Chapter XVI - Finger or lover?
When Falco went out, Fox did not wait for Falco to go back. He wanted to save Krystal before it was too late. And so he opened the yellow heart. Inside hid a key. Probably for one of those apartments downtown.
Fox then looked at the picture that was taped on the yellow paper. It featured a lizard running to another of his own kind with its tail off. It also has a GPS device.
Fox tried to guess the meaning. But at the same time, thunder cracked out. A whipping crack that made his ears feel uncomfortable afterward.
Fox had then something in his mind.
"I have to cut off...something?" He thought. As he took his coat and went out.
The tempest has gone fiercer. Wind and rain were scattering along the city, whooshing by the command of the clouds. Water was rushing down the small storm drains at the side of the streets, creating a small swirl before being sent to water treatment. Not the slightest forgiveness was given by the thunder and lightning. They crashed and slashed and bolted in the sky. Much like Fox's heart.
The apartments had shown its lights through the windows. Everyone was being in apartments waiting for the storm to end. Being in a cozy apartment sharing their ideas. Extending minds from all the entities in this world. Maybe a diligent student solving integrals or differentiation questions. Or a professor writing formulas that can change the world. Or just a family drinking hot chocolate and rounding the fire to play, chat, sing.
When he got to his car, he tried to look at his reflection from the mirror. His eyes were lifeless, constantly there is a mark of sadness for his mouth is no longer smiling up. But down.
When he connected the GPS to his car, it turned on and there was a voice who told him: "Greetings, I hope you are now brave enough to save your lover. Please follow my instructions to the destination."
Once again, Fox turned to the first gear, and settled on his journey.
When he started driving, the tempest has not turned weak but worse. His visibility is even lower. Fox was worried that Krystal will drown in rainwater at this rate. So he followed the instructions of the GPS. He accelerated, and drove quickly. Turning as sharp as possible in every corner, stepping the gas pedal as hard as he could every straight road.
He was finally there. At the slum buildings. Which are the ones that are the later stage of the renewal policy. They are very old, and ancient. Bits of granite fell from the top of the building. With the long, yellow-ish tail from the corrosion of the iron words, which were almost falling off the building. The sky was a deep gray. Like the shadow of your heart, haunting you in your nightmares then you woke up and found that you were in the illusion created by yourself.
Taking out the device, he told Fox to her into the building a few steps away. So Fox went out of the car. The wind howled and whistled. Fox felt the rain and wind hitting and laughing. Fox opened the door, which was an old, rusty one that lacked repairs.
Fox then first saw something that made him unpleasant. A table with a camera on. With nothing beside.
The room was one that was abandoned for a long time. The wallpaper was off. And the remaining ones are green in color for it had lost it former color, and it faded. Often in irregular shapes as if a leaf that was eaten by a caterpillar. The ground was rough, coarse wood. Had Fox not wore his shoes, his foot will be full of blood and splinters.
He then went to the table. When the device told Fox to connect with the camera and Fox did it, the device said something. Something that made Fox more afraid than ever before.
Fox had his pupils shrunk. His fur standing up as hard as they could. Sweat went down suddenly like rain. From head to toe. He staggered his breath, took a deep gasp, then backed off a few steps. He then lost his balance and fell down on the ground. His left arm in a horizontal position in front of him. He screamed and stopped. Then screamed and stopped again.
"You have to cut your right hand's fifth digit joint by joint. I will tell you in advance that there is a bomb in this camera. If you finish the trial, you will be rewarded. But if you leave, your lover will die. If you hide, the whole building will collapse and you two will be separated forever. Will the two entities that exist within the fabric of reality succeed in rejoicing again? The answer is up to you. You have five minutes."
Fox then walked in circles. How did this happen to him? He thought, he scratched his head, he could kill a person. He could walk on a molten radioactive generator, he can fly a spacecraft and shoot everything down. But not cutting his fingers.
"You have four minutes and forty seconds left!"
Fox then notice that there is a small room which reassembled a kitchen. "A kitchen has cutting tools!" And he went off bolting into the room. Not noticing that the thunder outside was still merciless.
Being an entity who loved his companion very much, he found a rusty kitchen knife. Although this may cause him tetanus, and it must. Since the knife, days ago was sunk in a solution with a moderate concentration of Clostridium Tetani and Fox did not know it. He still did not hesitate to take the knife in order to save Krystal. He did not find anything else. When the neat kitchen suddenly filled with rapid chaos and untidiness. Containers fell down or left unopened. Rusted forks, spoons are all over the place. But a second ago they were sitting near-perfect in containers.
