Everyone looked out at the bridge. Even from space Corneria was beautiful. Its atmosphere clear the surface dotted with lush green continents and shining blue seas.

A hologram of Pepper appeared. "Well, Star Fox nice to see you made some new friends. We have already prepared the hospital staff. I wish to speak with their leader when you arrive Pepper out."

The shuttle landed and its ramp opened. Pepper greeted them warmly. "Welcome to Corneria."

The Minutemen looked with awe and wonder. The planet was so pristine the cities were built in such a way to preserve the environment around them. Medical staff took Josh in an Ambulance along with other heavily wounded Settlers and Minutemen. As Cody was lifted in one of the medics attempted to take his holster. He grabbed his M1911 first clinging to it for dear life instead of aiming at anyone he held it to his chest.

"Don't even think about it. I will not be left defenseless."

He had a determined scowl on his face. The medics could see the fear in his eyes. Krystal held his hand.

"I'll stay with you give the gun to me I promise you'll be safe."

Cody relented, handing his Colt to her. Liberator turned to Pepper. He saluted Pepper. "Liberator General of the Commonwealth Minutemen at your service."

Pepper was perturbed by Liberator's appearance. Mainly his black eyes and face or what is left of his face. With his left cheek, all gone the teeth and jawbone looked like that of a crooked sneer.

Liberator frowned. "I know I look like a monster, but I have no ill intentions toward your people, in fact, I wish to ask for help from them."

Pepper gave a nervous smile. "It's just I've never seen someone like you before the probe sent us back scans of your world, but the radiation was too thick for us to get any clear view of its effects."

Liberator's face brightened. "Well, I'm a Ghoul a type of mutated human or well I once was. So much of me is mutated or so far gone I wouldn't call myself human anymore. As for my troops, they are normal humans or as close as you can get to one before the bombs."

"Let's talk about this in the command room." Said Pepper.

His staff car flew in. It didn't have wheels, instead, it hovered. Liberator wasn't surprised the U.S. already had flying cars, but only the very wealthy could afford them. He climbed into the back seat while Pepper sat in the front. The flight was short, and they arrived at the tower. Two guards saluted them as they entered. Another pair of guards greeted them in the elevator. They found themselves in the command room of the tower. The two Generals chatted away about their troops and homeworlds. While Pepper activated a hologram of Corneria Liberator rolled out a map of Pre-War America.

In the hospital, Preston was in the waiting room. To the Colonel, it felt like an eternity. He pondered how the others were doing. Krystal sat beside him.

"Cody is still in surgery they sedated him multiple times but the chems in his system keep waking him up. Your General never told you this. Cody's heart is very weak he needs to get off those drugs if he has any chance of living."

Preston understood. "Ever since Becker lost his life everything came crashing upon us. Many deserted while the others were cut down. Eventually, even Zion fell yet at the same time it held. It's because of the Youth Battalion's sacrifice that the Commonwealth still has a chance. I hate what Liberator has done to Cody but even, so he's been there for him ever since Rick died and Zion fell. From what Liberator told me one day he sent Cody out to bait some Super Mutants he got captured by Raiders; they tortured him for hours and injected all sorts of chems into him. Now he can barely sleep, he just keeps drugging himself. To stay awake."

Krystal frowned. "It's wrong that he piles so much responsibility onto him, but I understand. I know what it's like to be the last of my kind."

A sly smirk crept upon her muzzle and a snicker escaped her lips. "One thing is certain it's going to be amusing when he gets the role of a commander. He is Liberator's protégé after all. Still, the idea of a bunch of Minutemen taking orders from a ten-year-old is going to be humorous for us but not them."

Preston giggled as well. "I can hear the newbies grumbling already." The two snickered a bit.

They were interrupted when they heard screaming. Both barged through the doors. A mutated two-foot-long tapeworm shrieked toward them. Cody roared leaping out from the operating theatre wrestling the worm down. He sunk his teeth into it and bit it in half. The creature let out its dying shrieks as it sprayed blood everywhere.

He shouted at Krystal. "THIS IS WHY I NEVER GO UNARMED!"

