While medics tended the wounded, and soldiers gathered the bodies, Miyu was ordered to take 28 down into the cave, away from the recent battlefield. In all honesty, the lynx would rather have stayed on the surface. She didn't trust Fay alone with the Cerinians, and she loathed the thought of entering the tight corridors with 28, sedated or not. Still, she had no choice but to obey.
Accompanied by the holo-drone and a small entourage of soldiers and scientists carrying the Cerinian, Miyu descended into the darkness. The drone floated ahead of her, leading the way with a bright flashlight. Miyu had to walk slowly to accommodate the pace of the soldiers behind her, who found it tricky carrying 28 and navigating the slippery, rusted steps. Often she found herself turning to check on the sleeping Cerinian, ensuring the sedatives hadn't miraculously worn off. She wanted to get this part of the mission over with quickly, which made the soldiers' slow pace all the more excruciating.
When no one in the garden could see them anymore, the holo-drone reactivated. Baines' image was replaced by the glowing form of Dr. Makepeace herself. She faced Miyu and her men while they descended, appearing to walk backwards.
"Dr. Makepeace!" Miyu exclaimed. "What happened back there? Why did you have Baines negotiate with the Cerinians instead of you? That was the plan, wasn't it?"
"I was prepared to, but when I recognized Namah, the plan changed."
"Recognized? You know her from somewhere?"
"Indeed. She was Cerinian #3—one of the earliest test subjects in the program."
"Then, you were scared she would have recognized you, too?"
"No, I wasn't involved in the Cerinia project for the first generation of test subjects; I only joined after Andross's exile, and by then all the subjects were either left on Cerinia or kidnapped by his crony, Dr. Liebegute."
"Then what's the danger? Why not meet this 'Namah' face-to-face?"
"Cerinian 3 is likely to harbor… resentment towards anyone involved in the project. If I revealed myself as the new handler, she may have tried flying to the Justice to kill me and end the project. Thus I elected to use Baines as my go-between." Makepeace's eyes darted to a camera feed on her end. "Now hush, Lieutenant; we are here!"
Miyu looked around; the passage opened into a wide cave, the bottom of which was flooded with spring water and purple mushrooms. On the far side was the largest concentration of fungi yet, at the base of which sat an intricate-looking Cerinian carving, and a smooth, black sphere.
"You know this place?"
"It is the original source of the Cerinians' psychic energy. The waters from this spring evolved their race over time, giving them their current abilities. Cornerian scientists documented it well before the apocalypse—with Cerinian cooperation, of course."
Her holo-drone flew over to the black orb, shining its spotlight on the polished surface.
"Place Cerinian 28 on the stone," Makepeace ordered. Her image was flickering now, sometimes blinking out entirely as it lost connection.
While Makepeace's hologram floated high and dry above the water, Miyu and her soldiers had to wade into it. It soaked their pant legs, but at least it felt warm, heated as it seeped up from deep underground.
The men raised 28's stretcher onto the top of the sphere. Like Miyu, they looked around the strange cavern with awe—and at 28's sleeping form with worry. The lynx frowned as she watched. The whole business seemed… off.
"I don't like this," she said. "We have 28 subdued. We should be getting her back aboard the Justice and put in cryosleep as fast as possible, before anything else goes wrong."
"Patience," Makepeace calmed her—and the men, by extension. "28 poses no threat now. If we take her back to Lylat now we're admitting a net loss of time and resources towards the project. But, if we finish this last step, we may be able to turn her escape to Cerinia to our advantage, making this month of delays and all the lives lost worth it."
As if anything could make the deaths of her men "worth it," Miyu thought. "Can't we finish this step aboard the Justice?"
"No. It must be done here, at the heart of Cerinia. Or more appropriately, the nexus." The drone flew to one of the scientists. "Inject the krystal lysergic acid. 60 cc's."
Reaching into his medical bag, the mole withdrew another syringe and a bottle of a murky, iridescent fluid.
"What do you mean, the 'nexus'? The nexus of what?"
"It is not necessary for you to understand—only to follow orders. Now, stand aside."
Miyu watched as the scientist injected 28 with yet another chemical that day. The dosage was so large the scientist had to refill the syringe twice before injecting all of it. The life of a Cerinian test subject, she realized, starting to understand why Anake hadn't gone with her.
Soon 28 began to stir. Her breathing quickened, and she shifted in her bindings atop the stretcher.
"She's waking up!" Miyu cried.
"Calm yourself, Lieutenant!" Makepeace soothed. "She will not wake—at least, not fully. The sedatives will keep her in a stupor."
The young Cerinian's eyes crept open, causing the Cornerians in the cavern to start. Miyu's stomach leapt into her throat, expecting the girl to rip her arms from their bindings at any second… but she never did. 28's eyes went wide, their lids twitching as they darted back and forth—but not once did she gaze upon any of the soldiers in the room around her. Instead she stared right past them, as if focusing on things outside the walls of the cave and above its stalactite-covered ceiling.
"Her eyes are open…" Miyu said. "It's like she's looking through us."
