Star Fox: The Harmony of the Many

by NamaFox

The Aparoid Wars are over, and the Lylat System is recovering. Team Star Fox receives a distress call from just beyond the edge of the Lylat System. What starts as a rescue mission soon becomes something much more than the team anticipated. Fox McCloud soon finds himself contending with horrors beyond imagination, and it will take all his wits and courage just to survive.

9. Chapter 8 - The Doctor

When Fox finally came to, he found himself in a somewhat similar situation to how he had woken up earlier that day. He was in another operating room, lying on another table. He tried raising his arms in order to prop himself up, but he quickly found that he couldn't move. His wrists were strapped to the table! Well, that was one thing different from the last time. It didn't bode well at all.

He started to twist and wriggle, but his restraints kept him securely in place. He was barely able to move. His legs were fastened with some thick leather straps around his ankles, and his arms were bound by similar straps around his wrists, tight enough that they offered almost no movement whatsoever. He struggled and strained against them, but it was no use. He wasn't budging.

He was also naked. Again. What was it with people taking off his clothes today? This was the second time he'd been stripped since he came to this blasted ship, and this time, they hadn't even provided him the courtesy of a hospital gown. He was in his bare fur, completely exposed. Sure, he occasionally had dreams in the past where someone took off his clothes, and those were rather pleasant fantasies, but he was reasonably certain this particular "dream" was going to take a very, very different turn than the ones he'd had in private. He was quite certain that this dream would be the kind that he'd wish he could wake up from.

His heart was beating at a much faster rate than normal, and he could hear it thumping loudly in his head, almost deafening in volume and intensity. His breath came out in ragged, panicked inhalations as he looked around, searching for help.

He was definitely in surgery. No matter how he felt about the previous operation he'd had, where that neural interface had been grafted into his skull without his consent, he had the deep seated suspicion that this was going to be much, much worse. The walls were stained with dried blood, and he could see in the flickering light a few surgical implements, some of them old and archaic in use, stained with yet more blood. It was like waking up in an old horror film. Only this was real.

The lights continued to flicker, making it difficult to see much of anything in the room. There was a large round light above him, likely used to illuminate the patient for the surgeon as he worked. It was currently off, but the other lights in the room were on, though there was clearly some sort of problem or malfunction that was causing them to flicker like that, not at all steady as they should be.

The only sound that greeted his ears was emanating from the various bits of machinery in the room. There were a couple of computers nearby, one of them a terminal embedded into the wall. It was of no help to him right now. It was too far away. Aside from that, the room was silent. There was no sign of his assailant. Aside from the rapid beating of his heart, the alarmed rate of his own breathing, and the sound of power flowing through the room, he could hear nothing. It was completely and totally silent. He found this more than a little unnerving.

The silence wouldn't last, however. He'd soon wish it had. "Ahhhh! You're awake! Welcome back to the land of the living!" Fox turned his head from side to side, trying to get a view of the speaker. His head movements were a little limited with him being restrained on the table, and he couldn't catch a glimpse of whoever was talking to him, try as he might. That didn't seem to stop the speaker from continuing. "I was wondering how long it would take you. Now that I've got you prepped, it's only a matter of proceeding with the operation."

Fox grunted as he strained against his bindings, then growled, "What operation?"

"Why, to cure you of course! To remove that parasite from your head! I'm going to set you free, just like the others!"

"I don't -have- a parasite in my head. I'm Fox McCloud, I'm here to help."

"Tisk tisk!" The unseen speaker tutted. "Nonsense! We're all infected, you know. Save for myself. You've heard them, haven't you? Heard their voices in your head? Almost everyone has. That was the first sign, you know. And they all went, one by one. Willingly, you understand. Almost all of them. Too late for them, can't save them. But I can save us. The rest of the crew. I can save us!"

Fox grew more frantic in his attempts to locate who was speaking. There was something very off about their manner of speech. It wasn't just the wording that he chose to use. It was his voice, his inflection. It wasn't like the other hybrids he'd faced, that much was true. There was something else off about it, though. He was speaking in such a strange tone, his words occasionally speeding up, then slowing down. Calm one moment, then excited. Slow, then agitated. Fox had to ignore it for now, try to appeal to the person, to make them see sense. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I'm not infected. I'm not one of those things that have taken over the ship, I'm trying to stop them."

"Commendable! But that's just what they would have me believe, isn't it?" He gave a quiet, unpleasant chuckle. He was close. He was very close, but Fox still couldn't see him. "No, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make sure. Don't worry...it won't hurt. I mean, okay, it -will- hurt, but it will eventually pass! One way or the other."

"Yeah, no, I'm not doing that. Get me out of this thing." Fox strained against what was holding him, trying in vain to force his way out. It wasn't going to happen, he couldn't move an inch. He was securely tied to the operating table, and no amount of force was going to get him out. He decided to keep talking, try to buy some time. "I don't need an operation, I'm fine."

"Oh yes, that's what they all say, isn't it? They're fine, they can handle it, they're still in control...then they turn on you. Then you see what they're truly capable of. Can't take chances. No no no no no. And I've seen enough...we're all infected. All of us. It's just a matter of time." There was a moment's pause, then the doctor, or whoever he was, continued. "Unless you're cured, of course. Or you're strong of will. Like me. The cancer must be rooted out..."

"I keep telling you, I'm -not- infected!" Fox was practically shouting now, turning his head from left to right, trying to get a look at his captor in the flickering shadows. "I'm Fox McCloud, I'm here to rescue you! We've got a ship nearby. I can take you somewhere safe, and we can-"

"NO!" The shout was as powerful as it was final in its tone. "No! There is no escape. I am the only cure. I will save this crew! You...you are already infected. I can tell!"

Fox took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to clear his thoughts. He had to approach this carefully, to try and be diplomatic. "Look, the only infected members of the crew I've run into had worms of some kind or...or whatever those things are, lodged in the base of their skull. I don't have one of those, now do I?" Fox tried to keep the conversation going, tried to reason with the man, but he already knew where this was headed. Whoever this guy was, he seemed to have lost his grip on his sanity. And unfortunately, it seemed as though he had taken the medical ward over as his personal clubhouse, or at least the surgical wing. Maybe that was why there were so few hybrids looking for him on this deck. "We can talk about this. I'm not here to hurt you. Let me out of this thing, and we'll see what happens from there."

"Oh, I intend to let you out, 'Fox McCloud'. If that's your real name, which I very much doubt." It was at this moment that the good doctor finally chose to appear, his shape manifesting itself from the darkness at the edge of the room. He was dressed from top to bottom like a surgeon preparing to operate. A green surgical gown, a mask, even the cap that surgeons wore over their heads. He had some kind of apron on. Fox couldn't tell what color it used to be as he stepped into the flickering light. Green or blue, probably. Now stained with blood, some of it old and faded, while other smears appeared to be still moist. In fact, almost all of his clothes were stained with blood, even his fur! Whoever he was, he'd been busy. He tugged his mask down for a moment, grinning at Fox. "I'll let you go when the operation is concluded and not a moment sooner."

Fox now had a better look at the man, despite the malfunctioning lights. Now he could tell what the man actually looked like. He was a cat, feline, with orange fur and a long tail that occasionally flicked behind him. He didn't appear to be terribly old. In fact, he looked to be about Fox's age. Which made Fox suspect that whoever this was, he was most unlikely to be the chief of surgery. Either a surgeon working under him or...or maybe not even a surgeon at all, just some some sort of assistant or nurse.

What Fox noticed foremost about him had nothing to do with his species or build or any other features like that. Rather, it was his face. More specifically, the smile he had, the glint in his eye. The cat looked as though he had become unhinged. The smile was wide and somewhat unnatural looking. And there was something in his eyes, a glint of what Fox surely imagined to be madness. Of course, maybe he was just reading all of this because he had been drugged, dragged over to this operating theater and was about to be...he didn't even know what. But whatever it was that was planned, it was bad. This doctor, if he even was a doctor, was out of his mind.

Or maybe...maybe this person was the one mentioned in the doctor's audio log, the one described as unstable. Who was it again? He racked his brain trying to remember. Just before the doctor reached him, the name popped back into his mind and escaped his muzzle in the form of a question. "Draco?"

The doctor paused as if surprised by Fox's utterance. It must have been the correct guess. "Have we...met before?" The doctor asked as he approached, his head tilted slightly to the side as he studied Fox, his eyes roving up and down his body. Fox closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying not to think about it. The man had little in the way of boundaries, and he seemed to be fascinated with every part of Fox's anatomy.

"No. Your...colleague left a message for me."

Draco's eyes lit up in comprehension. "Ah, you mean Doctor Kline. Yes, yes...pity what happened to him."

"You killed him." Fox declared flatly.

The cat looked at him, the grin momentarily fading. But the madness never left his eyes, Fox was certain of that. The cat bared his teeth for a moment, giving a little growl. "It wasn't...my fault. He insisted. I was trying to save people, he kept trying to stop me. He got in the way, called security. He said I wasn't well. He said I was infected. I told him I was fine, I told him I could help the others. I had to save lives. It was for the greater good! So I..." He paused, closing his eyes for a moment and gritting his teeth. "I did what was necessary. And I've cured so many since." He returned his gaze to Fox, the grin having returned.

"If you want to save people, then let me go. My team is on a rescue mission. We're going to get people out of here, away from all this." Fox desperately tried to reason with the cat, hoping against hope that he could strike something even remotely resembling reason or conscience within him.

But the doctor wasn't listening. "Magnificent specimen," he commented, standing by Fox now, staring down at him. He laid two of his fingers on Fox's chest and slowly let them glide down his torso, then his belly, only stopping just before reaching anything more sensitive. Was he...admiring his body? The thought made Fox feel a bit ill. Fox found himself glaring at Draco as the doctor continued. "You are in excellent shape, you know that?" He gave Fox a little pat on the belly, even a bit of a rub, causing Fox to snarl at the unwelcome touch. "I'm sure if I gave you a physical, you'd pass with flying colors. Who did you say you were again?"

Fox frantically tried to think of a way out of the situation. He squirmed and strained against what was holding him, but he still couldn't get away, could barely move! "I'm Fox McCloud of Star Fox. And I'm NOT infected!"

