A/N: Hey there all. I've been a little busy with work lately, as the pricks decided to change my work schedule around LOL. Anyhow, here's chapter 17, if there are any spelling or grammar errors I apologize, I'm very tired LOL. Anyhow, not much left to this story, Imma try to cut if off at twenty chapters but, we'll see...
The Footsteps in the Darkness ~ SkullFox (sorry if you're reading this Mykll, i just couldn't type anymore LOL)
Chapter 17: No Fury…
"That SON OF A BITCH!" Kursed screamed smashing her foot into the hull of her fighter that sat in the docking bay of her small mother ship, "He's gonna have an entire fucking army waiting for the resistance."
Jamie looked to the young Cerinian, "Kursed, there's nothing we can do for 'em."
The white vixen gritted her teeth, "Yes there is…" She sighed storming off, "…computer! Set coordinate for Corneria City. We're going home. That son of a bitch wants a war…I'll give him one."
Jamie sighed deeply as she dropped down into a seat next to the vixen, where she quickly pulled a small communicator from her pocket, "I don't like looking to her for help…" She sighed, "…but, we need all the guns we can get, and she'll do just about anything for money."
Kursed sighed, "Is she anything like you?"
"How do you mean?" Jamie asked.
Kursed smiled at the vixen, "Is she out of her mind? Because that could really help right now."
It was as Jamie held the communicator to her ear that the ship shook to one side, "Damn it," Kursed shouted, "if you're contacting that friend of yours you'd best do it fast, someone's following us! That was a warning shot!"
Jamie rushed out of the bridge toward the docking bay while Kursed pressed a flashing green button on the arm of her chair, causing a large green screen to flash in front of her seat; the image was of an unfamiliar black furred individual with one bright blue eye, and the other deep green…
"Sorry about that, but, your ship was blocking my transmissions."
The vixen growled, "That's because I was running away…"
The dark furred pilot sighed, "Well there's no need of that…I'm with the resistance; Reiko requested that I follow you, just before his radio went silent."
Kursed narrowed her eyes at the stranger, "Proof?"
Rolling his eyes the pilot turned the collar of his shirt inside out, flashing a small platinum pinion that she was all to familiar with, in the shape of a winged fox. As Jamie boarded one of the fighters in the docking bay of Kursed's small ship, "Jamie…False alarm. He's a resistance fighter…he was just trying to get our attention." Shot through the PA speakers of the ship, this instantly caused the vixen to slowly disembark from the small ship.
"Well that's a relief." She said to herself.
Back on the bridge of the ship, Kursed sighed, "Well…how do I know I can trust you in the first place?"
"Full name's Dravyn Dark, you can look me up if you want," He replied, "you won't find anything to interesting."
Being a bounty hunter by trade it only took the vixen a few moments to look up his information, "Born January twenty fifth, twenty six years old, ex-military, mechanic, minor degree in physics…" The vixen narrowed her eyes for a moment as she noticed something, "…why do you drop off the charts for five years?"
Dravyn sighed, "Black Ops, not something I like to look back on," He said, "look point is I have a plan to get us welcomed into Corneria with open arms. According to sources, Andrew still wants Kursed fighting for him, and he's willing to do just about anything to get you to come over to his side of things."
The vixen was taken aback, "Falco never said anything…" She scratched her chin, "…why? What does he have to gain by lying? Why wouldn't he tell Andrew who I really am?"
The black furred resistance fighter sighed, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but, if you let me on board. I'll give you every weapon I have…as a sign of good faith. Just so you can hear my plan out."
"Fine," Kursed replied looking to Jamie as she walked through the door, "my friend here will escort you to my ship's galley…we'll talk there…" She said, "…and Mister Dark…" She looked at him with intent filled eyes, "…if you try anything, I don't need a weapon to kill you."
Dravyn nodded with a chuckled, "Yes, I'm afraid I've heard the rumors," He replied, "I'll be aboard shortly, and I promise you that you have nothing to worry about."
….
