(*Editor's note* This is one of my most favorite chapters that I have written. There's a lot more action and excitement in this and quite a bit more swearing. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh and by the way there's a lot of switching perspective in this chapter that didn't transfer over from my original document.)
Chapter 32
The next three weeks, dad and James had been communicating with each other about them starting up as mercenaries and making preparations for it. Robin and Marian had left for Papetoon, to visit James and Fox, before Christmas came around. Mom, dad, and I decided to remain on Corneria. Mom had just come home from work and we were getting ready to make some Christmas cookies. As we were rolling out the cookie dough, dad heard some explosion coming from outside. "What's going on out there?" dad questioned, walking toward the window.
Mom watched as he looked out the window and noticed his face gasp in horror. "Maverick, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Corneria's being invaded!" he stated, seeing some smoke rising in the horizon.
"By who?" mom asked, "I thought Corneria was at peace with those who you and James visited.
"I can't tell" dad said, "all I can tell is that some bombs must have been dropped."
"What do we do, dad?" I asked.
"We've got our ship, so we should be able to escape" dad stated, then groaned "I left it at Robin and Marian's house for safe keeping."
"Go get it" mom declared, "we can get our emergency packs prepared while you're gone."
"Alright" dad said, rushing toward the door "I'll be back as fast as I can."
"Maverick, wait!" mom said, stopping him before he left. She kissed him saying, "Be careful out there."
Meanwhile, on Papetoon, James was sitting in his living room with Robin and Marian, as well as Carol, Aki, and Fox. Aki was playing with little Fox, as all older sisters tend to with their younger brothers, by being very gentle and loving. "It's so cute seeing them play with each other" Marian stated.
"Aki is so gentle with Fox" Robin pointed out.
"Yeah, she loves being a big sister" Carol stated, "isn't it nice seeing them interact with each other?"
They turned to James, who seemed to be distracted. "James, sweetie, is everything okay?" Marian asked.
"I'm not sure" he stated, shaking his head "something feels off."
"Is it just that you're so use to being alone, that having company is throwing you off?" Carol joked.
"No, I'm serious!" he exclaimed, turning away "I can't tell what it is, but I just have this feeling."
"Okay, well let us know when you figure it out" Robin stated.
They all sat in silence for a few minutes, then James gasped, "Maverick!"
"What's wrong with Maverick?" Carol asked, getting concerned.
"Obviously I don't know, but I just can't shake this feeling that he's in trouble" James said, rushing toward the door "I gotta get to Corneria!"
"James, you won't get there fast enough in the Berserk" Carol stated, "we should take my ship. It's much faster."
"Great, let's go!" James exclaimed, "Mom, dad can you stay here and watch Fox and Aki for us?"
"You two go" Robin said, "we'll look after them."
"Thank you so much!" Carol said, as they rushed out the door.
Dad drove as fast as he could to Robin and Marian's home, but had to dodge and weave past multiple explosions. There was utter chaos on the streets of Corneria, with citizens running around in a panic. Dad's phone started ringing and he saw it was General Pepper calling. "Theo, what's going on?" he asked, "Who's invading us?"
"I'm not sure, Maverick" he responded, "we could use the help of you and James, though."
"Sorry, Theo" dad apologized, "I'm in a hurry to get my new ship and get my family out of here. As for James, there's no way he'll get here from Papetoon fast enough."
"So, what, you can't help out in a dogfight while you escape with your family?" he asked.
"Theo, my ship doesn't even have weapons and the Arwing prototype isn't even operational" dad replied.
Suddenly, a beam of light appeared in front of his car, causing him to hit the brakes. "Shit!" dad shouted.
"What happened?" General Pepper asked.
"A Sakaaran soldier just dropped out of the sky" he stated.
"Wait, aren't the Sakaaran part of Thanos' army?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, they are" dad said, "shit, he's coming towards my car. I gotta go, Theo. Good luck!"
As the Sakaaran soldier approached the driver's side door, dad forcefully opened the door, hitting the soldier. That gained the attention of other Sakaaran soldiers, who were going to each house and forcing the families out of their homes. "Well, if it isn't little Maverick" one of the Sakaarans said, "I was hoping to run into you today."
