy actions, I pulled out a long tube. The silencer for my revolver.
I put it into the tube and turned it until it came to a stop. I told everyone who had a silenced weapon to do the same. The only one's were Krystal, Ryan and Wolf. Each of us raised our weapons at point blank range, each of us had our own body to kill.
One of the mechanics turned around and saw us and immediately started to back up, but only took two steps before Ryan squeezed the trigger, putting a bullet into the Rottweiler's head.
The other mechanics, now alert, turned around and stared at us long enough, to get an image plastered in their minds, as the three of us squeezed the triggers of our weapons, all of them fell to the ground, a hole left right between their eyes.
"Wasn't so hard." I just turned my head towards Ryan, as he did the same. "Cooper. They were mechanics. I don't think they would put up much resistance." "You be surprise. The weirdest things I've dealt with, ended up giving me some harsh resistance." The husky said, as he tried to defend himself.
"Well, that's just your luck, Ryan." Krystal said, as she started to walk past us, continuing her trip down the hallway. I followed suit shortly behind her, as everyone else, waited a couple seconds, mainly to stare at the bloody bodies, before chasing after us.
I looked around, the ship had seen better days. The fire had finally stopped around us, which made a lot of people relax more. As for me, I think my fur was on the verge on going up in flames, so I relaxed a bit.
The walls now filled with holes, as sparks discharged, shooting them everywhere. It reminded me a lot of the Matchitehew, after its attack just before our close escape. Surprisingly, everything remained rather quiet. It made my fur stand on edge, nothing should be this simple.
"You're thinking the same as me aren't you?" "In situations like these, I hate quiet." "I rather it be quiet to be honest." Adrian said, as he walked next to Miyu, as the two looked down every corridor we walked past.
We walked about another fifty feet, before I just came to a complete stop. Wolf and Fara, who were directly behind me, ran into me. "What the fuck. Why'd you stop?" Wolf said, as he just stared at the back of my head.
"They are waiting for us. About four decks up." "So? They are four decks up. Who cares? We'll just walk past that location." Ryan said, which caused me to scan further, until I just closed my eyes.
"There's no way to pass that block. All of these halls, just lead up to that location. It's also the way we have to go to get to the bridge located on top of that spire." "So you are saying is we are screwed?" Matt said, starting to feel a little frustrated.
"I didn't say we are screwed. I'm saying that is why it is so quiet. Get your weapons ready because we are about fifteen minutes away from encountering resistance." I said, as I gave the chamber of my revolver a quick spin.
"Perhaps you should get a rifle?" Wolf said, as he got his assault rifle ready to fire. I just turned around to stare at him, while raising my revolver to my right. With a squeeze of the trigger, the bullet shot out of the barrel.
Everyone just stared at me, confused at why I just wasted a shot. However, a few moments later, everyone turned their heads after they heard a noise from down that hall I just fired at. A soldier, shot in the neck, fell to the ground. The noise they heard, was his rifle hitting the floor.
I walked over to the dead body, and saw the soldier was indeed as dead as Julius Caesar. I picked up his rifle and examined it, nodding with approval. I holstered my pistol, as I held the rifle with both hands, pulling back on the action to get it ready to fire.
"I'm good." I said, as I made my walk back towards the group, as the only one to follow me immediately was Krystal, everyone else was a little stunned. "I hate knowing he's a telepath. He's a far much better fighter than me now." Wolf said, as started to follow with Fara at his side.
"I'm just glad he shot him. Otherwise, all of us would probably be dead." "I agree with you." Ryan answered Adrian, as the two dogs followed with everyone else shortly behind them.
As everyone followed me, I never broke my stare down the hall. It was as if I was scanning for any presence up ahead and if I looked away, I would break my concentration. The reason I was staring forward was because I was just thinking. This battle, which was still brewing outside, the loss of my computer, mainly. How was I going to kill Lector?
"I think you are thinking about this too hard, Fox." I turned my head towards Krystal, as she stared at me with her cerulean blue eyes, filled with concern. "This death is personal to me. I don't like getting shot in the face." I said to her, as I knocked on the metal in the spot where my cheek would be.
"You would. I sure as hell wouldn't, but then again. If I was shot in the face, I be dead. Lucky for you, your head is protect…." Krystal said, she stared straight forward, then behind us. I felt it too.
"Hide!" I said in the loudest whisper I could do. "What the fuck is going on?" Miyu said, as she grasped her rifle a bit harder than a moment ago. "We're being ambushed. They are coming from both sides. Wait. Cancel that. All around us. They are homing in on this position from these three hallways." I said to her, as I pointed down the three hallways that surrounded us.
