Author Notes: Well I was up late last night and couldn't sleep and for some reason this was the only fic i found myself able to think anything up for. The next chapter for Second Chances should be up soon, as well as the next chapter for CoF2. Hope you enjoy the chapter. XD enjoy and i'll see you all later...
The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ Skullfox
And
Mykll
Chapter 4: Declarations of War……
Kursed woke with a start; she wasn't used to falling asleep in such a comfortable bed as the one in the hotel she was staying in. It didn't help her any that she was becoming a bit paranoid that the dreams had stopped for the most part. However, she found that it was a far greater problem now, since she constantly worried that she'd close her eyes only to see her friends all die again. It was funny, every so often she would hear Fox's voice, as if he were standing right next to her bed; he would tell her to be brave, and stay strong…most often on those nights she would wake up calling his name, only to come to painful realization that she was now, as she would remain……alone. She sighed as she realized it was still dark out, she simply rubbed the back of her neck as she headed into her small room's bathroom; she really shouldn't have had so much to drink before bed, she figured it was possibly partially responsible for her waking so early. The young vixen stretched her back as she walked back into the room itself. She shivered a bit, as she realized that she'd left the AC on through the night; she'd developed a small habit of sleeping in her underwear which made her all that much colder as she draped a bathrobe over herself while she turned the AC up. Though she wasn't ready to wake up just yet, the vixen felt the compulsive need for a cup of coffee. As she sat at the room's small kitchen table with her drink she went over a small print out, covered with the names of places were she'd found a member of the assassin group; included were cities on Katina, Kew, Titania of all places, small planet in Stygian, Dan'jas, Krazoa…she'd slowly discovered that these Wraiths weren't just in Lylat, they were everywhere. She'd hardly been able to bring herself to believe how large their organization really was. She'd so far whittled away at them little by little, killing whichever she could find, however a thought lingered in the back of the vixen's mind as she turned her sights to a small photo…
It was an old, worn out picture of her, Fox, Falco, and a familiar pink furred feline, while Slippy stood in the background fidgeting with some gadget or other, and Peppy standing behind Fox with a bit of a prideful smile at the young fox. Her attention stayed on the pink furred feline that seemed to be in a bit of an argument with Falco, thought the blue vixen couldn't really recall what had started it that time. She thought deeply about how the feline was alive, and one of the assassins. She doubted however that her pink furred friend had anything to do with Fox's death, she even doubted that Katt knew anything about it so far. It was as she stood there that the vixen sighed. She made certain to allow herself the notion of killing the feline, but, as she thought to herself she reminded herself that Katt was her best friend, her only female friend, in Lylat. She understood that Katt wouldn't recognize her in her current state, after all no animal would; but, her looks had to change is she were to hide from Andrew and his men for all this time.
The vixen shuddered at the thought of what her fate would have been had they ever captured her; it wasn't long after she'd run away to Sauria that she heard that Panther was sending out to find her. He'd always tried to put himself off as a calm, suave individual…and she'd nearly fallen for it on several occasions, had a small notion in the back of her mind warned her to steer clear of the panther. She often wondered what Fox would have thought knowing that Panther had made several passes at her not long after she'd joined Star Fox. The vixen closed her eyes and smiled; in her mind she could see her infuriated leader pummeling the feline into a bloody gelatinous mound. Unfortunately her thoughts of the cat brought back memories of the first night after she'd met him; she knew the nightmare was a sign, a warning from her own Telepathic abilities. In the dream the black furred feline forced himself onto her. Kursed shook her head, she could still feel his breath on her face. The dream had been so vivid and real, that she could have sworn she'd felt every moment of it those years ago, and despite how much she screamed at herself to wake up in the dream, she couldn't. It was the first thing in her life that had actually frightened her, far beyond anything she'd ever experienced on her home planet, where predators were massive lumbering carnivores.
