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Mission No. 18
Venom
Hotel Nolda Meeting Room
"Hero Complex"
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Under the intimidating shadows of the Space Dynamics security guards, Fox and Krystal marched into the private room. Yaru entered last, standing at the head of a polished oak table, while the bear closed the door behind them. One pair of guards covered the exits, while the other stood behind the two foxes.
De Pon held out his hand, palm-up. "My authenticator, please."
"What?" Fox tried to deadpan.
Yaru's eyes narrowed. "I know what you took from my wallet, Fox."
"I didn't take anything, I grabbed it by mistake. I was distracted when Krystal knocked over—"
"It's no use. I just got off the phone with Beltino Toad. I know you've been to the labs. I know you subdued one dangerous Cerinian, but another went missing." He glanced at Krystal. "It's not hard to put two-and-two together."
The vixen shrank back, squeezing Fox's hand.
The todd wet his lips. "There's been some misunderstanding, sir. I did help at the labs on Beltino's request, but once I finished I returned here. Krystal isn't a Cerinian; she's from Eladard. Like I said earlier, I understand your mistake, but the resemblance is just a coincidence."
"Well, there's a simple way to verify that, isn't there? If she is Cerinian 28, she'll have identification tattoos on her shoulder, arms, and… well, let's just leave it at that for the sake of modesty. Now, shall we have her slip her dress down, or will you drop this silly act?"
Fox heard heavy footsteps behind them. He glanced back to see a security guard approaching Krystal, ready to make good on de Pon's threat.
"Wait!" he cried. "Don't hurt her. That… that won't be necessary." He sighed. "She's the escaped Cerinian."
Krystal glared at him. 'Fox!'
'It's over, Krystal. I'm not going to let them hurt you for nothing. They'd find out either way.'
He took out de Pon's authenticator and tossed it on the table. The tanuki exhaled.
"Thank you for coming clean; I know it wasn't easy. Now please, hand over 28. She'll be safe in our custody."
The guard approached again, reaching a paw out—but Fox stepped in front of Krystal and placed a hand on his concealed blaster.
"Sorry, I can't do that yet. I need to have assurances she'll be released. You have no right to keep her prisoner; she's done nothing wrong. She didn't ask for any of this. She was just captured and forced to work for Andross. Don't punish her for his crimes!"
"Fox, it's not punishment. That Cerinian is dangerous; she poses a threat to others—not to mention herself!"
"That's ridiculous! You're just scared of her because you found her in the labs. You don't know her like I do! You don't know anything about her! And how could you? You kept her in that tank the whole time, while I've actually listened to her."
The tanuki sighed, shaking his head. "What did she tell you, Fox? What lies did she use to convince you to bring her along? Did she tell you she wasn't an experiment—just a prisoner like all the others? Because she's not; she is an experiment. Andross has worked on the Cerinians for years, cultivating their powers and turning them into monsters—tools, like all his other bioweapons."
Fox glanced back at Krystal, who looked at him with wide eyes. She shook her head faintly, sensing his growing doubt.
"It's easy for anyone to see what happened here, Fox. You're a hot-blooded young man; she's an exotic, alluring vixen who appeared in need of a savior…"
He growled. "That's not what happened—"
"It's not? When you left to dance I got the full story from my wife. I know of the room you shared, and I can deduce what little 'adventures' you got up to since meeting in the lab, regardless of Sōzōshī's tendency to, well, exaggerate." He shook his head. "She's been playing with you, Fox. She's made herself appear vulnerable to you to win your trust: to manipulate you. But don't let her feigned intimacy and outward appearances fool you. She's just like all the others: a monster. A mutant bred to wreak havoc on the world."
"So what? Just because she can read minds, you think she's a freak?"
"If you think her powers stop at telepathy, she has hid them surprisingly well. It takes great restraint for the Cerinians not to use them. I'm surprised she hasn't killed you yet, considering how, erm, close you've been. If not for my four armed guards and the presence of Lylat's greatest mercenary, I'd be very afraid for my safety right now."
