Taktar, Sangheillos
Krystal feigned a look of defeat as Radoven ushered her, Slippy, Bill, and Fara towards a checkpoint in the Elite capital.
The actual truth was that the handcuffs on the quartet were loose enough that they could easily get out of them. And they would, once they got to where Fox and Kronos were being held.
Adrian and Amanda had taken the other Cornerian pilots back to the Great Fox II while Phantom's group planned to launch distraction attacks near the city in the hope of stretching the police and the local garrison thin, as well as providing cover for Krystal and the others to break Fox and Kronos out.
"Don't worry, guys. We're on our way."
The cobalt vixen quickly brought her attention forward when one of the guards manning the checkpoint called out, "Halt!"
The group stopped in their tracks as two of the guards walked up to Radoven, who handed them a set of forged State Intelligence Service credentials.
"My apologies, sir," one of them said, "But we need to be extra thorough. The city is under a Code Red Lockdown."
"Duly noted," Radoven replied as he let the guards search him.
"How did you capture these four on your own?" Another guard asked.
"A good old fashioned stun grenade. Unfortunately, it turns out they were just delaying so their friends could get offworld with the rest of the prisoners,"
A tense silence passed, though Krystal was able to discern with her telepathy that the guards had bought Radoven's story.
"You may pass," One of them curtly stated.
"Will do," Radoven replied before adding, "Hail Synn."
"Hail."
Passing the checkpoint, the group continued on down the empty streets until the sounds of distant explosions and gunfire reached their ears. Upon hearing this, Radoven ushered his "prisoners" into an alleyway.
As vehicle engines and shouts filled the air, Krystal, Fara, Bill, and Slippy took off their cuffs and retrieved compact blasters from their boots, in addition to Krystal's staff.
"Alright guys," the cobalt vixen spoke, "Let's go get Fox and Kronos."
"We'll need to be quick, it won't take them long to figure out what's going on," Radoven added.
From there, the group snuck through the alleyways towards the Government District. As they entered the area, the mercenaries noticed that the patrols, while certainly thinned out by the others' diversions, were still very heavy.
Nonetheless, Krystal's telepathy ensured that they were able to avoid getting caught. It was not long before they were gazing at the State Intelligence Service's headquarters.
"There's a side entrance we can use," Krystal said while scanning with her mind.
After waiting for a patrol to go by, the mercenaries ran up to the entrance in a low sprint. From there, Slippy used his datapad to deactivate the lock and the alarm.
As the group slipped into the building, Krystal scanned with her telepathy in an effort to locate their friends. She was able to detect that Fox was in the west side of the headquarters while Kronos was in the east
Glancing around at the others, Krystal stated, "We should split up. Fara, Slippy, I want you two to come with me and find Fox. Radoven, Bill, you two get Kronos,"
After an exchange of nods and murmurs of agreement, the two groups set off down separate corridors. After a time, Krystal held up a hand, signalling Fara and Slippy to stop.
"Fox's cell block is around the corner,"
Reaching out with her mind, Krystal sensed the thought patterns of all the guards. Closing her eyes, the vixen sent out a massive psychic wave that overwhelmed their minds and gave them brain aneurysms.
Slippy and Fara cringed at the dying sounds of the guards and became even more horrified when they entered the cell block and saw them all writhing on the floor.
Pausing only to grab a keycard from a dying Elite, Krystal led the others into the cell block, eventually stopping in front of the cell where she sensed Fox's presence.
Taking a breath, the cobalt vixen shoved the card into the slot and watched as the door slid aside. The sight on the cell's metal slab of a bed that greeted the trio made their hearts fall.
Fox's forehead was caked with dried blood while the fur on his arms appeared to be singed. Krystal rushed to his side.
"Fox…"
The vulpine half opened one of his green eyes at the sound of her voice.
"Hey baby," he said weakly while cupping her cheek with his hand.
Krystal closed her eyes, taking a moment to savour her boyfriend's touch. But she quickly got her mind back on the mission.
"Let's get you out of here," the vixen said as she helped Fox stand and slung his arm over her shoulders. She also passed him her blaster.
The quartet left the cell block, their progress slowed by the fact that Krystal had to help Fox along. Nonetheless, they thought they were in the clear, until Krystal sensed an approaching squad.
"How are we ever going to get away?" Slippy whimpered.
"Leave that to me," Krystal replied.
The squad of secret police came into view, aiming their weapons at the Lylatians.
"A good try, mercenary scum," the lead Elite taunted, "But your journey ends here,"
"Say, Tolan," remarked another Elite, "Do you think the furry ones will last long in the polar camps?"
"Longer than the frog, that's for sure, Krahl,"
"Enough," Krystal growled.
To the shock of Fox, Fara, and Slippy, the secret policemen all began aiming their weapons at each other. Though they were visibly struggling, Krystal had them in her thrall.
The cacophony of gunfire briefly echoed through the corridors as the Elites slaughtered each other. After it passed, the mercenaries moved on, their boots squelching in the blood.