"At the moment 28 is seeing the world through the eyes of millions of other Cerinians. The dosage of pure KLA, her location at the nexus of consciousness, and her already volatile psychic state all combined to make this feat possible."
Miyu observed 28 warily, concerned by the frenzied, fearful look in the girl's eyes.
"Worry not. The connection is already complete; she has become their new host.
"Now, bring her to me."
Mission No. 70
Cerinia
Hall of the Matrons
"Justice"
ㅤ⦲ㅤ
Bill passed a few of his men on the way through the village. They stood sentry at key buildings, saluting when he drew near. Medics continued to tend to the wounded—Cornerian and Cerinian alike. One of the most common ailments among the villagers was an overdose of the sleeping agent, which could potentially prove fatal if not addressed with the proper antidote.
The hill with the Matron's Hall loomed high above him, its winding staircase lying in ruins—but Bill was intent on climbing it all the same.
At the top he reached the lavishly-carved hall, outside of which Husky unit's fighter craft and shuttles sat. The entrance was guarded by several soldiers who saluted when he approached. Bill paused on the stone patio, gazing up at the foreign building warily. He didn't like the idea of heading inside, possibly facing Cerinian warriors in close quarters—but the sound of laser fire and screams reached him from over the building; a fight had broken out, so he shoved his fear aside and rushed in.
Inside he found a wide-open hall with numerous side passages branching off. The floor was polished wood while walls of bamboo and reed screens made up the rest of the interior. A raised platform with large pillows sat atop the stage, and colorful, woven tapestries hung overhead. Part of Bill wondered how their society of psychics functioned, or even how one could exist in the first place—especially if they were all as hungry for power as Ariki.
Unsure of where to go, he headed straight towards the back, looking for an exit—only to halt when a crowd of Cerinians suddenly emerged from behind the curtains. They rushed through the hall towards him, but stopped and cowered in fright when he drew his blaster. Bill grit his teeth, training it on each one as they drew closer. Only, he realized these people were harmless villagers, probably fleeing the battle behind the hall. Warily he lowered his gun and forged his way through them, and the civilians resumed running—though they kept a wide berth around him.
He bounded onto the stage with one leap, shoving the women aside as he fought against the tide. But before he reached the exit, he stopped in his tracks.
Standing a few paces ahead of him was the only figure not blindly running for their life: a gold-furred vulpine who held himself tall and defiant in his path.
"Fox?"
The todd's ears perked at the sound of his voice, though it still came out muffled through his gas mask. Bill removed it so Fox could see his face too, and a glow of recognition lit his eyes.
"I've been looking for you, Bill."
The canine exhaled sharply. "You're one to talk, considering how long I've been chasing you."
The two men stood facing one another, staring each other down. The Cerinians rushed around them on either side, parting like a river around two stubborn stones.
Bill could hardly recognize Fox anymore; he didn't have faith he could pick him out of a crowd of Cerinians if he saw him. His white hair was long and unkempt, tied in a small ponytail. Gone was the usual flight suit he saw him in, replaced by the silk tunic and kilt worn by others in the village. He looked stronger than he remembered him being, too; the muscles on his arms and exposed shoulders were more defined. He didn't even look Lylatian anymore, let alone Cornerian. But the biggest change of all was in his face. Altogether it looked fiercer, perhaps even feral—though maybe Bill never had to see this side of Fox before, given they'd never faced each other as enemies.
For that's what they were now: enemies…
Bill raised his blaster at Fox, and the vulpine instinctively tensed. Scowling, he raised his hands.
"So, it's really come to this?" he sighed.
"I'm not going to kill you, Fox. It's on stun."
"I didn't mean the gun. I meant all of…" He gestured with his arms at the chaos surrounding them. "…This. You invaded a helpless village today, full of innocent people who've done nothing wrong—especially not to you."
"You brought this on them, Fox! It was your choice to take refuge here, putting civilians in the crossfire of our conflict. I wouldn't be surprised if you intentionally used them as a shield to protect yourself—like a coward would do. Worst of all, you kidnapped a girl and brought her to a dangerous planet, resulting in scores of deaths. It's time you repent for your actions and submit to justice. Will you come along peacefully, or will I have to drag you, unconscious?"
He took a step towards Fox, brandishing his gun again, while the todd almost imperceptibly backed away.
He licked his lips. "Look, Bill, you don't have to do this; it's not too late to turn back. You can gather your men and leave the village right now, before there's any more bloodshed. I'll even go with you—but please, just let Krystal go."
That name gave Bill pause. He remembered 19 accidentally calling her that as well.
"I know no 'Krystal'—only Cerinian 28. You had no right to kidnap her and run off like you did. What's gotten into you, Fox? Have you changed so much since we last met? You used to be so noble, so loyal and selfless. You were the hero of Lylat, and even I looked up to you, regardless of the fact you were a merc. What happened? Why'd you do this? Why'd you turn your back on everyone you saved?"
"Listen to yourself, Bill! To you and all the other Cornerians, she's just a number. You have to call her that to rob her of her identity, to forget she's a person like you or me. That's how people like Andross justified committing all those atrocities in the first place. Well to me, she's Krystal. I didn't kidnap anyone! I freed her from your prison and brought her back to the rest of her people. It's pretty clear-cut to me."