"What are we suppose to do? That's a lot of ground to cover." She continued, as she stared down the hallway we just came from. I looked at our situation, but then something caught my attention, which really made me smile. "Do all of you think the same I do when you visit an armory? It's just like a candy store?"
Everyone looked at me, as I had a big smile on my face, as I opened the door, leading into the armory right next to the group. When everyone entered, they all saw me holding a Gatling Gun. "Oh boy! My favorite weapon!" Krystal said, as she ran up next to me and picked one up.
Everyone gathered around me, staring at the fully stocked gun rack, full of Gatling Guns. I just nodded, as I checked the ammo, making sure it was full to its capacity. Then I grabbed a couple more belts to load into the chamber.
"Take your positions. At the same time, we are going to push ourselves towards that blockade of soldiers. Soon to be nothing more than a pile of dead, rotting bodies." I said, as I squeezed the trigger to give the barrel a quick rotate, mainly I just loved to hear the whine this gun offered.
"One thing I always liked about you, pup. Your optimism." Wolf said, as he was mimicking the same actions I was doing.
Miyu was the first to peek out of the door, looking in all directions for any signs of Lector's forces. Still very quiet. Even my telepathy was saying the same, but they were coming.
We began to walk in the direction towards the rear of the ship, holding the weapon in my hands. The halls were dark, you couldn't see more than about thirty feet. Things were too eerie, I knew something was coming.
I came to a stop when I heard a noise, like a small pat on the wall, but I knew it was in the distance. "DUCK!" I yelled, as I dropped to the floor, just as a green glow approached us at a high rate of speed.
Everyone followed suit, just as the plasma round past right over us. Then, my telepathy went haywire, same with Krystal's. Soldiers now surrounded us from both ends. "CONTACT!" I said, as I squeezed the trigger, hearing the bullets escape the fast, rotating barrel.
A bright blue glow filled the hallway, glowing even brighter as now all ten of the Styx Omega Soldiers, were firing the Gatling Guns in their hands. "There's like over a hundred of them on both sides." Krystal yelled, as she leaned herself against the wall, trying to make herself a smaller target to hit.
As everyone pressed themselves against the wall, I just stood in the middle, not caring if an enemy rifle hit me. Not that it would slow me down any. My mind was set on killing all of those soldiers, same with everyone else.
The fight, now going on for over two minutes, no one on my team was down, hit in the arm or leg, but nevertheless, they were still holding their ground. I just stared, as the resistance slowly made our way towards us, which wasn't a smart move.
It was then, that I thought I lost all hope of winning. A loud explosion, in front and back of me, I thought it was an explosion from a grenade or something, killing me and my team. Though, when I came to notice that that explosion wasn't near us. It was far off in the distance. Which I should've realized in the first place.
The enemy fire had stopped, a few seconds later, so did we. The explosions occurred right next to the soldiers. It was as if the conduits next to the groups exploded, killing them in an instant.
I stood there confused, why did such a coincidence happen just now? It didn't seem right. Before long, a heard multiple explosions, same as the ones I just heard a moment ago, all over the ship. We all struggled to maintain our balance, but something was occurring that shouldn't be happening.
The adrenaline exited all of our bodies, Zeria, Fara, Ryan and Matt had fallen to the floor. Wolf, Miyu, Fay, Krystal and Adrian rested themselves against the walls. I just stood in the center of the hallway, with a confused look on my face.
I tried to sense what was going on, but nothing was making sense to me. Why did all of a sudden, these explosions start to occur, killing off the soldiers, assigned to put up a block to stop us?
Everything was silent, nothing could be heard except for our breathing, and the roaring fires about fifty yards in front and behind us. Krystal approached me, still holding her Gatling Gun, ready to fire when necessary.
"What's going on?" She asked me, looking at me, but I didn't look back at her. I was deep in thought, I was scanning the ship. She just stared, but a moment later, her focus was on my throat. Which no longer moved, as I stopped breathing. With concern, she looked my face, but a smile was brewing.
She stared at me in confusion, searching through my mind, trying to find what was so worth smiling about. Took her a moment to find the answer, as she now smiled too. Everyone gathered around us, confused like hell.
"What the fuck you two smiling at?" Ryan said, walking front of both of me and Krystal, waving his hand to try and get our attention. I just stared forward, finally moving my eye to focus on him. "I love that computer." "What?" Everyone, minus Krystal said.
Soon after this moment, lights started to flicker on, for a few seconds before finally, everything was well-lit. "Hello, Fox. Did I do good?" A female voice surrounded us, causing everyone to flinch. I just smiled as a tear started to form in my eye.
