Departures
Krystal walked down the ramp, her senses picking up auras of tension. Kabura stood off to the side, frowning with crossed arms, while Mitsuru gave him a nudge with an elbow. Ryuga looked down, shuffling on his feet like a school boy caught being naughty. Sienna stood by herself with a sad look on her face a couple of paces from the trio. There was one more problem to deal with, and a rather large one at that.
"I'm sorry to rush you like this, Sienna, but you have a decision to make." Krystal looked up at the tall mountain dog. "Would you like to stay or come with us?"
"Umm..." She wrapped the dressing gown tighter around herself and turned her head towards the plasma gate with a thousand-yard stare. "I'd only be in the way."
"Not at all." Krystal put a hand on the dog's arm and tried to project a calm psionic aura, but she didn't want to sway her this way or that; it was Sienna's decision to make. "You're a medic, right? We could always use a medic."
"And we have spare room and provisions." Fox backed Krystal up, smiling gently. "But if you want to stay, I'll have a word with Peppy. Sirius won't trouble you anymore."
"I need to know." Sienna glanced at Ryuga. "Were you serious, or just using me?"
The azure fox bit his lip, lost for words for a moment. "We were desperate... I mean... at first..." He closed his eyes and performed the Cerinian greeting towards Sienna. "My mind will always be open for you."
"I wish your heart was as open." She turned her back on Ryuga, her tail hanging limp. His ears flattened. "I want to go home."
Krystal put a reassuring arm around Sienna's shoulder as they walked up the shuttle ramp and into the cockpit, where Katt helped strapping the dog into the co-pilot's seat.
"Perhaps you should leave a statement for Peppy," said Katt. "Just for formality."
"Good idea," said Krystal. Katt switched on the cockpit recorder, and Krystal recapped with a few short sentences what she'd seen in the control centre, including how Sienna had been kept captive.
"I'll send that straight to Peppy right after takeoff." Katt smiled at the mountain dog as she ran through the startup sequence. "You're in safe hands with Falco and myself."
Krystal left them with mixed feelings. She waved at Katt as she piloted the shuttle out of the hangar, catching a glimpse of the Sky Claw shooting past outside. They were about to leave Lylat without cleaning up the mess. She spared Peppy a thankful thought, convinced that he had sent that old sniper to Fichina as backup. But surely there would be friction between Peppy, the CDF, and SIRIUS. She wondered what they would come back to, but she had to trust that Peppy would take care of business; she had their own mission to focus on.
But first things first. She walked over to the Cloud Runner and flicked the rarely used switch to extend the ladder; she mostly jumped up and down the wing herself. Opening the canopy, she found Kayuq cramped up in the storage compartment behind the cockpit, a smug smirk on the old vixen's muzzle.
"How're you feeling?" Krystal offered Kayuq a hand.
"Very well apart from a migraine and aching joints," said Kayuq and accepted Krystal's assistance. "Did you really live in there?"
Krystal reflected on her bounty hunter days when she was based on Kew. "Comfort is secondary when you have to survive day by day."
"Understandable. Mind you, I'm not complaining." Kayuq let herself be led down the ladder, using Krystal's eyes to see where to put her feet on each rung. "I must admit, I feel some amount of perverse pleasure from the fact that Sirius will never know who foiled their plans."
Krystal laughed softly. It was a little ironic; the third highest ranking of the Cerinians that tried to pillage Corneria, but the one who also was instrumental in saving the planet, had lived in Corneria City for months, passing as an ordinary old lady.
"My master!" Ryuga bowed and performed 'my mind is open', only for Kayuq to clasp his hands. "Master, your eyes..."
"I don't need them to see. It warms my heart to finally meet you again, my acolyte." She pulled him into an embrace. He's like the son I never had, she added in Krystal's mind, and perhaps Ryuga's too, because he blushed a little. She switched to her native language. "I trust you have been well."
"Oh, don't worry about him. He's even had time to toy with that dog's heart." Mitsuru grinned for a moment, before yelping and putting a paw to his head. "What was that for? It hurt!"
Ryuga glared at Mitsuru. "She would have made a fine mate."
"You know to be careful when playing with people's emotions." Kayuq tsk-tsked. "If the love is true, it can cause a feedback loop."
"Can it?" Krystal raised an eyebrow and cast a gander towards Hope, who entered the hangar holding a blaster at arm's length, as if she wanted someone to take it off her. Was that why she'd been drawn to the snow fox?