Dad got out of the car and walked toward them, with confidence. "What are you insects doing here?" he asked.
"Oh, you know, Thanos thought it was time to get his boys back" the soldier snickered.
"You know what, I don't have time for this" dad said, "I've got to protect my family."
"Ha, good luck with that O'Donnell!" a menacing voice roared, from behind him "Lana and Wolf aren't getting out of this that easily."
"George, why am I not surprised to see you down here with the expendables?" dad said, facing the older wolf.
"Don't try to resist, pup" the larger wolf stated, "you can't stop all of Thanos' army alone and you know the rest of the Cornerian army is just a joke."
"Well, I guess if I can't stop it, I might as well take you down with me" dad said, running toward the massive army, blocking his path to Robin and Marian's house.
James and Carol were flying her ship toward Corneria as fast as they could. Carol glanced at the anxious fox and asked, "So, what do you think is so important that we have to rush to Corneria?"
"I really don't know" James said, looking at his phone "damn it, Maverick! He's still not picking up!"
"Don't worry, James" she replied, "I'm sure everything is fine and you're overreacting for no reason."
"God, I hope you're right" James said, fidgeting with his paws.
With only a second of silence, an alarm started going off in the ship. "Looks like we've got an incoming transmission from Corneria" Carol stated.
"Play it!" James exclaimed.
An image of General Pepper appeared on the monitor, with a recording that said, "Carol, this is General Pepper, of the Cornerian Army. I don't know when or if you'll get this in time, but we are being invaded by Thanos."
"Thanos?" James questioned, "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"If you get this message, please reach out to James and please help us" the recording continued, "I know we have our army and Maverick defending us, but that alone won't be enough to save us. Please hurry, we don't have long."
The transmission ended and Carol said, "Good thing we're already heading there."
James began pacing, as he pulled out the communicator he uses to talk to Corvus. "So much for Corvus letting me know if there's any danger" he stated, noticing a lack of new messages.
"How's it possible for Thanos' ship to get to Corneria undetected?" Carol asked.
"It shouldn't be" James stated, "he must've figured out a way to sneak past the system."
"But who…" she started.
"…Andross!" they said, together.
"Andross must have found some way to communicate with Thanos" James stated, "he had to of figured out a way for them to stay shielded."
"At least we know what we're up against" she said.
"What's the ETA?" James asked, sounding even more anxious.
Carol glanced at the navigation system and read, "A little less than an hour."
"Alright, well, we should use that time to come up with a game plan for when we get there" James proposed.
"Okay, well maybe the first thing we should do is find Maverick" Carol suggested, "you know him best, what is he most likely doing?"
"Mav would be trying to get Lana and Wolf out of there" James explained, sitting back down "he can't do that without a ship, which he tends to leave at my parent's place."
"So, maybe he's heading there now" she stated, "any chance Lana and Wolf would be with him?"
"Highly unlikely" James shook his head, "Mav probably told them to stay at the house and he'd come back for them."
"If there are ground troops, he's probably fighting through an army" Carol pointed out.
"I bet Theo tried calling Mav for help" James speculated, "I feel bad that this is the first invasion Theo has to defend against as the new general."
"How do you think Maverick is handling this big battle, solo?" Carol asked.
"I'm sure Mav is doing just fine on his own" James replied, "after all, we got trained to fight by the same people who are invading."
Dad was breathing hard, as he killed yet another Sakaaran soldier, on his way to Robin and Marian's house. George was standing behind all the fallen soldiers. "Oh, Maverick" he said, "you can't seriously still believe you can beat me."
"George, I've known you my whole life and you've been an ass towards me the whole time" dad stated, "I just never pegged you for someone who'd help kill his own daughter."
"She's not dying today" the older wolf replied, "I made Thanos promise he'd keep her alive."
"George, you're delusional if you really think Thanos won't use her to get to me" dad pointed out.
"After today, you'll be gone and I'll have my daughter back" George stated.