"Natasha. You crazy bitch." "I'm sorry, Fox, but it had to be done." I just sighed, happy to know Natasha was still operating. "How are you here? Scans show the Matchitehew is dead." Fay said, as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
"After the impact, my circuitry crossed with some of the circuitry of the Allmachtiger. Some very important circuitry. I have full-access to the entire ship. Cyrus Lector knows this now. Somehow though, he is able to avoid all of this. He's making his escape to the hanger bay. He plans to leave in his personal shuttle."
"Can't you close the doors?" Adrian asked, waiting for the answer. "The doors are closed, but his shuttle provides firepower stronger than the door. With a couple shots, he'll be able to blow a hole and fly through." "Can you provide firepower for the Cornerian/Katinan fleet?"
"Fox? You insult me." I just laughed, as I wiped the tear from my eye. "I'm glad to have you back. Try to get the Matchitehew up and running. Have it provide firepower too." "Affirmative, Fox."
"Everyone. I'm going in alone. Get back to your fighters and provide air-support. I'm going after Lector alone." "What? No you are not! I'm coming with you." I just stared at Krystal, who had tears forming in her eyes. I looked at her, then at everyone else.
"Remember what I said? You listen to me and you'll survive? That rule still applies. I will kill you right now, if you don't get your mother-fucking asses MOVING…RIGHT NOOOW!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, snarling at everyone, which caused Ryan and Fay to immediately start booking it down the hall.
Adrian, Miyu and Zeria soon followed. Matt, Wolf, Fara followed a few seconds later. Krystal stood her ground, crying. "Please, Krystal. Do this for me. I'll come back for you." I said, as I embraced her in a hug. "I hope so."
We pressed our lips against each other's, as I pulled her even close by holding the back of her neck. Our lips parted, as we rested our foreheads against one another's. "I love you." "I love you too."
After that, I took off in a dead sprint in the opposite direction, leaving Krystal there standing alone. She took a few deep breaths, before she did what she was asked to do….and took off in the direction towards the fighters.
I arrived in the hanger bay, still no signs of Lector. I scanned the entire area, before setting my eyes on a shuttle about two hundred yards away. "Natasha? That shuttle over there. Is that Lector's shuttle?" "Affirmative. He'll be arriving in one minute."
With that response, I took off running towards the shuttle, watching it closer to me by the second. It was the same design of Adrian's Cobalt, though it was red and black, similar paint scheme to a Wolfen. And a whole lot bigger. About three times bigger. This shuttle was the limousine of shuttles.
The loading ramp had been lowered, as if it knew Cyrus was approaching. I ran up the ramp and tried my best to hide myself until the time was right. Scanning left and right, able to find a air-duct to hide in.
I pulled the vent cover away and crawled inside, tight fit, but when I knew I was hidden from sight. I grabbed the cover and put it back into its spot, like it hasn't been touched.
I waited for a few more seconds, ten to be exact, when I heard footsteps approaching the ship very fast. The sound became more hollow when he stepped onto the ramp. Finally, he emerged from through the archway.
I snarled at the jaguar as he made his way towards the bridge. Behind him, was a hissing noise as the ramp was now closing itself. The ramp sealed and I heard hear the air starting to escape the duct to fill the ship. The rush of air, fresher than you would find on Corneria, had more oxygen in it. Made me rather dizzy.
The engines began to fire, as the ship fired a series of rockets, breaking the door and breaking the vacuum seal of the hanger bay. Everything that wasn't secured, was ventilated out into space. Included a couple fights, which nearly collided with the shuttle.
The shuttle took off and as it emerged outside the ship, he could see that his beloved juggernaut was aiding his enemy, the Cornerians. He shook his head in disbelief, as he turned his head towards his right, as he stared at the lodged Matchitehew inside its hull.
He had to escape, the only place he could hide for now was the blue planet below him. He pushed forward on the yoke, making the ship lower its descent into the atmosphere. By this time, I was slowly making my way out of the air-duct. I was getting too dizzy to be sitting in there that long of a time.
He made his way through the battlefield, avoiding the occasional fighter from his team, and looking back at the warships that fought each other. He knew he was defeated, but he had a special weapon in case of situations like this. A self-destruct, of everything that belonged to him.
He armed the destruct on all the ships, including the Allmachtiger, but then something came across my mind. The Allmachtiger was linked with the Matchitehew. If one blew, the other would surely follow. Just as I was about to run towards the bridge, the process was already beginning.
I stared out the window, watching Lector's forces falling ever so rapidly. One that caught my eye, was a ship that was battling with the Ultra Falcon. The two were only meters apart, firing everything at each other. When the ship blew, the explosion enveloped the Falcon.
I stared, as I figured the ship that carried the guy who betrayed, was gone. I was surely mistaken, as the Falcon emerged out of the flames, burnt marks all over the ship, and fires brewing from within. Falco and Katt were safe in the bridge. "Now, you get to have a long talk with me, Falco."