"You have four minutes and twenty seconds left!"
"OK, four minutes, I must calm down myself, and try to do this."
As he went out, slowly placed his hands on the table. But halfway through, he hesitated. Pulling his hand back, repeat twice.
"No, the pain. I will not be able to withstand the pain. It's too much for me!" He thought. Putting back his hand in its original position.
"You have four minutes left!"
Fox tried not to hesitate to put his hand. His sweaty, shaking hand, on the table. Sweat was coming out his hands and body so fast that he was damped. Even though it was cold that day.
Fox then raised his knife up high, attempting to thrust down and cut his finger.
He closed his eyes tightly. With tears coming out of his eyes. Of fear, of pain. Of the spectre unknown in the future. The death of Krystal.
His gritted his teeth as hard as he can. For the pain afterwards, would make him feel as if there were a million bullets through a single point.
A lightning. With thunder, crackled through the sky.
"GAHHHH!" Fox finally managed to cut off his first joint. But tears went out of his face. He rolled on the ground and shrugged into a ball. His left hand holding his right hand tight. He then stretched his body into a straight line then curled up again.
Fox's mind was composed of nothing but horrors from his nightmares. He was going to pass out. But the memories of him and Krystal appeared back. Is it that he was going to die and having flashbacks? Is that he was going to fail this mission?
Fox's willpower stopped him from fainting. He opened his eyes as hard as possible as he used his left hand to support his body for his second attempt to cut.
For his right hand cannot move already, and crimson blood was going out quickly. He raised his left hand again and did another attempt.
The thunder crackled.
This time, it did not hurt much. But Fox kind of felt as if he were to die. He collapsed. He struggled to open his eyes.
Hallucinations appeared.
Suddenly Falco was in front of him. In his combat suit.
"Hey, Einstein, how many times have you shot me in the ass?"
"Falco..." whispered Fox. As he reached his left hand to try to reach the hallucination.
The flashback then changed.
"Enemy shield analyzed."
"Slippy..." whispered Fox. Unable to reach his left hand even more further.
"Do a barrel roll!"
"Peppy..." whispered Fox. "You told me about my father. Plus making us be friends of the powerful Hyacinth as our ally."
"You have already painted a rainbow for them. You already have."
"Hyacinth..."
"Do you think that we should get married?"
"Krystal..."
"You have one minute left!"
Fox then tried to use his left hand, to get up. But he cannot move his legs. His muscles were cramped. He felt a little pain. But not much.
He then tried to use his left hand to support himself. First getting to the level of the table. Then used his head as a fulcrum. is legs can barely support his weight. But he still stretched them straight somehow. He concentrated for one last time. Lifted the knife up high. Then cut into his desired spot.
He did it.
The device was counting down a time of 5 seconds and stopped. Then said:
"Here's your reward. The letters of the address will be sent to your laptop automatically. Plus a footage of your lover."
Fox then looked up.
The camera then projected an image on the wall. And there Krystal was. Her blue face. Charming with her white lower jaw fur, floated on water. The numbers at the lower right corner said:
heart rate: 88bpm
brain activity: normal
overall vitality: in a minor crisis.
The footage then ended.
He sat there lifelessly. His mind blank. His cut-off finger joints still stretching up for they were when Fox sliced them off his hand. He did it three times, what does he still need to do? He did not know. His knife falling off from his left hand which cannot feel a thing already. His right hand unable to raise up. He did it. He saw Krystal, still alive. In rainwater. Which gave her. Some more time. To be. Saved.
Meanwhile, Falco, in his car, was rushing to where Fox is.
"I told that fucking furball not to run away when I'm out! Does the sun have major hearing issues? Go see a doctor!..."
But Pigma, able to track Fox's location with the tracer (Not magnetic. So the last time he had de-trace the one from the swift starfighters, the one from Pigma did not de-trace) when Fox went to the police station last time he wanted the help of the police.
"Team A, stand your positions. Team B, follow when you're ready."
Suddenly a Blue car stopped in front of Fox's car. And Falco rushed into the building.
"That's the criminal's friend."
"Maybe he just lives here?..."
"Do you think that a free agent who is liked by the president of the earth federation will live in places like that? Team A, when he goes in, guard the door."
When he said that, he thought of something at the same time. "You will be meeting your father now, you orange piece of scheibe!"
But when Pigma finished his sentence, Falco had already shut the door. So the group then got out of their police cars and stood in front of the building. Their pistols pointing towards the door.
Inside, Falco saw Fox sat at the corner. His hand bleeding with three bits of things that appear like flesh on the floor. His face seemed lifeless and emotionless. As if all the colors of the rainbow have vanished. He did not know that Falco was in. He was just blank.
