Oh look! Another chapter! How nice, huh? Well what are you waiting for?

ON WITH THE STORY

Deadly Overextension

Some time passed after we discovered who the mystery pilot was. We had come up with a plan that would safely allow us to strike at Austin and stay safe from his telepathy and immense power. It took me about three weeks for me to train my own mind to expand my telepathic powers and utilize them over an area. Beforehand I was only able to block my own mind or someone else's, now I was capable of creating a type of field that could block any minds within. The Teaching of the High Council, as Krystal referred to them as, were telepathy training reserved only for those in the Cerinian Council and meant only for those who could handle such skill. With this and my trained mind, we could easily attack Austin. However, with Woods by his side in some experimental ship it would be a massive struggle. Woods was an extremely skilled pilot in a simple F-16 so I knew that he would be an issue even with Austin blocked from everyone's minds and giving him his own form of telepathy.

Fox had devised the plan and the entire team was mobilized and ready to head into the rendezvous point that Austin was supposedly at. The plan seemed fool proof and the concept was perfect, so I believed that we were going to win this battle and give Austin a run for his money.

I stood in the bridge next to Rose. Fox, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy were in line next to us and facing the front of the ship, ready to brief the rest of the team.

"ROB, open the comm line with the others." Fox ordered.

"Affirmative" the monotonous robot replied.

I looked over at Fox, "Do you think we'll be able to handle this?" I asked as my mind started to doubt the plan. It was odd how I was so enthusiastic about it when I discovered I could be of such assistance, but the whole idea of risking everyone's lives wasn't entirely a good idea to me any longer. Not only that but I didn't know if my own field can withstand another Cerinian who most likely was trained in the Council teachings.

Fox simply nodded his head, "Don't worry, just do what you've practiced and I'll make sure we can make this work." Even with this reassuring, I could feel Fox was somewhat choked up about this mission. I felt that he was incredibly uncomfortable even with his own plan, but disregarded it and put my trust in him.

I nodded once and faced towards the front as the holo screen came up with the feed of Great Fox II. Standing there facing us was Diego Armstrong, Great Fox II's pilot.

"How's it goin boss? The team is all ready for the briefing" he said with a smile on his face. He then stepped away and revealed Bravo through Foxtrot Fox standing in lines.

"Alright" Fox said, "This is the plan, right now we are on course to the rendezvous point that Austin should be at. As you all know, Austin is an extremely powerful being that can utilize a strange form of telepathy, basically using it as a weapon. This mission is so incredibly dangerous that we have some doubts on its succession, however just follow my orders while we are out there and we will come home in one piece." Fox said.

I stepped forward and gave my end of the plan, "As it is, I have exercised my own telepathy and have become slightly more proficient in it. Right now, I am able to create a kind of force field that will keep Austin out. I will stay here on Great Fox, creating the "force field" while Beta and Charlie Fox will head out to space with Fox and the others. The plan is incredibly simple, stick close to Great Fox and you will NOT be affected by Austin's telepathy should he start to use it against us. As for any fighters that may attack, I have created a small program that has already been installed on your Arwing computers. This program will create a dome around Great Fox through your Smart Canopy's, use this dome as a guide as it is the estimated reach of my essence. If you go outside of this dome then you will be at risk of Austin harming and possibly killing you."

Jess the spoke up, "Is this the plan? What about Penny?!"

Fox shook his head and spoke, "Relax Jess, we have more to do besides attack aimlessly from outside." He paused, "Once the fighters have cleared, Kevin will launch out into space with Delta and Foxtrot Fox and keep them safe while they infiltrate Austin's ship and get Penny out safe and sound, unfortunately we will have to retreat immediately so Austin will not be able to harm us."

I cracked my neck, "I will be piloting the transport to get Penny out, however, Delta and Foxtrot should pilot their Arwings just in case we get some more visitors."