Agony coursed through his entire body everything hurt from the unfinished surgery and withdrawals. With sheer stubbornness, he got back on his feet. His chest was open allowing everyone to see the broken ribs, some with pieces still missing. His heart pounded and his lungs heaved. His wrists and ankles were dripping with blood. Krystal gave an empathetic yet solemn look to him. He knew she wasn't going to take no for an answer. He said nothing as a wolfess nurse carried him back to the operating theatre.

Preston sighed and grabbed the radio off his bandolier. "General Cody broke out of surgery and turns out Nathan couldn't keep weight on cause he has a mutated tapeworm."

Liberator nodded. "Ok did y'all-"

He was cut off by Preston. "When Cody broke out of the surgery room he leapt onto the tapeworm and bit it in half. "

Liberator couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, sounds about right. Well take care, Preston, I'll be over."

Pepper was shocked, he heard everything. "Does Cody always do that?"

"Yeah, quite often he rarely sleeps but when he does and wakes up, he goes into a protective frenzy. He'd be asleep for an hour then when I turn my attention to something else, he gets up screaming like a banshee then starts charging wherever the enemy is." Answered Liberator.

Pepper's eyes went wide but he said nothing. Both Generals arrived at the hospital by then Cody's surgery was finished. Liberator walked to Cody's room. The same wolfess nurse walked in.

She looked at Liberator, small bits of his frail necrotic skin fell onto the floor. Her face grew fearful when she realized she was looking at what was essentially a living corpse.

Pepper stepped in and calmed her down. "Don't fret dear this is Liberator one of Fox's new friends and General of the Minutemen."

The nurse's face softened a bit. "I thought the Minutemen meant he was ugly in a way that he looked ghoulish didn't think they meant what species he is."

One of the Minutemen shouted from a room. "YOU NEVER ASKED WHAT WE MEANT!"

She smiled a bit embarrassed. "My name is Vera. Vera Eclipse."

Liberator smiled. "Nice to meet you ma'am. I hope my troops haven't been too much of a hassle."

Vera gave an affirmative nod. "Most of your troops have been a joy to work with. They have been telling me about their battles and many stories about you. Now Cody has been the most trouble but no fault of his own. Scanning and testing showed his weakened heart is overstrained with high amounts of drugs in his bloodstream and shrapnel in several places good news is thought by operating on him and the others we gained valuable insight into how to treat humans. Now as for Ghouls, the only specimen here is you."

Liberator grumbled. "Y'all want to operate on me and take D.N.A samples? Well, I'm still stuck in this worn-out body glove. Pepper tells Fox and Krystal to take care of Cody while they get me out of this thing. Preston, you're in charge. Find the troops a place to rest and to be ready. Tomorrow we're gonna put on a show for our friends at the academy.

"Aye, sir." Answered Preston.

While Liberator went under the knife to remove the body glove and save what little was left of his skin Preston carried out his General's orders.

Fay happily skipped up Preston to her tail wagging into a blur. "I overheard everything my family would be more than happy to let you stay."

Preston breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Fay almost forgot about how much shaper Cornerian ears are. I thought we were going to set up tents."

A slight snarl curled on Fay's muzzle. "I'm insulted you think we would let you and the others sleep outside."

The Colonel answered. "Easy we just don't want to be burdens you already treated us with so much kindness and respect that the Minutemen haven't seen since our peak. Now a lot of people ridicule, mock, or even spit on us. The last place we were welcomed as heroes was Quincy. Mayor Jackson even let us use his home as a barracks. After Quincy fell, I thought that maybe this would be the end, instead, Star Fox took us in. We just don't want to cause you trouble."

Fay's snarl turned into a frown. "Giving you a place to rest and heal is no burden to us. Some people are just dealt a bad hand. What amazes me is you could have just deserted yet you chose to stay and get those people out. Now we'll talk about this later, you need rest."

Fay called in a hover vehicle akin to a limo. She looked at Evan. "Evan you'll have to leave your armor with Sturges."

"If I must. To be honest it keeps pinching my skin and now my skin is bruising."

He climbed out of his armor and Sturges got in. "Hey, Liberator, and I got a surprise for you. Chin up."