Corneria City…
A young ape rushed through the halls of a large building; he carried urgent news for his Emperor, news that the self-appointed ruler of Lylat would be most gracious to hear indeed. It was as he broke into a massive room that the young ape slouched over with his hands on his knees gasping for breath; he'd never run so far in all his life. It was after he caught his breath that the ape finally found his way into the massive chamber that would have once been the War Room of the great Cornerian Military HQ building. Andrew's seat sat high atop a large pedestal at the far end of a very large, round table lined with seats…
"My Emperor…" He gasped, "…General O'Donnell sends word that a Bounty Hunter wishes to have and audience with you…he says that it is Kursed, and she seems to have arrested two of the freedom fighters from Zoness."
Andrew chuckled, "A peace offering eh?" He sighed, "very good job," He said looking down to one of the guards standing at the door, "double this soldier's rations for the month, and lead Miss Kursed in here, I wish to speak with her, assemble my Generals as well…we can't be too careful now can we?"
It wasn't long before the seats below Andrew ere filled with the bodies of his Generals, only one short, as he'd managed to replace Caruso with few problems. It was as he sat there that the impatient Emperor rest his head in his hand, cradling the weight on the arm of his chair, "What is taking them so long!" He shouted.
Wolf sighed, "Give it time Andrew…you set up all those checkpoints for a reason."
Andrew sighed, "She killed two of my Generals…" He said, "…are you sure this is a good idea O'Donnell?"
Wolf nodded, "True…but, they both attacked her first…they were asking for it. Just keep her here long enough, I'll find out if she's really up to something."
It was not a painfully long wait before the doors of the room were thrown open, and a pale furred vixen shoved a pair of shackled animals into the room; one being Jamie, and the other a slightly tall, well built black furred fox. Keeping her mind and expression clear, the vixen took in her surroundings without bothering to make it too obvious that she was doing so; some of the animals seated she'd never actually seen before, but, two of them stuck out like sore thumbs, Wolf O'Donnell and Leon Powalski. She couldn't help but worry that they might notice that it was her, and said worries only increased as the creepy reptile Leon stood up and made his way over to her; he looked the vixen over briefly with those strange eyes of his, while keeping his body forward. The movement of his eyes separate from his head always bothered her but, the vixen kept her poise as he stopped in front of the young, red furred vixen that had fallen to her knees as Kursed pushed her through the door…
"Ah…" The reptile chuckled, "…hello Miss McCloud…funny meeting you in such a place."
Wolf chuckled, "Oh this is rich…the last living McCloud delivered right to us by the hands of a common Bounty Hunter."
The pale vixen looked to Wolf, "Don't take us Hunters lightly Mister O'Donnell…that's the first mistake most people make with me."
Andrew chuckled, "Wolf, that's no way to speak to our guest," He said, "I must say that it is an honor to meet someone with your esteemed reputation. However I cannot help but ask why you would come here, and with such a wonderful gift."
Kursed sighed, "Well I've recently spent some time on Zoness looking for a someone that had recently pissed me off. Perhaps you know the name Caruso; then again he was one of your generals wasn't he?"
Andrew slapped his hand over his face, "I have to say, his taste in women was second to none; he simply had the intellect of a gnat. I suppose he had it coming. Unfortunately this leaves me in a particular position…"
The vixen chuckled crossing her arms over her chest, "You and me both; see pickings have been a little slim since you came around. Your little…" She cleared her throat, "…Generals, have been clearing out any bounty that comes up. It was always hard enough feeding myself and keeping my supply needs in order but, now…it's practically impossible."
"I see…" The ape nodded, "…I took your means of sustaining yourself and your little business; and you…took my generals?"
"Not quite," Kursed sighed, "I killed your first General because the bitch tried to kill me; and I'll simply sat that Caruso and I have met before, and he had it coming."
Andrew sighed scratching his chin, "Hmmm…well those two were easily replaced with mister Powalski here…" He said, "…now if you are looking for work, that much I can get for you. You seen back on Zoness we had a bit of an issue, as you may already know…now one of my many Generals has managed to round up that lot of the resistance fighters that were there before a massive group of rebels landed on the planet. Our only issue at the moment is that well one of the resistance fighters managed to break away…" He said as Wolf handed her a picture of Creed, "…as you can see there's no small reason why he was able to break away. According to my men there, he was shot several times as he ran off, but, he managed to carry off two of the other prisoners in the process, one being a Katt Monroe, the other, we aren't so certain of."