Bill wagged his gun to the side dismissively. "It's not that simple, Fox! You don't understand any of what's going on, yet you felt like such a noble fucking hotshot you saw some alien in a cage and decided she needed freeing, regardless of the consequences! Corneria—Lylat still needs her!"
"Do you even know what's going on?"
Growing angry, Fox took an aggressive step towards Bill, who repositioned his blaster in a warning fashion.
"Andross tortured her for years to bring out her powers. Now that Corneria took over the Cerinia project, did they shut it down? No, they continued it—and if you return her, they might resume the torment Andross put her through."
"Do you think nothing of Corneria?! They'd never do a thing like that!"
"But if they told you Lylat's future hung in the balance, would you stand aside like an obedient little soldier and watch them do it?"
"If it would save Lylat, I'd do it myself!" Bill burst out.
Snarling, Fox tore his tunic off and hurled it across the hall at Bill. The canid dropped to his knee and fired his weapon, the resulting energy bolt tearing through the unfurling fabric. A thud sounded on the opposite side of the tunic, rising over the commotion of the Cerinians rushing through the hall; a body had struck the floor… But when the garment floated to the ground, Bill was greeted by the prone form of a stunned Cerinian instead.
Dammit!
Glancing left and right, he saw a side passage whose curtained doorway was still swaying. Immediately Bill shoved aside the Cerinians in his way and rushed over to it, parting the curtain—but the room inside was pitch-black.
Remembering his heat vision goggles, Bill replaced the mask over his face…
…Only to be greeted by Fox's shimmering outline barreling towards him.
Before he could react, Fox sucker-punched him in the face—the kind of move he wasn't above pulling back in the Academy, where he needed every advantage he could get over the larger boys.
Bill reeled back from the impact, mask settling crooked over his muzzle. He pulled back to arm's length, raising his blaster to fire a stun bolt directly into Fox's glowing chest, but Fox didn't use his arm. Instead he kicked the blaster straight out of his hand before he could pull the trigger—and this time his move did seem uncharacteristic; Fox could never pull off a kick like that in the Academy.
His gun went clattering into the darkness of the room, but before Bill could dive for it Fox tackled him back out the door into the hall. They rolled between the fleeing Cerinians, separating when they reached the opposite wall. When Fox came free, he tore Bill's mask from his face, robbing him of his heat vision and blow-absorption.
Bill jumped to his feet, followed quickly by Fox, who tossed the mask away. Snarling, the todd came at him again, delivering a fury of punches and kicks. The overwhelmed canine was forced to give ground; dodging, blocking, and further backpedaling as he came at him.
Fox forced him into another side passage leading to a maze of paper-thin screens: a collection of smaller rooms set up for meditation, with each cramped cell walled-off for privacy. The screens were so close together it made fighting difficult, but Bill just needed one gap to draw his second, smaller blaster—only he was still too busy avoiding the vulpine's attacks to do so.
Who was this new Fox he'd come up against? While the todd could always best him in the flight sims, Bill's discipline and superior build allowed him to whip Fox in most hand-to-hand fights. Both pilots received cursory close-quarters training, but Bill wasn't prepared for the strange, almost alien form of martial arts Fox was throwing at him now.
But when Fox tried to deliver a vicious kick to his stomach, his foot accidentally struck one of the walls—and Bill found the gap he needed.
Bill jumped back and drew his second blaster. He fired without hesitation, but the todd crouched and dove into a side passage, disappearing behind the wall of paper screens.
The canine twisted back and forth, searching for Fox behind the thin partitions. He'd completely vanished, but Bill had the feeling he was still close by; it wasn't like Fox to run and give up so easily.
"Come out, you coward!"
Padding footfalls reached his ears, and he spun around, blaster raised. He was just in time to see a larger-than-life shadow pass over the screens, and he fired. The bolt ripped through, burning a hole in the wall—and several walls after that. The edges glowed orange, beginning to singe the paper around them black.
More thuds sounded behind him, drawing closer.
Bill swung around again, firing between the partitions. He saw Fox's silhouette pull off at the last second, diving into another row of cells.
Bill cursed—it felt like fighting Ariki and Hime in the forest of crystal shards. He feared at any moment Fox might come out of hiding and get the drop on him—only, at least he didn't have psychic powers like the other Cerinian warriors.
…Or did he?
A blurry shadow shrank on the wall in front of him, sharpening and growing more solid as it neared. Bill raised his blaster but was a second too late. Fox tore through the paper, tackling him through the screen behind him—and even the screen after that.
They crashed to the ground, and Bill lost hold of his blaster. Just like that, Fox was on top of him, pinning him to the ground—but not for long. Bill managed to get his legs underneath him, using the leverage to push up and flip Fox onto the floor.
They rolled away from each other, rising to matching crouches. Bill reached down to his belt, drawing his combat knife—the one 19 had used on herself, he realized.
Fox's eyebrows rose when he saw its muted glint. There was no stun setting on a knife, but Bill had no other choice; he had to—right?