"Yes, that's what they all say." The grin widened as he corrected himself. "Well, not about being Star Fox. You're the first to make that particular declaration. I suspect insanity, delusions brought upon you by the parasitic influence. And you do not have to show physical symptoms in order to be infected, you know. They hear the voices first. It sings to us and..." The doctor paused, then shook his head, making a low growling sound. He then corrected himself. "It sings to them. To all the infected. Oh yes. The worm comes later. At first, it infiltrates. It grows inside the body for a while, slowly taking over the central nervous system. It influences actions and even thoughts, but it does not control. Not directly." As he spoke, he continued to trace his finger up and down Fox's torso. It was a repulsive sensation, feeling the mad cat's paws on his body. The doctor continued. "Eventually it bursts out of the upper back and attaches directly to the base of the skull, though I have seen it connect to the side, wrapped around the neck. It can go anywhere, really. But the brain is the final destination. It bores a hole through the skull and into the brain, and that is where all resistance ceases. One becomes a puppet and a slave of the Many."

"The...Many?" Despite the situation he was in, Fox found himself raising an eyebrow at the doctor's curious term. In any other situation, he'd be grateful for the information. This Draco seemed to have a fair knowledge of the infection that had taken over this ship. Though of course Fox had to question just how reliable this information was. But he wasn't thinking much of that right now. He found himself looking for anything to focus on other than the doctor's invasive touch. He asked a question, hoping to distract the doctor. "What many?"

"You don't know?" The doctor tilted his head, regarding him with his own curious look. It didn't seem to be an act, the doctor was genuinely surprised. "Hmm...maybe you -aren't- infected. Maybe you truly aren't from this ship." For a brief moment, Fox got his hopes up, perhaps thinking that maybe the situation wouldn't escalate any further. Though even if the doctor let him go now, Fox was going to personally introduce his head to the floor. Repeatedly.

Alas, such hopes were in vain. The doctor simply shrugged his shoulders and continued on. "Or you're lying. You know my name, after all. It's just as likely that you're a member of the crew. And you're just trying to talk your way out of a perfectly ordinary operation."

"There's -nothing- ordinary about this." Fox practically spat the words at the cat.

"Well, you know what they say. Desperate times and all that." The doctor shrugged, then pushed a little table up against the operating table that Fox was strapped to. He got a decent look at it, at all of the instruments that were upon it. Items that, in the hands of a skilled surgeon, could save lives. But this maniac? Fox had no doubt as to what was coming, unless he did something fast. He'd be unlikely to survive this operation, and even if he did, he'd probably wish that he hadn't. All he could think about now was that corpse he had found above, the lobotomized doctor. The marks of surgery on his head. That blank stare. The thought did not fill him with hope.

"Well, enough talk. I've wasted enough time, and I'm sure there will be other patients for me to see today. And I'm grossly understaffed, so I've got to do most everything myself. I'd say I'm doing pretty well, wouldn't you?"

"Screw you." Fox growled at the man.

The man clucked his tongue disapprovingly a few times, shaking his head. "A life saving operation and this is how I'm repaid? What a pity." He hovered his paw over those surgical implements. There were so many there. Scalpels and knives, forceps, pliers, things that he didn't even know the names of. A nasty looking bone saw, covered with dried blood. Needles and pins. None of it was clean. Even if Fox miraculously survived the operation, he'd probably die of infection later.

He did notice one thing, however. He had placed the table, perhaps without realizing it, close to Fox's hand. Awfully close. Thus far, Fox hadn't truly tried to resist, so maybe the doctor had let his guard down. That or he just didn't think that Fox was a threat. Fox wanted to say that he'd been in scrapes worse than this, but he couldn't think of one off the top of his head. As much as he would try to hide it, he was scared right now. He was now vulnerable and exposed before an insane doctor. He hadn't even felt like this during the Lylat Wars, against another insane scientist, the one with an entire fleet at his back. But then, he'd always had his Arwing, and he never felt more secure than when he was in the cockpit of his ship.

This was more personal. And he had only one chance to escape. A slim chance. There were so many things that could go wrong. If he screwed up, he doubted very much he would get a second opportunity.

The doctor turned away from Fox, approaching a nearby sink before turning the water on. He started to wash his paws, cleaning them up nice and thoroughly, whistling to himself as he did so. As the doctor was distracted, Fox squirmed in his restraints, careful not to make too much noise. He stretched his arm, flailing his wrist and reaching, reaching, reaching. So close. There was a knife lying there, it was almost in his hands now. He was so close...

Just before his fingers clamped upon the handle, there was a loud electronic alarm that blared from the nearby computer. Fox immediately drew his hand back, just in time for the doctor to turn around. Had the doctor set up some kind of alarm in case Fox moved too much?

But no, the doctor didn't seem concerned with him. He approached the nearby monitor, studying it for a moment before looking back up at Fox. He was wearing his surgical mask now, his expression once more hidden. "My apologies, someone has tripped the sensor in this area, just as you did. I'm afraid we have guests. I'll have to find and subdue them, then I'll take care of both of you. Such a shame we're understaffed. Have to do everything myself, you know?" With a casual shrug of his shoulders, the doctor left Fox strapped in the operating room.

Fox waited a few moments before acting, his ears perked up and listening very closely to the sound of the doctor's receding footsteps. The alarm had stopped, and he was left in silent darkness once more. After taking a deep breath, Fox continued with his attempt to escape. He reached for those surgical tools, squirming, wriggling, writhing in his restraints in order to try and get his hand in the right position.

It felt like it took forever, and his arm was burning from the strain. He was going to be feeling this later. But it would be much, much more pleasant than whatever awaited him if he didn't escape. He tried to grab for one of the tools, but his paw fell just short. The tip of his fingers brushed against the edge of the table. So close! But not close enough! He winced as he tried harder. He thought he heard something pop in his arm as he shifted some more. Pain was shooting through his wrist and shoulder.

His fingers fell upon something cold and metal. He couldn't get a good grip on it, but it was so close to him now. He could feel it! He tried to move it, to slide it gingerly into his paw, but he pulled too hard, and it threatened to spill over the edge. Somehow, he wasn't even sure how he did it, he managed to catch it between his forefinger and thumb just before it would have clattered to the floor. He winced as he did this, as he apparently caught the thing by the blade. He felt it cut through his fur and into his flesh, drawing blood. But he didn't let go. He tried to keep his grip somewhat loose, but he HAD to hold onto this tool. Slowly, so slowly, he withdrew it from the table, bringing it to his wrist. Groaning from the pain now in his sliced up fingers, he twisted the scalpel in his grip until he was holding it correctly. Then he placed it to the restraints, hoping against hope that this worked.

Would he be able to get the proper leverage? It was obviously sharp, as it had cut through his paw rather easily, but how tough were these straps? They -felt- like leather, but what if they were some kind of expensive, durable material that couldn't be cut? Even with a knife, he wasn't necessarily free.

At first, his fears seemed to be well grounded. He wasn't able to make much progress on the thing. It would help if he could see what he was doing, but the lights had gone dark as soon as the doctor had left the room. There was the faint glow coming from the monitors, but that wasn't enough illumination to help him. He had to figure this out on his own. He shifted a little, trying to find a better angle to cut the thing. It did NOT help that his arm was in so much pain now. He might have dislocated his shoulder during that process. He didn't think so, or perhaps merely hoped that he hadn't, but it still hurt like heck.

The straps weren't giving. What were they made of? And what the heck was he going to do if he couldn't get out? Just wait for the doctor to return? He had no idea how long the doctor would be. How much time had passed since he left? Fox wasn't sure. It could have just been a few seconds. Or maybe it had been minutes. He simply wasn't sure how long he'd been at this. Did it really matter? The cat would be back sooner or later. He didn't have time to waste!

Come on... He was begging in his mind. He wasn't sure who or what he was begging. The knife? The strap? Himself? Come on...just...a little more!

And then he felt it! The knife made progress, tearing through the strap! Once it started to tear, once the knife began its incision, the rest was much easier. It was still awkward positioning his fingers correctly and getting the right leverage, but it worked. At last he could move his hand!

With a sigh of relief, he started working on his other wrist. This was much easier to free, even though his arm throbbed in pain. It didn't take long at all for him to free his other hand. Once that was done, he used both hands to get a grip on the restraint on his chest. He placed the knife under, then tugged up, letting the blade slice it in half. Yes! He was doing it! He was so close to freedom!

Thump.

He heard something. He wasn't sure what that was. A footstep? Something falling over? A door? He didn't know! He had to move fast!

Sitting up, he started to work on the straps tying his ankles to the operating table. It didn't take him long, it was so much easier now that both hands were free, along with his chest. Two quick slashes were enough to do the trick. He was free!

Not a moment too soon. He heard a series of thumps growing closer and closer. Footsteps. He didn't know for certain that it was the doctor, but that seemed the most likely possibility. He didn't have time to look around for his gear or equipment, and that meant he was still buck-naked. Shame was the least of his concerns at the moment.

There was only one door, only one way out. It was the direction the doctor was coming from. His mind raced as he attempted to come up with possible ways to fight back. Hiding wasn't much of an option, there wasn't a lot of cover in here. When the lights flickered on, he'd be impossible to miss. No, it wasn't an option at all. He could hide behind the door with his scalpel. That might work, but it would depend on how the doctor entered, how alert he was and how quickly he realized that Fox wasn't on the table. As he thought about it, that seemed to be his best chance. He would lurk behind the door, weapon in hand, then stab the doctor as he entered. Normally he would feel some degree of trepidation for killing someone in cold blood, especially in close quarters, but this was life and death. It was him, or Draco. He couldn't afford to hesitate.

The footsteps drew closer. Closer. Closer! They were so close now, right outside the door. Fox's body felt so tense, like a spring that had been coiled up and was ready to release in an explosion of energy. His grip shifted on his knife, ready to deliver a killing blow.

Closer. Closer!

And then...further away. He blinked, his eyes widening as he realized that whoever it was had walked past the operating room, not into it. Why did he not go inside? Where was he going, what was he doing?

Fox didn't have time to worry about that right now. He had an opportunity to get out of here, and that was precisely what he intended to do. His hand reached for the door panel on the wall, hoping against hope that the thing hadn't locked behind the doctor. He breathed a sigh of relief when the door slowly slid open with a faint hiss. He was free!

He suddenly realized he couldn't hear the footsteps anymore. Had he passed out of earshot, or had they just stopped? He wasn't sure. He leaned forward, peeking out of the room and trying to catch a glimpse of the doctor or listen for any sign of his passing. The entire area was dark, a few lights occasionally flickering to provide scant illumination. This place seemed like it was falling apart faster than the rest of the ship. He could only imagine why.