Kursed sighed, "Fine…I just have one request," She said, "pull your men out of there. If not they'll never come out of hiding."
"What makes you think that?" Andrew asked.
"Katt Monroe is a native Zonessian," The vixen pointed out, "if she doesn't think she can get away, she'll crawl the three of them into a hole in the ground that none of you will ever fish them out of. There are places around Zoness that the old resistance hid away…" She said, "…I don't know where any of these places are either, I wasn't around Lylat until recently; but, I do know that Miss Monroe was a leading member of the anti-Andross movement there during the Lylat Wars. She'd know every hovel and hideaway there is on that planet," She said, "give her a little security, let her think she's safe, and when she comes out of hiding I'll have her and her friends here for you, gift wrapped if need be."
Andrew thought for a moment, "I can buy you some time…" He said, "…you seen I'm being forced to pull my troops from the Capital City regardless," He said, "you seen my ground based troops are second to none, but, my pilots…well they could use some work."
Kursed nodded, "I undestand, since Star Fox went down there's been a shortage of good pilots in this star system…" She said, "…despite how nice this meeting's been. I have to go, I don't want Miss Monroe getting too much of a head start. With the big one injured he'll be a lot easier to take down, so I'd best do this before they get the chance to patch him up."
"Good idea," Andrew said, "we'll keep these two here," He said looking to Dravyn and Jamie, "Powalski, take them to the holding cells, looks like that little execution is going to be bigger than I'd hoped for." He said watching the pale furred vixen leave the building, not being able to help but stare at the way she swung her hips as she walked, "What do you think Wolf?"
The old Lupine looked in the vixen's direction, she was now much too far down the opening hall to make out any specifics, "She's got spirit…"
Andrew still studied the lovely form that slowly vanished from sight, "Hmmm…yes; spirit…and the body of a goddess. When she brings in Miss Monroe she'll make a fine queen."
Wolf chuckled, "She might…" He said, "…but, something tells me that you're not her type."
Andrew glared in Wolf's direction, "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
Wolf shook his head, "Look at her," He said, "beautiful, smart, strong…deadly…"He pointed out looking to the ape, "…and look at you. A sniveling coward that can't even fight his own battles."
Andrew growled, "You can be replaced too you know?"
Wolf slowly made his way out of the building, "The only person that could replace me, is going to die as soon as you have his little rabble put together…"
It took Kursed little to no time to return to Zoness; the city she'd once been a part of had become a complete ghost town. As she stood in the ruins of a down town hanger where her ship lay birthed, the vixen looked to a small device, resembling a small handle with a small disk at it's top, the disk spun, in that blink of an eye growing to several times it's original size and producing a small screen layout of the city, where three flashing dots lit in blue moved slowly toward her location from some distance away. She'd known that it would be a good idea to bug each of the members of Miyu and Reiko's little teams. It was as she waited by that a pair of small figures came into view slowly making their way toward the vixen; they must have noticed that it was her ship and come running, however, there was no running involved. Instead there were two young female felines, and one large fox being supported by the two of them. The white vixen quickly rushed to them helping lighten Katt and Jane's load…
"What the hell happened?" She asked.
Katt took a moment to catch her breath, as she found lugging the bleeding vulpine around to be exhausting work, "Falco, surrounded us…" She said, "…it looked like an army; but, when they were cuffing everyone, Creed shot through there like a moron and snatched me up," She said looking over the animal who's breathing was incredibly labored, "Krys this is really bad, he's been bleeding a lot. We did what we could to stop it but, we only had what we could find."
Kursed hoisted the large fox's remaining weight onto her back, "Jane can you fix him up?"
The cheetah looked over Creed; his frame was covered in blood, there were a half dozen gunshot wounds across his body ranging from his shoulders and chest to his abdomen and legs…
"I could do just fine but we need to get him to a medical station he's lost a lot of blood."