The two faced each other, crouching and regaining their breaths, but ready to spring at a moment's notice. Flames were beginning to eat away at the paper screens, spreading like wildfire in the Matron's Hall—but there was nothing either of them could do about it; only stare and see the growing fires reflected in each other's eyes.
"You took a lot from me, Bill," Fox panted. "In fact, I'd say you took just about everything I had left. You took away my life in Lylat by making me an outlaw. You took away my home here by burning it to the ground. And now you're taking Krystal away, the last person I ever cared about—the last person I had left. Do you plan on taking my life, too?"
Bill snarled, gripping the knife tighter. "You did this to yourself, Fox! You've been testing me all this time, seeing how far you could push your friend, but now you've pushed too far. You were my best friend, yet you betrayed me, made a fool of me, humiliated me in front of Pepper!"
The todd snorted. "So, what, is this all just about revenge to you? A petty way of getting back at me for embarrassing you in front of the general whose boots you can't stop licking?"
The canine gnashed his teeth, the knife beginning to tremble. "Oh, it's more than that. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get some satisfaction out of this, but ultimately I'm only one person you fucked over. You turned your back on the whole system you once rescued—every single soul you saved from Andross you tossed aside again just as quickly. It was never about doing the right thing or making a sacrifice. It was only ever selfish reasons for you: money, fame, revenge… You're beyond redeeming, Fox. But if you won't be the hero Lylat needs, I will!"
Bill launched himself at Fox, and the todd sprang up to meet him. He bent low to the ground, keeping his knife protected beneath his chest at first while he charged Fox with his shoulder. He didn't extend his knife arm until he was right upon Fox, at which point his shoulder had already plowed through his defenses. He stabbed the knife forward, expecting it to pierce Fox in the side of his stomach, but he only succeeded in clipping a tuft of his fur while the vulpine spun away.
He charged Fox again, this time swinging wildly. He risked extending his arm farther out, using his free hand to swipe aside Fox's right arm while his knife hand struggled to find an opening in his exposed torso. Fox tried staying out of arm's reach, but Bill kept right on him, constantly forcing him back against the burning screens so he always had to stay on his toes. The todd fought with him, circling in a dance which Bill clearly led. But no matter how much pressure Bill laid on, Fox somehow kept evading his attacks, as if by pure instinct alone—that unfailing, undeserved fucking instinct!
Finally Bill backed him into a dead-end cell of burning walls; Fox could either charge him and risk a fatal knife wound or attempt to break through the flaming screens, turning his back to him in the process.
He chose the former. Pressing off the wall, Fox jumped at Bill, hands extended. The canine faltered under him, raising the knife so he'd fall on it, but that was just what his opponent wanted. Fox grabbed the knife with both hands, and the pair fell to the floor together.
They rolled and tangled on the mat, each one struggling for dominance over the knife while simultaneously trying to come out on top. But that was Fox's crucial mistake; even with his Cerinian training he couldn't match Bill's physicality. The bulldog flipped him onto his back, lying atop him to pin him to the ground with his superior weight. He didn't need to wrest the knife free of Fox's grip now; he could stab him using the todd's own hands. Slowly his arms fought against Fox's, lowering the knife to his straining neck. He saw fear in the vulpine's eyes now as the trembling blade sunk closer and closer. Bill didn't relent, driving it downward while Fox's hands battled vainly against his own.
"Surrender," he growled, pressing the knife tip against his Adam's apple. "If you don't think I'll kill you, I will. You deserve death for what you've done, and if I have to use my own hands to pass sentence, so be it."
He saw the fight in Fox beginning to wane, knowing it was hopeless—but a bright glow suddenly reflected in his eyes. The todd twisted his head to the side, confusing Bill. The move served nothing to protect his neck or break himself free, so why did he—?
An incredible heat landed against the back of Bill's head and neck, burning him. Flaming scraps of wood and paper rained down, and Fox just barely managed to avoid a piece of debris landing on his own face. The screen behind Bill had collapsed in the fire, landing atop him and threatening to ignite his clothes—but already it was stinging the back of his head.
The bulldog bellowed in pain, arching his back instinctively and swatting at the debris on his neck. Damn his careless firing!
Fox swung upwards at Bill's jaw, wasting no time in taking advantage of the situation. The canid blinked, jarred by the impact. But Fox struck again. He punched Bill's head with his left fist, driving him lower to the ground. And with a final blow, he rammed his right elbow into Bill's temple.
The canine fell like a sack of bricks, dazed as Fox rolled him off his body. He peeled Bill's iron tight fingers from the knife, taking it for himself. The next thing Bill knew, he was on his back, staring up at Fox and the burning ceiling. The cold blade of his own knife soon pressed against his neck.
Fox tightened his grip around Bill's uniform collar, dragging him out of the burning meditation rooms while keeping the knife held against him.
"You're… coming with me," he grunted. "You're gonna put a stop to this, or I swear to god I'll kill you."