Slippy then came forward, "Your HUD's on your armor have been updated with the interior of the ship, thanks to the intel that Rose was able to nab off of Lieutenant Woods' ship."

That name made my heart sink a little, "One more thing I should add…" I said as I shut my eyes in emotional pain, "please… be careful and heed to the warning I gave you all… stay within that dome and you will be safe…"

Everyone nodded simultaneously.

Fox smiled, "Star Fox, let's move."

Great Fox and Great Fox II then entered hyperspace and made the jump to the rendezvous location. Fox and the others exited the room, except for Rose and Krystal.

I sat down in the middle of the floor in the bridge and readied my meditation.

"Kevin" Krystal said, "Just focus and remember what I taught you." With that she walked out and headed for the ship bay. For some reason, I felt doubt in her, though I thought it was simply my mind playing trick on me, being so nervous it made sense.

Rose stayed behind and started to get the comm lines ready for use as well as divert power towards the Great Fox's offensive capabilities.

"Babe" I said as my eyes were closed, "You're not going out there…. Right?"

I could sense her looking at me, "What do you mean?" She asked me with innocence in her voice.

"I mean you won't be going out to the ship with Delta, Foxtrot, and I… yes?" I asked once more.

Rose simply gave a slight sigh as her response.

I opened my eyes and looked at Rose with a serious expression, "Rose, I know that you want to help me in any way you can, and I know that you were a part of my rescue mission when I was captured by Prometheus, but you have no training for ground or air combat. On top of that Austin is an incredibly powerful being that has the lust to kill me. If you were to come for me then he would only target you to weaken me and endanger the mission; the last thing I want is for you to get hurt, or worse, get killed. I love you too much for that to happen."

Rose nodded slowly, "I know… but I feel the same way for you. Don't think you have some kind of unique thoughts and emotions."

I smiled and chuckled, "I understand that, but please, stay on the ship and help Fox and the others when they get back."

She smiled back and nodded slowly, "Fine… just don't die on me."

I chuckled once more and found amusement at the word. I have escaped death so much that it no longer scared me nor filled me with worry.

"I've laughed in the face of death so many times… I promise not to die, babe." I said with a wink before I shut my eyes once more.

Rose walked over to me and handed me a communicator headset. I placed it over my head and activated it, entering the comm channel with the rest of the team and readying the telepathic "force field".

"We're about to exit the jump" Rose said over the comms

Diego then mused in, "I've already scanned the exit point. It looks there is certainly something waiting for us."

I didn't doubt the intelligence was right, however I did doubt the fact that Austin may be waiting for us. For all I knew the only thing there could be Woods waiting to ambush us once more by himself, which I honestly hoped for. If Woods was by himself then we could easily eliminate him and make him pay for betraying us.

"Good" Fox said, "Everyone, get ready to launch as soon as we exit hyperspace."

I started to concentrate all of my energy to my essence and began to build up the energy to create my unique field. Already I could feel it draining my energy, but I knew I was going to be able to withstand it and keep the field up.

"Extending my essence… remember to get that program started when we exit the jump." I said softly. I had the energy built up and my mind was fully concentrated on extending my mind out. The way the field would work would be that my own essence would be spread out in an area, allowing me to reach and block anything using my telepathy, thus providing a sort of force field for telepathy. So much of my energy was being used that I didn't couldn't speak well nor think of what to say. I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, however I did know that was capable of doing it.

"We're out!" Fox suddenly yelled, signaling me to release the energy and create the field.

I did so and violently released my energy I stored up, reaching out far to ward off any outside telepathy, creating what was "the field". I felt a physical radiation come from my body, as if my energy and essence was so well concentrated that it was really there and visible, which it somewhat was. A form of distortion emitted over my body along with a faint blue radiation.

Outside the ship, extremely faint blue streaks emitted from the bridge of Great Fox, where I was, and reached out until fading into nothing. The streaks moved and shifted slowly, helping me create the "field" to ward off Prometheus.