Fox looked at Krystal again. She shook her head and said in his thoughts, 'No, it's not true. I'd never hurt you like that. I don't know what he's talking about!'
All the same, Fox released the vixen's hand and slipped his fingers free, gazing at her with renewed distrust.
"What powers? What are you talking about?"—he was asking Krystal as much as he was de Pon.
"You fought Cerinian 19, didn't you? The one who escaped first? Did her abilities not strike you as unnatural? Because I assure you Fox, everything that monster did, Cerinian 28 can do—and more."
"Th-then why hasn't she hurt me yet?"
"Oh she'll feign innocence and helplessness to get what she wants. She knows you're her ticket out of the labs and off this planet. If she killed you now, it would be all over. But she can read your mind, Fox. She knows your desires and will fulfill them—anything until she no longer needs you, at which point, well…"
The tanuki rested a hand on the room's phone. "Now, I'm going to call the Cornerian occupation force. They'll pick 28 up and return her to the labs, where she'll be safe. If you cooperate from here on out, Space Dynamics won't press charges. After all, Fox, you're still the hero here. You subdued a dangerous monster and saved another one of our subjects from drowning—yes, we know about the cryotank malfunction. You saved two lives today, and perhaps countless others. Sure, you may have led us on a bit of a wild goose-chase, but I know you had the best of intentions, and ultimately no harm came to anyone, did it?"
Krystal took refuge behind Fox, laying a hand on his arm. He flinched at her touch, which seemed to hurt her.
'Please Fox, he's lying. I've told you everything I know! I'm not a monster—I'm not a monster!'
"Well Fox? Time's wasting."
Fox didn't have long to make up his mind; it all came down to his next actions.
If he stood aside and turned Krystal over now, all his problems would be solved. De Pon would let him off the hook, Pepper would forgive him, and he would be praised as the hero who safely subdued two more of Andross's bioweapons. On the other hand, if he intervened and went against Space Dynamics, he'd be branded as a criminal, undoing his entire legacy up to that point: one he'd worked so hard to build.
Was he really considering throwing all that away for a girl he'd only just met—especially one he didn't know he could trust? If de Pon and everyone else were right, she really was a monster. He couldn't trust anything she said, or any bond that they'd formed together during their adventures. Were any of those shared moments really genuine—or had she been lying to him this entire time?
The guard approached again, reaching for Krystal—and in that instant, all of Fox's rational thoughts dissipated into thin air. His instincts sliced through like a razor, making the decision for him.
At once Fox pulled Krystal back to safety and drew his blaster, aiming at the guard. The bear growled, halting—but he didn't back down. Each of the other three guards trained their concealed blasters on Fox in return, shifting their focus from Krystal. Fox now found himself staring down several gun barrels, each from a different angle. There was no chance he'd get out of this one…
De Pon smirked, motioning for his guards to lower their weapons. They obliged, leaving Fox as the only one with his gun drawn.
"Really, Fox? How far you've fallen. You're going to fire on fellow Cornerians now?"
Fox narrowed his eyes, keeping Krystal behind him. "They're not Cornerians—they're private forces employed by your company."
"And I could say the same thing about you, young mercenary. But when you represent Corneria's will, that makes you Cornerian. That's what makes you a good guy, and not a bad one. Right now we represent Corneria's will: you don't."
"…No, I was wrong. You're worse than opportunists. I don't care what side you say you're on; if you continue to imprison the Cerinians and do exactly what the enemy did, that makes you Venomian."
The tanuki laughed. "Nowadays everyone's scared of the next Andross, Fox. That word gets tossed around so much it's lost any meaning. I've tried to reason with you and convince you that what you're doing is a mistake. I understand if you're humiliated that a research subject tricked you into doing something stupid, but you must own up to your mistake."
The gun trembled in Fox's hand. "I… I don't believe a word you said."
De Pon had reached the end of his patience. Gone was his cordial mask of understanding, instead replaced by rage. His ears flattened, and the short tanuki bared his fangs in quite an unbecoming way.