"That's nice, too bad you won't be around long enough to see that come true" dad said, charging at the older wolf.
The two canines were in a long and heated fight with each other, while large crowds of Cornerian citizens, who were forcefully removed from their homes, were fleeing from the now deceased Sakaaran soldiers in the area. Dad finally overpowered the larger wolf and pinned him to the ground. George noticed dad hesitating and said, "What's the matter, pup? Too noble to kill another wolf?"
"You don't care if I kill you, do you?" dad realized, beginning to walk away "I don't have time for this. I have to go get my family out of here."
As dad was walking away, George slowly got to his feet. "You really are pathetic" he mocked, rushing toward the younger lupine "not willing to make the hard choices, even against the enemy."
As he spoke, George went to stab dad in the back, but as if by instinct, dad got out of the way and sank his claws into George's chest. Dad's left paw was dripping with blood as he gently lowered the lifeless body of George to the ground. "You brought this upon yourself" dad said, resuming his mission.
After dad had left to get the ship from Robin and Marian's, mom rushed upstairs and started rummaging through the hallway closet. "What are you looking for, mom?" I asked.
"I'm looking for our emergency kits so we can leave as soon as daddy gets back" she explained, digging through the closet.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, wanting to help.
She stopped and held my paws. "Yes, you can help me by going to your room and grabbing a change of clothes and your pillow" she instructed, "we can throw them in your emergency kit while we're waiting for daddy."
"Okay mom" I said, rushing to my room. I grabbed my pillow off my bed and put it by my bed, so I wouldn't forget it.
Mom came into my room with a large duffle bag and said, "Here, sweetie, put some clothes in here. I'll be right back to put some more essentials in it."
I was looking through my dresser, trying to pick out some clothes to bring, when I heard a loud crash from downstairs. Mom screamed and yelled, "What are you doing here?"
A familiar, but muffled voice responded, "We have direct orders from Thanos to have you in our custody."
"Where's the boy?" another voice echoed.
"I'll never tell you where he is!" mom grunted.
"That's fine, I'll find him by myself" the second voice stated, "take her to the ship. I'll be right behind you."
I heard someone yell in pain, then the sound of glass breaking on the ground. "Wolf! Hide!" mom shouted.
Without hesitation, I shut my door and jammed my pillow in the floor gap then hid in my closet. My heart was racing so fast, I thought it was going to jump out of my chest. I listened as someone tried turning the doorknob. "Wolf, is it?" the voice asked, still trying to breakdown the door "There's no need to be afraid. You're wanted as a special guest by my father, Thanos."
I remained quiet, trying to control my breathing, when I heard the door crash open. "Jamming a pillow in the door, very resourceful" he admitted, "but it's not going to be enough to keep you from coming with me."
Suddenly, the closet door flung open and standing there in front of me was a large ape, who I recognized as Andross. He had a large, fresh gash on his left cheek, dripping with blood. "Come here, you little brat!" he exclaimed, dragging me out of the closet. I tried to break free from Andross' grip, but he threw me over his shoulder and brought me downstairs to a large ship. "We've got O'Donnell's family, let's get to Thanos!" Andross commanded, after throwing me into a cage.
"Where's my mother?" I asked, grabbing the cage's bars.
"That's the least of your worries, pup" Andross replied.
"My father will come save us!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, we know he will, that's the point" he grinned, "pilot, let's fly! Thanos is waiting for us."
Once dad finally got to the McCloud's house, he ran onto his ship and got it started. He was greeted by a new message on the ship, so he played it. "Hello, pup!" Andross' voice echoed, "If you're hearing this message, we've captured your wife and child. If you're man enough to try rescuing them, we'll be at the Academy. Better hurry, Father hates to be kept waiting."
The recording ended and dad stood up shouting, "DAMN IT ANDROSS!"
He sped off toward the Academy, fully enraged. While he was flying there were some Cornerian airships in a dogfight with some Chitauri chariots that he had to maneuver through.
"Maverick, I know that's your ship!" Bandit shouted, through the ship's speaker "Please help me out, man!"