Just ahead of us were three ships, standing still as if they were waiting for our arrival. One of them was a Dreadnaught sized ship while the other two were much smaller Class 3 sized frigates, they were half the size of Great Fox, but had a bit more firepower equipped.

My mind was fully focused on the area surrounding the Great Fox's. I was so concentrated and had so much of my energy in use that I could "see" the whole area that I was protecting, almost as if I had a camera that could go anywhere and see anything.

"Alright" Slippy said, "The program should execute right now, but if it gets in your way simply deactivate and make sure you don't leave this field or travel too far from Kevin's essence."

Jordan laughed, "Good god we're fighting technology with magic."

Krystal snapped at him rather furiously, "It's not magic. What you see is Kevin spreading out and protecting you! Don't be so foolish."

"Well now" Jordan said, "Excuse me for my lack of education on a topic that seems like magic."

"Enough" I said as I was concentrating. I was hardly able to say it, but I somehow managed to get the words out of my mouth and spoken forcefully.

John, the leader of Beta, spoke up, "Alright, me and my squad will try and cover Great Fox II while you guys make sure Great Fox I is safe."

"Sounds like a plan" Falco mused.

I felt their feelings, all of them were confident and were far from nervous. I, however, was still in doubt. I know this field would work, I know this team has the skill, but knowing Austin and his power I didn't think Fox would be able to handle it, especially since he has been oddly cautious as of late. As it was, Fox relied on his leading skills to handle the enemy and my field to keep Austin out.

"Alright" Fox said, "Beta, stay over by Great Fox II, everyone else stay here and make sure this one is safe. Just focus and make sure not to get shot down."

Jess spoke up, "We won't… we will stop this insane fool and get Penny back." Jess was still enraged by the action we took and waiting to attempt the search and rescue mission, however he was confident and ready to get his sister back.

As I stayed focused on the "field" staying up, I felt an increase in physical beings. More and more beings becoming visible to me. I sensed many people coming towards us, ships all targeting the Great Fox's and the team. I didn't expect it at all and felt my concentration fluctuate as I began to become worried.

"They're coming" I was able to say softly.

Jack laughed and laughed, "Alright, let's kick some telepathic ass!" He was the most energetic in the team, and quite frankly I loved it as it loosened some tension during out missions.

I saw the Arwings all fly forward towards the edge of the field and towards the one massive ship and two frigates, ready to intersect the enemy ships coming towards them. However as the ships neared, I noticed that their numbers were unimaginably large. As they neared, I was clearly able to pick out more and more fighters hiding within the large cluster of fighter. They outnumbered us so much that I started to worry greatly.

"No" I said, "get back now" I warned them.

Immediately the Arwings turned back and headed for the dreadnaught ships.

I felt Rose look over at me, "What's wrong?"

I felt the others starting to get worried, why would I warn them to retreat already?

"Kevin, what's going on? Is the field stable?" Fox asked me frantically.

"Nova" I said as I tried to keep the field in place. I was beginning to struggle, and I hadn't even felt Austin's presence.

"Nova?" Rose asked, "What does that mean?"

Slippy was quick to answer and yelled, as usual when something of importance occurred, "YEEEOW!" he screamed, "Fire a nova bomb at them! Fire a nova bomb!" He said quickly.

Michael spoke up as well, "Oh… god…" he said as he saw the size of the enemy force.

"FIRE A DAMN NOVA!" I said louder.

Rose and Diego didn't hesitate and quickly fired off several Nova bombs each. The large projectiles spread out and zoomed towards their target, I felt the energy that radiated within the projectiles. They detonated as soon as they passed the front line of the enemy ships. I could feel the massive energy being released and I felt the massive loss of life as the intense bomb engulfed almost all of the enemy ships. I sensed about 60 % were killed in the explosive matter blast. I was surprised and regained some faith in the mission. With the nova bombs we had we already wiped out nearly all of Austin's little army.