"We toyed with the Cornerians as well." Mitsuru winked, looking smug.
A spike of anger startled Krystal, and Kabura's fist flew towards Ryuga's head. Having sensed it, Ryuga fended but was still knocked to the ground by the powerful strike.
"That's for the electric shocks." Kabura went at Ryuga again but Mitsuru intervened.
"Hey, it was worth a shot!" Mitsuru glared at Kabura, not looking one bit intimidated by the taller fox.
Krystal recalled the experiment she'd seen in Peppy's mind, and shared the visions with Ryuga. "So, it was all just theatre?"
"The shocks weren't," Kabura grumbled.
"Both true." Ryuga stood up and dusted himself off. "The plan was that if Sirius thought they had a drug that worked on us, they might cut us some slack, and we might be able to find some information on how to get out of there. I was this close once with the help of Sienna." He held up a thumb and forefinger nearly touching. "I could sense you."
Krystal suddenly remembered a dream from several months ago, a dream about Panther, Aparoid virus, experiments, and a cry for help. Had Ryuga's distress signal nearly reached her? Still, it explained why she had been able to communicate with Ryuga clearly as soon as she got within the compound. "So during the gas experiments...?"
Ryuga shrugged. "There was this one substance they tried on us that had a very distinct scent. Sienna told me it was extracted from a flower in the Cornerian mountains, a sort of poppy. Whenever we could smell it, we pretended it had some effect on us."
Krystal nodded. It made sense for SIRIUS to try that, with some poppies containing opioids, and explained why it had been familiar; she'd probably smelled the flowers in gardens around their home at the foot of the mountain range.
"And you..." Kabura glared at Kayuq, hatred in his eyes. "Traitor."
"Perhaps I should explain that Kabura was a member of Eldey's elite squadron." Kayuq didn't flinch. "A fine pilot, but very much loyal to Kamuy."
Krystal brought up another memory from the Cerinian Crisis, and another puzzle piece fell into place. "You tried to shoot me down."
Kabura nodded. His glare shifted to Krystal, then to Mitsuru. "And you joining... her?" He motioned towards Kayuq.
"We've been through this," Mitsuru scolded. "Yes, I wanted to get my hands on the Cornerian resources too, but we could've gone about it differently. But the important thing is that Kayuq and Krystal rescued us and that" — He wrapped his arms around Kabura, who rolled his eyes — "we're together again, brother."
"Brothers from different mothers, obviously." Kabura motioned towards Mitsuru and himself, as if wanting to point out the difference in height and build, but their faces and eyes looked much alike.
Krystal bit her lip. There might be more tension on this journey than she had wanted. "Can we expect trouble from you?"
"Lock me up if you want to, but you did free my little brother, and for that I am grateful." He sighed and put a hand on Mitsuru's head, scratching behind an ear, receiving a tail wag in response. "I will not cause any trouble. I pledge to obey your command... until we reach Cerinia." The glare returned. "If we find The Matriarch, then she can pass judgement on you."
"Oh, I'm sure we know what she'll say." Mitsuru grinned and slapped his brother's back. "Sorry to break the mood but... can we eat? I'm starving."
"Umm..." Fox chuckled and scratched his neck, but then he wrinkled his forehead as if he was concentrating on finding the correct Cerinian words. "We have a... departure slot to keep. Trust me, you don't want to miss the teleportation, but then I'm sure we can get some food and rest."
"Sounds great!" Mitsuru shook Fox's hand vigorously. "Say, your name means fox in your language, doesn't it?"
Fox took the lead and started walking with Mitsuru at his side, the blue tod eagerly babbling away in Cerinian, asking all sorts of questions. Krystal took Kayuq's arm, leading the old vixen, while the others tagged along.
"Goodness, he can talk, that guy," said Miyu in a whisper. "Imagine him and Slippy together."
Krystal had to smirk in remark. "Or even worse, those two and Fay."
"Hey. I resemble that remark!" Fay scrunched up her muzzle. "Besides, I think he's adorable."
As soon as they reached the living quarters, the door to Marcus's cabin slid open and a blue blur shot out. The fluff ball headed straight for Krystal, wrapping itself around her leg.
"Mommy!" the kit called out, using the Cerinian word to Krystal's surprise, before pointing at Ryuga, Kabura and Mitsuru. "You're all blue like me!"