"Bandit, get out of my way!" dad demanded, "Andross took Lana and Wolf!"
"Oh, shit!" Bandit exclaimed, "Go get them. Good luck."
"Thanks, Bandit" dad replied, "stay safe out there!"
James was watching the navigation system like a hawk and the monitor read that the ETA to Corneria was less than three minutes. "I'm getting super anxious" he said, pacing "can't this thing go any faster?"
"James, if we go any faster, we'll be making a crash landing" Carol warned, "we'll get there soon enough to save Maverick and Corneria."
As they were making their final approach on the planet, they were surprised not to see any ships patrolling the Cornerian atmosphere. "The main ship must be within the atmosphere" Carol commented.
"Careful upon reentry, Carol" James warned, "if we're lucky, we can make it to the surface undetected by Thanos and his army."
Carol was about to turn on the ship's cloaking when someone started firing upon them. "Looks like our element of surprise is gone" Carol stated.
James looked out the ship and noticed the ship that fired at them was Cornerian. "Maybe not, that's a Cornerian ship" James pointed out, grabbing the microphone "Attention Cornerian pilot! We are not your enemy do not shoot us! Repeat do not shoot us!"
"James, is that you?" Bandit questioned.
"Yeah, Bandit, I'm here" James replied.
"Oh thank God!" the hare exclaimed, sounding relieved "I could use your help with fighting some really fugly motherfuckers!"
"Wait, Bandit, I haven't been able to reach Mav" James stated, "please tell me you've heard from him."
"Yeah, I talked to him a few minutes ago. He's on a rampage because Andross grabbed his family" Bandit explained.
"Andross clearly has a death wish" James joked, "did he say where they're being held?"
"He didn't say, but I saw his ship heading toward the Academy" Bandit replied, "so can you help me or not?"
"I'll send help your way" James replied, "good luck, Bandit."
Carol looked at James saying, "I'm sure when you say send help, you mean yourself, right?"
James glanced at his girlfriend before saying, "Actually, can you…"
"No, James!" she interrupted, "I'm not letting you take my ship!"
"Please, Carol!" James begged, "I came here to save Maverick. I can't do that if I'm fighting the Chitauri."
"Fine" she sighed, "but you better not get my ship destroyed."
"I'll do my best" James shrugged.
She got up and walked over to a part of the ship we've walked past many times then said, "Open the hatch!"
James pressed a button and Carol dropped out of the ship. She flew up in front of the ship saying, "Good luck, James" then flew off, following Bandit.
After Carol was out of sight, James flew toward the Academy as fast as possible, hoping he wasn't too late.
When we got to the Academy, Andross said, "Alright, brat, you better not be as big of a pain as your daddy."
"Easy, Bowman" one of the Sakaaran soldiers stated, "the kid hasn't even had any training."
"None that we know of" Andross pointed out, "who knows if Maverick started training the kid to be able to fight."
"Clearly he's taught the mother a few things" the soldier mocked, noticing the fresh wound on the ape's cheek.
"Get the child secure, I'll get the mother" Andross said, ignoring the soldier "Thanos is waiting."
Four of the Sakaaran soldiers came into the cage I was in and chained my paws together. "This way, kid!" the leader demanded, tugging on the chains.
The ramp to the ship lowered to reveal the Cornerian Academy swarmed with Thanos' army, as well as what seemed to be the entire population of the planet. There were Sakaaran soldiers separating the panicking Cornerians to two different sides of the main campus strip. The soldiers I was with were walking me through the chaos. I couldn't help but watch when one of the citizens tried running away, a soldier would shoot them. Amidst the chaos, there was one ugly alien strolling back and forth along the crowd reciting, what I can only assume was spoken hundreds of times before. "Hear me and rejoice!" he stated, "You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering. No…"
We walking into a building and the speech faded into silence. The Sakaaran soldiers brought me to a room, where this purple giant was sitting. "Lord Thanos, we have brought you the child, as requested" the leader said.
