A/N: hey everyone. Here's chapter 13, it's a bit shorter than my other chapters but, it's really just a setup for the next few chapters really. Anyhow enjoy, thanks for the support, and I'll post again soon. Cya... ^_^

The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ SkullFox

Frag the weak, hurdle the dead ~ Mykll

Back doors to problems lead to better results and hidden treasures ~ Jamie


Chapter 13: Kursed…

Retreating to a safe place located outside of the city; Miyu's team, along with Reiko's, gathered. Having gone though a great deal of first aid training, seeing as how Star Fox had never really had a member trained for medical situations, Kursed spent a great deal of time working with Katt. Luckily the feline's injuries only consisted of a few cuts, some broken bones, and a minor laceration or two. She didn't seem too bothered by the fact that she was injured by someone she once had feelings for, not nearly as much as she seemed to still keep her mind on the fact that she was found in Reiko's arms that night. Kursed looked over the feline that night, making certain that she hadn't missed any injuries; however, the feline was clearly thinking about something, something that she was purposely holding back from the vixen. However, it was as they sat there the second night of their stay that the pale vixen sighed after tending to the feline's bandages…

"Katt…" She said, "…why have you been so quiet around me? I don't have to be telepathic to know that it's not like you to go so long without talking to someone."

The feline look to her friend with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut, "I'm sorry Krys…I didn't know."

Kursed donned an angry expression, if nothing else only to convince Katt to speak up…

"It's Seven…" She said wiping her eyes.

Kursed's telepathic mind instantly honed in on what the feline was saying she didn't even get the chance to finish her sentence before Kursed's expression went blank. Katt reached out to stop her from leaving the room, only to have her reach back to her side as a sharp pain shot through her body; Kursed had warned her not to make too many sudden movements. The vixen moved through the small empty den, a sort of escape shelter the Valkyries had stored up just in case something like this should happen. Her steps seemed almost completely involuntary. Reiko sat there talking to Creed when the large vulpine nudged his head in the vixen's direction. Everyone in the room seemed to instantly look to the zombified vixen that trudged through the area until she stood in front of the coyote; there was an instant of hesitation before the vixen's fist met the side of Reiko's face. The dark furred animal hit the floor sliding a short ways before rolling onto his back rubbing his jaw. He could have sworn she'd broken a tooth if not his entire jaw, he was convinced that it was the hardest punch he'd ever been hit but, he quickly sat up with an intent of giving the vixen a piece of his mind before he noticed the tears in her eyes…

"God damn you." She swore, "I always knew that you were hiding something from me, but, I kept out of your mind just to give you the benefit of the doubt. Even after you found out who I really was you still kept something like that from me." She bared her teeth at him, "how could you expect me to work with you, when you kept something like that from me this whole time?"

Creed stepped forward only to have Reiko call him off, "Would it have made any difference?" Reiko asked, "I doubt that would have stopped you. Would it make you feel any better now know that he made me swear to keep this to myself? He made me and Creed promise the same things. You think I wouldn't have told you otherwise? I'd never be that heartless."

The vixen breathed deeply through her nose, before simply storming out of the building, "Where the hell are you going!" Reiko shouted as he rushed to the door.

Kursed stopped for a moment, "Andrew wanted us all for a reason; Falco may be strong but, his mind's as weak as any I've ever read…" She said, "…Andrew has a plan to pin everything on you guys. He's got no intention of killing him by himself, as far as Lylat's concerned Fox McCloud is dead. He's interested in the last hope any people might have…and that's you guys. If he manages to get you all together he's going to stage a public execution that way everyone will know that the last people that would stand up against him are gone."

The vixen didn't stand to listen to any reasoning on Reiko's part afterward, she knew that she, at the least could make it off the planet. Quickly the vixen rushed out into the city, leaving the others to themselves. It was then that Reiko turned back to the others, there was nothing he could do to stop her. Miyu took the moment to look the coyote over, he was hurt, after all the vixen was strong back when Miyu knew her as a new comer to the Star Fox team. She had heard part of what Reiko had talked about with Katt, and now was a good time to hear the rest…

"Reiko…" She said, "…Katt mentioned something to me about, Star Fox… What was she talking about?"