ㅤ⦲ㅤ
With Bill in tow, Fox emerged from the Hall of Matrons. Before him stretched the lawn leading to the Garden of Tears—and it was in a worse state than he'd expected. All around he saw the bodies of fallen Cornerian soldiers littering the yard. Stains of blood covered them, while bright red swathes were painted on the lush grass. Medics tended the wounded, while surviving soldiers put their fallen comrades in body bags.
Fox halted, stunned by the sight. The only time he'd seen similar carnage was back in the labs, when the other Cerinian had escaped her prison and gone on a rampage. All this time he'd feared Krystal might break down and do something similar, but he didn't admit it. He'd refused to listen to Namah, or even Krystal herself when she warned of this moment. But now their words had proven true; Krystal was a monster.
He gnashed his teeth, heart sinking. He'd come too late to stop the bloodshed between her and the Cornerians; it had already run its course. From the fact that the soldiers still had possession of their rifles, and the Cerinians were still penned into two groups, the Cornerians had most likely won somehow.
Fox dragged Bill out onto the stone patio, holding him up by the collar of his uniform and pressing the knife against his neck for all to see.
"STOP!" he ordered.
The Cornerians turned to see who had spoken, shocked to find their captain bruised and battered, a knife held at his neck. Glancing at one another, they dropped what they were doing and trained their weapons on him.
"Don't shoot, or I'll kill Captain Grey!" Fox warned.
One of the lieutenants from before rushed up to him, stopping a safe distance away. He recognized her from his days at the Academy now that her mask was off: she was Fay Spaniel.
"Fox?!" she cried, eyes widening. "Is that you?!"
"One and the same," he growled.
"What's gotten into you? What're you doing?!" She aimed her own blaster at him. "Release Captain Grey at once!"
"If you want your captain to live, you'll do exactly as I say."
"Fat chance of that!" she returned, keeping her gun on him.
"There's not much one man can do against all of you, but whatever I can, I intend to do it. I demand you leave this valley at once and return to Corneria. Take all your soldiers, your wounded, your dead, and most of all Cerinian 18, and leave this place at once. Leave a shuttle to take Bill back if you wish. You have my word I won't hurt him; he was my friend at one time. Once you're away, I'll release him—but not before you leave Krystal here with me."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Fox's ear perked, recognizing the voice. Even Namah lifted an eyebrow at its sound. They looked back at the cave mouth where a group of soldiers and scientists were carrying a person on a stretcher out.
Fox's eyes lit up, and hope fluttered in his chest. There was Krystal; she was alive! …But immediately the feeling turned to horror, as he saw the dark red stains covering her torn robes. He hoped none of that was her own…
The group halted outside the cave mouth, seeing their captain held hostage across the lawn, but a small holo-drone continued to fly over, stopping to hover in front of Fox.
"Did you say that?" he asked. "Are you the second in command?"
The drone fixed its lens on Bill, who sagged in Fox's arms. "It would appear I'm now first."
The hologram activated, displaying the image of a maroon-furred vixen in a lab coat. She stood with her arms crossed, smirking at him.
Fox blinked, the knife loosening in his hand. "Dr. Marjorie?!"
"It's been too long, Fox. A lot has changed, hasn't it?"
When she spoke it was quiet enough so only he could hear her words, and when she activated the hologram, she kept her viewing angle low so only he could see her.
Fox shook his head, feeling confused. Dr. Makepeace was the therapist assigned to him after the war to treat his migraines and PTSD after his run-in with Andross. As far as he remembered, she was only a high-ranking Cornerian psychologist.
"I don't understand. What are you doing here?!"
"As your personal therapist, General Pepper assigned me to your recovery mission. I knew your mental condition better than most. But I'm more than just a psychologist, Fox. I'm also the head of the Cerinia project. 28 is one of the many Cerinians in my care."
Fox paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. "That's absolutely ridiculous! You expect me to believe you're both my therapist and the head of some secret…" But he trailed off, realizing it did make sense. After all, she frequently made trips to Venom, and he remembered her having some involvement in the labs. She and Beltino had offered him a contract working there.
"It's not some coincidence. Before his death, Andross had been experimenting with Cerinians' psychic powers. When you began complaining of intense migraines after your battle with him, I expected it might have something to do with the alterations he made on himself. Thus, becoming your therapist helped me learn more about Andross and his purpose for the Cerinians, and being the head researcher on the Cerinia project helped me understand your condition better. I wouldn't be surprised if your run-in with Andross caused you to become paranoid delusional like this, flying off the handle and turning on your country."
He snorted. "What delusions? What paranoia?! Was it mania that put me on a one-man crusade to liberate Lylat in the first place? Would you have tried to stop me back then, thinking I was crazy for what I tried?"
"Please Fox, you're making a scene. This is insanity—"
"You call what I'm doing insane? You're the insane ones; look at everything you've done today! And if you really are the head of the Cerinia project you know better than anyone else what people like Krystal have gone through! What kind of life are you dragging her back to?!"
"Fox, calm down! I know you must be under a lot of stress right now. You're confused by what you've heard about Corneria—perhaps you've even fallen prey to some of Andross's lies, or maybe you heard half-truths from rumors the Cerinians told you. I'm sorry we had to keep secrets from you, but it was necessary. Now please, put down your knife and come with us; you can stay with 28 on the way back!"