"Listen boy, I have no more time for your foolish games. Defeating Andross clearly went to your head, and now you believe you can do no wrong! You think you're being heroic; you think you're helping, but you're not—you're only making things worse! And if you'd stop thinking with your feelings and instincts and reason with yourself for once, maybe you'd see that! If you don't lower your weapon now, I'll have my men fill you so full of stun blasts your face will lock-up like a rotten orange for a year! Now are you going to hand over the Cerinian or do I have to give the order to—"
Suddenly the door burst open, the handle slamming into the back of the security guard blocking it and making him curse. He shuffled away, and the door opened to admit the buxom Ms. Sōzōshī and a swarm of babbling dinner guests carrying wrapped boxes and items.
The male tanuki froze with the phone in his hand, mouth flapping in surprise.
"Wha—? Sōzōshī, what are you doing here?! What is the meaning of this?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry honey! Didn't I tell you? The Wives of Space Dynamics rented this room for our charity bazaar for Venomian war orphans! I'm afraid you and your friends will have to scoot—Oh, hello there Fox, Krystal. I thought you were on the way out?"
Fox took Krystal's hand in his and drew her closer, while the vixen straightened her dress. "Yes, well, you see we couldn't wait to get back to our hotel room so we slipped in here. We got a little carried away and I'm afraid your husband walked in on us…"
The tanuki's cheeks flushed again, and she fanned herself. "Well James Fox McCloud, shame on you! You two must reel in such public displays of affection. I don't know how the girl's culture does it, but you must teach her civilized Cornerian ways! And besides you should really wait until you're—"
"Oh, but ma'am, we will be! In fact, we're eloping right now!" He clasped the vixen's hands in both of his. "Aren't we, Darling?"
The vixen gave him a funny look. 'I told you, my name's Krystal. And what does "eloping" mean?'
"Oh—oh my, that's moving awfully fast. But I guess it was inevitable: a heroic bodyguard and a beautiful princess destined to meet—it's like a fairytale come true! …But shouldn't you wait for her parents' permission? What would the king say? What about the threat of her uncle and the struggle for succession?!"
De Pon blinked in confusion, glancing between Fox and his wife like they lived in an alternate universe.
Fox waved his hand. "Oh, that's not important! True love overcomes all obstacles, and we just can't wait for one another! Now, we need to leave for Eladard as soon as possible. Do you think you could give us a ride—"
"To the spaceport? Of course! Anything to help the happy couple. Well, follow me and we'll head down to the lobby right away! I'm sure Tania will take over the bazaar for me. Come along you lovebirds!"
At once the ecstatic Ms. Sōzōshī took off, and Fox and Krystal ducked along after her. None of the security forces could get through the crowd of women to stop them without plowing through, and they didn't seem inclined to do so. Mr. de Pon was caught talking with a bubbly Ms. Tiana, still trying to place his phone call. He kept looking over the portly frog's shoulder at the escaping pair of foxes, secretly fuming as he desperately tried to get a word in.
A few minutes later, Ms. Sōzōshī dropped them off at he Cornerian-controlled spaceport, waving the "happy couple" a tearful goodbye. The two foxes rushed inside, knowing by now de Pon had made his call to the police.
The spaceport was a large, crescent-shaped dockyard that arced around the southern edge of Ambrosia's glass dome. Inside the curved atmospheric energy field sat a great host of vehicles: there were personal fighters, passenger shuttles, and transport ships—even a few Cornerian military cruisers, making the government's presence known. All about the floor scurried Lylatians of every specie and creed—Cornerian and Venomian alike. Deliverymen pushed supplies on hovercarts, mechanics tended their ships with welding torches, Venomian cleaning crews scrubbed the dirt from ships covered in the wasteland's filth, and Cornerian soldiers patrolled in squads of two, keeping an eye on all of the above.