As they flew through Corneria's clear skies the Minutemen and Settlers told how their day went. Mama Murphy told about her time in the park while Evan talked about meeting locals in his armor and their wide-eyed wonder about how he got it and what the Minutemen are about along with some of his adventures.

The Rookie had a broad smile. "The most memorable thing about meeting a pup and his mother their names are Thomas and Mayah. Thomas had a lot of trouble pronouncing some things the translator fitted into my helmet kept saying Eavy. Mayah said he was trying to call me Heavy."

Fay giggled. "I believe he's doing it on purpose as a nickname Evan and Heavy put together you get Eavy or something like that."

Evan pondered. "Well, one thing that did bug me today is all the locals kept sniffing me they stopped and looked at me with worry. Not fear but pity."

Fay answered. "My mom will know she's been a nurse for decades if anyone can help you it's her."

They landed. To call Fay's home a mansion was an understatement, it was more like a huge castle.

Both her parents waited at the massive wooden doors. Both greeted the Minutemen warmly. Her father shook Preston's hand. "I'm Duke and this is my wife, Chara."

Preston smiled warmly. "Colonel Garvey at your service." His smile faded. "We came for a place to stay for a bit and to get Evan looked over. He kept insisting he was fine, but the locals kept sniffing at him."

Chara answered. "Normally when we sniff each other like that is when we smell a disease. Well, Evan let's get you checked over if the people kept looking at you with pity that means it's very serious."

Inside the mansion was cavernous furnished with fine wood and built in the Art Nouveau style. Chara sat Evan down in a recliner. She started the checkup. The first thing she noticed was the white of his eyes were yellowed, a clear sign of some form of Jaundice.

She gave a firm command. "Take your coat and shirt off."

He did and she sniffed his belly. Evan was weird but his face turned confused to scared. He could see Chara's muzzle become calm and stern.

"Evan, you have Pancreatic Cancer and if my nose is right, it's at stage 4. Now in Corneria's medical circles cancer is seen more as a nuisance than a threat but I'm going to need more data. The best thing to do is keep calm."

Chara relayed this revelation to Pepper who in turn would relay it to Liberator once the ghoul woke up from surgery.

Evan was up all night. He thought to himself. "With all the radiation from the Great War, I wouldn't be surprised if the cancer I have is totally different from what they are used to. Star Fox Corneria the people were so good to us. When talking with the locals I've heard rumors about these Venomians led by Andrew Oikonny. They act like Raiders torturing and enslaving soldiers and civilians alike. I already lost my home. I'm not losing my new friends. I already know I may have a few months maybe a year tops. Cody is already a kamikaze hooked on chems, but he has a chance at life. I'm not going to drag him into my mess. Once I get my armor, I will wait to make my escape. Going to turn those monsters into a nice red smear."

While everyone else was asleep Liberator woke up from surgery. His entire body sang with even more agony. He rose from the table and saw Pepper. The hound's muzzle said it all. Hurt eyes full of concern unsure how to break the news to the ghoul.

Liberator spoke firmly. "It's about one of my Minutemen isn't it?"

Pepper took a deep breath. "Fay's mother called. Evan has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. We'll do what we can for him."

Liberator replied. "If that's the case Sturges and I are going to need a workspace for his armor. I'm not going to let him die on me." He grabbed his radio. "Sturges, I need you to get my tools and parts ready we need to overhaul Evan's T-45 not just to its former glory we also need it to have chemo injectors I'll explain the rest once I'm there."

Pepper held his paw out. "Um, you might want to get dressed. An operation gown is not your style."

Liberator blushed. Pepper pointed to a pair of pants and a white t-shirt. "The Phoenix family wanted you to have these both them and the Spaniels are empathetic to the Minutemen. I wish we could help more but the government will have my head if we try to help militarily but I can provide some medicine along with some fabric and textiles for your troops."

The Old Ghoul just smiled. "That's more than enough Pepper leave the rest to me."

Sturges was already busy taking apart the T-45 to the last nut and bolt. "Hey boss already got started it's in rougher shape than I thought the left arm and right leg are in critical condition a few more hits the servos would have given out."