A short time later, they heard more footsteps, though Krystal was able to confirm that they belonged to Bill and Radoven, who was helping Kronos along. When the three entered their sight, Fox, Fara, and Slippy were shocked at how despondent Kronos was.
"What's up with him?" Fara asked.
"I don't know, he won't answer me," Radoven replied.
Krystal meanwhile, met Kronos' gaze and quickly picked up on what had been revealed to him only hours before.
"Kronos, I am so sorry," she said mentally.
She got no response, and quickly realized that this was an issue that would have to wait until they were back on the Great Fox II and far away from Sangheillos.
From there, the mercenaries began searching for an exit, gunning down any secret policemen they came across. Eventually, they burst through a side door, though Krystal detected a familiar presence.
Indeed, as the group emerged onto the street, they were greeted by a certain green eyed elite.
"I cannot allow you to go any further," General Turant taunted.
Fox cast a glare at his mother's killer while Bill retorted, "Oh yeah, you and what army?"
General Turant let out a chuckle as tank engines sounded behind him. A quartet of Druid tanks crested the hill behind the General, cannons pointed at the mercenaries.
"How is that for an army, hairball?"
Krystal sensed several other presences fast approaching, causing a grin to crease her muzzle.
"Not much of one, General!" she taunted.
As if to punctuate her words, laser fire rained down onto the tanks, destroying them and throwing Turant to the ground. The Elite quickly drew his sidearm, only for Fox to level his blaster at him.
Krystal, however, began to sense that killing him would lead to trouble.
"Fox, wait!"
Ignoring her, the vulpine growled, "This is for my mother!"
Fox put three shots into Turant's chest and then several more after his corpse hit the ground.
But before the group could move on, they saw a figure walking towards them through the flames of the destroyed tanks. Worse still, Krystal was able to sense both who and what the figure was.
Indeed, the person who walked past the flames was none other than Lord Synn. In his right hand was the talisman that Fox had attempted to steal from the headquarters.
Glancing upwards at the mercenaries in their starfighters, the tyrant then brought his gaze to the group on the ground.
"I suppose I should thank all of you," Synn stated, "Not only have you gathered all five of the talismans, but you have also provided me with the necessary sacrifices,"
Lord Synn's gaze flicked to Turant's corpse. When he brought his gaze back to the group, his eyes had changed to a colour not seen on any known spectrum.
Breaking out of their stupor, the group opened fire on the tyrant, only to discover that their projectiles were simply phasing through him.
"Oh no," Krystal thought, thinking back to her training.
Worse still, the other four talismans appeared in the air around the dictator, who let out a chuckle in a voice decidedly different from what they had heard before.
"Because of you, I am no longer bound to this world. Once again, I am free to roam the stars,"
A bright light flashed, blinding the mercenaries. When their vision cleared, a new being was floating in the air.
A being Krystal had seen during her training. Now, as then, it had a largely shapeless body with no legs. It's head and ears resembled those of a bat, while it had two pairs of arms; a long spindly set that nearly reached the ground and a shorter pair on it's torso.
Most importantly, the creature was of the same colour that Lord Synn's eyes had been seconds earlier. Fox was the first of the group to find their voice.
"So, Lord Synn. You show your true form,"
"TRUE FORM?" the creature replied, it's mouth never moving, "HARDLY, WERE YOU TO EVEN GLIMPSE MY ACTUAL FORM, YOUR MIND WOULD BREAK,"
Narrowing his eyes, Fox retorted, "You're not as above us as you think you are! You have a weakness! Everything Does!"
"BRAVE OF YOU, BOY," the creature stated, "BUT YOU ARE GRAVELY MISTAKEN,"
"We'll see about that!" Krystal growled before launching a mental assault on the creature.
To the surprise of the others, the creature appeared to be a little discomforted from the attack.
"YOU HAVE GROWN STRONG, CERINIAN. BUT IT WILL TAKE MUCH MORE THAN THAT TO VANQUISH ME. NOW, I MUST RESUME MY JOURNEY,"
"You can run, but you can't hide!" Krystal spat, "We will find you and we will slay you!"
With a flash of light, the creature vanished from view.
Looking around at the others, Fox said, "Come on, let's get the fuck off this planet,"
Great Fox II
Within the hanger of the aircraft carrier, the mercenaries disembarked from their fighters. At first, everything was somewhat normal as Krystal helped Fox towards the elevators and the medical bay. But then her telepathy picked up suicidal thoughts. Quickly throwing a glance over her shoulder, the cobalt vixen saw Kronos grab Radoven's blaster and jam it to his temple.
Thankfully, Falco quickly reacted and grabbed hold of the Elite's wrist, twisting it to make him drop the weapon.
"Holy Fuck, Kronos!" the avian exclaimed, "What's gotten into you!?"
Kronos' eyes darted around the hanger and all of the other mercenaries staring at him in shock.
"That thing…"
"Kronos, you don't…" Krystal began, but it was a vain effort, for Kronos drowned her out.
"That Thing Is My Father!"