"Well, of course?" Mitsuru beamed. "What's your name, little guy?"
"Marcus." He unwrapped himself from his mother's leg and startled Ryuga by grasping the tod's tail and inspecting the grey tip, before taking Mitsuru and Kabura's hands in his. It was Mitsuru's turn to be assaulted with questions, but he was nothing but eager to reply as the group made their way towards the bridge.
Slippy eyes poured over the readouts, his focus entirely on the metrics: the fusion reactor's power output, the superconductors' temperature, the frequency and polarity of the Krazonium coils and whatnot. He was startled when someone put a hand on his shoulder.
"A bit jumpier than usual today, are you?" Beltino stood slightly behind Slippy's chair, beaming at his son. His moustache twitched a little, and Slippy realised that his father probably looked as smug as he did himself when his own children made him proud, which was often.
"It's not every day that I get to drive the Orbital Gate." Slippy grinned back at his old man. In fact, it was the first time.
"Don't screw it up," said a cool voice. Fara stood on his other side with her arms crossed over a navy jacket, which she wore with a matching skirt and a white blouse.
"Haha, I'll try not to..." Slippy's fingers trembled over the keyboard as a bead of sweat ran down his neck, knowing what a disaster he could be piloting an Arwing.
"I know you won't." Her face softened into a confident smile. "You've never let me down so far."
That much was true; unlike the odd mishap in the cockpit, he rarely missed a beat when it came to technology. Star Fox had frequently relied on his skills. He gazed out the panoramic window of the Orbital Station, observing the Great Fox II as it moved into position. His computer chimed.
"Incoming call," he said. "I'm putting it on screen."
One of the windows dimmed as it was overlaid with a video feed from the ship's bridge, where Fox sat in the captain's chair with Marcus on his lap and surrounded by Krystal, Miyu, Fay and ROB.
"Star Fox to Orbital Gate Command," said Fox. "We are ready when you are."
General O'Hare stood in front of the screen with his hands on his back and a stern look on his face. "I'll need the secret passphrase."
"ROB, give us the honour."
The robot performed a twitchy fist-pump. "Team, let's do this."
Peppy cracked up in a wide grin and turned to Slippy. "Mr. Toad, energise."
Slippy smirked but tried not to laugh at Peppy; it took a little more than the push of a lever to perform a teleportation. He turned his attention to the workstation, running another quick diagnostics: all systems were online, and the fusion reactor idle and ready to spool up. First, the lens had to be aligned roughly with the target, then he could issue the command to expand the Zypher ring. Whereas the original design had three control blocks, Mark 2 had six.
Once the lens segments were in orbit, high-precision lasers monitored their alignment. Typing away at the keyboard, Slippy made minute adjustments, the computers catering not only for the station's movement around Corneria, but Corneria's orbit around the Lylat sun. Accuracy was essential; a deviation of just one arc second meant that the Great Fox II would be six billion kilometres off target.
Next, the fusion reactor powered up, building slowly to make sure that the lens remained stable while beaming terawatts of power into it. Three blocks ignited, covering the lens in a disc of green light. This was the teleportation device as he'd seen it before, but 42 parsec was further than they'd sent anyone before, by far.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Initiating phase two."
The target coordinates were locked in and he increased power further: 75% of required level, 90%, 95%...
The lens flashed brightly, just once. A murmur went through the control room. A green spiral had appeared on the lens, a slowly swirling vortex. Slippy's jaw fell open. It looked just Krystal's thigh tattoo, but with six triangles surrounding it instead of four, and it reminded him of Vixy's old pendant that Fox had shown him.
He shook his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand. The fusion reactor was stable, power holding at 100.00%, and the aim was within the minute tolerances allowed.
"You are clear to proceed, Great Fox II."
The large ship inched forwards. As soon as the bows touched the lens, a green shimmer spread over its hull, increasing in intensity as the vessel dove in deeper. Slippy's gaze darted between the monitors and the view outside, trying to keep one eye on the spectacle and one on vital metrics.
With another flash, the ship vanished, ripples spreading across the surface as the lens began to dissolve.
"And just like that, they're gone," said Fara.
The comment hit Slippy like a ton of lead. While it had been almost a decade since the Star Fox team had split up, Fox had always been there for Slippy, but now he was gone.