Liberator said nothing and got to work. He started with his rust removal laser. Carefully making sure each piece was down to bare metal. The duo began replacing the worn-out servos and repairing the armor plating. Vera walked in with a cart full of syringes and hosing.

"Pepper informed me and before you ask this is medical help not militarily." She said with a wink.

Sturges put the chest plate back together now proudly adorned with the Minutemen emblem. Liberator was modifying the helmet and visor from what Sturges could figure he was installing some old circuit board he cut up and was wiring it to the helmet. The Ghoul showed a satisfied smile hooking his T-51 to Evan's and then unplugging it.

Sturges interrupted. "Um, boss what are you doing? Liberator smirked. "It's a surprise don't want to ruin it."

Now let's get to working on mine.

Both Star Fox and the Minutemen walked into the academy we're several cadets looked in awe at the battle-hardened Citizen Soldiers. That awe turned into a mix of confusion disgust and pity when they laid eyes on Cody. Their Drill Sargent, an old Lion was most displeased.

"ARE YOU PEOPLE REALLY THAT SICK TO USE CUB SOLDIERS?!"

Cody remembered what his father taught him. He stood at attention his M16 on his shoulder helmet straight on his head. "CODY MASON COMMONWEALTH MINUTEMEN YOUTH BATTALION!"

The Sargent calmed down curiosity, getting the better of him. He spoke sternly but in an indoor voice this time. "Where is your Battalion?"

Cody answered his voice was calm, but the Lion could tell he was trying not to quake a bit. "You're looking at it, sir. At my home in Fort Zion, there were over 300 of us. A true Pre-War sized Battalion. Zion held the line against overwhelming odds but fell in the final wave only three squads survived along with a squad of Minutemen. A few months later we fought the battle for University Point. Many civilians were killed along with six more of my fellow youths. Another one of my brothers died being mauled by two bears. When we scouted out some old Estates. We caught the Blu Flu we got all covered in painful bruises and blisters. Doctor Amari performed surgery on all of us to stop brain hemorrhages. Most of my brothers and sisters died from it. So, we got who was left and formed one final squad, my squad. The people of Quincy cried out for help so we along with Colonel Hollis's group answered. Lieutenant Clint betrayed us to the Gunners. So, Hollis sent for help, no one came we were left for dead. Liberator drew a huge amount of them off us. More just kept coming. Hollis led the rearguard while Preston led the civilians to safety. We were cut down bit by bit. When I was captured, Hollis was executed in front of me. Before they could kill me my closest brother Able sniped Captain Wes. Giving me time to escape. Evan got me out and Liberator drew their fire. When we got out, I held out hope Able was alive. We reached the water tower and Preston brought him down."

Cody's eyes teared up a bit. "All snipers who fired upon him hit their mark. One round went through his scope and through his eye. He still had a smile on his face."

All groups stood silent, the cadets grew fearful and disheartened. Cody shrugged his shoulders yet still shook a bit. "Enough of my sob story it's time to give you a show."

The Minutemen all stood in formation at the shooting range. Liberator marched in his clothes covered in oil and hydraulic fluid from working on Evan's armor and his own. One by one Liberator showed the different firearms and explosives they used.

"Alright, the first weapons we'll discuss are pistols. Now the most common are of the makeshift variety. I call em zip guns myself in short all of them are different and vary by who makes them and what materials are available."

The Minuteman nodded. Drawing his zip pistol. It was a short piece of small pipe tied to a wooden handle with a flintlock mechanism. He poured down a mix of powder before ramming a marble down the barrel then poured powder in the pan. Aiming at the target he fired. It took a second then BOOM a loud shot rang out much louder than a blaster ever was followed by a billow of smoke along strong smell of the burning propellent. The marble hit the leg of the Venomian hardlight hologram the slow marble shattering the bone. Liberator patted his soldier.

"As you can see some have trouble making are purchasing ammunition even so black powder can still be viable in a pinch just because its obsolete don't make it harmless. Next up is Sturges who will be using one of the most common and reliable guns of the Pre-War era, the N80 10mm pistol. The 10mm cartridge is a perfect mix of firepower and capacity. The N80 has a major flaw it's overly complicated. Alright Sturges fire away."