His heart beat like a drum, thumping loudly in his chest, and he licked his lips as he tried to moisten his muzzle a bit. His mouth felt so dry right now. He watched and listened, hoping to catch some sign of the doctor before he was surprised again. But there was nothing, nothing but total silence. Fox couldn't afford to just wait around for something to happen. He needed to move!

He took a tentative step outside of the operating room, half expecting the doctor to leap out at him, or to feel those paws on his face once more, gassing him into unconsciousness. But nothing came. The corridor went in two directions, curving to the left and to the right. Those footsteps had gone further down to the right, and Fox had no intention of following them, certainly not as he was. He needed some equipment first. His eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkened corridors. He couldn't see much, but he had a vague idea of what was in front of him. He wished he had that PDA device right now, a map would be useful. A light would be great too. Still, he would have to do without those things for now, creeping forward slowly and keeping low, just in case the doctor was lurking nearby. There was no telling what that fiendish feline was capable of.

Footsteps again. Fox pressed himself against the wall, listening closely. They originated from the direction he came from, the direction those mysterious footsteps had gone earlier. Whoever it was seemed to be coming back now. Fox pressed himself against the wall and started to shimmy to the left, trying to keep himself as inconspicuous as possible. If the doctor kept coming (If indeed it was the doctor), there was no way he'd miss Fox. This was about to be a mad dash for freedom.

Thankfully, the footsteps stopped again, where Fox would guess the operating room was. He breathed a sigh of relief to know that they weren't following him any further. He then remembered that the doctor would shortly know that Fox had escaped.

No sooner had the thought entered his mind than he heard the doctor loose a blood curdling scream of absolute rage. He then shouted "SECURITY ALERT!" The effect was instantaneous. The hallway was suddenly bathed in flashing red lights, and Fox heard a number of alarms sound. He thought he could hear something slamming in the distance, probably doors being locked down, preventing his escape. He couldn't see them, though. And he had no map. He'd be stumbling around blind.

He didn't have much time to react, either. His mind was still processing everything when he heard the rapid footfalls of the doctor. He turned just in time to see the feline's form come into view. The doctor's eyes were wide with a mixture of rage and frustration. Fox wasn't sure if he'd seen him yet or not, but that question was soon answered when the doctor pointed at him with a mad gleam in his eyes. "YOU!" He shrieked. "GET BACK HERE!" It took Fox a moment to realize that the doctor wasn't simply pointing at him. He was holding something in his hand. His subconscious apparently registered it before the rest of his mind did, as he found himself diving away from the doctor.

Just in time, too. The roar of a discharged weapon filled the room, and a laser blast impacted right where Fox would have been standing half a moment ago. Apparently, the doctor was a decent shot. Fan-friggin-tastic. Fox thought to himself, scrambling to his feet and dashing down the hallway. He couldn't possibly match the doctor in a fight right now. He would quite literally be bringing a knife to a gunfight. He knew how well that was likely to end.

More laser blasts screamed past him, narrowly missing the fleeing fox. He could hear the doctor yelling behind him as he gave chase. "We haven't finished your operation! You're a danger to yourself and everyone else! I'm trying to HELP you!" That last statement was punctuated with yet another blast, sparks bursting out of the wall a mere few inches from Fox's head.

"Whatever happened to 'do no harm'?!" Fox managed to shout before ducking and charging down a straight hallway. Fox was still in excellent shape, and he managed to put enough distance between himself and the doctor that he had lost visual contact with him.

Unfortunately, the hallway he was in led straight to a dead end. The area was firmly sealed, locked down in accordance with the alert that the fiend had shouted. Not good. Not good at all. He quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for some sort of escape. There were a few rooms in here, the signs flickering on and off. One of them was just a storage closet, that wouldn't help him any. He would have nowhere to go if he were caught. Not that any of his other prospects looked much better, of course.

His eyes lighted upon a bigger room, one that might have other rooms that he could escape through. It looked like a room for prepping people for surgery. His mind immediately went to the first words he ever heard the doctor say, but he had no choice here. He had to go in. The door was open, not locked down. Apparently whatever alert that the doctor had initiated only locked the way out of the ward itself, not every door within.

He went inside just in time to avoid the doctor's attention. Draco ran right up to the door at the end of hallway, then slammed his fist against it before whirling around, shouting for Fox to hear. "Where are you?! I know you didn't get out!" Fox could see him turning his head wildly, searching for any sign of Fox. His voice lowered to a more calm tone as he proceeded, his words chilling Fox to the bone. "Come out...I promise this won't hurt. I can't help you if you won't come to me."

Fox stayed very still, motionless. The doctor was still looking for him, and it was only a matter of time before he searched this room. If he found Fox, it would be all over. He'd either get shot by the mad doctor, or he'd be subdued. He wasn't sure which was worse. Though as the doctor continued ranting, he decided it surely must be the latter.

"Why are you being so difficult?! Why won't you let me help you?! I...I...I will...I won't listen!" Fox had no idea what he was talking about. His ramblings made no sense. He wasn't even sure that he was talking to Fox at this point. "I"m not...listening to you! I won't hear you! No! Get out of my head! I am in control! I am the cure! You will NOT control me!" And just like a mad scientist out of a bad horror movie, the doctor cackled. There was a twisted mirth in it, the likes of which could only come from the insane.

The voice was getting more erratic. Fox didn't know why, not for certain. Fox thought the cat sounded unhinged before, but it just kept getting worse. Whatever control he exhibited seemed to only last only so long as nothing went wrong. Now that Fox had escaped, the doctor had abandoned any pretenses of civility, not that he had much to begin with. There was no question now, this Draco had completely lost his mind.

The doctor was still wandering around outside. He checked the janitor's closet, pressing the door panel with one hand, stepping back and leveling his weapon with the other. Of course the door opened to reveal nothing of consequence within.

This was Fox's chance. The doctor was not looking in his direction. Fox turned to the back of the room he was in. The door hissed open as soon as Fox stepped in front of it. Unfortunately, the noise was just loud enough to attract the attention of the doctor. Draco whirled around, a maniacal grin on his face. "There you are! Come now, we can still be friends! Just because I'm your doctor doesn't mean..."

Fox didn't bother to listen to the rest, slipping inside the other room and quickly trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. He heard the doctor running behind him, so he had to be quick. He had broken line of sight for the moment, so the doctor wasn't shooting at him, but his advantage wouldn't last long.

He had stepped into some kind of equipment room now. It looked like a place where they stored a bunch of the tools they needed for surgery, as well as surgical gowns and masks. Not much that would be of help at the moment. There had to be something of use around here. There had to be!

His eyes scanned the room as the doctor drew closer and closer. The room was dimly lit, and he could barely see. But there was something next to the door, something large and heavy. It looked like a locker of some kind, a big one. He came up with a plan. He hoped this worked and the thing wasn't bolted to the wall or floor or something.

He positioned himself on the side, then threw himself against the thing as hard as he could. It budged, but only just. Straining, he threw his entire strength into moving the thing, bracing his feet against the floor as he pushed with all of his might. Metal groaned as it shifted, dragging along the floor. The doctor was so close now. He was just about to enter the room. With a savage snarl, Fox threw himself against the metal cabinet again, pushing with every ounce of his might that he could draw upon. There was a metallic shriek as it scraped across the floor, and a shout of frustration from the doctor as it thudded against the far wall, blocking Draco from entering the room! Fox had done it!

No sooner had he barricaded the door than he saw it lurch from the force of the doctor's attack, striking at the thing as hard as he could. He was banging on it for a while, trying to move it with brute force. Thankfully, he wasn't as strong as Fox. Fox had no idea how long the thing would hold. The doctor would probably be able to get through sooner or later, but it had bought Fox precious time. Draco was screaming incoherently on the other side, trying to force his way in. Well, Fox wasn't about to just sit around and wait for that to happen.

He scanned the room he was in. There were two doors, one straight ahead opposite of the makeshift barricade, the other to his left. They was a sign above both of them, flickering in the dim light, but he had no idea what either of them meant. The one straight ahead just showed a door opening up. Or closing, he wasn't sure which. The other one showed what looked like a nurse standing over someone resting.

The banging on the door intensified. The cabinet was rocking back and forth from the force of the attack. It was now or never.

Fox decided on the door to the left. He'd try that first, take a quick look around, then try the other if it didn't look promising. He approached the door, pressed the switch, and waited for the door to open, his tail swishing anxiously behind him as he waited. The door was a little slower to open than it should have been.

Fox regretted his choice the second the door slid open. He had to raise his hand to his mouth to stifle a gag. He found himself staring into a room that he could only assume was where patients were prepared for surgery. It was a waiting area with beds and gurneys, and he couldn't imagine any other possible use for it.

But that was not what attracted his attention.

Laid out on the beds were a dozen bodies at least, all of them dead. Fox didn't have to check, he knew right away. Most of them had been carved open in a brutal and horrific manner. Some had their chest cavity ripped apart, revealing the red pulp of their interiors. Others had half of the skull missing, and one even had been decapitated. All of them the handiwork of a surgeon. Of Draco. Their expressions were frozen, all of them in mute horror and agony in their last moments, forever frozen in those final terrible emotions. It seemed not a single one of them had been put under before being operated upon. They must have felt everything. That Draco was nothing less than a monster.

The smell was unbearable, and Fox lifted his paw to his snout as he gagged. Draco must have been using this room as a makeshift morgue for his victims. He didn't know how long the bodies had been here. None of them had truly decomposed yet, they all looked somewhat fresh, but some had at least been dead long enough to create an overpowering stench.

He was not going in there. There was no friggin' way. He had to take the other door.

By now, the doctor was nearly through. He wasn't just pounding the thing, he was using his laser pistol to melt some of the metal. It was sturdy enough that his weapon couldn't just cut through it easily, but it was weakening fast. It wouldn't hold much longer. The metal was starting to melt. When the doctor threw himself against it again, it budged a little. Fox was out of time.

He entered the next room, barely even taking a moment to observe his new surroundings. He had to put as much distance as he could away from the doc. He didn't have time to wait. There was a part of him that wondered if he would only make the situation worse by running blind, but he couldn't imagine things being any worse than they already were. It was either run or stay to get butchered by the doctor.

He was in a long corridor now. He had no time to look at his surroundings, to take note of where he was going. He just ran as fast as he could. He heard the whine of laser fire behind him, took note of the sound of metal shrieking and slamming against the floor. He didn't even have to look back to know that the doctor had destroyed the barricade. Fox was directly ahead of him, with little room to maneuver.

He had no time to waste. He dimly realized that this hallway was familiar, and it didn't take long to figure out that he was in the same place he was before. As in, just outside the operating theater, where he first started running from the doctor. Crap.