Fox spied a dealership dedicated to rentals and ran over, Krystal in tow. The owner was a portly caiman with a black, grease-stained apron. When he saw the pair of foxes approaching, he raised the wrinkled brow over his sparkling yellow eyes—first at Krystal's shocking blue fur, then at Fox's recognizable face. He turned to face them, eyebrow raising but otherwise not questioning their haste.
"Well, what can I do for youse two?" he gurgled in the back of his throat.
Fox slid to a stop in front of him, panting. "Hey, we need to rent a ship, quick. What's the fastest thing you've got?"
The caiman tapped his belly absently with his wrench. "Lessee… that would be da P-15 Draco."
"We'll take it!"
He glanced between them, his slit pupil first eying one, then the other.
"Can only fit one."
Then why did you suggest it you fucking—
"We'll make it work," he opted to say instead.
"License? Some fellas are liable to run off with them, you see. I wouldn't try it though; they're a pain to refuel, and da limiter will give ya an awful kick if ya try to removes it."
Fox handed his pilot's license over, and the caiman swiped it. His eyes lit up when he saw Fox's profile.
"Hoo-lee-shet, it is Fox McCloud. Well, you cleared the background check, but renting da Draco for a few days will still cost ya a pretty penny."
Fox dug out his wallet and emptied the entire content of credits onto a nearby counter. "Just take it all, I don't care."
The reptile scratched his head. "Looks like a right lotta cash dere, mister. But I ain't used ta countin' Cornerian creds, so you'll have to give me a second."
The caiman licked his claw and began to thumb through the wad of plastic bills Fox had left him.
The urge to rush the dealer along was nigh irresistible. Butterflies fluttered in Fox's stomach, and the todd kept tapping his foot while Krystal looked over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed yet. The caiman sure took his damn time counting it all…
But when the dealer finished, he snorted. "What're ya tryin' ta pull? This ain't half a what it'll cost. I knows your ass is loaded."
Fox could barely contain his impatience. "Look, forget the Draco. Get me the fastest ship this will cover."
"Alright-alright, no problem." He trundled off to the register, entering the money into the register and drawing up the legal form. "Got the dogs' pretty-boy hero shoppin' wit me an' he can't even afford da Draco…" he mumbled.
He returned with an electronic form on his tablet, handing it and a stylus over to Fox. The todd hurriedly scribbled over the screen, filling out the information quickly while Krystal wrung her hands. He signed his name and had just passed the tablet back again when the lights in the hangar flashed red. An alarm began blaring, and everyone in the hangar ceased what they were doing to look around. The Cornerian soldiers especially went on high-alert, brandishing their rifles and waiting for orders.
Krystal grabbed his arm. 'Fox, they're coming!'
'Shit…'
He held out his hand. "Hey, give me the keys, quick!"
The caiman approved the form, but made no move to hand them over. "Uh-uh, nothin' doin'. Hangar's on lockdown, kid. Ain't no one making it through those gates alive till they catch who they're after." He glanced over Fox's shoulder. "Oh look—dere goes a runner now!"
Fox and Krystal turned to look, watching as one of the personal fighters defied the lockdown and took off. As soon as it passed through the energy shield into Venom's airspace, one of the two Cornerian cruisers parked outside trained its cannons on it and downed it with a single high-intensity EMP bolt. The ship's engines gave out, and it crashed into the rocks below.
All three of them flinched.
"Oooh!" the caiman grimaced, "hope he had insurance. That guy's gonna be spazzing from now until next week. Well the lockdown should be lifted any second now. Unless, of course, that wasn't the guy dey was after…"
Sure enough, the emergency lights did not quit blinking, and the alarms continued to blare. Fox looked to the entrance of the spaceport, blood running cold when he noticed a squad of Cornerian troops pouring in—and heading straight for him.
He held his paw out again. "Look, just give me the keys, and I'll be out of here as soon as it's lifted."
The caiman glanced down at his palm, then up at his pale face. "Hey McCloud, what's da big hurry? They wouldn't be lookin' for you now, would dey?"
"Give me the keys, it's an emergency!" he shouted in his face.