Reiko sighed as Creed helped him up, "Star Fox was not originally a mercenary faction. Apparently it started with Jerek McCloud…that would be Fox's great, great, grandfather. At that time there was a problem in Lylat that was so horrible nobody really remembers it, because it was stricken from our history books. Fox was able to tell me all about it though." He said, "The Lylat system back then was unilateral in it's government; some sort of dictator had taken full control of the system altogether; Jerek started Star Fox as a group of Revolutionaries that swore to stop that dictator's reign. When the war was over, Jerek disbanded the revolutionaries and resolved that if the Lylat system ever needed Star Fox again, they would be there." He said, "After that every generation of the McCloud family was given a small device. Fox, just like James, and Marcus before him…they've been recruiting animals all over the star systems. Fox trusted me with the device that signals the revolutionaries to one place. That place is gonna be here."

"How many members are there?"

Reiko sighed, "Over the course of all three McCloud generations… roughly twenty thousand of the best pilots and mercenaries of the Lylat system."

"How long will it be before they get here?" The lynx asked.

Reiko sighed again this time looking back to the door, "We'll know it when they get here. They knew this was coming."

"How is that?"

The coyote inverted the collar of his shirt, showing a small Star Fox lapel pinned to the inside of his shirt, "Cuz I felt this coming a long time ago."

... ...

Kursed had no problems sneaking through the city before she found herself on her small ship that she, Reiko, and Katt had taken to get to Zoness. However, as she stepped onto the bridge of the small ship something caused her to place her paws on her hips. She simply stood there as if waiting for an answer until the chair in front of her spun revealing a familiar red furred vixen…

"What? You think you're the only one that can risk her neck around here?" Jamie asked brushing her long sanguine hair from her eyes.

"What's in this for you?" Kursed asked sternly.

Jamie chuckled crossing her right leg over her left knee, "Nothing." She replied sweetly, "I just really enjoyed working with you. I haven't' had that kind of fun in years…" She smiled, "…besides I have a laundry list of skills that I'm sure you might be able to use."

Kursed simply donned a half smile shifting her weight to her left leg, "Well if that's the case I also know where they most likely took your boyfriend." Jamie said, this of course caught the bounty hunters attention, "thought so." Jamie chuckled, "well let's get going and I'll fill you in on our way."

Kursed took a seat in the captain's seat just to the left of where Jamie sat, "Fine…" She smiled, a bit happy that someone was actually coming with her, even if Jamie did seem to come off as a bit psychotic, "…where to?"

Jamie chuckled, "Isn't it obvious? Andrew wants us for a public execution right?"

The snowy furred vixen turned to her console with a sigh, "…Corneria." As the vixen slowly pulled the small ship out of the planet's orbit she looked to Jamie, "where did you get this kind of information anyhow?"

Jamie smiled winking at the white furred vixen, "You'd be surprised what a guy will tell you when you dig your claws in that little piece of himself he never wants to be without."

Kursed laughed, "I only wish I would have been there to see that…" She said, "…did you make him cry?"

Jamie laughed, "Like a baby…"

As Kursed set up the ship for a jump toward Corneria, she looked to Jamie, "Well…that sort of makes me wish I was there. Did you finish the job?"

"No…" Jamie sighed, "…he was too pathetic."

The two shared a laugh at Caruso's expense as the small ship slowly drifted along. It wouldn't be too long before the two would reach Corneria but, the biggest issue after getting there was…how were they going to find Fox, in one of the largest cities in the Lylat system?

... ...