He had no time to hesitate. He had to keep moving. He went back to where he had woken up, but he had no intention of going back inside the surgery room. Rather, he was looking for something in the other direction than he had initially taken. Maybe there was another room he could hide in. Or better yet, a way he could arm himself.

Once again he had gained a little bit of distance over his pursuer, just enough that the crazed cat couldn't see him. He kept at a near breakneck pace, his foot claws clacking loudly against the metal floor of the corridor. He raced past where he had woken up with the mad doctor standing over him and just kept going. He didn't even know where he was going, was just running almost blind through the place.

Once again, he came to the end of a hallway. He found two doors, one of them locked from the outside, electronically. It was one of those scanners that would read either cards or those PDA things, neither of which Fox had at the moment. He couldn't get in, and he didn't have time to fumble with the lock. He wondered if this was maybe where the doctor had gone to earlier, if he'd retrieved something or placed something in the locked room.

There was another room next to him. The sign above it was labeled it as "Laser Surgery." He hesitated for a moment, and then he heard those loud footfalls as the doctor came up from behind. He didn't have a choice. He'd have to go in. It wouldn't be much of a hiding place, but it would be better than standing out in the open.

The door wasn't locked, thankfully. As soon as it slid open, he darted inside. There was a panel on the inside, and he quickly tried to figure out how to lock the thing. It wasn't easy, and he wasn't even sure if he did it right. He took a step back and then looked around the room.

He didn't see much of use, but there was a lot of heavy machinery. There was a table in the middle of the room, and a large object positioned directly above it. Fox guessed that was the laser. It was a massive piece of machinery, with wires and cables running to either side of the room, with a number of computers which were presumably used to control the beam in addition to the rest of the equipment that powered the thing. He didn't see much of use in here.

He looked around for some tools, for something he could use as a weapon, but there wasn't anything to be found. The room was empty, barren. The place didn't appear as though it had been used in some time. Part of him wondered why the doctor hadn't tried to use this place instead for his operations, as surely the surgery would have been more precise and perhaps even less lethal. But then again, he doubted very much that logic had anything to do with the crazed cat's thought processes. Maybe the demented doctor enjoyed doing it by hand.

The sound of someone's fist slamming into the door startled him, a loud bang that echoed through the room. A few more bangs, then a frustrated growl.

Fox took one last look around the room. No way out. He was trapped! He'd cornered himself! He had to think of something, had to do something.

There had to be -something- in here, something he could use, some way he could fight back. But aside from the equipment for manning the laser, there was nothing in here.

That gave him an idea. It wasn't much of an idea, but it was something. He really hoped he wasn't about to do something colossally stupid.

He wasn't really a techie. He had a basic understanding of electrical components and the various devices that worked on his ship, but Slippy was the egghead, the one that had a deeper understanding of not just the "whats" of technology, but the "whys" and hows" too. Fox didn't really have that. He knew the basics and little more. So he hoped he'd be able to figure this out. The banging on the door served as a continuous reminder of the little time that he had left before the doctor broke through.

Fortunately, it wasn't that complicated. Everything on this ship had been designed to be sleek, state of the art, and powerful. More important, it was all designed to be easy to use. That was exactly what Fox needed right now.

There were a few simple instructions on the side of the laser device. First he had to initiate the thing, which would require the power to be turned on. His eyes scanned the room, looking for something obvious. Sure enough, in the far back of the room, there was a switch, connected to a power box. He scrambled towards the switch, seizing hold of it in one hand and slamming it down into the "On" position. There was a loud hum of power as it was transferred to the laser. It was on, but it wasn't doing anything yet.

He didn't have much time. The door was beginning to give. He heard another weapons discharge, wincing as parts of the door started to melt.

Then the doctor did something that Fox absolutely did not expect. He wasn't prepared for it. He couldn't possibly have prepared

"All around the medical bay..." He heard the doc start. He was singing! It was to the tune of an old nursery rhyme, one Fox vaguely remembered hearing when he was a kit.

"The kitty chased the star fox..."

Why were nursery rhymes so easily subject to being creepy? This was definitely one such occasion. Fox had to work fast, the doc would be inside any moment. He somehow doubted the song would have a happy ending.

One of the computer screens was flashing a warning, something about there not being an appropriate target selected. Fortunately, one of the options for it was to proceed anyway. As soon as Fox confirmed the command, another warning popped up, informing him of the danger of what he was about to do and that the company was not responsible for any injury, dismemberment, or death that might occur as a result.

"And when the fox had nowhere to run..."

Just shut up, Fox thought to himself. He confirmed the command again. Then he amped up the power to as high as he could possibly get it. The whine got louder and louder as the system charged to full capacity. Beyond full capacity! Now we're talking! He just needed a way to direct the beam, then he could...

Unfortunately, it was that very moment that the doctor managed to break in, discharging his weapon into the door's lock repeatedly. Sparks erupted from the blast, and the door's lock disengaged before sliding open.

"POP GOES THE STAR FOX!" The doctor was through the door immediately, opening fire in time with the conclusion of his song. Fox just barely managed to duck in time. A second later and his head would have been popped open from the weapon's discharge.

The doctor didn't seem to care much about collateral damage. He kept firing at where Fox had been standing moments ago, then started firing elsewhere, either hoping that Fox would pop his head up in time to catch a blast to the face or perhaps hoping to flush him out. Either way, he was destroying the rest of the equipment in the room and laughing while he did it.

Fox wasn't sure how he had intended to use the laser. It probably couldn't even be moved in the way that he hoped, to use it as some sort of weapon. But it looked like he was trapped in here facing a crazed doctor armed with some sort of energy weapon.

He took one look up from his crouched position at the damage the doctor was doing to the rest of the room. Panels were blowing out, sparks were flying. There was the sound of energy being discharged, of the power fluctuating wildly. Currents of electricity seemed to emanate from the now singed machinery. Judging by the high pitched sounds of energy buildup, Fox guessed that something bad was about to happen.

Hastily crawling away, Fox tumbled forward when something exploded behind him, emanating from whatever the doctor had just shot. Was he crazy?!

Wait, Fox knew the answer to that.

The explosion had rocked the doctor as well. Fox caught a glimpse of the doctor's feet as he moved unsteadily, caught off guard by the very explosion he had made.

This was his chance.

Leaping to his feet, Fox took a wild lunge at the doctor, attempting to tackle him. The doctor aimed his weapon, firing at Fox as he charged. The blast was so close that it singed the fur on Fox's cheek. Before Draco could get off another shot, Fox slammed his knee against the doc's gut, causing his breath to come out in a loud "OOF!", then Fox attempted to disarm the doctor, drawing his hand in a sharp, horizontal movement, putting as much force into it as possible. The weapon was dislodged, clattering to the floor and bouncing harmlessly into the nearby hallway.

For a moment, Fox thought this was going to be an easy fight. But the doctor recovered faster than he expected, headbutting Fox and sending him reeling. Before Fox could recover, the doctor tackled him, slamming him against the nearby equipment. Fox felt the doctor's fingers close around his neck, his crazed grin growing wider as he tried to strangle Fox.

The fox was surprised once more at the doctor's strength. Panicked thoughts raced through his mind. Was this mad cat unusually strong? Or was Fox just getting old, slowing down, weakening? He couldn't dislodge the doctor's grip, he had such a tight hold on his throat. He tried to pry him off with one hand while raising the other to grip the cat's face, trying to push him away. This only served to make the doctor redouble his efforts, all while hissing out, "You're all the same, you're all refusing treatment. I'm tired of being treated like the bad guy for doing my job!"

Fox tried to say something in response, but he couldn't even breathe. Just as he was on the verge of passing out, he managed to position his lower body in such a way that he could aim a vicious kick at the cat's waist. The force of the blow was enough for the crazed cat to release his grip on Fox, allowing him to gasp for much needed gulps of air. He didn't have time to pause, he had to bring the cat down and keep him down.

The doctor was still recovering from the low blow that Fox had just delivered, looking up just in time to catch Fox's fist square in the jaw. There was a satisfying crunch, Fox felt the blow connect almost perfectly. The doctor went reeling, sprawling out through the door and landing face-down in the hallway.

Right where the gun had gone.

Fox started toward the doctor when there was another explosion behind him, launching him forward. He managed to curl his body a little bit in mid air, turning it into a roll and minimizing the damage to himself. As he came to a stop, he got a better look of what was going on inside that room. He had assumed that with all of the explosions and damage being done in there, the power would shut down or the laser would go offline. The opposite seemed to be happening. Whatever was regulating the power of the beam must have broken, because the thing was at full strength, burning a sizable hole into the operating table. Some of the equipment was now on fire.

He absorbed and processed all of this information in less than a moment, turning his head to regard the doctor again, who was reaching for his fallen weapon. Before his fingers could close on it, Fox tackled him, causing the two of them to lurch forward, out of reach of the blaster that the doctor was intent on using.

Now with Fox on his waist, Fox tugged the doctor upwards and twisted his body around. The cat snarled at him before Fox's fist connected firmly with his face. He drew back his arm, then struck him again and again and again. He was getting real sick of this deranged feline, and he wasn't going to stop until he was absolutely certain that the doctor wasn't getting up again.

The doc seemed helpless, just holding his hands up in a submissive manner, even emitting a soft, pitiful mewling sound. It made Fox hesitate for a moment. Here he was sitting on top of someone, beating them senseless. He questioned himself, wondering how he could justify beating an otherwise defenseless and seemingly broken man into a bloody pulp. The doctor wasn't even moving now, his head having fallen back and his eyes rolled up, a pained gasp escaping his quivering lips. Fox's punches slowed, then eventually stopped. The doctor didn't move, didn't try to take advantage of the situation. He just made shallow and pained gasps for air.

There was a long silence, then Fox let out a heavy sigh. Jeez, he had almost killed the guy. And even though it was exactly what he deserved, Fox didn't like to think of himself as an executioner. There were plenty of rooms to lock him up in back here. Maybe he could do that. Either he'd go down with the ship, or he'd be brought to Corneria to stand trial after being rescued. Or maybe put in an asylum for the rest of his life.

Besides, it felt weird to be straddling the waist of a stranger while Fox was still completely nude.

Yup. He thought. I think we're done here.

He was still careful to keep his eyes on the doctor, as he had already underestimated Draco before. He shifted backward, slowly raising up while keeping the doctor within his sights. The cat never moved, his shaky, pained breaths escaping from his mouth as he lay there. What had seemed so evil and monstrous before now just seemed weak and almost helpless. Fox knew better, of course. He'd have to be locked up. And if he couldn't find a place to secure him, then...