The knife faltered in Fox's hand again. Makepeace's voice was always so calming and reasonable. It did wonders to soothe his nerves during their therapy sessions, and it was hard to shut them out even now…
He glanced around, staring at the faces of the Cornerian soldiers around him. While they were incensed someone would threaten their captain, they were reluctant to fire on him. They seemed confused more than anything else. Was he really the Fox they knew? The one who had led the frontline charge during the Lylat War?
He didn't know himself anymore. He'd asked that question every day on Cerinia, when he saw his reflection in a polished mirror or pool of water. Even after he returned triumphant to Corneria he couldn't believe it. He just felt different.
Maybe Makepeace was right, and this was all some delusion of his mind's creation. Maybe it was just another panic episode that had arisen from not taking the migraine pills.
…But then he looked back at Krystal's prone form, imagining her confined to the dark labs again.
His grip tightened around the knife handle.
"Don't you all see what you're doing?!" he burst out, shouting so all the soldiers could hear. "How many innocents have you killed today?! And for what? To imprison some girl so these scientist freaks can experiment on her? If she was a Cornerian like you, would you stand by and let it happen? Isn't that exactly what Andross was doing?! So why stand aside now?! Help me protect her!" he begged.
The soldiers' weapons faltered, lowering slightly. They glanced at each other, then at their commanders, unsure of what to do. Even Miyu, who stood all the way at the opposite end of the garden, seemed reached by his words. As of yet she hadn't even raised her blaster at him, and she looked down at Krystal's sleeping form pitiably.
Still, none of them completely lowered their weapons, and none of them defied Fay or Makepeace—and as far as their commanders went, his plea had fallen on deaf ears.
"Fine. If you won't help me, I'll do it myself." He pressed the knife into Bill's neck, producing a trickle of blood. "My orders still stand. Release Krystal, and leave here at once, or I'll kill your captain."
By now Bill had regained consciousness. He squirmed weakly in his arms, feeling the blade pressing uncomfortably against his neck.
"Fox, don't do this…" he choked out.
"I can't meet your demands, Fox," Makepeace answered. "I can't just let 28 go. If I have to, I'm willing to sacrifice Captain Grey for her custody."
Fox's eyes widened in surprise, and even Bill stopped struggling, shocked the scientist would so quickly abandon him. He looked up at her hologram in disbelief.
"You're… you're bluffing!" Fox spat. "You'd never let me kill him!"
"In return for 28? I don't think you understand just how much she means to us. Bill's life is expendable. Your life is expendable. Even my life is expendable—but Cerinian 28's isn't."
She gave the signal, and the group of Cornerians began carrying Krystal's stretcher to the shuttle at Fox's end of the garden—albeit cautiously. While Makepeace and the scientists seemed confident, Bill's men weren't. Husky and Bulldog units had served under their captain during the war. They respected him, and couldn't bear the thought of Fox killing him, but apparently their loyalty to Corneria came first.
Fox gnashed his teeth, slicing the knife deeper into Bill's neck as he choked. "I swear I'll do it!"
"I'd advise against that, Fox," Makepeace told him. "So far your reckless actions have only led to indirect deaths. If you kill someone in cold blood—especially a Cornerian captain—your retribution will be harsh and swift. If you aren't executed outright, you might find yourself exiled to Venom as another example. One way or another you will be punished; killing Bill will only make it worse. You don't want to follow in the same footsteps as the maniac you killed, do you?"
Fox was feeling his panic set in now. Everything he'd planned was falling apart at the seams, and Krystal was about to slip through his fingers forever—before he found himself locked away in some Cornerian prison cell for life. He was clearly losing this gamble…
He turned to Mother Namah and the Kaitaki, who stood off to the side.
"Well Namah?!" he called. "This is our only chance to save Krystal! You could stop this whenever you want! Why don't you help me?!"
The Cerinian shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry Fox, but you came too late to stop it. It's already over. The damage has been done to the village. If we fight now, we'll only end up doing further harm to the valley—harm we can't recover from, if they release 18. Krystal is a lost cause anyway. You missed how she tore apart these soldiers, but you can certainly see the state in which she left them. If you'd seen her do it, I think you would have run from here and never turned back."
At that moment a cry went up from the other Cerinians, and some of the crowd pointed at the sky above the Matron's Hall. Black smoke was beginning to rise from the wooden structure, and a worrying orange glow flickered in the windows. Namah's eyes went wide, and she ushered the Kaitaki towards the hall, barking orders in Cerinian before turning back to Fox.
"We have no more time for your futile standoff. I suggest you die here or throw yourself at your people's mercy. You've done enough to harm the village today."
Fox felt shocked. Her words stung, and her refusal to stand with him hurt even more. Desperately he looked around the Garden of Tears, trying to find someone, anyone who'd help him. But he was only met with looks of disdain, anger, and stone-cold rejection.
Dr. Makepeace, his therapist since the war, was urging him to stand down.
Fay, his friend from the Academy, glared at him while forcing him to stare down the barrel of her blaster.