Thanos rose from his seat, looking completely intimidating, and approached me. "Hello, little one" he said, reaching out one of his large purple hands "there's no need to be frightened."
"Then let me and my mom go!" I demanded.
Just then, the door opened and Andross walked up, carrying a familiar figure. He placed the figure on the ground, revealing it to be my mom. "Mom!" I shouted, trying to run to her, but was pulled back by my chains.
"Let the boy go to his mother" Thanos commanded, seeming unbothered.
The soldier let me go and I ran over to my mom. "Mom!" I cried out, seeing she was unconscious "What did you do to her?"
"Don't worry, kid. She's not dead, just unconscious" Andross pointed out.
"Yeah, because that makes me feel so much better" I said, sarcastically.
"Thanos! A ship is approaching at a fast pace" a soldier exclaimed, running into the room.
"Just shoot it down, like always" Andross instructed.
"We've been trying to, but whoever it is has been evading all our attacks!" he replied.
"It must be Maverick" Andross said, looking at Thanos "what do we do, Father?"
"Leave the wife and child with me" Thanos replied, 'the rest of you prepare for battle."
"Yes, Father!" Andross stated, turning to the Sakaaran soldiers "You heard him, get moving!"
Outside the Academy, dad was maneuvering his ship past all the incoming attacks and located a parachute. He turned autopilot on and put on his parachute, then grabbed his gun. He walked over to the door and opened it. He took a deep breath and, with confidence, jumped out. As he was freefalling, dad was shooting some of the Chitauri out of the sky, until he deployed the chute. His ship crashed into the side of a building, creating enough of a distraction for him to land safely on a nearby roof. "Don't worry, Lana" he said to himself, "I'm coming to save you."
He found the door to the building and kicked it open running down the stairs, till he exited the building. He ran out to the Academy, still evading a barrage of attacks from patrolling soldiers. As he entered the campus, a crowd of Cornerian citizens were fleeing from the opposite direction he was running. He noticed a large pile of deceased Cornerian citizens. Suddenly, he felt himself get thrown back.
"Ah, Maverick!" Andross said, emerging from the large building in front of the wolf "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show up."
"Shut up, Andross!" dad shouted, "I swear to God I'll kill every one of you, even if it takes every ounce of my blood!"
"That won't be necessary" Ebony Maw intervened, "your wife and child are free to go."
"What's the catch?" dad asked, skeptical.
"You have to come with us and become a child of Thanos again" Maw instructed.
After James had left Carol, he turned on the ship's cloaking device, wanting to remain undetected. As he approached the Academy, he noticed another ship masterfully evading the attacks from Thanos' army. Then the ship flew into a building. "Maverick!" James shouted, before seeing a parachute deploy "Oh thank God, he's still safe."
James slowed down the ship, unsure of what he was going to do and noticed a large, dark patch on one side of the courtyard. It took him far too long to realize it was a large pile of dead Cornerians. He spotted a figure running up the center of the courtyard and realized that was Maverick. "Alright, Mav, hang tight. I'm coming for you" James thought out loud.
"Maverick, you know this can only end one of two ways" Andross began, "either you surrender and come with us willingly and we'll let Lana and Wolf go."
"And my second choice is?" dad asked, playing along.
"You all die!" Thanos said, emerging from the building, dragging me and mom.
"Wolf! Lana!" dad said, stepping forward.
One of the Sakaarans fired a shot, making dad dive out of the way. "Not one step closer, O'Donnell, or your family dies where they stand!" Andross declared.
"Let them go, Thanos!" dad demanded, "This is between you and me."
"You're in no position to be giving demands, little one" Thanos replied, shaking his head.
Dad turned his attention to us asking, "Are you okay?"
"We're fine, Maverick" mom replied, weakly "Don't listen to them. We're not worth it!"
Andross turned to her and backhanded her across the face. "Be quiet, bitch!" he yelled.
Dad howled in frustration, getting more pissed off at Andross. "What's it gunna be, Maverick?" Maw asked.
Unsure of what to do, dad remained rooted in place. "Separate the mother from the child" Thanos instructed. So, Ebony Maw grabbed me and Andross grabbed my mom.