Well, he'd worry about that when the time came. He was no executioner.

Sheesh, even after everything the cat had done, Fox started to feel guilty. But then, he'd never really been good at close encounters. Not just because of the skill or strength involved, he was more than capable. It just seemed so...personal, somehow. Even when the person deserved whatever was coming to them, Fox didn't like brawling. Falco had been in a few brawls, and he usually won, but Fox wasn't the kind. Shooting an enemy that was shooting back was certainly fine, but killing an unarmed person with his bare paws? Even if it was totally justified, even if it was a crazed maniac, it still felt wrong. With another sigh, he reached for the weapon. At least he was armed now.

His attention had been diverted from the doctor for less than a second. Not enough time for a broken man, no matter how strong or durable, to recover. But in that brief moment, the cat suddenly lurched forward and attacked Fox again, giving Fox a vicious blow to the head.

Apparently, the doctor hadn't been as broken as Fox thought.

He tried to fight back against him, but the attack was so sudden and so brutal that he wasn't able to react in time, finding his head slammed into the doorway. He groaned, then felt himself pressed against the table. There was a growing heat near his face, causing him to look up and stare at the oncoming laser at full power in the middle of the room, so unstable that the cylindrical device which focused the beam was shaking and wobbling from the raw power.

"Time...for your surgery!" The doctor crooned, cackling maniacally before adding in an almost sing-song voice, "You might feel a sting..." He leaned forward, wanting to whisper right in Fox's ear.

Fortunately, the doctor was making just as many mistakes as Fox was. He too was underestimating his opponent, and he'd maneuvered his head just in range. With a savage growl, Fox threw his elbow back, colliding with the doctor's face. The doctor howled in pain, his nose bloodied and almost certainly broken.

All hesitation was lost. The misplaced mercy that he had shown the doctor so recently was no longer available to him, as though a distant memory, a fleeting thought. He scrambled away from the cat, whirling around before reversing their positions, getting the doctor in front of him and pressing him against the table. He started pushing him forward, his grip tight, growling through clenched teeth as he inched the doctor closer and closer to the surgical beam. The cat squirmed, wiggled, struggled. He screamed as he drew closer. "NO! NO NOT LIKE THIS! PLEASE! I...PLE-AAAAHHHHHH!" His words descended into nothing but tortured shrieks as Fox brought his head close enough to the beam for it to singe his fur.

It was kill or be killed. Nothing more and nothing less. He couldn't afford to take any more chances. And with that, Fox thrust the cat forward, placing the doctor's head directly into the beam.

There was a loud, piercing shriek, a long scream as his skull was penetrated. The sound became distorted, changing in pitch, going lower and lower as the laser pierced his head. Fox's grip never loosened, never gave the doctor even a moment's reprieve.

At last the screaming stopped. The doctor's body slumped, relaxing in Fox's grip, no longer struggling anymore against him. It was over. At last, it was over.

Fox's grip loosened, letting the body fall to the ground. The cat's lifeless eyes stared in mute horror, his expression frozen in one of absolute agony. The laser had cut right down the middle of his face, practically splitting it in half, melting through the skull and into the soft brain tissue underneath. There was no blood though, the laser had cauterized the damage even as it created it. The gash went right down past his nose, a thick, blackened line of fur and flesh that only ended when it reached the middle of his upper lip.

The doctor wasn't getting up from that. Fox stood there over him, panting heavily before murmuring, "Still...better...than you...deserved."

Raising one of his hands to his face, Fox sighed wearily and shook his head. It shouldn't have ended like this. In truth, Fox shouldn't have hesitated in the first place, that was stupid. Now the doctor was dead anyway, all that hesitation had served in accomplishing was to give his enemy another chance at killing Fox.

What Fox had just done was absolutely justified, and Fox knew that. The doctor wouldn't have stopped. He was dangerous to anyone and everyone that he might come across. Even incapacitated, he would still have served as a threat. If he had recovered or escaped, there was no telling what he would have done. Fox had been right to kill him.

He did not have a choice. That didn't mean he had to like it.

The gradual increasing hum of power caused him to look up. The equipment was growing more unstable. He thought for a moment about maybe attempting to power it down, then he realized that whatever he had used to turn it on was nothing but sparking, burning metal now. The hum was growing louder, and the equipment had clearly been damaged well beyond repair. Judging by how unstable it all looked, by the sparks flying and bolts of electricity being discharged, there was about to be an explosion. A big one.

It would be a very bad idea to stay in here any longer. He was just about to run out when he remembered the lockdown, he'd be trapped in this section if he didn't have a key or access of some kind. Looking down at the lifeless body of the cat, his gaze settled on his wrist, one of those PDA's still attached to it. That might come in handy. Whether Fox found the one he had before or not, he could still make use of Draco's. He didn't have much time though, the sound was getting louder. He'd be caught in an explosion soon if he didn't hurry.

Fox found that the thing was firmly attached to Draco's wrist, strapped in and difficult to remove. He hissed through clenched teeth as he struggled with the thing. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run, to get away from the danger before he was consumed. And those instincts were right, he knew it. But he needed this thing. He was NOT going to spend the rest of his life, as short as it would likely be, trapped in the medical deck of this hell. He was getting out, no matter what!

At last he managed to work the device off the doctor's wrist, unstrapping it and tugging it free. It was just in time for the monitor on the far wall to explode in a shower of sparks. He leapt to his feet, then barreled for the exit.

As Fox raced for the door, he winced in pain. That blasted cat had gotten a few good hits on him, and he was feeling it. He made it out of the room, scooped up the gun that had been dropped, and then ran down the hallway. Moments after he cleared the room, there was a deafening explosion that seemed almost as though it rocked the ship itself, causing him to stumble forward and very nearly lose his balance. He caught a glimpse of the roaring flames and showers of sparks that flew through the door, the one he had just exited. Some sort of protective shutter closed over the room, sealing itself and the damage contained within. That voice spoke over the intercom again, the same one he had heard earlier when he first started to explore the ship. The one Aiten had referred to as DARIUS.

"Alert. Critical damage sustained to Laser Surgery Unit on Deck 2. Dispatching service droids immediately. For your own safety, all personnel please clear the area. Thank you."

Wonderful. That meant he could expect company in a little while. Of course, it didn't necessarily mean it was hostile, but with everything that had happened so far, he wouldn't be surprised if it was a group of heavily armed commandos intent on taking Fox's head on a literal platter. It was just one of those kinds of days.

He sighed, resting against the wall and slumping down so that his legs were sprawled out, panting heavily. He hurt all over. His wrist was in absolute agony, his entire body ached. His legs burned, and he felt the soreness resulting from several of the blows that the doctor had landed on him. Somehow, despite everything, Fox was still alive. The mad doctor was dead, Fox had his PDA and therefore access to at least some of the locks, and he could probably get out of here now.

He then recalled what had happened when he found himself strapped to the operating table. How there had been an intruder and the doctor had gone to take care of it. A short time later, the doctor had wheeled something by. Or perhaps someone? Was it possible there was someone else in here? As much as Fox wanted to simply leave this deck behind, if there was some other victim down here, that person would need his help. And he wasn't about to turn away from someone in need.

Retracing his steps to where he had previously trapped himself just before he had ducked into laser surgery, he found himself looking at that same locked door, the one that had some kind of scanner on it. He had no idea what lay within. Another prisoner, perhaps. Someone trapped just like him. Perhaps someone even less fortunate, one that might not make it out of there without Fox's help. Well, that's what Fox was here for. Maybe he'd actually get to do what he kept saying he was trying to do and rescue somebody. That would be a nice change of pace. The thought almost made him laugh.

Almost.

He wasn't sure if it was the fire or if it was unrelated, but the lights kept flickering on and off, as if they couldn't decide what to do with themselves. They were off more often than they were on. They would still flicker sporadically, just enough that Fox could see where he was going, what he was looking at, but otherwise the lights were barely working. He was practically working in the dark here. Yet another wonderful addition to his day.

The door was locked, but there was a small panel to the left, lit up and awaiting some sort of input to open the door. Fox simply pushed the button, hoping that maybe it would be a simple lock that wouldn't require a password or scan or keycard or anything like that. But much as he expected, the door didn't open, instead simply emitting a grating electronic sound that indicated an error. He didn't know why he bothered trying in the first place, it was never that easy. Sighing, he brought up the doctor's PDA, swiping through some of the information stored on there until he found what he thought were his security clearance codes. He held up his wrist in front of the panel before pressing it again. There was a chime to the affirmative, then the door slid open.

No sooner did it open than he found himself attacked again. A furry blur slammed into him, launching itself from the now open door, knocking him off-balance. He managed to hold onto his weapon this time, but he was in no position to fire it at his assailant. He fell to the ground, struggling with this new attacker in the dark, the flickering lights not giving him a good look at whoever it was.

On they fought, each of them seeking to overpower the other. Fox's assailant was strong, but not quite as strong as the doctor. Fox had the advantage there. This new attacker seemed slimmer, at least from what he could tell in their frantic struggle. Whenever Fox thought he had the advantage, the other somehow managed to squirm free, striking Fox with their elbow or palm, forcing him off-balance. Just as his assailant seemed like they were about to overpower him, he suddenly pushed back hard, causing them to yelp as he slammed them against the floor. He was now laying atop of the other person, his hands having seized their wrists and pinning them to the floor on either side of where he presumed their head was. It was hard to tell in the darkness.

At last he heard a voice, a voice that caused him to widen his eyes in surprise, his mouth dropping open. It was the very voice that had caused him to rush aboard in the first place.

"Get off me!"

Fara?

The lights chose this precise moment to flicker back to life, and Fox found himself staring into the face of a vixen he hadn't seen in years, not since the Lylat Wars. But there she was. It was an all too brief glance within that faint, flickering light, but it was enough. He would never forget her face. He never could.

She seemed to recognize him too, as she suddenly stopped struggling, staring up at him. He realized that he was still pinning her down with his weight, and he hastily made his way off of her, crawling backwards so that he wasn't crushing or squeezing her. Both of them were panting heavily, as they had both just been in a fight for their lives.

Fara was the first to speak after the lights finally came back on. "Fox? Is that...is that you? You're really here?"

He nodded, still trying to recover his breath. "Yeah...it's me. Long time no see."

"Yeah." She looked him up and down, her breath beginning to normalize. She blinked her eyes, looking at him with one eyebrow raised and, despite their situation, a faint smirk on her face. "Er...what happened to your clothes?"

