Chapter 13

Over the next six months, James and Maverick went through a lot of rigorous training. Andross and The Black Order not only taught them hand-to-hand combat, but also taught them how to fight with various weapons. They were finishing up training one day when Thanos walked in. "My children" he said, looking at the canines "tomorrow the two of you will be undergoing your final test."

"What does this test entail?" Maverick questioned.

"Both of you will have to engage in combat against the Black Order and Andross" Thanos explained.

"Will this be one-on-one or one-on-five?" James asked.

"Neither" the giant denied, "since the two of you are a team, it will be you two versus those five."

All seven of the figures looked at each other. "Sire, that seems like a lopsided battle" Maw stated, "we should be able to beat those two."

"Not if you trained them properly" Thanos pointed out.

"Do you want us using weapons" Corvus asked.

"No weapons" Thanos answered, "Maw can use his telekinetic abilities, but only as a last resort."

Thanos dismissed them, by walking away, leaving them all pondering what they should do the rest of the day. James seemed to have befriended both Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, while Maverick had somehow managed to get on the good side of Cull Obsidian.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Corvus asked, eyeing the young fox.

"Well, I still haven't explored the planet" James stated.

"Really?" Proxima asked, "In the six months you've been here, you haven't asked any of us to go?"

"The first month or two, I was exhausted from the intense workouts" James explained, "then as the months kept going by, I guess I forgot that was something I wanted to do."

"So, did you want to go check out some of the planet?" Corvus asked.

"Yea, absolutely!" James exclaimed, "Will you accompany me, Corvus?"

"It would be my honor" Corvus smiled, "did you want anyone else to join us?"

James glanced at Maverick, who was having a conversation with Andross, and turned back to the large being. "Actually, would it be okay if just the two of us go?" James questioned.

"I'd be okay with that" Corvus smiled, "we can even take my two-person vessel."

"That would be wonderful" James exclaimed, "when do you want to go?"

Corvus hesitated, "I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"Okay" James said, "give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go."

Maverick was talking to Andross when he saw the fox approach him. "Hey James, what's wrong?" he questioned, noticing the nervous look on his friend's face.

"Now, don't get mad, Mav" James stated.

"Why what'd you do?" the wolf asked.

"It's not something I have done" the fox explained, "it's something I'm about to do."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

"I'm gunna go explore some of the planet for a bit with Corvus" James mumbled.

"Cool, let me finish this conversation with Andross and we can go" Maverick smiled.

"Um, actually, Corvus and I wanted to go alone" James explained.

"That's fine, too" Maverick stated, as his body language shifted.

"Great!" James exclaimed, hugging the lupine "I'll see you later tonight."

Maverick watched the vulpine walk away, rejoining the slender, pale being. "What's wrong, pup?" Andross snickered.

"Nothing's wrong!" Maverick snapped, "I just thought James would want to go see this foreign planet with me."

"So, you're not worried about him being in danger?" Andross pestered.

"No, of course not, James can take care of himself" Maverick stated.

Corvus led James through the tunnels of the base till they came to a single room that seemed to be not much larger than the room James and Maverick sleep in. However, instead of a bed, there was a large ship. James' eyes locked on the ship causing him to feel overwhelming excitement.

"Looks nice doesn't it?" Corvus asked, seeing the fox's expression.

"Uh yeah!" James smiled, "Did you teach yourself how to fly?"

"Kind of, it was one of those things where learning how to fly came easily to me" Corvus explained, "like it was a skill my body knew it was supposed to know."

"You mean like how I didn't have any fighting skills, but it was an innate skill?" James questioned.

"Exactly!" Corvus stated, lowering the ramp to his ship "Shall we get this show on the road?"

"As you wish" James said, walking up the ramp.

After he got through the process of turning on his ship, the wall in front of them slid open, revealing something James hadn't seen for six months, sunlight. Corvus noticed James' eyes were welling up with tears. "What's wrong?" Corvus asked.

"Nothing's wrong" James replied, "I just haven't seen sunlight in such a long time."

"Ah, I see" the pale companion nodded, as he moved the ship toward the exit.

As the ship was moving, it started picking up speed until a great big, blue, inviting sky graced their presence. Corvus saw James squinting, "You must be having a tough time adjusting to the light."

"How could you tell?" James asked, holding his paw so the sun didn't bother him as much.

"Remind me to get you some sunglasses when we get back" Corvus chuckled, "where to first?"

"Where do you recommend?" James questioned.

Corvus took a moment to answer but said, "There's a fun, gorgeous walking trail close by that leads to a huge waterfall."

"That sounds beautiful!" James exclaimed, "Let's do it!"

"Just so you know, it might take up the rest of the day" Corvus warned.

"That's fine" James said, "as long as it doesn't mess with tomorrow's match."

A few minutes later, they were landing just outside of the trail they were going to traverse. When they had gotten to the trail entrance, James noticed the beautiful flora that was split off to both sides of the trail.