The reptile scowled. "Fuck off! Youse up to somethin'. This deal's still good, and you can leave the second the lockdown is lifted, but I ain't gonna risk my business license because your furry ass is in a hurry."
Fox gnashed his teeth. Every second they spent arguing the Cornerian soldiers drew closer. He half considered stunning the reptile and taking the key by force, but he probably kept them back in the kiosk…
"Well thanks for wasting my time, slimeball!"
Fox grabbed Krystal's hand and pulled her along, and together they rushed away from the bewildered dealer. He drew his blaster, letting the people he shoved out of their way know he meant business.
Fox slowed by every ship they passed, seeing if any were idling or even just unlocked. A few pilots leapt down to the deck and fled away from him, but when he threatened them with his blaster and demanded their keys, they merely cowered away.
Suddenly a boom thundered through the hangar, followed by a metallic whirring sound. All along the extensive hangar gate, steel plates with interlocking teeth began to raise and lower from the floor and ceiling, closing like a metallic jaw. They started on the western side of the hangar and worked their way down to the east, where Fox and Krystal stood, gradually closing off the entire length of the hangar mouth.
"Come on!" he yelled.
They took off sprinting eastward along the deck, dodging pedestrians and leaping over crates. It didn't take long for Cornerian soldiers to notice the pair of fleeing foxes and yell for them to halt. As the two ran to keep up with the closing gates, the officer's green stun beams flew past them, sizzling the air over their ears and striking the ground around their feet. Fox flinched every time one impacted a crate he used for cover, while Krystal ran low to the ground and shielded her head.
The wave of closing gates had almost caught up with them, gnashing shut like a jaw. Fox realized they wouldn't have time to steal a ship and make it out in time, so he made the decision to fall back on his first plan: brave the wasteland, find a flat landing site, summon his Arwing remotely, and pray it wasn't shot down along the way.
Fox led Krystal diagonally along the hangar floor, trying to beat the closing panels to the energy field. They reached the gate just as a large tooth began to rise up from the ground, threatening to block off their exit. But Fox sprang on top of it as it rose, then turned to give Krystal a hand up. The vixen jumped and grabbed his arm, and he helped her scale the steep side. By now however they stood between two molars of closing teeth, about to be ground to a pulp.
"Get off, quick!" Fox warned.
Just before the powerful teeth closed and locked together, the two foxes rolled out from between them and fell over the outside edge. Fox felt the atmospheric forcefield zip over his torso as he rolled through it, making his fur stand on end. Then they plummeted the rest of the way down the blast shield, falling face-first into the oily mire at the bottom. While gross and humiliating, ultimately it saved them from a nasty fall onto Venom's unforgiving rocks.
The two foxes pulled themselves from the sludge, gasping and shaking it off them. Fox took Krystal's hand as soon as she'd wiped her eyes, pulling her along. "Come on, we can't stop now!"
They scrambled over the harsh wasteland, once again assaulted by Venom's poisonous atmosphere—and this time they had no filtration mask to share among them. A few hours, and they'd be dead—but even before then, the poisonous air could leave them entirely incapacitated without killing them.
Though they were nearing the end of their stamina, they proceeded forward with renewed vigor at the prospect of escape. Fox glanced around, looking for a level landing field but finding none. He might have to risk it…
"Well," he gulped, "it's now or never…"
Fox reached into his pocket for de Pon's authenticator, but he came up empty. Having a small heart-attack, he patted down all his pockets, but none of them yielded the device.
"Shit! I'm so fucking stupid. We're so fucked. I forgot I gave de Pon his authenticator back."
While Krystal gasped for breath behind him, her thoughts still came unhindered. 'What's the plan now, genius? I can't run like this forever!'
"Only one shot left…"
Gulping, Fox decided to try summoning his Arwing anyway. He tapped through the UI on his wrist unit for a second, but when he pressed the button to activate the Arwing the screen simply flashed, DENIED.