"Fox! What the hell happened to you!? Cut the crap!"
Fox gave no respond. Only looking at him with eyes filled with tears. Red eyes that made Fox seemingly cried too much.
Falco then took a look at how he was bleeding. And he saw something horrifying: a right hand with no pinkie on. And severely bleeding.
"Oh, I see now...must have hurt...a lot."
The analyzer beeped. Falco took a look.
"There are police officers outside the building! You must get out immediately! I can produce a fake light signal for there is traffic on the street not far away. But you have to hurry!"
"You do not need to, analyzer." Said Falco. Then facing Fox immediately.
"Shit, Fox! We have to go! I know it hurts, but you must go! We must go!" Falco somehow knew what it is to say "we". But Fox still did not budge.
"We'll tell Hyacinth to get your finger on again! Earth Federation has lots of... uh, what am I talking about? Get moving, Isaac Newton!"
As Falco then placed Fox's left arm on his shoulder. Just like how Fox had helped him last time. And went to the door.
He frantically grabbed his pistol from his pocket.
Falco then gave a big kick to the door, scaring the police officers. Then shot them. One at left, one at right. Quickly.
The tempest finally weakened. And Falco walked to his car.
Opening the side doors, he put Fox at the driver side seat, and he went around, sitting in the driver's seat.
Pigma knew that this was coming.
"Follow the car! They are culprits!"
As the police cars turned on their sirens and followed the blue Nissan skyline. But only Pigma drove away himself.
Falco looked at the rear view mirror.
"Shit. We've got company."
As he flicked the energy shields on. Just beside the steering wheel.
The police cars then started to shoot the car. But with no avail as the shields were on.
Falco never felt that thrilled before. And he chose to use a way to get them out of here: being his former, arrogant self.
He did not forget how it was to be a cocky person. He pushed the gas pedal even further, and shifted to the 6th gear.
"Oh yeah? You want a fight? You guys wanted a 3P? Then let's see who fuck up each other first!"
As he turned to the nearest straight road, turning on the self-drive system, and opened the secret container at the back of the gearstick. Which contained a Spectre M4 carbine rifle. Which he knew for Hyacinth put it inside in advance before giving the car to Falco. Plus telling it about him.
He popped his head up after opening the side windows. Aiming at the police cars.
"Eat Valkyrie bullets! Stupid pigs!"
As the tiny nuclear bullets went out. And explosions appearing straight at the engine. The car blew up. But the one beside it, stopped shooting. And the officer carried out a bazooka.
"Shit! You carrying big guns? Then I guess you would want something more than that!" As he switched the selective fire from "auto" to "annihilation".
The bullets inside are no longer Valkyrie 1B nuclear bullets. But switched to 1A which the bullet warhead is composed with anti-matter. Although it cannot go full auto, one 5.56mm Valkyrie 1A bullet is enough to destroy a whole modern panzer VI Tiger IX tank into fragments.
A bazooka round missed the car. It flew to the side of the car and exploded. As the police officer went back inside the car, finding another cannon round to put inside.
"Personally, I prefer an antimatter weapon!" He taunted the police officer.
When the bullet fired, it created a thin blue tracer when going at half the speed of sound. And when the driver saw the blue tracer, he cannot even react. Falco can only hear: 'Val...' and the car exploded. Plus splitting into fragments. The dark fragments went up to the sky and slammed down on the ground.
"Scratch one bogey! I guess we do not need to care about the stupid pigs anymore, Fox. Fox? Orange sun?..."
Fox was weakly holding up his right hand with his left hand.
"Ah...ah..."
Falco looked at him. And saw that the wound was starting to get infected.
"Shit! Fox! Why don't you tell me that you are hurt?..."
But Fox can only see a very fade image of a blue thing with a yellow beak in a suit in front of him talking frantically non-stop. And whispered:
"Falco...save Krystal...for me. I ...cannot make it. Tell her, I'd always...love...her..."
Fox then fainted. His head hung down. And bumped to the front of the car. on the front container.
Before Falco can take the analyzer out, it already has results of the Fox who seemed lifeless.
"He has an acute Tetanus." Said the analyzer. "I remembered that there are some antibiotics inside the motel room. Should be handy of his situation."
"Oh, Fox, why did you do such stupid things?"
The tempest finally weakened. But still there is heavy rain. Lightning. And when Falco felt there was the autumn wind combined with the thunder, he shut the window immediately.
"Damned coldness." Thought Falco. "Cursing my wounded friend to death."