It struck her as strange that she could not find a way to stop thinking about it now that she had brought it up to herself; how one thought can germinate within the mind and give birth to such nightmares…it was as times like this that she reminded herself to keep her scythe nearby. Oddly, the only thing she could think about at the time was how close she imagined Panther was to her, and wether or not he was aware of just how badly she'd like to remove several parts of his anatomy…she doubted, however, that behind all the roses and false courtesies he was really that smart. The white furred vixen stood with a stretch and moved to the window throwing open the blinds, only to narrowly dodge what appeared to be a small metal spike that lodged itself into the table a short distance behind her. She looked out the window in amazement, the Wraith that stood on the rooftop a bit shy of a hundred yards away was massive, but, there was no way he could have been able to throw a projectile so far with the type of force that could pierce through a window without the means of even making it crack. It was meant to be a lethal shot, it was at head level, and she could practically feel it tear a small gash along the left side of her muzzle…
Kursed quickly rolled behind the small love seat that the room passed off as a proper sofa, pressing her paw against the stinging wound on her face before looking to the small trace of blood that it left in her palm. If she was lucky it wouldn't scar, but, she doubted she really was that lucky as she went for her gear, quickly putting her outfit on before picking up her scythe and heading to the elevator where she moved to the rooftop. The vixen expected to see the large animal, only to realize the only thing in her view was Sol rising over the distant hills. However, as she looked around something struck the ground pinning the low hanging cloth of her suit to the rooftop. She managed to roll out of the way just as three more met the spot where she'd been standing. They were fairly large spikes, wide enough to make a bullet like hole in whatever they hit, and long enough to pierce vital organs if they managed to hit you. She growled furiously, it had cost her some money to have her outfit repaired when that character on Katina just a bit over six months ago had ruined it….
"At least the last three I fought had the guts to come out from hiding!" She shouted.
There was a light chuckle as a large animal in a white cloak seemed to appear off to her left near the edge of the building…
"Funny…" He said, "Cuz if I wanted any of those shots to kill you, it would have been the on in your room."
"So what then…" She replied not bothering to reach for her scythe, "…you just intend to sit there and stare at me chest all day?"
The huge animal let out a booming laugh, "Don't flatter yourself Sweetheart." He said, "I just have a hard time believing that someone that looks like you really managed to take down 21 by yourself. She was one of the best fighters I've ever seen."
Kursed remembered the Lynx he was speaking of, "Hmph…If you says so." She scoffed.
"So why not tell me why it is you're doing this?" The large assassin asked, "Maybe you'll walk away from here alive."
Kursed sighed, "And maybe you should tell your little friend behind me to back off before she gets herself hurt." She replied giving the second much smaller assassin that had silently appeared behind her a glare from over her shoulder.
"Back off Six…" The large one demanded.
As soon as the slightly shorter one joined him by his side, Kursed sighed angrily, "What do you people care about my reasoning?" She said looking to the shorter animal, "I figured your little family would start sending you people in numbers though. Good call."
The larger animal quickly threw up his arm causing the familiar sound a powerful burst of hydraulic pressure releasing, Kursed's movements didn't even seem to really happen as the small spike seemed to collide with the blade of the scythe that hung just over her shoulder. It was a split second too late however, for her to realize that the shot was a simple decoy to throw her off while he lunged in at her. The massive animal's fist slammed into the ground beneath them, causing a massive indentation where his fist landed in the rooftop. As the vixen rolled out of the way, she felt as through the entire rooftop would cave in if he were to hit it again, however, before she could react to the attack he shot back at her again. This time with his left leg, which the vixen quickly stopped with her own paws. The impact of even his kick sent her several feet into the air and made her arms go numb from the shock. Twisting her body in mid-flight Kursed flipped forward launching her scythe in his direction, this time causing him to lunge out of the way, barely managing to avoid the lethal attack which slashed through a small portion of his hood showing her the deep red furred ear of a fox. As she landed the animal rushed at her again, only to note a slight flick of her wrist causing the weapon that was far behind him to graze his right arm before it's curved blade lodged itself into the rooftop behind her, before the feet of the shorter assassin. Kursed sighed as she noticed a metallic gleam coming from the torn fabric of the large fox's sleeve…
"Hah…" She scoffed, "…so that's why you punch so damn hard." She said with a deep breath, "Neural Links."
Creed quickly reached to his shoulders, tearing away his sleeves, yet leaving his gloves in tact…
"I guess I should make this a fair fight then." Kursed smiled causing her paws to burst into light blue flames that scaled up her forearms a slight length, causing the short assassin to gaps stepping back away from the scythe.