His entire field of vision was a blur; at the moment the last thing he could remember was fighting with Falco on a rooftop before he found himself surrounded. He couldn't remember how many had been there, but, it was clearly more than he was able to handle without prior notice. The white cloaked vulpine pulled back his hood; his face was covered in blood, and this only caused his eyes to sting even more than before; as they were exposed to more of the light that broke through from the florescent bulbs in the hall. The cell itself was rather dark, and he recognized the low pitched buzz of a static field that covered the cell's doorway. The light slowly began to fade in allowing the fox to see his surroundings; the walls of the small cell were clearly familiar, steel walls, floors, and ceiling; a Murphy's bed like structure that hung from each wall by thick cables. He knew where he was, this was Corneria; he never thought he'd be back in this place. He remembered so many animals he'd thrown into this very cell. It was different now; there was a smell that he could only place as sewage mixed with the decay of rotting flesh. It only took a moment for the assassin to sit up rubbing his ribs; suddenly a voice caused him to turn toward a short shadowy figure in the corner of the room…

"This is where they throw you when you know too much," It said, "or when you're set to be executed, or can still serve a purpose."

The still groggy vulpine squinted into the shadows, "Wh-who's there?"

"Doesn't matter…" The raspy voice responded, "…we're both dead. You know you could never hide your voice from me?" The animal suddenly changed the subject.

The voice slowly changed in tone a bit only enough for the fox to hear something that caused his ear to twitch, "S-s-slippy?" He asked trying to look harder into the shadows.

Finally as his eyes set into focus he could see the figure; the shadows hid most of his body from view, but, that didn't stop the vulpine from being disgusted. The young mechanic was nothing like he once was, he was thin, so much so that his bones bulged against his skin, his once vibrant eyes barely showed a flicker of the animal that he once was, and he seemed to have trouble as he stood up slowly. As he approached Fox noticed an indefinite limp in his left leg…

"It's been four years…" He said as he finally stepped into the light looking the vulpine in the eyes, "…they wanted me to help them find you. That was why Falco didn't kill me when we were alone…" He said dropping to his knees in front of his old friend in tears, "…he shot Peppy, Fox. He tried to kill Krystal…he was gonna kill me."

The fox quickly pulled his old friend into a tight embrace, for the past four years the animal had been dead to him…there'd never been any signs of the animal's escape. As far as he was aware Slippy had died there with Peppy. He rubbed the frail amphibian's back as Slippy held onto his best friend…

"Falco…" He said, "…he comes in here all the time. He asks me if I'm ready to help them find the others." He pulled away from the vulpine shaking his head, "but, I'd rather die in this shit hole, then sell you out. Did…did you even find Krystal?"

Fox simply shook his head, "She's dead too Slip…she died with Peppy."

The toad for a moment chuckled, and for an instant Fox could see a glint of the old Slippy in his eyes, "No she isn't. I threw her out of the fourth story window just before Falco shot me. She hit the water and ran just like you told her to when she joined the team." He said wiping his eyes, "she's smarter than you give her credit for Fox…so smart that when I first met her, it scared me. She learned your martial arts just by watching you spar with Falco; she learned more about computer tech in one day than I was able to learn in four years of college. I don't know if it's because she's just brilliant or because she's a Cerinian but, there's something different about her. I wouldn't doubt it if she was right under your nose."

Suddenly Fox's mind flashed back over half a year; he remembered fighting on a rooftop with a white furred vixen…Kursed. The scythe…those eyes. He took a moment to shake the thought from his head…

"No there's no way…" He convinced himself, "…but, those eyes. Would she really go that far to hide herself? No…" He shook his head again, "…she'd never kill people like that. She had a hard time hitting me when we were sparing." Again his mind flashed back to that hate filled stare, those gorgeous blue eyes, "but…those eyes."

... ...

A pair of deep blue sapphires stared back at the white furred vixen as she rubbed cold water over her face. She didn't remember falling asleep but, she woke up wearing only a white tank top that reached halfway down her torso and a pair of white shorts that covered halfway down her thighs. Her night had been riddled with nightmares, different scenarios to how her plan could play out and fail, and end with her and Fox dying…but, it would end differently if anything went wrong, Jamie would be pulled into this and killed as well. She knew now that if she failed, word would get out; Reiko's team and Miyu's would come for them…but, unlike Kursed and Jamie there would be no element of surprise. Andrew would have every animal he needed, and they would all die. Her only option was to make certain that this all played out perfectly or they'd all pay the price…