With the help of the two incredibly tired felines, Kursed managed to carry the large fox on her back onto her ship, and into the very small sick bay, where she lay him out on the bay's only large metal table. Jane seemed to snap to attention, quickly moving about the room gathering up the supplies that she was certain that she'd need the big lug. Luckily, being a more modern ship…the sick bay was equipped with a small freezer fully of small packs of blood in such an occasion. The feline reached over to Creed jabbing his leg with a small device that gave her a read out of O+; she in turn retrieved two small red bags from the freezer and hooked the injured animal up. The speed and precision in which she acted caught the vixen's attention as Kursed sat down…
"Computer," She called, "activate auto-pilot and automatic navigations, take us to Sauria. I need some time to think. Andrew can't be allowed to know that this took so little time," Said causing the ship to slowly take off, "What the hell is going on? Where are all the resistance fighters?"
Jane went about her business, "One of the Valkyrie turned on us…turned us all over to Falco…" She sighed, "…all the fighting moved north toward Terrafin, a port city where the resistance had set up a small base of operations," She said looking to a lump of metal she held between a pair of forceps, "god I hate real bullets, most of these injuries are blaster wounds, but, the bullets did some serious damage."
"Is he going to be alright?" Kursed asked.
Jane nodded, "Yeah, most of the shots missed his vitals, it's the blood loss that got to him, that and the fact that he must be in more pain that I've ever seen before."
Kursed patted the cheetah on the shoulder, as she headed out of the room, where Katt stood, "I'm sorry Krystal…" She said, "…I wish I were strong like you, but, to be honest, I've only ever been any use in a cockpit. I felt so helpless."
With a sigh the pale vixen pushed Katt's shoulder, "Katt come with me there's something I want to show you."
Katt did so, following the vixen until they stood in the center of the small ship's training facility; where Kursed stepped up to a large, familiar looking punching bag…
"I had this made for a special purpose," She said.
Katt laughed, "It looks like Panther."
The vixen smiled looking to the Panther-esque bag, "Well despite that," She said, "there has always been a rule in Cerinian life; possess the ability to defend your weaknesses no matter what they may be."
The vixen quickly shot about stiking her fists twice against the feline's shoulder, causing her entire arm to simply go limp…
"What the hell did you do!" Katt yelled wiggling her torso causing the limp arm to wave about a bit, "my arm!"
Kursed chuckled, "It's a temporary paralisis," She said, "on Cerinia the tale was that an ancient hunter once was challenged to a duel to the death. She had vowed never to take a life without doing so to keep from starving or being food herself. Because of it she ran and eventually found her way to the mountain tops, where she begged that she be shown a way to retain her family's honor without having to kill the vixen that desperately wanted to kill her…" She said, "…according to the legend a mysterious vulpine wanderer heard her voice and her please for help and it drew him to her. The wanderer taught her one technique and forced her to promise him that she would never use it to cause harm to a living thing, only to protect herself. The technique that he taught her was the same one that I just performed on you, it has been passed down through my people's heritage for longer than any Cerinian can remember…every female of mating age is taught the technique," She said turning to the feline, "it usually takes some time to learn and it can take a lifetime to master it, but…" She smiled, "…you're a fast learner, and this is something I need you to know before we go back to Corneria…" She said, "the effect will only last about a half hour, so take a shower and get something to eat, we've got two days before we go to Corneria."
The next Day…
Katt slowly opened her eyes and her senses to the feel of the fresh grass that brushed against her fur. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually slept outdoors; her senses suddenly took a shock however as a familiar white form fell from the sky nearly landing on her face as she rolled out of the way. As the pink furred feline rolled onto her feet, she buckled under the weight of her own body as her knees gave way and she fell forward. The white vixen in front of her sighed helping her back to her feet…
"You've gotten a lot better at this for only having one full day of training," She smiled, "you'd have made a great warrior on Cerinia."
Katt winced as she arched her back in a bit of pain, "I'm not used to this kind of training," She said, "and my leg is still pretty sore, so are my ribs."
"Well that's good," Kursed chuckled, "not to be mean or anything but, training while injured was a common practice on Cerinia, according to masters it helped warriors and hunters learn when it was that you really needed to worry during a fight."