Fox stared back at her, and he could feel the color rising to his cheeks as he blushed furiously, though it was mostly hidden by his fur. He had somehow forgotten all about that! He immediately placed his hands in front of him even as he sat on the floor, hopefully blocking off her view to any of his more...sensitive places.

Fara just stared at him blankly for a few moments. He had no idea what she was thinking, as there was no emotion registered on her face. There was the initial confusion, maybe a bit of amusement, but now she was just staring.

Then she laughed.

It was a little giggle at first. So quiet that he barely even heard it. But it grew louder and more mirthful with every passing moment. Before long she was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her laughter was infectious. The situation was just so ridiculous. Soon Fox was laughing with her. Here he was, trying to save someone from the horrors of a mad doctor and a compromised ship, and he had done it in his bare fur!

It was what they both needed in this moment. The tension had been so strong since Fox had stepped on board, and it had been for Fara too. Worse for her, he suspected. She'd been dealing with this for much longer than he had. Somehow, the pressure seemed to ease a bit. Just for a moment, of course. Anyone looking at the two of them might have thought they were quite mad. Heck, maybe they were.

After the laughter finally subsided, they both just grinned at each other. Fara was the first one to speak again. "It's good to see you, Fox. It really is."

"Yeah, you too Fara." The grin slowly faded as reality once again loomed, and the grim nature of their situation took priority once more. "What happened here?" Before she could speak, he hastily added, "Actually, wait, can I get some clothes first? I need something to wear."

"Of course." The vixen giggled again, then stood up. "C'mon. He stored some clothes where I was locked up. I'm guessing they're the possessions of whoever else he captured. Maybe they're in there?"

"No harm in checking." Fox rose to his feet, still very careful to keep his hand in front of his delicate place. He stood there uncomfortably, waiting for Fara to continue.

She offered another smirk before shrugging her shoulders. "Not like I haven't seen it before, you know."

"That was a long time ago."

"Oh? You've changed since then?" She offered this remark over her shoulder as she pressed the door panel for the room, which slid open. The light in there seemed to be working just fine, so that was good.

She beckoned for him to enter, moving to the side and letting him have some privacy. He nodded gratefully before beginning his search.

The room was small, and cramped besides. There was a gurney in the middle of the room, presumably the one the doctor had used to wheel Fara in here. He must have put her here to keep her in place while he dealt with Fox. There were a lot of clothes scattered about. It looked like they had belonged to former staff mostly, though a few might have belonged to some of the rest of the crew. Either way, he must have killed somewhere upwards of a dozen people, judging from all of the clothes and equipment strewn about the room. Those were just the ones he'd left evidence for. How many more had he killed? How many of them had been compromised by the "Many", as he called it?

It didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting equipped and getting out of here.

Of course none of the clothes looked to be his size. Most of them weren't even close, either far too big or far too small. He started massaging one of his eyebrows with one hand as he pondered the situation. He'd have to just keep searching until he found something, and he wasn't exactly thrilled with that task. It could take a while, and he had more important things to do. He supposed he could just cobble something together from...

Wait. There was a dull green glow from the back corner of the room. It only lasted half a moment, and he could barely see it. He approached that spot and used his foot to nudge some of the clothing out of the way.

There! His PDA device! The one he'd been using from the start, and right under it, the very clothes he'd been wearing before he got captured!

It didn't seem terribly smart or cautious of the doctor to store that PDA in here. Then again, if the doctor were more cautious, Fox never would have escaped from him in the first place. He wondered if that was due to the doctor's deteriorating sanity or if he was just always a bit careless to begin with. Either way, he had found what he was looking for.

It didn't take long at all for him to slip back into his old clothes. Well, the clothes he'd had since he woke up in emergency surgery anyway. They really weren't that old . Still, he had them and that's what counted. Now he could wander around without exposing himself to whoever or whatever might be nearby. He didn't think he'd ever been more grateful to be dressed in his entire life.

By the time he'd put on his boots, he was fully suited up. He strapped the PDA across his wrist, then remembered that he still had the doctor's device. Hoping very much that it would be as easy as he imagined it to be, he attempted to transfer whatever information was contained in the doctor's device into his. It turned out to be quite simple, just a few buttons had to be pressed on either one. Good thing nobody put passwords on these things. The security system on this ship seemed a bit lacking. That or something had gone wrong and whatever security measures there were supposed to be on these things had failed somehow. He had no idea. The point was that it worked. He was happy enough with that.

Well, he was ready to go. He crossed the small room and stepped back outside, back to where Fara was waiting.

She wasn't looking at Fox when he returned, instead staring straight down the hallway. He got a really good look at her now, much better than he had before. She looked almost exactly the same as he remembered, though maybe just a little older. She looked tire and worn, though he strongly suspected that was from the ordeal that she had been going through, along with everyone else on the ship.

The vixen was just as beautiful as he remembered her. She was on the thin side, though still appeared quite healthy. She had a very attractive form, just as pretty as he remembered. Even the clothes she wore struck as familiar. They weren't exactly the same as what she had worn in the past, but the colors were very similar. A jumpsuit with a purple top and green leggings, with gloves to match. She wore a white jacket which could be buttoned up if she wished, but for the moment was hanging loosely.

She still wore that same piece of head-wear, those distinctive bands, one of which went straight up the back of her head and ended around the base of her ears, complete with the two diagonal bands that were carefully wrapped around the edge of Fara's cheeks. She had never told him the reason she wore such a thing, and he'd never seen anyone else who wore something similar. It had always been unique to her. He had to admit, there was something rather charming about the way it looked. He had always meant to ask her about it, but it never felt like the right time to ask. It didn't seem like now was any better of an opportunity, so the mystery would have to remain as such.

She must have heard him as he approached, as she turned toward him and smiled. "Well, don't you look nice."

"Well, it's better than nothing. And I mean that in every sense of the word." He offered a faint grin at her, and she snickered again before nodding.

"It's good to see you Fox. I...assume that means you got our distress signal?"

"Yeah. I got it." Fox confirmed. "I heard you and...well, it sounded like you were in trouble, so I came as fast as I could."

"Yeah. Thanks." She smiled again. For the first time since he stepped onboard this cursed vessel, Fox actually felt good about the situation. He felt a little hope for once, like maybe he -was- accomplishing something. She was the first person he'd met so far with any degree of sanity. "I assume the rest of Star Fox is nearby?" She asked.

He frowned. "Yeah...but they're not alone. Somebody else is out there, and they don't seem to like us. There was a fight, and one of the hangars aboard this ship got vaporized. Which means I'm trapped here like everyone else."

"That's unfortunate." Fara lowered her head, her eyebrows crinkling as she gave the matter some thought. "I had rather hoped you would be in a better position to offer rescue."

"Believe me, I feel the same." He sighed, but then offered her a reassuring smile. He wasn't sure if he actually felt as confident as he was pretending to be, but he offered some encouraging words even so. "Don't worry, Fara. We'll get out of this. The Star Fox team always pulls through. We're not about to make an exception now."

"I know. But this is much worse than anything I have ever faced. You...you can't imagine what I've seen on this ship." She closed her eyes, biting her lower lip, which trembled as she grew lost in her dark thoughts. Fox feared for what she was seeing in her mind's eye now. "Best friends tearing each other apart. Betrayal. Conspiracy. Insanity. Violence. Chaos. It's horrific."

"Well, hopefully we can put an end to this. Together."

"Yeah." She looked up at him and smiled. She then gasped. "Fox! I almost forgot, the whole reason I came down here in the first place was to do something specific!"

"Oh? What did you come down here for?"

"Well, two things. One was to...well, look for you." She offered him a nervous smile, then gently rubbed at the back of her neck with two of her fingers. "I knew you were onboard. The, um...the doctor told me. Not Draco, the other one. The one that was in touch with you?"

He blinked, his mind not quite registering what it was she was getting at. Then he suddenly remembered. He didn't know how he could have forgotten. Doctor Aiten! He'd been in contact with him right up until he woke up at the paws of the mad doctor. Come to think of it, he hadn't heard his voice even once since this whole ordeal began. How the heck had he not noticed that before?

Then again, he had been just a bit preoccupied with staying alive. Maybe that was why. "Aiten?" He asked, just to make sure they were on the same page.

"Aiten." Fara confirmed. "He sent me here to find you, as this was the last location of your signal before he lost touch with you."

"My signal?" Fox arched an eyebrow. "You've been tracking me? You knew I was here?"

"Well, yes, I..." She hesitated, looking very uncertain as to whether she should proceed or not. After letting out a quiet sigh, she continued. "I was the one that found you. When you were overwhelmed at the elevator."

"That was you?!" Fox stared at Fara with widened eyes. "You're the one that rescued me!"

She nodded in affirmation. "Yes. It wasn't just me, I had help. But I was there. And I was the one that set up the procedure, at Aiten's orders."

"You..." Fox could only look upon her with shock. He reached up with his hand, gingerly rubbing at the implant sticking out of his head. He felt a well of emotions surging up within him. Confusion for one. Shock. Even a little hurt. But more than anything, he felt anger. "You were part of this? You did this to me?!"

He was trying not to let that anger come through, but Fara evidently sensed it. Her ears wilted, and she looked a little hurt herself. She stared at the ground, like a kit being scolded by her mother. When she spoke, it was with a slow and unsteady voice. "I only did it because I thought I had no choice. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I never would have done it without your permission. But we didn't have time to wait around. Aiten said it was necessary, and...well, I didn't have time to weigh all the options. It's...we're in absolutely desperate straits." She raised her head to look up at him, staring into his eyes with a look of absolute sorrow and hurt. "I'm...I'm sorry, Fox."

He wasn't sure what to think at this moment. On the one hand, he was mad as heck. He did not at all like the fact that he had been given some invasive surgery, all while he was incapacitated. But all of his anger melted away the moment he took note of her expression, of the absolute remorse that was conveyed from her now. She trembled as she bit her lower lip, and it looked as though she were going to cry.

The anger was gone. He stepped toward her, and without even thinking, he gave her a tight hug. He didn't know why he did it. Maybe it was because of the old times they'd shared together, back when they had been so close. Maybe he just hated to see a vixen cry. Or maybe...maybe he wasn't really mad at her. Maybe he was mad about everything that had gone wrong on this mission, and most of that had little to do with her.

She shivered in his grasp, and he could feel as a couple of tears dribbled against his cheeks as she struggled not to cry. "Thanks, Fox." She murmured these words between sniffles before pulling away and looking at him with eyes filled with sadness and deep regret, her muzzle turned into a frown. "I...I'm sorry, I'm normally not like this. It's just...this situation has been a nightmare."