"Wait, what are you doing?" dad asked.
"You're taking too long, so I'm speeding up the process" Thanos replied, motioning Andross to him "decide or she dies."
Mom and dad locked eyes, as Thanos pulled a giant double-edged sword from his back. Without saying a word, I saw mom shake her head at dad and mouthed the words "I love you", as tears streamed down her face. She closed her eyes and in one swift motion, Thanos drove the sword through her chest letting her drop to the ground, lifeless.
"MOM!" I shouted, as tears poured out of my eyes.
"Lana! No!" dad shouted, running toward the purple giant.
Thanos turned to Ebony Maw and said, "Take the boy to my ship and prepare to take off. This will be done quick."
"Yes, Sire" Maw said, dragging me away.
"No! Dad, please no!" I cried, trying to fight against the large being.
James had the ship put in hover mode, so he could get ready to jump. Then he looked out the window and saw dad facing a large army of Sakaaran soldiers, with their guns all aimed at the lone wolf. He brushed it off until he saw three larger figures pushing their way to the front of the group. "Shit! Maw and Obsidian" he said, to himself "don't worry, Mav, we can take them."
Then he heard a loud, booming voice echo enough for him to hear through the walls. James looked back out the window seeing the purple Titan parting the sea of Sakaaran, dragging two smaller beings with him. "Lana, Wolf!" James breathed, "Thank God they're alright."
James continued watching, finding it impossible to look away from the scene. He saw Andross slap mom and said, "Son of a bitch!"
James saw Ebony Maw and Andross separate me and mom from each other, shifting his attention from us to dad. Then, Thanos pulled out a large sword. "He wouldn't do what I think he's about to do, would he?" James questioned, seeing Andross pass mom off to Thanos.
James' mouth opened in shock, as he watched Lana drop to the ground. "Oh my God, Lana!" James shouted, scrambling to grab his gun.
He looked back out the window, seeing Thanos' army walking away, as Thanos strolled up to a sprinting Maverick. "Mav, what are you doing?" James questioned, sitting back down.
Maverick threw down his gun, knowing that he'll need both his paws to be available so he can avoid the Titan's attacks, using his superior agility. It seemed as though Thanos was just toying with Maverick, as all he was doing was avoiding the wolf's attacks. Maverick circled around Thanos, trying to attack from a different angle. Maverick went to jump at the Titan, but he grabbed the wolf in midair, by the neck, and slammed him to the ground. Thanos then picked Maverick back up and threw him. Thanos sighed, "You are such a disappointment, Maverick. I thought you would be tougher to beat than this, but I guess that was too much to expect from someone like you."
Maverick slowly rose to his feet, struggling to maintain his balance. He glared at the Titan saying, "If I'm such a big disappointment, why do you want me back so badly?"
"You're right, Maverick" Thanos replied, "why would I want you, when I can make your son into a better warrior than you ever were?"
"Too bad you can't do better than the original" Maverick replied, stumbling toward the Titan.
"Guess I'll have to…" Thanos began, being interrupted by a bright beam of light surrounding Maverick. When the beam was gone, Maverick had disappeared. "Kill you later!" Thanos finished his thought, running to his ship.
James watched in horror as Maverick kept trying to hit Thanos but couldn't connect with any of his strikes. James stood up in shock, seeing Thanos grab Maverick by the neck and slammed him to the ground. "Maverick!" James shouted, watching the lupine get thrown across the courtyard like a ragdoll.
The vulpine immediately began thinking of strategies but realized it would be foolish of him to try fighting Thanos. Then his eyes locked on a button that James had never seen before. He flew the ship over the courtyard and pressed the button.
James looked behind him and saw Maverick materialize onto the ship and immediately hugged the wolf. "Oh, Maverick! Thank God!" James exclaimed.
"James?" Maverick questioned, stumbling back from the sudden hug "What are you doing here?"
"We can worry about that later, but for now we gotta move" James stated, running back to the pilot seat. He turned the ship vertical and took off as fast as possible out of the planet.