Kursed rolled her neck before quickly forcing it to one side resulting in a small series of loud cracks. Creed didn't seem to care much at all as he shot toward her; Kursed was already impressed that such a large animal could move so fast, that added to the threat of his metal arms, so far made him the single most dangerous animal she'd ever fought. She was forced to slide on her knees dropping her upper body across her calves, to maneuver out of the path of a lariat that would have most likely decapitated her completely. She managed to very quickly swing about, in time to block the kick that was aimed at her chest as the large animal pivoted on his right foot throwing his left with a force that lifted the vixen back off her knees and onto her feet, sliding her across the gravel rooftop before she finally came to a stop a bit less than a foot from the ledge. She looked to Creed with a grin only to see the animal surprisingly lunge back at her. She was stunned, so much that she nearly missed her opportunity to leap over him nearly causing the animal to fall from the rooftop. She looked to her paws then to his leg; being touched by this attack, even for a moment his leg should have been completely paralyzed. It wasn't until he turned that she noticed it, there was a short, but, obvious difference in the reaction time between his right and left leg. It explained why exactly her paws practically went numb when the kick hit, his left leg was also a Link. She shook her sore paws for a moment before Creed shot back at her this time as he threw a punch the vixen leaped into a forward flip over his head, slapping each shoulder with a paw each. When Kursed landed opposite of him she didn't bother turning around, she'd made contact with skin that time. The white furred vixen looked over her should only to see Creed standing there, both arms completely limp…
"What the fuck did you do to me?" He asked in a panicked voice.
Kursed took a moment to catch her breath, shaking the flames from her paws, "It's a little trick I developed about three years ago." She said, "Using Telepathy on a slightly higher plain. I found out that I can temporarily paralyze the synapses that associate to your higher motor functions……" She chuckled wrenching her scythe from the rooftop of the building, "…and without those arms, you're pretty much worthless."
Creed simply stood by waiting for the vixen to approach him; when she did, she leaned that he was much faster than she she'd given him credit for. His leg stuck her ribs, though unfortunately for him, as the pale furred vixen folded over his shin, her paw slapped the knee of his other leg, causing him to fall to the ground before she rolled across the rooftop cradling her ribs. She'd never imagined being hit by a Neural Link would hurt so much, she was certain that a rib was broken if now cracked. She cried out in pain as she spit up a small pool of blood. Creed was amazed to find the vixen fighting her way back to her feet, for a female he'd never imagined she would keep going after such a shot. However as she stepped forward she found Katt standing there. The vixen couldn't help but to scan her thoughts, she was fully aware of who the vixen was now, and worst of all she was willing to defend the fallen assassin…with her life if necessary…
"Move…" The vixen demanded.
Katt simply held out her arms, "No. If you want to kill him then kill me first."
"Katt I'm serious…" The vixen shouted, "Get out of the way!" She repeated this time with her weapon aimed at the feline's face.
Katt had never been so afraid in all her life, to think that Krystal would even consider killing her was far beyond reason. As the white furred bounty hunter reared back her weapon, Katt tightly closed her eyes, if she was going to die she didn't want to see it coming. However, instead she felt nothing and opened her eyes to see the weapon frozen a mere inch or so from her face. The vixen was visibly shaking, whether this was due to the pain in her ribs or something else she wasn't sure……
"Why do you have to be one of them?" The vixen whispered.
Katt stepped forward, "What are you talking about?" She asked.
The vixen simply turned away, "Just stay out of my way Katt. I've lost enough friends in one lifetime." She said limping back through the door that led into the building.
Katt looked to the place the vixen had occupied, and back to Creed. She couldn't believe the vixen was alive. She also had no idea how she was going to explain to Reiko that she and Creed had failed; but, nonetheless she called for help, and was forced to wait for the back up to arrive to get Creed. By this time they had found the Kursed had already left…
******
The Next day……
Prantella……
******
Kursed slowly staggered through the town; there was little she could do about her ribs, and as expected none of the townsfolk seemed to pay her any mind, though she suspected this was because her scythe was drawn, and she was clearly in a foul mood. The little doctor's office was no different now than the last time she'd been here; there was no fear coming from the building either, just a simple calm, even as her scythe ripped through the door to the place…
"I believe miss that would be two doors you owe me." The panda sitting at a small table said, "If you are here to kill me have your way with me. I can assure you however that I have no intentions of telling you where to find them."