Miyu didn't lift a finger to help him; she just slowly walked with 28's stretcher towards the shuttle, head down and avoiding his gaze in shame.
None of the soldiers lowered their weapons either: the very men he'd fought alongside to save Katina and storm Venom.
Namah turned her back on him, leaving with her warriors to put out the fires in the hall.
And Falco, Peppy, and Slippy were ten lightyears away, unable to help him in his hour of need.
Eventually he noticed his mother's statue at the back of the garden, now standing headless; it must've been broken during the fight with Krystal, perhaps even at the hands of the vixen herself. A part of him had been hoping Vixy might not be truly dead; that somehow Namah or even Krystal could bring her back to life, but the hewn statue before him dashed those dreams. Even she couldn't help him now. Her last trace, gone…
In this one, singular moment, Fox felt the loneliest he'd ever been. Everyone had abandoned him—or worse, he'd abandoned them. It felt like it was him against the entire world, and he was so close to giving in.
The scientists and soldiers passed close to him, carrying Krystal towards the shuttle. Yearning for the vixen's familiar comfort, he dragged Bill over to her, causing some wary soldiers to defensively step between them, hands on their blasters. He looked down at Krystal as they carried her past: a sorry mess of torn clothes, fur singed by stun-blasts, and stains of blood. Part of him thought she could be dead, but her chest rose and fell beneath the restrictive straps, and her eyes were cracked open, looking around almost undetectably.
"Krystal!" he called in desperation. "Krystal, are you alright?! Are you awake?!"
If she'd only wake up, she could use her powers to break free. She'd swipe the hilltop soldiers aside with ease, then fly both of them to safety, somewhere far away where the Cornerians would never find them.
The vixen stirred at the sound of his voice. Her head twisted towards him, eyes searching his face in confusion.
His eyebrows raised worriedly. "Krystal… don't you know me? It's Fox…"
Her eyes opened fully now—but when they did, he didn't recognize them. Her whole face seemed to glow with a strange aura. Whoever this was, he'd never seen her before in his life—and she'd never seen him. She narrowed her eyes, growling in the back of her throat and drunkenly struggling against her bindings. He lurched back in surprise, but the scientists rushed her along.
And that was all Fox could take.
He sank to his knees, mouth opening as tears sprang to his face. Even Krystal had abandoned him.
He was alone.
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The knife weakened its hold on Bill's neck. It was now or never, he realized.
The canine wrenched himself free from Fox's grasp, rolling away. Still bleeding at the neck, he dove for the body of the nearest fallen soldier. There wasn't time to pull the rifle out from beneath his bloodied torso, so instead he went for the smaller blaster holstered at his waist. He slipped it free, then turned to aim it up at Fox.
The todd was already upon him, crouching over him with the knife extended, about to run him through. But at the last instant, Fox hesitated, meeting the bulldog's eyes.
Bill pulled the trigger.
The laser blast went off, the pistol burning a hole between Fox's ribs. The vulpine seized up, surprise on his face. He straightened on his knees, dropping the knife at Bill's feet. He looked at his canine friend in confusion, surprised he'd actually shot him.
It was only when Bill saw the blackened, sizzling hole in Fox's chest that he realized the pistol was set to a lethal charge. Having used his rifle the whole time, the fallen soldier had neglected to change his handgun's setting to stun as well.
The vulpine teetered on his knees, then fell backwards, clutching at his wound while his eyes fluttered closed.
For a moment, Bill simply lay atop the body of his fallen comrade, staring at the friend he'd fatally wounded.
He couldn't believe he'd done it; he'd actually shot Fox.
The sound of whirring reached his ears, signaling the holo-drone's approach.
"Excellent work, Captain Grey. That was a daring move you pulled. Pepper would be proud; you finally managed to apprehend Fox McCloud."
Growling, Bill grabbed the drone and pulled it away—and Makepeace's hologram with it. He brought it into a secluded spot in the garden where the soldiers couldn't hear them talking.
"What was that back there?!" he demanded.
"Captain, I'm… sorry I had to do that. I'm sorry I had to wager your life for 28's, but it was a completely necessary gamble. If our positions were reversed, I'm sure you would have made the right call and sacrificed me for 28 if it came down to it."
"No, I wouldn't have!" Bill snarled, "But now, I think I would—gladly!"
"What's gotten into you, Captain?" Makepeace rebuked.
"It was easy for you to sacrifice a soldier you didn't even know. It was harder for me to betray one I counted as my closest friend! You don't know what it means to sacrifice someone you loved."
"On the contrary, today I very nearly sacrificed two soldiers—each of whom I understand deeply, and admire greatly. I think it's a shame that had to happen to Fox. He was a good man. And I'm sorry you had to do what you did."
"You used me like some sort of pawn! You don't have any respect for me, and you never did."
"Not a pawn, Bill: a knight. We all have pawns beneath us, while we're pawns to those above us, and even they are pawns to those above them. You do as you're told, and you turn around and tell others what to do, too. Sometimes you must sacrifice a few pieces to win the game. Your only hope is to serve your purpose, and maybe, just maybe be promoted to queen when you reach the other side. You know this, don't you? I don't see why you're complaining. If you sacrifice the lives of your men to get what you want, why do you find it so hard to accept when it comes time for you yourself to be sacrificed? Isn't that hypocritical?"