Falco chuckled, "Man this is already too easy!"

"Don't get cocky Falco, we still have to fight." Fox rebutted.

"Hurry" I said softly, "…no energy" I said a bit weakly.

Krystal quickly spoke, "Oh no" she said with worry, "we need to get rid of these ships right now!"

"Whoa whoa what's the rush?" Falco asked.

Krystal was now the one speaking frantically, "The power that Kevin is utilizing is one that no one can truly master or use indefinitely. It's so strong that he's having trouble maintaining it!"

Jordan gasped very slightly, "So… what you're saying is is that our little shield generator is running out of fuel?"

"Yes!"

I felt Fox instantly shift his emotions.

"HURRY!" I managed to yell.

I felt Fox, he was panicking, his heart beat was fast, and his mind was jumbling up what he should possibly do.

"Fox?" Falco asked, "You okay buddy?"

"THEY ARE CLOSE!" I yelled as well, sensing the remaining forces nearing quickly, now within my essence reach. The field was weakening fast and I was losing control of it. My energy was being depleted so fast that I was forced to stop for fear of me being killed.

All of the sudden, I felt my own mind give in. The blue essence that spread across the Great Fox's disappeared the enemy ships advanced even faster towards us, as if they knew the field that surrounded them was gone.

"FUCK!" I yelled in pain as I fell backwards, gasping for air and watching the ceiling spin uncontrollably. The power was so much for me that I was out of breath, couldn't see straight, and was in pain.

Rose ran over to my side and leaned me forward slightly. Her face had utter fear on it and I could sense that she was deathly afraid of the vulnerability they were now in.

"Kevin is down! I repeat, Kevin and the protective area are down!" Rose yelled into the comms.

Instantly, Fox yelled orders after remaining quiet, "Everyone retreat now! Don't engage that enemy and get back to the ships!"

All the Arwings turned back once more and headed for the Great Fox's, speeding near their top speeds.

"This is not good" Diego said, "Those ships… they're fast… they are going to intercept you before you all make it back to the Great Fox!"

Fox ignored the warning, "Who cares, just get back to the ship. Get the hyperspace drives ready to launch as soon as we all land!"

"Sir" Diego tried to reason, "those ships are far too fast. They will surely reach us before we can even think about jumping!" he said, "Fox you've got to fight."

Fox, still being stubborn, ignored Diego, "Just make it back to the ships!"

"Fox!" Rose yelled, "It's a shitty situation but you need to fight! You don't have a choice! We need to either fight them as is or risk being killed before we jump!"

"Would you rather us being killed out here? Or us having a chance of surviving on the ship!" Fox yelled back at her.

I simply stared at the ceiling, waiting for it to stop spinning and for me to regain control of my mind. It was if I had paralyzed myself, unable to say or do anything other than watch and listen. It was eerie to be like that and I felt like complete shit for failing to keep the team safe and now putting them in the most dangerous position possible.

"THAT'S IT!" John suddenly yelled, interrupting the little fight Fox, Rose, and Diego were having. Little did I know that the fight would shift towards them, "You guys keep heading to the ships; we'll distract these fuckers and buy you all time to escape."

Coby mused in, "Wait, that isn't part of the plan!"

Fox remained silent when John said this. I was finally able to speak and slowly got up to my feet. "Listen, none of this needs to happen!" I was able to say rather loudly. I felt my energy coming back rather quickly.

"You…" I said before Sarah then stepped in,

"Don't worry, it's fine Kevin, we can keep them off of you all."

Michael then spoke up, "Just make sure you all make it out alive!"

Jack then sighed slightly, knowing that this was his final run and his final attack, "Well, we did have a good time with you guys. I think that it's fair we pay you all back for welcoming us with open arms."

I felt John's emotions turn from fear to sorrow and happiness. He had the mixed emotion, but he controlled them well and I felt that he and the others on Beta truly wanted this. Regardless none of that needed to happen, they were all forgetting everything!