"I bet you wish you could have gone with him." Fara put a hand on Slippy's shoulder, as if she'd read his mind. "But you are needed here. We have great plans for the improved Gate."
"But we need to be sure..." Slippy trembled as his gaze was fixed on the fading lens. Just as the last ripple of light disappeared, a small metal object popped through. "There's the return probe."
The station's communication systems picked up a signal, and Slippy put it up on screen for everyone to see. Telemetric data scrolled past next to an image of a grinning Marcus giving a thumbs up.
"They're through!" Slippy sighed and slumped back in the chair. The room erupted in cheers, people backslapping each other and shaking hands, while someone rubbed Slippy's head, knocking the cap askew.
With the first transmission a success, all sorts of possibilities opened up. The ability to send freighters to the Quango System was high on the list, opening up trade opportunities with Kew. More importantly, they planned to send a small ship to Cerinia in three months, but until then, he could only wait. Slippy hated waiting, so he got busy. First up, the metrics from this transmission had to be analysed to see if any adjustments were needed. He already missed his friends, but until he would see them again, there was work to do.
Krystal's eyes filled with the green glow from the gate lens. Mesmerised, she couldn't take her eyes off it. She was too preoccupied to pay attention to Kayuq standing next to her, as well as being in her mind, sharing the visual spectacle. The disc of light filled her view, and the rippling surface seemed to bend reality. The lens was semi-translucent, familiar constellations fading in and out of view with unknown skies flickering in-between. Unconsciously, she touched her thigh. It had not escaped her how the swirling pattern on the lens resembled her tattoo. She'd been through it once before, en route to the Aparoid Homeworld, but still, her fur stood on end.
The light intensified, engulfing the vessel as the stern vanished on the other side of the lens. Within moments, the shining green curtain reached the bridge, and its occupants were thrown into a violently swirling vortex, surrounded by shapes shifting faster than her eyes could capture. The vertigo made her yelp, and she held onto Kayuq's arm for dear life.
"A memory?" The old vixen's voice was calm. She could shield herself, only receiving a second-hand exposure from Krystal's mind.
"The very first one I can remember" — Krystal wondered if they'd just unlocked the Krazoa's warp technology — "of how I arrived on Sauria."
Mitsuru walked to the front of the bridge, where Fox stood with Marcus on his shoulders, the three of them staring out the panoramic window while turning their head this way and that. None of the constellations in the Cornerian night sky were visible outside, confirming that they had travelled a long way.
"Identifying marker stars by spectral analysis. Triangulating..." ROB's fingers flew over the controls. "Location confirmed. We have arrived at the targeted coordinates."
"Cooool." Marcus's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and he seemed oblivious to the fact that he had his paws over Fox's eyes.
"But..." Mitsuru scratched his chin. "Where are we?"
"Due to the presence of a large dust cloud, we could not target Cerinia directly," ROB continued. "We are 0.125 parsec from our destination."
Kabura joined them, scanning the sky for a moment before pointing to a bright red star to their right. "That looks like Beta Kandesca."
"Welp, no point wasting time. ROB, set course for the Kandesca system and accelerate to lightspeed." Fox grinned and Marcus's tail spun like a propeller. "I guess we'll have a couple of weeks to get to know each other."
Krystal let go of Kayuq's hand and walked up to Fox instead.
"We did it, Fox." She wrapped her arms around him and placed a soft kiss on his muzzle, triggering a giggle from Marcus who playfully grabbed her ears. She could feel the excitement in the kit's mind, and projected some love into his father's. "No more SIRIUS in our way, no more obstacles... nothing can go wrong now."
With a soft thud and a barely perceptible shake, the capsule was jettisoned from the missile bay. Hackles' gaze followed it as it fell away towards the surface. Its metal hull shone against the dark blues and browns of the planet below until it disappeared out of view.
He looked up. There were only a handful of people on the frigate's observation deck: the King, the ship's captain, a handful of the most senior knights, Dr Bowman, and of course, Sabre. The latter stood erect with a stoic look on his face, but his eye watered ever so slightly as he stared towards where the capsule had vanished.
"Few have served the Wolven as well or as long as Randorn." The King rose from his seat in the middle of the deck and walked up to the window, stopping near Sabre, whose father had finally succumbed to the mental illness he suffered during The Doom. "He earned knighthood at a young age, was fearless in battle, and relentless in his pursuit of long-lost Krazoa secrets. His research came to fruition, providing us with invaluable inventions. Even when faced with the greatest of losses — first his wife, then his first-born child — he chose compassion over mourning and vengeance."