Bill's arguments crumbled like ash in his throat, dying before they reached his tongue.
"You did a noble yet difficult deed today. If you can't take pride in that, settle for feeling nothing at all, like you usually do—but don't feel shame or guilt. You were merely accomplishing the task given you."
Bill wanted to push back, but a soldier and scientist approached them, saluting.
"Sir, we've lost 19. She appears to have escaped during the attack."
The canine swallowed; he hadn't broken the news to Makepeace yet.
"Thank you, I'm aware. I already reported her escape to Lieutenant Miyu."
The soldier showed him the collar that had been around 19's neck. "We found her tracker on the edge of the field outside the forest. There's no way she managed to get it off herself. Only authorized personnel—such as you, captain—know the combination."
Bill sucked in a breath, trying not to betray himself with a glance at Makepeace. "Is it possible one of the psychic Cerinians unlocked it for her?"
"It is indeed possible," Makepeace answered before the handler scientist could.
"Sir, we could send out a squad of soldiers to comb the fields for her, but it may take all night."
Bill shook his head. "Leave her. She has no more value to the Cerinia project; her only remaining power was finding 28. She served her purpose and is useless to us. Unless you think we should linger on Cerinia, Doctor?"
He turned to Makepeace's hologram, who kept her expression neutral. "No, you are correct. She has served her purpose. We have what we came for: Cerinian 28, and McCloud. It's not worth prolonging our stay here."
Bill sighed inwardly, relieved. But he had another thought. "And what of Cerinian 18? The villagers upheld their end of the bargain. You don't intend to unleash him on the valley, do you?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Like 19, 18 has also served his purpose and outlived his usefulness. We will leave the shuttle carrying his cell behind as we make our departure aboard the Justice. When we leave the atmosphere, we'll euthanize 18 and drop his body out in the desert."
Another relief—but still, another life for him to sacrifice.
"…Very well. In that case, we'll finish gathering the wounded and dead and return to the Justice—along with Cerinian 28 and… Fox."
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Fox's eyes flickered open. He came to after the initial shock from the gunshot, but he knew he wouldn't be staying conscious for long—let alone living.
A group of Cornerian medics was loading him onto a stretcher. One quickly began applying a healing gel to the wound in his chest before wrapping bandages around it—only a temporary solution till they could operate. What was the use? he thought to himself. Why keep him alive? They were probably going to execute or exile him anyway. Why not just let him die…
The others meanwhile strapped him in, binding his arms and legs to his sides. His limbs and neck were so weak he couldn't lift them even if they weren't strapped down. The pain in his chest came in ebbs and flows, each wave of intensity threatening to drown him in unconsciousness again, but he gritted his teeth, trying to stay awake. If he fell asleep he might never wake back up, meaning these could be his last moments alive. He needed to know how it all ended. If there was one more chance to save Krystal—one more opening—he wanted to be awake for it. But it was so hard staying conscious through the pain.
He felt arms lifting his stretcher up, then carrying him across the lawn into the shadow of a transport shuttle. Through blurry eyes he could make out its familiar shape, and in the distance behind it, a large Cornerian battleship floating before the setting sun—his ultimate destination. Never before had he been so disheartened to see a Cornerian space cruiser.
But before they could carry him aboard the shuttle, they had to bring Krystal up the gangplank first. He saw a group of scientists lifting her stretcher up with the vixen lying in a daze atop it. Makepeace's holo-drone floated up alongside it, overseeing her transfer like a doting mother—though now he knew she lacked the heart.
Summoning all his strength, Fox spoke—but it was difficult expelling air from his lungs, and his voice came out strained.
"You can't do this. You have no right to. Krystal's a free person, like all of us."
The holo-drone turned to face him, and Makepeace's voice answered.
"Silly Fox, we have every right. Andross created 28 as a test-tube baby. She has no parents or relatives; her progenitors were anonymous donors only looking to make a quick buck. They never met her, much less each other. That means the Cerinia project is her only legal guardian. She was bred for one purpose: to become the most powerful source of psychic energy the world has ever seen. To that end, her DNA, her genes, her very lifeblood was edited, meaning under Cornerian law we own the patents for her. If you think you have any legal basis from which to oppose us, think again.
"This girl you call 'Krystal' is ours now."
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MISSION FAILED
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Author's Note:
And now we've come full circle to where the story left off a year and a half ago. The rewrites and edits are finished! Time to move on!
I'm still in the plotting phases of Act III. I have an inordinate amount of material planned, and trying to fit all my ideas into something cohesive is mind-flooding me. It may be a while before the first chapter shows up because of that, but overall I think I'll have Act III completed in two or three years.
I'd like to thank all my new readers who started with the rewrites, all my old readers who've been with the story since the original version, and everyone who's reviewed, commented, faved, or followed! And a big, special thanks to Erold for beta-reading the majority of Acts I and II; that's at least 300k words!
See you in Act III,
-Elarix