Katt breathed heavily for a moment, "Listen…" she said, "…do you really think this plan or yours is going to work? You have to admit it has it's flaws, what if Andrew is playing you?"
Kursed sighed, "I'll admit that my telepathy hasn't been the same since what Falco did…but, Andrew believes who I am, that much I'm certain of…and he still has Fox alive in there," She said, "there's only one factor that I didn't count on."
Katt looked to the vixen, "What factor?"
Kursed shifted her eyes from the feline to the skies, "Jamie…she's a McCloud. I knew I felt something familiar about her, but, I just couldn't place it. She has that same spirit."
Katt thought for a moment, "I don't really see how that is going to help us," She said, "I mean, there's not telling how happy Fox will be when he hears that news but…"
"Katt we're going to get him out of there…" Kursed replied, "…him and everyone else."
Katt sighed, "Yeah but, I'm not sure how well your plan is going to pan out."
Kursed sighed, "Point taken…" She said, "…but, can you think of a better way for us to all find our way into Andrew's court? I've done my homework on the situation Katt, he has set up his own headquarters inside the military hq where we used to meet with General Pepper. If my information is correct however, Fox is being kept inside the old Military building itself, and the others are being kept in a smaller building that used to be a barracks on the grounds," She said.
"I know…" Katt replied, "…that's where they're going to take me and Jane, then when you give the signal I'll get loose. I still don't like the idea of hiding that device on my body. They're going to take my clothes and replace them you know?"
Kursed sighed patting Katt on the shoulder, "Well…then you're just going to have to find a way of hiding it so that they that they cannot find it."
Katt sighed holding up a small black object, "You know I hate you for this…" She said.
"Well I'll leave the creativity of this situation to you." Kursed chuckled, "right now we have to get ready. I'm going to contact Andrew and tell him that I've got the prisoners that he was looking for. Jane's in there explaining this to Creed, he just woke up a few hours ago. While you were out here having your little Katt-nap."
Katt laughed, "Yeah, well if you weren't so trough on your trainees, I wouldn't need one."
Impatiently, Andrew sat by looking over the large room that was once the massive building's war room; it had been nearly four days since Kursed had been there. He seemed to grow more and more impatient over the hours that passed, and as he sat there brooding Wolf shook his head…
"Give it some time Andrew," He chuckled, "not even Kursed can track down three individuals on their home turf in such a short amount of time."
"I don't care, at the very least she could call in and inform us of her progress."
Wolf laughed, "Maybe you've got that little hat of yours wrapped a little too tightly Andrew," He said, "she isn't one of your lackies, she'll do things her won way and on her own schedule. You want her to help you you'll have to deal with that or kill her."
Suddenly the door to the room burst open, and a white furred vixen pushed in two individuals whom she pushed forward, causing the two feline females to fall to their knees, while a pair of guards carried behind her a very large, injured vulpine…
"The big one didn't put up much of a fight," The vixen assured him, "unfortunately the same couldn't be said for these two."
Andrew sighed, "I must admit that I was hoping you'd be a bit quicker given your reputation," He said, "take these three away, put them with the others. I've actually found myself postponing my public execution of these lowlifes, but, now that i have them all here. I suppose we can get this on with tomorrow. I was hoping that you would stay to watch the show. All I can promise you now, is that this will be a show you will be happy you didn't miss."
Kursed thought for a moment, "Well then perhaps I will stick around."
As the guards at the door led Katt and Jane away, while Creed was carried behind them, "Now," The ape said, "there is a small matter I was hoping to discus with you Miss Kursed."
The vixen shut her eyes, "Don't call me Miss…" She replied, "…it doesn't sound right."
Andrew nodded, "Very well Kursed, I meant no disrespect," he said, "thought I'd like you to consider replacing one of the Generals you so veritably robbed me of."
Kursed laughed, "I'm no bootlicker Andrew. I do things my own way, people trying to tell me what to do only ends up in someone getting hurt."