Hackles' brows furrowed a little; he knew what the King referred to. After Sabre's brother Blade had been slain in a clash with the Vixon, Randorn had seemingly vanished from the surface of the planet, eventually found by Sabre and living as a hermit with an adopted fox girl: Krystal.
"I was honoured to be his king... and friend."
The room fell dark as the ship entered the Cerinia's shadow, silhouettes of wolves and a fox just visible in the starlight. Hackles shivered and looked down at the surface. Once decorated with a myriad of scattered lights from bustling cities, it was now dark and void. Still, he knew where the capsule containing Randorn's body was heading; the trajectory had been carefully calculated to end over Animus, the former Wolven capital.
A light flickered as Dr Bowman opened a map on her portable projector. "Sire, less than a minute to atmospheric entry."
The congregation crossed their arms, putting their hands on their shoulders. It was a symbol of respect, an embrace of the soul that had left the world of the living.
"Farewell, Father," Sabre whispered. "May you meet Mother and Brother in the afterlife."
A glowing dot appeared over the planet, the artificial meteorite burning brighter and brighter as friction increased. After a bright explosion, followed by the flicker of remaining fragments, it was gone.
"And so" — the King spoke up — "Randorn's ashes have been returned to Cerinia."
One by one, everyone followed the King's lead, and walked up to Sabre, shaking hands and offering their condolences, before filing out of the room. Soon, Sabre was left to mourn in solitude, only Hackles choosing to stay with his friend. Sabre went back to the window and gazed out into the infinite void, even as the ship turned and increased speed. Four escorting fighters — Hackles recognised one as Ylva's craft — barrel rolled in a sign of respect as they flew past. There was no point staying any longer, quite the contrary, in case any hostile Vixon vessels had followed the frigate's path. Neither Hackles nor Sabre noticed Dr Bowman loitering by the exit.
Sabre's facade had finally fallen, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I wish my sister was here."
"I understand now why you were so desperate to find her." Hackles spoke softly and put a hand on Sabre's shoulder. "You wanted her to see her father again before he died."
"True, but it's not just that." Sabre's gaze darted from star to star, as if he tried to find her with his naked eye. "He will never see his dream fulfilled."
"What dream?"
Sabre's head snapped around, his eyes were wide open, blood-shoot and teary, and with a hint of that same look of madness as his late father. "Follow me. It is time you learn about the prophecy."
Sabre stormed out of the observation room and turned to his left.
"Umm... the wake for your father will start soon." Hackles almost had to jog to keep up. "The galley is the other way. You wouldn't want to miss the King's toast in Freya's new brew."
Sabre ignored him, marching on towards the living quarters. "Do you believe in destiny, Hackles?"
"No!" He blurted out in response.
"Ah yes, you were always the sceptical man."
A practical man, Hackles wanted to correct. He just wasn't fatalistic; the idea that everything somehow was predetermined seemed so depressing.
Sabre opened the door to the cabin he had been allotted. It was cramped with just enough room for a bunk, a little hanging space for uniforms, and a small desk. Still, it was somewhere to get a good rest in peace and quiet. Sabre opened a drawer in the desk, revealing a book, which he placed on the desk. Its cover was matt black with golden edges, slightly textured as if made from leather, and with a likewise golden clasp keeping it shut.
"Open it."
Hackles picked it up, shocked at how cold it was to the touch; the cover was not leather or any fabric at all, but metallic. He turned it over. Neither front, back nor spine had any writing, nothing to give away an author or title, only a circle of gold and thin lines within it in the contours of Cerinia's continents. He picked at the latch, but found no button, no lock, no apparent mechanism to open it.
Sabre took it out of his hands. Glowing lines slowly spread from the circle on the cover, resembling Kandesca's protuberances. Geometric patterns appeared in the four corners, the ancient Krazoa symbols for the elements: earth, wind, fire and water. On the spine, two words in swirly writing became visible: Quillupus — Projections.
"Quillupus?" Hackles snorted. "The seer?"
"He was much more than that." Sabre shook his head. "He was a trusted advisor to Queen Thorvi, Wolven regent at the time. A medicine researcher by trade, he also took a special interest in the Krazoa, and rumour has it he could even channel."