Sturges smirked racking the slide. He put twelve rounds into the hard light target mainly aiming for the torso and then hitting one in the head. Once more the sound causes the cadet's ears to ring.

"We all have our own biases. Y'all have your favorite blasters starfighters. Cody has in his possession what I firmly believe to be a timeless masterpiece. Designed by John Moses Browning and manufactured by Colt I present to you the M1911. Chambered in 45 ACP, this beauty has been in countless battles and has contributed to winning two great wars. Cody your up."

Cody aimed down the sights and fired in quick secession eight rounds all hitting the head of his target. The cadets felt uneasy at Cody's ruthless display of marksmanship and what they could sense was hatred for the enemy, whoever that may be.

Liberator continued. "Now on to short and medium-range weapons. The most popular are makeshift SMGS and double-barrel shotguns. The double barrel is essential for survival most settlers prefer a long barrel with full stock making it excellent both for home defense and hunting to provide for yourself and your family."

A settler marched up with his trusty double barrel. He aimed at the target one barrel with buckshot and the other with a slug. The buckshot blew a limb. The slug sank into the gut of the target. The double barrel was by far the loudest of the bunch so far.

The next one was a Minuteman with a homemade SMG made from sheet metal and pipe much like Evan's. The trooper aimed his SMG chattering out a few rounds before jamming. Everyone could hear him curse under his breath before he managed to unjam his gun and finish firing. As for the target, the groupings were terrible making Liberator realize this SMG was smoothbore.

The ghoul clasped his hands. "Moving on we now have long-range weaponry. These range from hunting rifles to makeshift solutions such as crude blowbacks, but the best of our long-range weapons is the Laser Musket. When cranked six times it can even be used against power armor and some tanks. Give em a taste Preston."

"Yes sir." He answered.

Preston marched up with his Laser Musket. He cranked it six times. "Hey, give me a harder target."

The Sargent pressed a button on his gauntlet giving Preston a small drone to shoot instead of the hardlight target. Preston aimed down his scope. When he fired. It sounded like a turbolaser mixed with a lightning strike. The poor small drone disintegrated into ash while the cadets hit the deck. Everyone's ears were ringing.

Liberator shouted. "MY BAD THAT WAS A BAD IDEA WITHOUT EARPLUGS!"

Everyone went back to the range after getting earplugs. "OK, now I want to show y'all something special only two rifles left. Cody, you're up again."

The child soldier marched up with his M16 at the ready bayonet fixed. "Single or full auto sir?"

"Single first then full auto." Answered Liberator. "Cody's M16 used to be clad in polymer furniture but as you imagine over two centuries later that rotted away. So, it's been refurbished with Maple wood furniture."

Cody fired in single shots. Again, aiming for the head. Before switching to full auto firing in bursts. His mag was now empty and, in a frenzy, ran over the barricade charging with his bayonet stabbing the hardlight target screaming at the top of his lungs. He stopped making sure his bayonet was clean.

Everyone just stared at him. "What you wanted me to put on a show?" He said with a sly smirk.

Liberator coughed a bit. "Anyway, Sturges take it from here I must get something.

They moved outside to a new part of the range where explosives and vehicles were tested.

Sturges tried his best to hide his smile. "Y'all are in for a treat as the old saying goes save the best for last."

The garage doors opened. Evan and Liberator marched in their T-45 and T-51F Powered Armors. Evan with his Minigun and Liberator with his M2 Browning. With every step the ground shook. Both armors were heavily repaired and polished gleaming in the sunlight. On Liberator's T-51F was his iconic bandolier and with two holsters in them his Ivory Gripped 44 Magnums They stepped onto the shooting range where many damaged Venomian vehicles and robots awaited their destruction.

Evan went first. The Minigun started with a slow whine which turned into a deafening roar. He aimed at an old squad of Venomian robots. The targeting computer activated. He kept firing till his barrels became red hot.

"What the where did this come from." Thought Evan.

Liberator snickered tuning in to Evan's frequency where only they could hear each other. I built ya a targeting computer like mine".

He marched forward "I present to you the Browning 50 cal. Nickname Ma Deuce. It takes an M134 I'd reckon thirty shots to chop you in half well M2 Browning needs only one."