Andrew smiled, "Perhaps you mistook that for a direct request…"
The vixen narrowed her eyes, "Please tell me that wasn't a threat, I've killed higher people for a lot less."
The ape sighed, "I…apologize, that is a defensive trigger that I have been struggling to deal with," He said, "I keep forgetting that some people simply have a higher price than others. What, may I ask, is your?"
Kursed smiled brightly, "Now, Emperor, you're speaking a language I understand."
Andrew sighed, "Well, I can promise you more money than you could ever make in your current occupation, and the benefits are…astronomical…"
Kursed smiled, "And what benefits might those be?" She asked resting her hand on her hip as she sifted her weight to one side.
Andrew sighed looking her over, "Every empire needs…a queen."
The vixen smiled at Andrew with a surprised look in her eyes, "Emperor…if I didn't know any better I'd say you were just hitting on me…" She said, "…I could…consider it, after all my line of work does tend to get rather…..lonely." She smiled, "I suppose I could sleep on it. Is there a place nearby where I could get some sleep?"
Andrew smiled brightly, "Of course, Wolf, please show the lady to the guest rooms."
As he was told Wolf led the vixen out of the room and down the long hall that led out into the open where he looked to her, "That was a pretty good act there," He chuckled, "you sure this is gonna work though?"
"As long as Leon doesn't find out," The lupine replied, "I'm tired of looking at that sniveling wuss Andrew. You keep your end of this bargain and I'll keep mine," He said looking about before shaking her paw leaving a key behind, "I could only find you one of the keys, you'll have to look for the other, Andrew has it switched from guard to guard every night on a time sensitive schedule, so you'll have to follow it around. You need 'em both to get into Fox's holding cell. You might wanna hurry though, Leon's got a thing for that cute little vixen you brought in here…"
Kursed paused, "Is she really a McCloud Wolf, did Fox's father even have any brothers or sisters?"
Wolf shook his head, "I don't know, James was fifteen when I met him, said he was an only child. Maybe he didn't even know about her…it's a possibility that she's telling the truth. I had a lot of respect for Marcus growing up, hard to believe he'd have an illegitimate kid out there."
The vixen shook her head for a moment, "Well, the sexual habits of Fox's grandfather, isn't the point here. Keep an eye out for that key and I'll try to get it before my part of this plan breaks out," She said stopping wolf as he walked away, "Wolf…why did you call me for help?"
Wolf sighed deeply, "Listen, there's a part of me that's always felt, pretty horrible about the things that I've done in the name of money. Fox was different, he never cared about the money, he only accepted the money because, well it was the only way to keep helping people…" He said, "…there's always been a part of me that respects what he's all about, but, for some reason there's also another part of me that resents him for doing it…see when I was young, I was constantly told that people don't deserve help if they aren't willing to help themselves first…" He lowered his head, "…but, when I first started working for Andrew…I was forced to watch, he had families slaughtered, little fucking kids, not even ten years old yet. How could any of them be expected to help themselves?"
Kursed sighed, "Listen, even though you played your part in all of this, this isn't your fault Wolf. Right now you're doing more than anyone else could…thank you."
Wolf shook his head, "Don't thank me yet, we still have to get your boyfriend off the executioner's block. Your room should be in that building right over there…" He said pointing to a large building on the base grounds not too far from their position, "…listen. The act you're passing off is a good one, just keep it up and Andrew won't suspect a thing…he may hold himself in high esteem but, he's really weak when it comes to a pretty face. So try to use whatever sex appeal you can to buy us some more time."
The pale furred vixen shuttered, "He gives me the creeps, just like Panther…"
Wolf continued as he noticed a guard approaching, "Well, just keep to the plan. I'll come by tonight, I'll bring the prisoner sheets with me."
It was as Wolf vanished from sight that a young raccoon guard approached her, "Miss Kursed?" He asked receiving a nod, "the Emperor, hopes you'll join him for dinner tonight. He wishes for you to know that this is a request that you can turn down openly if you wish."
Kursed half smiled, "No, not at all. Tell him that I will be there," She chuckled watching the messenger as he rushed off, "maybe playing into his hand a little will make him a little less inclined to believe I'm up to something…I hope."