"Oh no…"
Furiously Fox tapped the button over and over again as they ran, praying it would work. Each time, however, a red popup message seemed to read the same thing: DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED…
"Please work, please just work…"
It almost became a nervous habit; he tapped it unconsciously while they stumbled over the rocks, the button representing his last strand of hope.
DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, DENIED, APPROVED, ALREADY APPROVED, ALREADY APPROVED, ALREADY APPROVED—
"What the—?!"
Fox glanced down, shocked at the words staring back up at him. The screen switched to a map showing a yellow arrow flying towards them.
"It worked!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist. "YES! Those idiots! Those absolute idiots! What kind of blundering dipshit released the lock on my ship now of all times…" But the more he thought about it, the more he realized someone had to have done so intentionally—and Fox had a feeling de Pon wouldn't let his wife anywhere near his authenticator, nor that she'd know what to do with it.
"Alright, it's on its way," he told Krystal. "Come on, let's look for a clear landing field."
'Too late, Fox, they're here!' she screeched in his thoughts.
A blinding white light entrapped them, accompanied by the pounding rumble of rotary wings. Fox shielded his eyes with his arm, and the girl's muddied blue dress whipped furiously in the powerful downdraft. When Fox's eyes adjusted to the light, his worst fears were confirmed.
A Cornerian drone had found them—and not a tiny surveillance drone.
"Warning, you are in violation of security protocol. You are in possession of Space Dynamics property and will be prosecuted if you do not surrender. Use of stun bolts has been authorized. Please be careful of your surroundings when you fall."
The drone's underside turret began to charge up its blasters. Before it could unleash a hail of stun bolts at them, Fox drew his gun and fired up at the vehicle's propellers. The bolt blew one straight off, and the drone listed to the side, spiraling out of control till it crashed into a tall outcropping of stone.
"Shit! They'll be swarming all over us in a minute."
The young foxes scampered over the rocks as fast as they could, but were soon tailed by several more drones. Laser-precise stun bolts splashed over the rocks beside them, and Fox had to aim and fire over his shoulder on the fly. Each time he managed to down one, another seemed to take its place.
It was too late when Fox realized where they were herding them.
They climbed over the next embankment to find themselves standing at the top of a cliff, staring out over Venom's acid sea. Putrid brown waves sluggishly climbed onto a sandy shore, then died between the grains. Each new wave hissed and released a cloud of vapor into the air, which smelled even worse than Venom's normal atmosphere, if that were possible.
"There they are, I see them!" a distant voice carried on the wind. Fox looked over his shoulder to see three Cornerian soldiers trailing them over the cliffs—undoubtedly the first of many.
"This is bad," he breathed. "We need—"
'—A way down?' Krystal finished for him. She snatched his hand again, pulling him along. 'Quick, follow me!'
The vixen's keen eyes had picked out a thin gap between two jagged rocks at the top of the cliff. She led him through, then down a steep slope on the opposite side. They had no time to take it carefully and descended in short leaps and slides from outcrop to outcrop; Fox ripped his suit in numerous places while Krystal tore her dress.
When they were close enough to the shore they jumped the rest of the way, the dull sand absorbing their falls. Then, without the jagged rocks to turn their path into a veritable maze, they broke into a full, unobstructed sprint for the first time since leaving the hangar.
But the Cornerians pursuing them easily matched their pace. Unlike Fox and Krystal, they were far from exhausted, and they had filtration masks to fight the poison in the atmosphere. It wasn't long before they found the gap they'd escaped through and descended after them—but they weren't alone, for a new pair of soldiers came at them from the west, sealing their exit.
In a pincher movement, the Cornerians cut the two vulpines off from the mainland. They chased them onto a small peninsula of sand, trapping their backs against Venom's acidic sea. When Fox found they were a mere yard away from the receding waves, he spun around, facing their foes. The five Cornerians slowed their pace, knowing they had their prey cornered. They carefully pulled the drawstring tight, approaching closer with readied blasters.
"Surrender!" one of the soldiers called out, raising his voice above the waves. "Hand over the Cerinian now!"