Hackles cocked an eyebrow. He'd heard of channelling, the ability to wield dark energy — the very thing that had powered The Shield — just by using your own body. Allegedly, it was a gift from the World Builders to the early settlers of Cerinia to help terraform the planet. But that was just a thing of legends to Hackles; no one in living memory had seen someone channel.
"Projections was his most famous work." Sabre gently put the book back on the desk, slowly stroking the cover. "I'm sure you've heard of it."
Hackles had; it was popular among those of a spiritual disposition, who believed the Krazoa still had some divine influence over Cerinian life, and who liked pointing out that Quillupus had predicted one or the other event. "Weren't the last pages lost anyway?"
"Until my father found the original. We are distant descendants of Quillupus, but the book still recognises his genetic signature in my finger." Sabre touched the latch which flicked open. "We didn't have technology like this centuries ago, so where did Quillupus get it? It is proof that he had some sort of contact with the Krazoa."
While somewhat of a sceptic, Hackles was still intrigued, his eyes pouring over the quatrains filling the page Sabre had opened, each word put down in a neat, handwritten script.
But a random act of madness
Neither side accepting blame
Conflict escalating nonetheless
Like pouring oil on flame
From this moment of hysteria
Until our world is no more
The peoples of Cerinia
Locked in an endless war
"That's a cheerful poem," Hackles deadpanned. He recalled as much about the Projections, how the prophet had ended his magnum opus predicting that the war between Vixon and Wolven would go on forever. He also firmly believed some people used it as an argument to keep fighting.
"Those were the last stanza in his printed books." Sabre turned a page. "But for whatever reason, the final ones he wrote were never published."
Centuries from today
Two tribes will lose their heir
Then to their utmost dismay
Comes doom and great despair
"Blade was Randorn's heir, slain by the Vixon." Sabre turned to Hackles. "And their Matriarch lost her first-born."
"But, that was almost twenty years before The Doom." Hackles wracked his brain. The words were vague and there had been other Cerinian leaders who had lost their children, but he couldn't think of any cases off the top of his head.
"Keep reading." Sabre put a finger on the page.
Sword will fall from hand
The shield will be broken
Fire will burn the land
When the star is awoken
Hackles' head spun as he touched the hilt of his sword, the sword that had belonged to Blade until he was killed a decade before The Shield fell, allowing Alpha Kandesca's deadly rays to reach the surface. With a hand on the desk to steady himself as he continued.
When souls have been lost
And the tribes dispersed
Of necessity utmost
Is peace to be nursed
Then a saviour will be born
And the Krazoa appeased
Hope is not forlorn
When violence has ceased
Resurrected and dignified
Are words that describes
A Cerinia unified
By the child of two tribes
"This is why we must find Krystal!" Sabre turned to the cabin's small viewport, staring out with his muzzle nearly touching the window, his breath fogging up the glass.
Hackles had seen that look on Sabre's face before, when he was dead set on something, and Hackles had learnt the hard way that it was best to bite his tongue at such times.
"I found the book amongst a few things on his own ship after he escaped Cerinia. He must've found it during his exile after my brother's death, and figured out its meaning. He didn't adopt a Vixon child just out of sympathy." Sabre spun around with a slightly manic look on his face. His gaze pierced through Hackles. "He meant for Krystal and I to have that child of two tribes."
Dr Bowman removed the sensitive microphone — cleverly disguised as a pendant — from the door to Sabre's cabin and put it back around her neck; it had recorded every word. She hurried down the corridor to make sure the two wolves didn't see her. While she identified no immediate use of the gathered information, she filed it away for later.
Author's note: Another shout-out to Erold for beta-reading and pushing me to do better.
This chapter concludes the first act of this story, and sets up the conflict for the second half. Yes, we're finally off to Cerinia, which might've taken longer than it should've. If I were to rewrite the story, I'd try to cut a few chapters out, but first I need to move forwards.
Unfortunately, this is also the point where I need to take a break. Firstly, I need to plan out act two. As usual, I have some pivotal plot points and know exactly how I want to end the story, but I need to get there somehow. Secondly, I'm burnt out. I enjoy writing, but because of various things going on in life, I have little energy left for this hobby. I don't want to give up, but I need some time to recharge. Further updates will be put on my profile page. Sorry to disappoint.