Everything was destroyed, I shook my head in disbelief at how much of a coward Lector is. Though, something still caught my eyes as a smile beamed across my face. The Allmachtiger and Matchitehew were still there. My only assumption, Natasha was able to ignore the command. The two ships that were stuck together, remained and I could feel that Cyrus was not happy at all.
My vision blurred as fire started running up the hull, as the ship was now entering the atmosphere. I refocused my mind, remembering why I was on this ship in the first place. The man I was sent to destroy, was only fifty feet away, right behind those doors.
I made my way towards them, but stopped in my tracks as Cyrus stepped through them, his weapon locked on me. "You think I didn't know you were onboard?" "You just recently did a scan. Don't give me that bullshit." I said to him, with a voice so cold and heartless.
"I trusted you, McCloud. You were going to be my right-hand man after this war was over. You would've had everything!" "I do have everything. Everything I could ever want. The only thing you gave me, were a new shipment of weapons and a shit load of nice cars."
"You could've had a lot more than that." "The power. The money. Corneria." With that, Cyrus fired a couple rounds into my torso, causing me to bent over and grabbed my stomach. I stared at my hand, as blood now stained my white fur. Anger coursed though me, as I made my approach toward him.
He fired a couple more rounds, none stopped me, as I smacked away his blaster, and through him backwards, into the controls of the ship. I saw him yell in pain as electricity surged its way through him, as he landing damaged the controls. No one was able to fly the shuttle now.
He finally fell onto the floor, twitching and groaning in pain. I picked him up by his shoulders and tossed him a little bit further, crashing into the radar screen fifteen feet away. I made my way over to him, again picking him up by his shoulders, and threw him into the gun rack on the other side of the shuttle.
I stared at him, blood oozing from his mouth, nose, and various cuts across his body. I just walked over to him, a smile on my face, as he barely was able to look up at his maker.
With a full wind, I gave him a severe punch into his face, causing him to cry out in pain, as the punch fractured his skull. "Now you understand the pain and suffering I went through when you took my best friend away from me."
"It had to be done. He knew too much." "It all proved very helpful. He's alive and he gave me everything he knew about you. About your plans. Your attack. Maybe you should've killed him yourself. Instead of hiring someone like the coward you are."
The battered jaguar stared at the ground, feeling pain that no one ever wanted to suffer. I stood up as tall as I could, and reached for the gun rack and pulled on it. The rack collapsed upon the battered jaguar, causing him to yell out as more pain enveloped his body.
As I just smiled, something no longer felt right. I looked out the bridge-view window and saw that we were approaching Corneria City. We were heading for the tallest skyscraper in the city and the crash would surely destroy us.
I kneeled back down next to Cyrus, who just laid on his stomach in pain. Without any warning, he yelled out in pain, as blood now gushed from his arms. I had jammed my dagger and knife into his arms. The blades acted as nails, as there was no way he would be able to pull them out.
According to the telepathy, I only had a few seconds left. I reached up and pushed the button, which started to lower the loading ramp. "I hope you enjoy your stay in hell. Because what you are about to experience, is a sneak preview of what waits for you."
With that, I jumped out of the ship, no parachute, no expectation of a ship coming to grab me, it was just a freefall jump. I looked up, and saw that the shuttle crashed into the building, exploding into a beautiful ball of flames.
I looked down and saw a skylight approaching me fast. "Oh fuck!" I yelled, crashing through the window, landing on a desk directly below the window. My heavy body instantly crushed the desk, to nothing, but a pile of splinters.
I laid there, glass shards and splinters in my skin, as I just laid there in pain. I coughed a couple times and saw blood streaming out of my mouth. With a lot of energy, I managed to bring my arm in front of my eyes, to stare at my watch. It was nine in the morning.
"Just another…..cough…..fucking day of recovery." I said, as I continued to cough, this time to just clear the dust of out my lungs. Everything in my body just went limp, as I just focused my eyes to look at the flaming wreckage a few floors above me. I just cursed out loud.
Debris from the shuttle was now hurtling towards the ground below it, and I was underneath it. "God damnit." I tried to move, but my body was not responding with my brain. I wanted to move, but everything else wouldn't allow it.
The debris now broke its way through the already broken window and those last few seconds, seemed to last a long time. I just stared at the wreckage, like it was approaching me in slow-motion.
"I love you, Krystal." Not out loud, but in my mind, directly to her, as I closed my eyes, waiting for my death to come. What seemed like hours, it was only a four seconds in real-time, before I was crushed underneath the flaming metal that was once part of a shuttle.