"We first met you as a rookie, Kevin, back at the training simulators. We were welcomed as a sole squad during the Prometheus attack, and now we were welcomed as Star Fox members. This needs to be done, as a thank you." John said with his voice shaking ever so slightly.

I looked out and saw the Arwings all pass by the Great Fox's, but saw four of them turn around beforehand and go back towards the enemy fighters. I was at a loss for words as I was the only one trying to get them to stop their own suicide mission, while Fox and the others remained silent.

"God damnit I will not see more of my own team mates die right in front of me!" I yelled over the comms, "You're all fools!"

"Alert, Beta Fox weapons have been engaged" ROB said. I looked over at him.

"Do not engage! Beta Fox, do you hear me? DO NOT ENGAGE!" I yelled frantically, trying desperately to save the lives of my own team mates, "ROB, can you override their Arwings and bring them back this way?" I felt my heart sink slightly, I can't get them to change their minds and I wasn't able to bring them back.

"Negative, remote operation is not possible" ROB said, "All ships with the exception of Beta Fox have been accounted for and have safely landed in the landing bay."

Diego came over the comms, "All ships have landed"

Fox came running into the bridge, "Beta Fox, whatever you do, make sure none of those ships break off and chase after us!"

I looked at Fox with disgust "WHAT?! YOU IDIOT!" I yelled as I heard him give orders for Beta Fox to stay and fight.

John spoke and smiled, "Not a problem sir"

Michael cracked his neck and his knuckles, "Let's see how many I can down before they get me."

Fox then started to type various commands, readying the ship to go into hyperspace back to Corneria. I simply watched him in disgust as he did so.

"Fox, what in the hell are you doing?! You're just going to let them die?! THEY…" I yelled. He continued to type and prep the ship for hyperspace, as if I wasn't even there speaking and yelling at him, "I am fucking talking to you, damn it!"

Fox finally looked at me, "We won't make it if they come back!"

My eyes widened in horror, "

"Great Fox II ready for jump" Diego said over the comms.

I slammed my fist on the arm of the captain's chair, "BETA FOX, GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE NOW! YOU HAVE…" I yelled once more, before Fox silenced me by shutting off the comms, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled frantically as I tried to reopen the comms. Fox only watched me with no emotion.

I watched as small explosions riddled the battlefield in front of us. I watched in horror, looking at the ship feeds for beta Fox right next to the front bridge display. As I watched, I saw one of the Arwings turn from green to red, and a message in large red letters appear over it reading "Down". The name next to it read "Sarah".

"No…" I quietly spoke under my breath, feeling everything around me fade away, "Oh god no…"

Another Arwing went red, Michaels. And then another one, Jack's. And then the final one, John's.

I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I watched in pure horror. Four Arwings down, four pilots gone, four lives lost, all because of the orders and ignorance from Fox. Anger quickly built to unimaginable extents inside of me.

"NO!" I yelled loudly as I dropped to my knees and slammed my fists into the ground. "NO!"

I felt Fox looking at me as well as Rose. I could sense what Fox was feeling, he felt no sorrow and had no regrets for what it was he did. In his mind, it was all that could have been done.

I slowly lifted my head and looked over at the vulpine. He simply stared at me with a blank expression on his face. For once, I couldn't even stand to look at Fox.

"You…" I said softly, getting back up to my feet, "You… killed them…"

My emotions were out of control, I couldn't feel anything but anger.

"You sent them out there…" I cracked my neck, "… and you killed them. YOU KNEW THEY WOULD MAKE IT! YOU KNEW THEY HAD THE CAPABILITIES!"

I, very suddenly, slammed my right fist back into the ground, in the position that activated my armor. A blue flash emitting from me as my armor was instantly teleported. I slowly got back up and stared at Fox.