Corvus saw the smile on the fox's face, "What did I tell ya? It's gorgeous, right?" he asked.

"Beautiful!" James exclaimed, "Does this planet experience different seasons?"

"What are you getting at?" he asked, as they started walking.

"I was just wondering if it ever snowed here or gets cold" James explained.

"Oh, no I haven't seen any snow here" Corvus answered, "winter doesn't occur here."

"So, that's why the trees here are still full of leaves, but the pigment in them have still changed" James pointed out.

"I assume so" Corvus smiled, "anyway, do you think you're ready for tomorrow?"

"I hope so" James said, "though I feel like fighting all five of you will be tough."

"Not to mention you'll be judged by the big man himself" Corvus added.

"Yeah, because that's not intimidating at all" the fox said, sarcastically.

"Hey, at least you'll have Maverick by your side" Corvus pointed out.

"Good point" James nodded, "the two of us are like brothers."

"See, you've got nothing to worry about" the pale companion said, putting his arm around the fox's shoulder "as long as the two of you work together tomorrow, I'm sure you'll be fine."

The two eventually came to the end of the trail, where the waterfall Corvus was talking about met their eyes. "Wow! That really is a huge waterfall" James stated, taking in the landmark.

"I told you it was a gorgeous sight" Corvus declared, "did you think I'd lie to you?"

"No, I just didn't expect something like this" James replied.

"Hey, James" Corvus mumbled, "do you like me?"

"Well, sure I like you" James smiled, "you're a cool guy."

The pale alien started to blush, "Do you like me as more than just a friend?"

"Oh!" James blushed, "I've never thought about you in that manner."

"And now I feel dumb for bringing it up" Corvus said, turning away.

Before Corvus could walk away, James grabbed his wrist. "Wait!" he said, "You're not dumb. I'm glad you said something."

"Are you saying you do like me?" Corvus questioned, "What about you and Maverick?"

"Like I said earlier, Maverick and I are like brothers" James replied, smiling.

Corvus found himself hypnotized by the green eyes of the young fox. Out of nowhere, James' muzzle was connected with Corvus' lips. Corvus pulled away from the handsome, young fox, confused.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

"It just didn't feel right for some reason" Corvus replied.

"Was the kiss bad?" James asked.

"No!" Corvus exclaimed, "No, the kiss was good. It might just be the timing or the environment might've been wrong."

"Oh, I'm sorry" James blushed, "should we head back?"

"I think we should" Corvus nodded, "you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Yeah, plus Mav and I need to strategize" James admitted.

"Do you have an idea of how you're going to tackle tomorrow's challenge?" Corvus asked.

"Yeah, I've had a few strategies run through my mind" James smiled, "but I want to see what Mav is thinking."

The two got back to Corvus' ship and he said, "Hey James, do you want to fly back?"

"Can I?" James asked, "I don't even know how to fly."

"I can give you a crash course" Corvus smiled.

"That'd be awesome!" James commented.

James sat in the seat Corvus was motioning toward. Corvus was standing over James' shoulder pointing to various levers and switches, explaining what each one does. As Corvus was explaining, James was listening to the instructions, so he could pick it up as fluid as possible. James, to his surprise picked up on what he needed to for flying Corvus' ship.

"Wow James, you're picking up on this pretty fast" Corvus acknowledged.

"I can't take all the credit for that" James stated, "I have a great teacher."

When they were approaching the base, Corvus pointed to a switch saying, "This is what you need to press to let us enter the base."

"Is that the same one you pressed when we left the base?" James questioned, pressing the switch.

"It is" Corvus said, "now brace yourself, getting back into the base is always bumpy."

When the ship came to a complete stop, James had it power down. Then Corvus walked James to his and Maverick's room. Before James opened his door, he looked back at the pale being "Thank you for taking me sightseeing and giving me a flying lesson."

"Thank you for giving me a reason to get out of the base" Corvus smiled.

"I guess we helped each other tonight" James pointed out.

"Right, well I'm sure you and Maverick have some strategizing to do for tomorrow" Corvus said, "good night and good luck tomorrow."

James watched as his companion walked around the corner. When he was sure Corvus was out of sight, James opened the door to his room and found Maverick laying on the bed. The wolf glanced in James' direction "You have fun on your date?" he asked.

James sighed, "Mav, it was not a date. It was…"

"…Strategic, I know" Maverick said, finishing the fox's thought "you've been saying that for six months. When is all this strategic thinking going to lead to action?"

"I was thinking tonight" James admitted.

"What's happening tonight?" Maverick questioned, sitting up.

"Our escape" James said, quietly.

"Wait, are you serious?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"I am" James smiled, "we make our escape tonight."

"How do you plan to do that?" the wolf asked.

"We're going to fly out of here and we're going to use Corvus' ship to do so" James explained.

"So, you really were just getting on his good side?" Maverick questioned.

"Yup, I even got him to teach me to fly" James grinned.

"The mastermind at work" Maverick smiled, "now, tell me about this plan of yours."