To prove a point, he only fired one shot blowing a combat droid in half. He aimed an old, armored hovercar and fired. The rounds went through one side and out the other.

Liberator was taken aback. "Huh, I thought that advanced armor of theirs would have held heh guess 364-year-old tech is still viable. Much like the M1911 the M2 refuses to become obsolete."

Slippy spoke up. "I can explain the armor most armor all of us use is to protect against energy weapons not kinetic. Energy weapons are at least cheaper for us to make and supply plus when a blaster pack runs out, we can just recharge it. One pack alone depending on the settings can hold up to five hundred shots. So, for Cody to match that he would have to carry twenty-five twenty-round magazines. He would have to lug around seventy-two kilograms of loaded magazines. A blaster pack can fit in your pocket and only weighs one kilogram."

Liberator pondered. "So, in U.S Measurement that's one hundred and fifty-eight pounds? While one blaster pack is only two pounds. Alright, smartass we don't have the capacity, but we have the firepower."

He pulled out his 44s. "The 44 Magnum most powerful handgun in the world. Only need six shots, but I love overkill that's why I carry two."

Liberator several droids advanced on him. In true gunslinger fashion, he dispatched the attacking droids with ease. He swung the cylinders emptying the steel casings. "Now that's how we did things back in Texas. Welp onto our explosives. First is the Molotov Cocktail or in layman's terms a glass bottle full of fuel and a rag."

Cody marched up with a Molotov in one hand and a flip lighter in the other. He lit the rag and tossed it landing on an old tank. This accidentally cooked off the remaining energy cells. Everyone took cover in time.

"Ok, I know I wanted to put on a show for y'all that's not exactly what I meant."

The Cadets laughed their Sergent silenced them with a growl.

"Moving on next we have the MK2 Pineapple grenade unlike plasma grenades this baby spews out shrapnel pieces of metal everywhere. So would anyone like to volunteer?"

The Cadets grew excited. The Lion growled. "No, I will not let my cadets handle explosives."

Liberator laughed. "Oh, relax I give these all the time to Cody. Speaking of which, here ya go Cody you're up again."

Cody pulled the pin, popped the lever, and threw it hard. It landed between some burnt-out wrecks it exploded bits of metal pinging about before silence fell. The demonstration was now over, everyone went back inside. Cody shook with the Cadets. "If any of you have questions, I'll be happy to answer them."

A cadet raised his paw. "What was your father's name?"

Liberator tried to step forward, but Cody held his hand out behind him. "It's fine General no need to worry. My father's name was Rick Mason, he formed and led the Youth Battalion. Daddy was the best next to Liberator in terms of strategy tactics and fighting prowess. He had a heart condition and I inherited it. A man named Kellog took advantage and shot him twice with a 44 during their duel. Next question."

Another cadet, this time a pup spoke. "How are you so good at marksmanship sure some of you had trouble but a vast majority of you hit your marks?"

Cody grunted. "Well, we live in what you call a Death World. Ammo can be hard to come by. The only one you can count on besides the Minutemen is yourself. You must make your shots count or those you love so dearly will die. You must make the enemy die so they can never hurt you or them again. A pure evil people called the Insititute sent Kellogg to kill my Daddy and my family. They succeeded for the most part, but we saved the Commonwealth. I am that last loose end and when I find Kellogg, I will kill him. Then I will follow Daddy's last order and destroy the Insititute so they can't hurt anyone else ever again."

The pup started to shake as Cody's blood-red eyes pierced into his soul. "Isn't that mass murder genocide extermination of a people?"

Cody nodded. "Yes, it is. Sometimes it's the only way to ensure the safety of you and your family. Extermination and enslavement are what the Insititute wishes upon the Commonwealth. War is not always a battle between light and dark, I'm not naïve like that anymore. Rather it's you or them. If you don't kill them, they will kill you then march to do the same to your household."

The pup began sobbing, horribly frightened, now fearful for his family.

The Sargent marched up only to be met by Liberator who stood between him and Cody.

He growled. "He's going to have nightmares because of you."

Cody shrugged his shoulders lighting a cigar. "All I have are nightmares. It's how this fucked up world is either fight or die."