Fox just regarded her steadily for a few moments. He didn't doubt the sincerity of her words. This was something that could be sorted out later. His next words were quiet and more empathetic. "I don't know everything you've been through, but believe me. I'm starting to relate."

She offered a faint smile in response. "It's just so good to see a familiar face amid all of this insanity, all of this chaos."

"Yeah. I'm right there with you."

They stared at each other for a while in silence, neither of them knowing what to say next. Fox had a lot of questions for her, none of which seemed very appropriate right now, considering the circumstances they found themselves in. Beyond their current predicament, how had she been? What had happened since they last saw each other all those years ago? What did she do for a living, was she still a pilot? How long had she been on this ship? What was she doing here? So many questions, and yet there wasn't enough time for them all. Maybe not enough time for any of them! So much needed to be done. Somehow, considering what they were dealing with right now, a simple "How have you been," seemed like such an inappropriate thing to ask.

Fara might have been thinking the same as him, as she simply looked at him with a somewhat nervous and apprehensive expression, shifting from side to side silently, no words coming. Her tail swayed in gentle movements behind her in a slow but regular rhythm.

It was Fox who finally broke the silence, clearing his throat before asking her, "So what now?"

Fara blinked, her eyes going wide as realization hit her. "Oh! Right, of course, the reason I came down here. Come with me." With that, she turned on her heel and started walking away, her tail swaying behind her with each step, flicking to the side as she moved. He quickly fell in step behind her. As they walked, she continued talking over her shoulder. "Doctor Aiten sent me down here when he lost your signal. Apparently something was jamming it. He sent me to investigate and to make sure you were alright and then put an end to the interference, whatever it was."

"Yeah. Good thing you came when you did." Fox spoke as they walked, looking around at their surroundings. They were walking through the very halls Fox had raced through not long ago in a desperate bid to keep himself alive against the doctor. Fortunately, they could enjoy a much more relaxed pace at the moment. For some reason, though, he kept feeling as though he were forgetting something. Something important.

He remembered what it was when he heard a mechanical whirring sound coming from just ahead, as well as some heavy footsteps, metal footsteps. He froze alongside Fara as a droid rounded the corner. It plodded along at an even pace, not hesitating even for a moment. If it detected their presence, it gave no indication of it. It just walked up to the room that had been locked down, the one where Fox had left the doctor. It paused outside the door for a moment, then reached for the door panel and pressed its mechanical hand against it. There were a series of loud beeps and buzzes, and the door slid open. The droid then simply walked inside, the door closing behind it. There was no way to know exactly what the droid was doing in there, but he presumed it was busy taking care of the fire.

He heard Fara exhale in front of him, sounding relieved. She turned back to him in order to speak to him. "Those droids...someone reprogrammed a lot of them. That one was okay, I guess. But be careful around the rest of them. They're a bit...erratic right now."

He nodded, grateful. "Alright, I will. Thanks for the heads up."

"Yeah." She then proceeded forward, and Fox followed her.

He noticed as they walked that she was checking something. At first he didn't see what she was looking at, just noticing the occasional glances she kept directing to her wrist. Then he noticed the PDA she was wearing, similar in make to his. She had something displayed on the screen, a blip that was growing larger as she moved. It seemed she was using her device to track something. That must be what they were walking toward now.

"What happened here, anyway?" Fox asked. He couldn't help himself. It was the first thing he had wanted to ask when he saw her.

She never stopped, just kept walking. It took her a while to answer the question, and her voice seemed somewhat strained. Perhaps it wasn't easy to talk about. "I...honestly, I don't know. Everything was fine one moment. I was in the mess hall with my friends, I went to my quarters, and then...then everything fell apart. It happened so quickly."

"Fell apart?" Fox pressed her, hoping for further answers.

She nodded. "It's like...whatever this parasite is, at least I think it's a parasite, it must have spread over half the ship before it decided to attack. And then...well things fell apart very quickly after that. No one knew who to trust. People started killing each other. While the parasite does eventually make itself manifest in the form of that...worm...it can be hidden for a very long time and be influencing their actions. I don't know how it does it, and I don't know how long the process takes." She sighed again, shaking her head. "All I know is most of my friends, my co-workers, my commanding officers...they're all dead. Or worse." There was another pause, a painful hesitation before she added, "I was...assaulted not long ago by someone. I knew him. We weren't close friends, but we...we were coworkers. We spoke a few times, we worked on the same deck back when things were normal. He was nice." She swallowed hard, taking a moment to collect herself. "He attacked me. He still recognized me. He spoke to me. He pleaded and begged even as he tried to kill me."

"What did you do?" Fox asked.

"The only thing I could." Fara drew to a halt, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She then looked back at Fox, her expression downcast. "I shot him. And then I left as quickly as I could."

Fox's ears pinned back, wincing as though he himself had been struck. He put his paw on Fara's shoulder, offering her a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Fara...I'm sorry." He knew the words weren't enough, not for something like this. But he had to say it anyway. She remained still for a moment longer, then shrugged her shoulders before continuing on, not even waiting to see if Fox would follow.

They continued in silence. Fox had his head lowered, mulling over these facts quietly. The situation sounded even worse than he had expected. It was just as she said. Everything had fallen apart. If her situation was echoed all over the ship, that could mean no remaining chain of command, just desperate bands of survivors fighting back, not knowing who or what to trust anymore. A nightmare. It would be the same for him. Should he bump into other members of the crew, how would he know that they weren't infected or under the influence of this parasite? How would they know they could trust him? What was behind all this, what had set this loose in the first place? Was there any way to stop it?

So many questions. So few answers.

Eventually, they came to the entrance of the operating theater, where he had regained consciousness under the "care" of the mad doctor. He didn't really relish the thought of going back in there again, but if that's where Fara wanted to go, then he'd go with her. Besides, with the doctor dead, there really wasn't anything to fear in there. Nothing that he knew of, anyway.

Fara wasn't saying anything at the moment, far too focused on whatever it was she was reading on her PDA. The door slid open and Fara stepped inside, taking a moment to cautiously check her surroundings before proceeding. Fox followed her in. He didn't know what she expected to find in here, but there must be something.

Whatever Fara was tracking, she seemed to know exactly how to find it. Without hesitation, she strode into the middle of the room before turning left, holding her wrist up as if to scan the area better with her device. At last, Fox heard a steady beeping coming from it, and he and Fara both looked up at what was directly in front of them. It was one of the computers that Fox had seen earlier, one that he hadn't had any time to investigate.

"This is it." Fara declared, stepping toward the machine. She approached the computer, and a virtual interface popped up once she drew close enough. She flexed her fingers a few times, then started to interact with the controls, her fingers practically flying as she did so. Fox couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise. "Didn't know you were so familiar with tech like this."

"I've been spending a lot of time with it since I arrived. I've been here a few months now."

"Whoa." Fox studied her as she worked, reaching up and scratching at the side of his face with a single digit. "Why'd you come here, anyway?"

"Needed the pay. I was offered some substantial wages. Things have been...difficult for me lately." She said this all without ever taking her eyes off her work, continuing to tap against the interface as she accessed various parts of the system. Her voice was flat and distant as she worked, evidently focusing on what she was doing.

Fox had absolutely nothing to do at the moment, so he simply leaned back against the nearby wall and watched Fara as she worked. It had been so long since he'd seen her, and she still looked young. She was still beautiful, too. Her fur was still just as well kept and shining as it always was. And then there was that uncanny resemblance she had to...well...

To his mother.

Of course, he had never actually met his mother, she'd died shortly after he was born, leaving him to be raised almost single handedly by his father, James McCloud. He had a couple of pictures of her, one of them taken shortly after his parents had been married. The resemblance was without question. Fara was a very attractive vixen, with a soft face and a pleasing form. So many memories were coming back to him in this moment, good memories he had of days gone by, back when they had first started dating.

That was a long time ago, and there was no sense in dwelling on that now. They had far more important things to worry about. He shook his head, silently berating himself for his thoughts. He shouldn't even be thinking about Fara like that. He had Krystal now.

Well, maybe "had" was too strong a word. He still hadn't confessed his feelings toward her, even after everything they'd been through. Technically speaking, they weren't even dating. He wanted to, though. He wanted to let Krystal know what he thought, how he felt about her, how much he wanted to be with her. But every time he was with her, he just couldn't get the words out.

Come to think of it, that was one of the very same reasons that had ended his relationship with Fara. He hadn't thought about that in years, but now those memories came flooding back, including those little disagreements they'd had toward the end. Of how he was so reluctant to express himself, to tell her how he felt. How he really felt. How unready he was for a committed relationship. How he always put his flying and his career over everything else. Their goals just didn't align. Fox wasn't sure what he wanted in the future, he wasn't ready to talk about marriage or kits. The disagreements were rare at first, and they'd usually make up in ways that still made Fox blush. But the arguments would return, sooner or later. Little things. Just little things. Slowly escalating, becoming more persistent, making their romance more difficult to maintain. Eventually, their relationship couldn't stand the strain.

Now that he was with Fara again, he couldn't help but wonder if she still remembered that. He wondered what she thought of him now. Had she ever missed him? He definitely had missed her, though that had faded with time. They hadn't parted on bad terms. He supposed every breakup was painful, and theirs had been no different. The ending wasn't nasty, it hadn't been filled with rage or accusation. It was calm and understanding. A real talk. They had agreed that parting was the right thing to do for both of them. At least it hadn't ended in a horrible fight with deep wounds on both sides.

Just little wounds that hurt for a long while.

He shook his head again, chiding himself. This wasn't the time for such thoughts! He needed to focus on the mission.

Fara seemed to be growing frustrated with her work. Every so often, as she entered a few commands in the interface, there would be a soft, grating buzz indicating either an error or a refused command. Fox eventually decided to question her on it. "What are you trying to do?"

"This is the jammer. He used this to block all signals here. I don't know who he was trying to keep out. Those things infesting the ship, the machines, or...well, maybe everyone. I'm trying to turn it off, but he did something weird to it. Some kind of extra encryption. I'm having trouble here."

"Ah." That was all Fox could say. If she was having trouble with it, he doubted he could be of much help himself.

There was a drawn out low tone emitted from the device, signaling another failed action. It was as if the computer was taunting them. Fara seemed to be fed up, rubbing her hand against her forehead before glancing at Fox. She froze, her eyes zeroing in on something. She then locked eyes with him. "Mind if I borrow that?"