"You…" I said, "... you knew they would die… you knew they could make it…" I said in broken sentences, trying to regulate the immense anger I was feeling.

"They could have easily made it back… but you followed their plan of trying to fight by themselves. You let them die alone and without help!" I continued yelling. I could sense more presence coming up to the bridge, Krystal and the others were on their way.

A small hatch on my right forearm opened and my staff protruded slightly from it. Grabbing it slowly, I looked at Fox, "They could have made it, Fox. I told you we had no choice but to fight together, but you… you agreed that Beta fought by themselves to buy us time we didn't neeed!" I said as I thrust my arm down, extending my staff in both directions.

"You're ignorance and fear blinded you… you pathetic vulpine! The Arwing's have hyperdrives! They could have LIVED!" I screamed as I charged forward towards Fox, swinging my staff at him.

I swung downwards at Fox's head. He dodged it and my staff's end met the floor. I followed it up by swinging the staff back around and trying to side swipe Fox. He bent back and narrowly dodged the staff. I swung it back around once more and swung diagonally at Fox, landing a clean hit.

"KEVIN STOP!" Rose yelled.

Krystal then came bursting into the room, "ENOUGH, KEVIN STOP!"

I swung once more from the right, barely missing Fox, "YOU NEVER NEEDED TO COME BACK TO THE SHIPS!" I yelled as I attacked Fox over and over again. I spun my staff around and landed one last hit on Fox before a fell back onto his knee. I jumped back and had my staff in a ready position as Fox stumbled slightly with his hand over the right side of his face.

Falco then rushed to me, trying to disarm me. He grabbed my staff with both hands and tried to rip it away from me. I then spun around and flung him off, causing him to land off to the side, "Get the fuck off of me!" I yelled as I did so. "I don't know what it is you're hiding, McCloud" I looked over at him and pointed, "Whatever you are hiding, we need to know right now…" I stopped, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to regain my posture.

"You've been so FUCKING cautious as of late. You didn't like any plans, you froze up in battle just now… and you sent your own team to their graves WHEN THEY DIDN'T NEED TO!" I said forcefully. "What more can I say…"

I retracted my staff and placed it back in my right forearm compartment. Fox wouldn't speak, and simply looked at me with his hand over his face.

"I promised myself I would have you tell us, but you don't want to. So…" I said before I dove into his mind, using my telepathy as an offensive ability. I caused Fox pain, forcing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground.

"KEVIN!" Krystal yelled.

"You know he's been acting weird Krystal! We need to know why he would do all of this!"

Fox finally spoke, "Fine!" He said as he grunted in pain. I released him and let him speak.

"Ever since Austin came back, I feared for the lives of everyone. I knew that he was capable of nearly killing anyone he encountered and only thought he was stronger, I didn't want to risk everyone's lives only to be killed in the process!" He said quickly, "He nearly killed Krystal, damn it, I'm sure he could easily kill all of us!"

"And yet, you accepted Beta Fox and sent them to their graves…" I said softly, "The Arwings have hyperdrive capabilities, McCloud, something that would have saved them, yet you forgot and kept me from telling them" I raised an eyebrow, "They could have escaped with you all in your Arwings… but you were too focused on getting back to the ship. You clouded your own mind because of this."

I felt another tear roll down my face, "Now…" I said ever so softly, "…now Beta Fox is dead…" I shook my head once "For once" I spoke softly, "I can't even stand to look at you…" I stormed out of the bridge in anger and disgust. Slippy, Krystal, Rose, and Falco remained silent, embarrassed that they were so blind and lost a close squad as a result.

As I walked down the hall and slammed my fist on the wall, I whispered quietly to myself, "I guess now I have to do this... alone…"

To Be Continued…

See? A twist! Fox is made the bad guy and Beta Fox was tragically shot down in the process.

I really hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys thought of it. I love hearing from you all, so please give me some feedback.

Anyway, I hope to see you all in the next chapter!

Until next time… friends…