He put his hand on the pup's shoulder. "Look I'm not trying to scare you I'm trying to warn you. I don't want you to lose your family like I did. I want you to be better than me so that maybe you can protect your family and succeed unlike me when I failed. That goes for all of you."

Evan wanted to see the commotion he recognized. The pup. "Thomas is that you?" He took off his helmet. The pup recognized him. "EAVY!"

Evan dropped the Minigun bending a knee he embraced the pup. "So happy to see you Thomas didn't see you covered in all that gear, nor can I see well through this small vision slit of a visor."

Thomas's tail wagged at the speed of light. "I couldn't tell it was you. Your armor is all shiny not rusty. I couldn't smell you this time either."

Evan smiled. 'Well Liberator and Sturges fixed my armor for me, so all the seals are working to protect me. Now I know Cody seems scary, but he loves you and wants you to be safe. He's a good friend of mine and helped save those I love, and I saved him. Remember Quincy?"

Thomas nodded. "How could I not? It was your home, you lost it, but you gained some friends. I must know what is it that Mama and I kept smelling."

Evan frowned a bit. "It's pancreatic cancer but not to worry General Liberator and Sturges fixed my armor up with chemo injectors. They inject a special liquid that will help me battle it. He kissed the young pup on the head. Tell your Mama I said hi, we'll leave in a few days, but I promise we'll be back."

He put his helmet back on. He didn't have the heart to tell Thomas his current chances were slim.

Shears growled. "How dare Pepper let those mutated vermin onto our planet no matter accidents happen." He sneered.

The targets and droids were reactivated this time attacking the Minutemen and Cadets. Liberator and Evan moved in using themselves as armored shields. The Minutemen went into action, almost all the previously demonstrated weapons now blazing. Cody wanted to fight but he couldn't, his body wasn't obeying his will. Instead, he walked backward right into Krystal's arms.

"It's ok Cody I know what I'm doing."

She formed a massive shield around all of them with her staff. Blaster bolts flew in all directions merely bouncing off the shield. Liberator fired a 44 round, and it went through the shield and hit the droid. The Minutemen could now hit the droids, but the droids couldn't hit them. The battle went on for around fifteen minutes before the last droid and hard light emitter was destroyed. In the final minute, a Molotov was thrown setting off the water sprinklers. Krystal recalled the shield. The water began soaking Cody's cloak uniform causing all the once-dried mud blood and whatever else was there to run onto the floor.

"SORRY!" Shouted the soaked child soldier.

Liberator let out a ghoulish growl as he spotted Shears trying to escape. He sprinted after him but the C.D.F caught Shears first.

Pepper himself ran in panting. "I'm sorry this happened."

The Old Ghoul shrugged his pauldrons. "Hey all my troops and the little ones are alive that's all that matters." He growled at Shears. "As for this literal son of a bitch who turned all the defenses on us, I want him away from my troops or else I will have his head served to me on a silver platter understood."

"Understood," said Pepper.

Everyone went back home exhausted. The Minutemen and Settlers were flown back to the Spaniel's while Cody once again was taken back to the Great Fox. Krystal bathed Cody again wrapping him up in a pink robe. Fox walked into the living room. "What happened over there?"

Krystal sighed. "Long story short Shears is working for Andrew and tried to kill the Minutemen and the Cadets by turning the training drones and defenses on them. I had to keep up a shield spell for over fifteen minutes. I'm beyond tired."

Fox hugged her. "I'll go to bed with you. Poor kit we try to show him a safe place only for a traitor to turn our people's weapons against him and his friends."

Krystal shook her head. "That's the sad thing my love for him there is no safe place only another place full of potential enemies and Shears has proven him right."

Fox caressed her cheek. "We're not going to give up on him. The Minutemen are resolute they're good people. Will help them pull through. Let's get some sleep got a busy day ahead of us."

Both vulpines got under the covers. Krystal wrapped her arms and tail around Cody keeping him close. Fox couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "He's a little badass on the battlefield but in Krystal's paws he's nothing but putty." He kissed the vixen goodnight, and both fell asleep. For the first time in a long time, Cody had no nightmares.