"Huh?" Fox looked down, trying to see what she was looking at. It took him a brief moment to he realize what she was thinking. He was still holding that blaster, the one he had secured from the doctor. He'd almost forgotten that he was holding the thing. He looked back at her, then shrugged. "Sure." She approached him, extending her hand toward his. He gave the weapon to her. "So what are you going to do with tha-"

He didn't get to finish. She whirled around, aimed at the computer, and fired round after round of raw weaponized energy directly into the machinery. There was a shower of sparks as the computer was blasted, small explosions and bolts of electricity flying from it as it got fried. The thing simply blew to pieces after a few more shots from Fara. There was a loud but fading hum as the power in the room seemed to drain, and then...

Nothing. Did it work?

He didn't have to wait long for an answer. "At last. I was beginning to wonder if the two of you had been killed. That would have been unfortunate. For you as well as myself."

And there he was. The good doctor was back. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," Fox said.

"Of course you are fine. If you were not, we would not be having this conversation. I see you have met Fara. I presume she rescued you."

"Well," Fara corrected him hesitantly. "It's, um, a little more complicated than..."

"Irrelevant. The situation has grown more unstable. Your presence is required in multiple locations at once. Failure will result in our termination."

"Wait, we're supposed to separate again?" Fox was alarmed. He'd just found Fara, and even though he wasn't at all afraid to go it alone, he was more than a little concerned for Fara's safety. "We both almost got killed down here. I don't want Fara going alone and..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence, but he wasn't interrupted by who he expected. It was Fara who turned to him with a glare. "I don't need you watching me. I've made it this far on my own, and I'll be fine. We don't have a choice in this matter."

"You got captured by the doctor and there's no telling what would have happened if I hadn't been here!" His expression softened, the anger fleeing from him, replaced instead with worry and concern. "I won't let something happen to you again! It's my job to keep you safe and..."

"You were captured too, unless I'm very much mistaken! I am not a kit, I can take of myself! Besides, you need me! You need all the help you can get!" Fara's eyes were narrowed, and her tail lashed behind her in an agitated manner, her hands on her hips as she took a rather defiant stance. "If the doctor thinks we should separate, then we should separate. He hasn't let me down yet."

Fox wanted to argue with her, but based on her body language and her tone of voice, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere. He heaved a heavy sigh, lowering his head and going quiet for a moment. The worst thing was that some part of him knew she was right. If there really were multiple emergencies that needed to be dealt with at once on different parts of the ship, they simply could not do it by remaining together.

More than that, he remembered a similar argument he had with a certain blue and white furred vixen that he also cared about. He kept trying to keep her safe from danger, even when she didn't want or need that. Why did he keep doing it? Why did he keep wanting to take over, to keep them away from trouble even when it was their decision to make, not his?

Why did he always insist on making things worse?

He eventually looked back up to Fara, then gave a slow nod of his head. He wasn't going to argue it this time. "You're right. I'm sorry. Let's get this done."

This actually caused Fara to blink in surprise. After a long moment of staring at him, she eventually smiled. "I think you've grown up a little since we last spoke, Fox."

He opened his mouth to give some kind of retort, but Doctor Aiten interrupted him. "Did you enjoy your little lover's spat?" The voice dripped with disdain and borderline contempt. Fox just kept his mouth shut, tried to focus on something other than his growing dislike of the doctor. Admittedly, Aiten was still leaps and bounds better than the doctor who just tried to murder him. "There is no time for this. Events have been set in motion that are far beyond your comprehension. Fara, you are needed on Deck 5 immediately. Lieutenant Dreyfus has use of you, and his goals currently align with my own. You will assist him. Raphael has been sent elsewhere. He has encountered...difficulties."

Fox had no idea who this "Raphael" was, but Fara certainly seemed to. Her eyes widened with worry at his words, and her tail continued to lash behind her. The doctor continued, now addressing Fox. "As for you, McCloud, you must go to Deck 1, engineering. There is a matter of great urgency which you must handle when you arrive. I will explain more when you are there. Do not tarry." There was a brief pause. "Fara, you will now transfer what Fox needs."

The vixen hesitated for but a moment before reaching for her own PDA. She tapped a button on the side, and a small chip was gently ejected from the device. She offered it to Fox. He stared at it for a moment, not entirely sure what to do with it, then assumed that he had a similar place to put it on his own device. That turned out to be an accurate assumption. He found it easily enough, slipping it in with no resistance. He wasn't sure what it was or why he had it.

"Now get a move on." There it was again. He was taking orders from some jerk that talked down to Fox like he was some kind of child. At least he wasn't alone. It would seem he treated Fara in much the same manner.

Fox knew he had to comply, and he had to admit that Aiten hadn't misled him, at least not intentionally. He wondered if Aiten had been aware of the mad doctor or not, if he knew what Fox was getting himself into. It didn't matter. He was helping them in his own way, so Fox did not offer further protest. "Alright, alright. Well, I've got what I need, so I guess I'll head over."

"You would do well to do so. I will continue to maintain contact with you when you are there. In the meantime, I have other matters to attend to."

And that was it. The conversation ended as abruptly as it started. Fox and Fara were left standing there in silence. They both stared at each other` for a bit, neither of them knowing what to say. He wasn't sure if the doctor was listening or not, but he eventually decided he didn't care. "He always like this?"

Fara just looked at him for a while, staring blankly, then snickered. "Well, every day since this all this started and he began directing whoever was left."

Fox grumbled something before giving a simple shrug of his shoulders. "Well, come on then." Fara offered no argument, simply joined him by his side, walking along with him as they traveled back to the elevator.

It was a decent length of a walk, so that meant they had at least a little time to talk. Better that they say something to each other rather than just remaining in awkward silence. Fox spoke up first. "I know this isn't the best time, but...it is good to see you again, Fara."

She offered a faint smile, but otherwise kept her eyes forward, scanning for danger. "It's good to see you too, Fox. It really is. It feels...I feel like we have a chance now." There was a momentary pause before she hastily added, "To survive, I mean."

"Yeah. Well...don't get too excited. I'm trapped with you guys. This isn't exactly a by-the-book rescue operation."

Fara smirked back at him, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "And when has Star Fox ever done things by the book?"

"Fair point." Fox grinned, rubbing the back of his neck as they walked. He spotted a couple of corpses, probably the two infected crew mates he had seen earlier, the ones he'd sneaked past. That made him remember the camera that had been set up, which would be behind them now as they walked. It didn't seem to be online at the moment. It must have been disabled somehow. Judging by the way Fara didn't even bother to check, he guessed that she had something to do with it. That or someone else was messing with it. He wasn't sure.

He couldn't keep his curiosity contained. "Did you deal with those guys?"

She nodded her head, keeping her eyes on the path in front of them. "Yeah. Those things are tough, but they still go down when shot." She hesitated before adding, "Well, if you shoot them enough, anyway. It's best to avoid them. They're far faster and stronger than one would expect." She then paused, gesturing toward the camera behind them. "Aiten helped me to disable the security system, though that won't last forever."

"Ah. That explains that, then." Fox was still wrestling internally with what he should say to Fara. He wanted to ask her about certain things, about how she'd been before the tragedy of whatever had happened here. What was going on in her life? At last, he decided to at least voice his intent. "Once all this is behind us, maybe we can talk?"

She stiffened at his words, coming to a sudden stop in the hallway. Fox thought he'd said something wrong, or maybe she was still hurt over what had happened so many years ago.

But her words surprised him. "I...hope we can, Fox." Her head was lowered and her ears were drooping. Something seemed to be bothering her, and he wasn't sure what.

"Fara? Is something wrong? Besides the obvious, I mean?"

She didn't answer him for a while, then slowly shook her head. "I'm...I'm fine. It's nothing, I'm sorry. Let's...let's just keep moving."

He nodded before falling in step behind her once again.

They were at the elevator now. They'd come to the end of the line, and they'd have to part ways here. Once they were inside, she pressed the button for engineering. The doors closed, and then the room lurched as the elevator moved toward the lower deck. He wasn't sure how long they would have in here, as he didn't know how far it was or how fast the elevator was moving. So he just leaned back against the wall opposite of the door, folding his arms across his chest and waiting. He glanced at Fara to see what she was doing.

She didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. Her gaze was drawn downward, looking as though she were very far away indeed. He wondered what it was that was going through her mind, what she was thinking about.

"Fara? Are you alright?" Fox asked her.

She blinked, then looked up at Fox and gave him a tired smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry Fox, I'm just a little...well..." She took a deep breath, shaking her head rapidly. "I haven't slept in days. I've been running on adrenaline and it just feels like this is never going to end."

"We'll be alright, Fara." Fox spoke with a confidence that he wasn't sure he really felt. But he wanted to be encouraging, wanted her to believe, to have hope. He knew how important it was to believe that you could succeed, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He'd do everything he could to make sure that she didn't forget that. He rested his hand on her shoulder, offering her an encouraging smile. "We're going to make it. I promise."

"I don't think you can really know that." She looked up at him with one eyebrow quirked, skeptical. Ultimately she nodded, offering no further protest. "But thank you. I'll hold you to that, you know."

"I know."

Fox looked up at the little colored lights above the door, indicating their current position in regards to the rest of the ship. They were getting close. "Alright, I guess I'll be getting off in a moment. Let's keep in touch, okay? So we can..."

He suddenly felt something soft and warm pressed against him. He looked down, surprised to find Fara there. She was hugging him tightly, trembling. And it was all Fox could do to lower his arms and gently encircle her form. He whispered quietly to her. "It's okay Fara. It's okay."

With her being this close, he was reminded of so many things. Her scent was just the same as it had always been, something that came into his head at the oddest times. Here it was again, strong as ever. Her body was so soft and warm, so pleasant to hold. It brought a great deal of comfort to him in this moment, while otherwise being trapped inside this hell.

She eventually pulled away from him, but not before leaning toward his cheek and giving him a little peck. He raised his hand to the place her muzzle had touched, rubbing at it gingerly and blushing. "F-Fara?" He stammered.

She smiled at him. "This is where we part ways. Be careful, Fox."

He nodded, still rubbing the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. He then offered her a smile in return. "You too, Fara."

The elevator door opened, and he stepped off. It was only then that it occurred to him that she still held the doctor's weapon, the only form of self-defense Fox had now. He turned back around to try and stop her. "Fara! Wait, I don't have a wea-"

The doors were already shutting. She may not have even heard him. He never got a chance to finish his sentence and he never got to hear her response.

He was alone again.