Fox stared over their heads at the horizon, but there was no sign of his Arwing. This was bad. It was still en route, but if it took much longer the Cornerians would forcibly disarm them. Fox needed to buy some time.
He heard a pair of splashes on his right, followed by a cry of pain. Krystal had backed into the ocean, which slowly began to eat away at her calves and feet. Fox dashed to her side and scooped her out of the water, carrying her in his arms—but in the process he had to step into the acid bath himself. For the moment his shoes protected him, but already the chemicals were burning through.
Fox adjusted the Cerinian in his arms so that he carried her princess-style. He backed further into the ocean, facing the Cornerians. One of the canines stepped forward: a gray-furred bulldog wearing a filtration mask.
"Fox, is that you?!"
He removed his mask, instead covering his nose with his elbow.
The vulpine's jaw dropped open when he recognized his former classmate.
"Bill?!" Fox cried, descending into a fit of coughs.
"Fox, I'm so glad you're alive! You have no idea how much worry you've put me through," the bulldog exclaimed. Then, spotting the Cerinian in his arms, his tone lost its friendly air. "What's gotten into you? What in Lylat's name are you doing? Come back here now, before that thing hurts you!"
Fox felt ashamed. His ears lowered and he cast his gaze down, unable to meet Bill's eyes. But Krystal tightened her arms around his neck, reminding him that he had a job to do. Gathering his resolve, he snapped his head back up and set his teeth, glowering at Bill.
"If you want her, come and take her."
The Cornerians looked in confusion at each other, ultimately turning to Bill to make the decision.
"What do we do, Captain? Do we fire?" one asked.
"If we drop them, that acid's gonna eat them real quick."
"But if we don't they'll escape!"
"You wanna be the one to shoot Fox McCloud?!"
While they were busy debating Fox noticed a bright blue light expanding on the horizon. With his spirits soaring, Fox adjusted Krystal in his arms so he could get at his wrist unit. He punched in a set of commands, then aimed a virtual reticule at the water in front of them.
Bill seemed to take notice of Fox's actions, growing suspicious. The gun trembled in his hands.
"Don't make me fire, Fox! I know we're friends, but I have a duty to perform. I don't want you getting hurt! If you try anything, I'll drop you right there!"
"Good luck," Fox grinned.
The Arwing flew by just in time to rob Bill of his chance. It landed a plasma bolt in the water directly between the two groups, sending up a foaming spray of acid and sand. Then it turned and glided across the water till it came to rest behind the two foxes, ready for them to mount. A cloud of mist formed over the water, providing them safe cover to board without being seen or fired upon by the Cornerians.
Hefting Krystal in his arms again, Fox waded towards the newly-landed ship—but every step he took his feet sank deeper into the acid sea, and his calves were beginning to burn. He managed to hoist Krystal onto the wing, but before he could make it up himself—
A grating metallic screech pierced the air, and a red light cut through the pillar of sea spray. Fox craned his neck up just in time to see a lumbering spider mech skitter through the cloud of water droplets, the roar of the Arwing's engines having masked its approach. Its black hull towered above them, standing three times as tall as his Arwing. Before he could reach his cockpit, the mech stomped a foot down on the wing, pinning the ship to the ground. The Arwing's hull groaned as it struggled to withstand the pressure, its landing gear sinking into the sandbar beneath the acid waves. Krystal yipped, scooting up the wing towards the cockpit as the spider gradually pushed it under, the far side dipping into the sea and threatening to burn her feet again as the steaming liquid rushed up it.
"No…"
Behind them the mist began to disperse, revealing the Cornerians waiting safely on the shore.
"Give it up, Fox!" Bill yelled. "You're trapped!"
Defiant till the end, Fox clambered up onto the sinking wing and joined Krystal, edging up against the canopy for safety. The todd glanced helplessly between the soldiers' forms materializing out of the acid spray and the underside of the bulky spider mech looming over their heads.
'Fox, do something!' Krystal's thoughts shouted in his head.