Kursed growled, "I'm……" She paused hissing in pain, "Not here for information. One of your buddies…"
The doctor sighed, "I see…" He said, "And why is it you would come to me instead of a normal doctor?"
She leaned against the wall to relieve some pressure from her side, "Last time I was in a hospital……doctors were paid off by some guys that didn't like me too much. I nearly died."
"And why trust me?" He asked with a clear smile.
Kursed sighed, "Because……you're an honest person. Despite having connections with those murderers. For some reason you're still the most honest person I've met in over three years…you gave me information even though it led to the deaths of so many people. Because you……are incapable of lying."
The panda chuckled, "You catch on rather quickly…" He replied, "…you are correct; I cannot lie. I am mentally incapable. I could not explain to you why, I am a doctor no a shrink…" He said standing and approaching her, "And I took an oath long ago, to help those in need of my skills. Now if you would please sit down."
The vixen did as the doctor told her, the whole time keeping her paws on her weapon; were he so much to as flinch in the wrong direction she'd cleave him in two. The doctor motioned for her to pull up her shirt, so that he could have easier access to her injury. Certain that an animal of his age had no horrible ideas in mind, she did as she was told allowing the animal to feel about her ribcage. It was odd to her that he kept his eyes closed…
"So…" Kursed hissed, "…how'd you start loosing your eyesight?"
The panda sighed, "I suppose old age has played it's part, but, it is due to a rare type of tumor in my head that allows me to read minds, and at the same time it's been robbing me of my eyesight for years." He replied, "To tell the truth, with all that I see in these days I often am glad that I will soon be incapable of seeing any of it."
The vixen flinched in a hiss of pain at the bear's touch, "I guess…at your age…death would be a sort of release from all the suffering."
The doctor stepped away gathering some supplies before going back to the blue furred animal's injury, "I'll take it from these cracked ribs that you've met Creed." He said as he began to apply something to her side that burned her skin, "He had a habit of going for the ribs; with his arms it's easy to make an injury like this, makes it difficult to carry a fight on when breathing feels constricted." He said, "You know, you and the Wraiths have more in common than you may want to believe."
The vixen sighed, "You know Katt?"
"Hmm…" The doctor said, "The pink one? Not personally, enough to know that she misses the one's she called family."
The vixen let out a depressed sigh, "You seem to understand her well." The panda said as he began to apply a bandage to the vixen's ribs.
"She and I were friends once…" Kursed replied, "I guess we're enemies now."
The doctor actually stopped his progress to laugh, the action making the vixen glare angrily at him, "I am sorry. It's just that you young people try to label everything so clearly; friend, enemy, good, evil…up, down. Everything is the same if only you look at it from another point of view."
Kursed scoffed causing her ribs to give her a sharp jolt of pain, "You're out of your mind."
"Am I?" Zang asked, "Look at it this way. There is never a person in all the galaxy that does things because he knows they are wrong, no. They do the things that we consider evil because, to that person at least, these acts seem right…and hence our good clashes with that man's evil…his wrong is our right and vice versa…" He said as he continued to wrap her ribs, "Same goes for friendship; just because you share a difference in opinion, you consider someone else an enemy when you've never even gotten to know them…"
Kursed scoffed, "What about Up and Down?"
The doctor chuckled as he finished his work, "Well……think about it. To one standing on his head, your up is his down, his down your up."
"That doesn't make any sense." The vixen said.
Again the panda chuckled, "Well than think of it this way. Your concept is valid no matter where you are right? If that was the principal to everything, then consider space. There is no up or down, no right or left…just……space. How often can you honestly say that you've stopped, and looked at life through the eyes of your enemy?"
The vixen stood up, "I don't have a need for your philosophies doctor." She said, "But thank you for your services."
The panda sighed, "You are welcome." He said handing her a small tin of some kind, "This will help the healing process. Just remember, the fool that dies fighting, is the fool that forgot to live."
The vixen sighed, "More philosophies doctor?"