"Wait, James, I can't leave!" Maverick stated.
"What are you talking about, Mav?" James asked, confused "We can't stay. We'll be blown out of the sky if we do."
"What about Wolf? We have to rescue him from Thanos" Maverick insisted.
"Mav, you just got tossed around by Thanos like a ragdoll" James stated, calmly "I love Wolf, but neither of us can get him out of there without one of us dying."
"Is Wolf's life not worth that kind of sacrifice?" Maverick asked, finally sitting down next to the vulpine.
"Of course he is" James immediately replied, "and I promise you we'll get him back. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that, Mav?"
"I trust you, James" Maverick said, taking a deep breath "what's your plan?"
"I'm going to get us to the closest planet to Corneria and hope Thanos' ship can't keep up with ours" James explained, "after that, we'll see."
"That's your big plan?" hope we can outrun Thanos?" Maverick mocked.
"You know instead of mocking me, you could be grateful I got here in time" James pointed out.
"Thank you, my knight in shining armor" the lupine replied, kissing the vulpine on the cheek "where are we going?"
"Do you think they'd follow us to Fichina?" James blushed.
"The frozen tundra planet?" he questioned, "Probably not if we can out run them."
"Great let's go!" James exclaimed, as they crossed the atmosphere.
Thanos ran onto the ship, looking angry, and Andross asked, "Why are you so mad?"
"Someone just came in and grabbed Maverick!" Thanos explained.
"McCloud!" Andross exclaimed, "How did he…"
"It doesn't matter how. Just see if you can find their ship" Thanos requested.
"Yes, Father" Andross said, heading to the navigation system "Maw, can we find a heat signature in the air?"
"I'm sure I can" Maw replied, "why do you ask?"
"McCloud saved O'Donnell" Andross explained, "Father wants us to follow them."
"How do you know it was him?" Maw asked.
"Who else would come save that wolf, other than McCloud?" Andross questioned.
"That's a fair point" Maw admitted.
They found the heat signature and began following the canines. As we followed them, Andross was looking out the front window and saw a big ball of light and dark blues, with a light blue aura surrounded it. "No way, those pups wouldn't be dumb enough to flee to Fichina, would they?" Andross questioned, going to find Thanos.
"What do you want, Andross?" Thanos asked.
"I think we might've found where James and Maverick fled to" Andross replied.
"What are you waiting for?" Thanos asked, "Go get them!"
"That's the thing, Sir, I don't think they would've gone to Fichina" Andross stated, "it's a frozen tundra they'd be foolish to go there."
"Is it foolish or did they go there knowing you wouldn't want to follow them to an ice planet?" Thanos asked.
"That could be possible" Andross stated, "but what if they're not there?"
"If not, then they'll come to us at some point" Thanos replied, "we do have Maverick's son after all."
Andross took his individual ship to Fichina, trying to stay on the canine's trail. At some point his ship spoke to him saying, "Heat signature lost."
"How… how is that possible?" the ape questioned, "I followed the heat signature to this exact spot. I better keep looking."
Andross kept flying around for another hour and found himself flying further into an insane blizzard. "Alright" he said, to himself "I don't care if those pups are on this planet or not. I won't find them in this blizzard. I'll just tell Thanos they got lost in the storm and there's no chance for survival."
Andross hurried back to Thanos' ship, to give his report to the Titan. "Well, Andross, what did you find out?" Thanos asked, as the ape walked up to the Titan.
"I couldn't find them" Andross admitted.
"How could you not find them?" Maw asked, standing next to the purple giant.
"As I entered the planet's atmosphere, my ship lost the heat signature" Andross explained, "I think the planet helped them. The blizzard masked the heat signature."
"How long did you search for?" Thanos asked.
"About two hours" Andross stated, "the further I went into the planet, the worse the blizzard got. I couldn't see anything in front of me and almost flew into a stone pillar."
"Well, if that's the case, then maybe they're lost in the blizzard" Maw pointed out.
"They won't be a problem" Thanos determined, "if they come for Wolf, I'll just kill them."