"We can't take off until that thing releases our ship!"
Gritting his teeth, Fox raised his gun and squinted through the droplets of acid raining down from the doused mech. He lined up a shot on the leg joint, but when he fired the energy bolt proved too weak to have any effect on its armor.
Cursing, he holstered his blaster. He patted his suit down for anything to use against the beast, but he came up with nothing.
He dropped down next to Krystal, at a loss. In turn she pressed herself against him, cowering in the shadow of the spider mech.
"It's no use Krystal, it's over. I'm sorry, I really tried to keep you safe…"
The vixen turned her despair-filled eyes to him; the anguish in them simply killing him.
'I don't know why I believed this would work. I thought this time might be different. I thought I could really escape—but I should've known it was impossible. Fox, they'll take me back! They'll take me back there!'
He took her hand and held it tightly.
"Hey, whatever happens now, just know that it's gonna be okay."
Seemingly angered by his blaster fire, the mech's red eye rolled down to face them, mechanical iris opening wide. It glowed blinding white till Fox had to shield his eyes, bathing them in a powerful beam of heat. He cried out, curling into a fetal position to minimize the surface area of his body, as it felt like every inch of him was being roasted alive in an oven.
Just when he felt like he couldn't endure the pain anymore, it lifted. The light disappeared as well.
Fox blinked, lowering his elbow to see the mech inexplicably rising into the sky. Just before the wing all three of them had been standing on was about to snap, its foot lifted off. For a second the metal beast hung suspended in midair, its many legs wriggling futilely to reach the ground. Fox, Bill, and the remaining Cornerians gawked up at the creature, watching the several-ton machine float effortlessly in the air.
Then Fox heard a guttural growling next to him. He turned back to see the vixen at his side, but he hardly recognized her. Her face was twisted into a snarl: brow furrowed and ugly while her fangs gnashed, ghostly blue eyes almost appearing to glow with an unusual intensity.
"K-Krystal—?!"
The vixen seemed to stand taller—taller even than he. As if in response, the spider mech went sailing through the air. It crashed into the water between the Arwing and the soldiers, completely covering them in a wave of steaming acid. The mech landed upside down, pinning a few of them against the sandy bank as its legs flailed helplessly in the air.
Fox turned back to Krystal, stunned. "How did you—?"
But when he saw her again, the vixen's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed onto the wing in a heap, unconscious.
Fox stared down at the crumpled Cerinian, his brain rejecting everything he had just witnessed. But his instincts soon picked up the slack, and he sprang into action.
Seizing the opportunity, Fox popped the canopy open and jumped inside, gingerly dragging the vixen in after him—never mind that he had just seen the full extent of her powers, and he had no idea what she'd be like when she woke up again.
Holding Krystal's sleeping form between his arms, Fox grabbed the control stick and pressed the throttle, gunning the Arwing's engine. It lifted out of the sea, streaming mud and a rain of acid off its wings and landing gear. With his hopes soaring, Fox pulled away from the shore, picking up speed. He pressed the button to close the canopy, eager to shut out Venom's noxious fumes—but before it could seal all the way, he noticed Bill still on the beach below.
The bulldog climbed up onto the spider mech's exposed belly, standing apart from the rest of the Cornerians. Over the growing wind his voice carried to him.
"Fox, wait! You don't know what you're doing! Don't let her hurt—"
But the canopy sealed closed, silencing the rest of his friend's warning.
Once again in manual control of the ship, Fox gunned the thrusters and sent them skating over the water. The Arwing bounced over the waves before finally taking off, climbing at a steep angle towards the outer atmosphere. Bill and the other soldiers became little more than ants on the shore below. They had escaped… for the moment.
Fox sighed, trying to release his pent-up fear from the exchange—but it didn't work. He should have been relieved to get away, and to successfully escape with Krystal. But for some reason, he couldn't celebrate. He didn't feel safe.
As the Arwing rose into Venom's thick cloud layer, he looked down at the girl sleeping in his arms.
"I fucked up…"