The panda chuckled lightly, "No. No more philosophies consider that last one advice…from one that's lived it."
"Right." The vixen huffed as she headed out the door.
The panda sighed, "You'll never find peace if you keep looking for war Kursed…just more heartache."
Kursed sighed as she decided to ignore the old panda, "Kursed…" He called stopping her, "I was wondering if I might be able to…acquire your employ."
The vixen sighed deeply as she rested her forehead on her arm which she lay against the wall next to the door, "It won't be cheap." The vixen replied, "I spent everything I had hunting the assassins. I barely have enough money to pay you for this…"
The doctor chuckled, "My dear little vixen. If I had wanted monetary gain, I never would have become a physician. I do this because I love what I do…helping sick people. However, I still cannot do these things for free." He said, "Agree to do this for me, and I will pay your price, and drop my normal fee for your treatment."
"What's the job?" She asked.
Zang sighed, "There was a recent riot on Kew, near the University of Advanced Astrological Physics. You have heard of it I take it?"
Kursed did not look away from the door, "One of my old friends once taught a course there." She said, "Second most acclaimed university in Lylat."
"My only living relative, my young niece has been attending a number of classes there…"
Kursed thought to herself for a moment, "You should be proud; that school doesn't just accept anyone."
"I am…" Zang replied, "…however…"
"You're worried because you haven't heard from her?" The vixen asked.
Zang slowly moved to her placing a small photo in her paw, "She is the only family I have. My niece, Lin. She is a bit strong willed but, I want you to take her somewhere safe for me."
"You don't want her to come here?" Kursed asked.
Zang sighed as he walked away, "No. I want her somewhere safe, and this place is far from safe. Andrew and his men are constantly searching for any members of the Resistance. If this locations is discovered, he will not bother to learn whether or not we are members…he will kill every man, woman, and child here. No mercy, no thoughts, just death." He sighed, "Just give her that photo…she will understand."
"And if she doesn't want to come? Or can't?"
The panda sighed, "Regardless of her condition…I still want to know. Dead or alive."
Kursed looked to the photo she now held; it was torn, leaving someone out of the small picture, there were clearly three or more in the photo, as Zang himself, and a younger, female panda was hugging him, she had the normal markings, though her hair was a bit longer than most pandas the vixen had seen before. Zang turned to say something else, only to find that the vixen had very silently left the building already. Kursed closed her eyes and sighed as the lift carried her to upper city; she wasn't even certain why she was helping him, but, something about the feeling she got from the old panda told her that he was more friend than enemy…the very same feeling she got about Zig. She understood his feelings, he simply wanted to protect those close to him, however, she was sure that there was something the old man wasn't really telling her about his niece Lin. As angry as she'd been recently, the vixen half hoped someone would try attacking her on her way to her ship; maybe the scythe scared most of them off or something…either way about it, no matter how she felt it would be nice to deal with normal animals for a short while……
******
Kursed's Ship
Later that night
******
Late night, the vixen found herself fearing another attempt at sleep; hunting a group of assassins as well known as the Wraiths was beginning to have an effect on her mind. She woke up now, instead of to nightmares, to the feeling and thought that one of them were on the ship simply waiting for her to wonder into the halls where the animal would strike and leave her to die. She wondered why it was her mind plagued her with such thoughts, she was certain she was doing the right thing, and yet every time she thought about all the animals she'd killed thus far; it brought an uneasy feeling to her gut. What if……by some small chance, the Wraiths weren't behind her friends' deaths? Did that mean she was killing animals that didn't deserve to die? It was moments like this that she usually listened to what her heart told her, but, her heart was scarred. There was no clear why to tell what she should do when her heart, and her mind were both confused about where to go from here. She was aware that there was no turning back after the war she'd started…but…if she could get Katt alone, she was certain she could get some answers……
Finding sleep an impossibility, the white furred animal found herself sitting in the kitchen of her small ship. The coffee scarcely managed to tide her over, but, sheer will, along with the constant fear of waking in the afterlife kept her awake. It would be a long flight to Kew, a flight she was beginning to think would last forever. Looking into the nexus of space through the port window over her shoulder, the vixen let out a sigh….
"When did living get so complicated?" She sighed before going back to her thoughts.
