Dawn
Prologue:
"S-sir?"
General Pepper slowly looked up at the aide. He didn't want to hear what the young private had to say; he knew it was bad knews, the confirmation of a tragic event.
"It-it's confirmed s-sir. We've lost Star Fox."
Denial surged in him for several moments. How was it possible? He'd watched them beat Star Wolf, watched them clobber the fleet in Sector Y. How? He closed his eyes for a moment and lifted a hand to rub them as they burned. It also gave him a feeling of deep failure. After the death of James McCloud, he had felt responsible for Fox. And now, Fox was gone.
Not only that without Star Fox, Andross would be able to push though and win. When Andross had reached Corneria, Star Fox had become the main spear, the main weapon against the enemy, and now they were gone. The Lylat Allied forces were still very weak and drawing together. They were not enough to win against Andross' immense forces.
"How?" He finally rasped, sinking back into his chair.
"Star Fox flew experimental planes, sir." The aide looked at the floor. "And experimental planes always have shut-down codes, and as near as we can tell, Andross found those codes out."
"Oh, god." He said numbly. "It's confirmed?"
The aide nodded slowly. "We got pictures...from the Great Fox.... We think Peppy Hare is dead..."
Pepper's throat closed with grief. He gestured for the aide to leave, standing up and going to the window. Outside, the repair of Corneria City went on, the civilians blithly unaware of what had happened. He looked out over the beautiful city and saw it in ruins, saw Venomians patrolling the streets, and closed his eyes to it.
"S-sir, the other Generals and the President..."
"Tell them I'll be along shortly. And get me Fara Phoenix."
"Yessir." The aide left.
Fara walked into the office a few minutes later, uneasy. She had a feeling something bad had happened. The building was in chaos. Aides were running everywhere, and the pilots had been scrambled. Two cruisers, newly repaired, had just left.
"I've been waiting for you." Pepper looked very, very tired. He was sagged in his desk chair, eyes somewhat bloodshot.
"What's happened, sir?"
He slowly stood. "I don't know how to break this gently to you... Early this morning we lost Star Fox."
She stared at him. "No. It isn't possible."
He sighed. "That's what I said, but... Fara. The way we see it, one team member is dead, the rest captured... and I just found out the Great Fox is gone too..."
She just stared in wordless shock at him for several moments, then moaned. Pepper stepped forward and gave her a hug silently.
"Oh god..." She whimpered.
"I know, I know..." He whispered.
"W-who died?" Dread filled her voice.
"Peppy did."
She sobbed, at the same time obscurely glad that it wasn't Fox and feeling terrible for that.
"And a quartet of missles got the Great Fox. ROB wasn't able to defend himself against them, and they got him."
"Jesus." She moaned. ROB had been part of the team as well, and the entire ship had cost a fortune which Fox had been struggling to pay off. Now the mechanical part of the team was gone as well.
They stood there for several minutes, Fara crying and Pepper with no tears left.
Andross comfortably kicked back and laced his fingers behind his head, grinning to himself. He had won. After the fall of Star Fox, it had been amazingly easy. There had been a little resistance, then most of the soldiers had surrendered, having little choice. They weren't enough to win and knew it.
Corneria City had been the toughest. The capitol's militia had put up a terrific fight, and had eventually been subdued by repeated bombing. They had surrendered to keep the city intact, even if it became property of Venom.
Well, now the whole system was property of Venom. Andross had taken immense glee into walking into the President's office and announcing who was in charge. Commanding General Pepper had been there as well. He hadn't said a word. He had been standing, looking out the window, and when Andross had entered, he looked over his shoulder, and sighed like some part of him had just died before turning silently back to the window.
Andross chortled to himself richly. He had a feeling he'd have a lot of fun as ruler of the system. Of course there was the problem with what to do with the captured soldiers, in particular the Star Fox team, a trio which acted like dark angels, looking at any Venomian with anger-blackened eyes but not doing a thing but what jailed people were supposed to. They were scorned, honorless, and enraged. If they got out there would be absolute hell to pay, especially since Peppy Hare had died when his plane had crashed.
Last Andross had seen him, Fox hadn't looked 18. The look in his eyes was older and wiser, and a brand-new scar trailed down one cheek, narrowly missing one eye and going down his muzzle. When Andross had talked to him, instead of bursting into angry, childish talk, he had been cool and collected, talking eloquently; and when he was uncuffed, he had sat quietly, hands folded in his lap, as if he had still been cuffed. Falco too had seemed to age, though he was still rage-driven. Slippy's high voice was rougher and cracked; it was finally changing.
The prisoners were pretty much slaves, and the trio worked without complaining. When allowed to they stuck together but didn't protest if separated.
'Yes, if they get loose, there will be hell to pay.' Andross mused absently.
The door opened, and Wolf strolled in, strutting his new rank off. "Emperor." He bowed, then half saluted, a light touch of his hand to his brow.
"Afternoon, O'Donnel. What brings you here?" He returned the half-salute automatically.
"Nothing much. System seems secure. Power is up in the city. Some of the boys are asking for leave time."
"So I expected. They fought hard." He absently wove a hand. "I need a portion of them to stay on, because of various reasons, but I'll arrange to let most have leave time."
"They'll appreciate that, sir. Oh and I took it upon myself to go talk to McCloud."
"Oh? And why is that?"
A grin. "Well. I beat him sir. I wanted to see his reaction."
"Ah... And?"
"He wouldn't talk to me, oddly enough. When I arrived he had been pacing around that cell he's currently locked in, but when he saw me he simply turned his back." He rubbed his chin. "Wouldn't say a word no matter what I said. Ignored me completely. A few times he just LOOKED at me, and boy, if looks could kill.."
Andross laughed out loud. "I know it! I know it! I talked to him not too long ago. He acted quite civilized, though. Ah well. I'm not at all sure what to do with them actually, them meaning ALL captured soldiers. We can't let them go and we'll run up one helluva bill keeping them incarcerated." He shrugged.
"That is a problem, I suppose. Personally I'd say wipe most of them out, but we need the support of the public, and hoo boy would THAT piss the public off." He flopped into a chair, and pulled the Secret-Service style radio out of his ear.
"Agreed." He wove a hand again. "But what can the public do to us?"
"Good point."
Half of Corneria City was bombed out and blackened, ruined. The inner city had survived, but the factories and warehouses that had been on the lower east side of town hadn't survived.
Fara propped her foot on a piece of rubble and scanned the wreckage with her eyes, her hands in the pocket of the flowing black trench coat she wore. From the air she blended in with the fire-blackened cement to the point of being nearly invisible.
After several moments she turned and retreated, going into one of the still partly erect buildings. A cluster of pilots and ground soldiers regarded her for several moments before one spoke up.
"What do you think, Fara?"
"It's pretty bad." Another timidly said.
"Yes, it is." Fara agreed mildly. "Where's Geoff and Ivy? Still scouting what's left of the town?"
Nods. "They're looking for allies and so on...Seeing what the stand of the town is."
"Yes I know. I sent them after all." She sat on a piece of room absently, and rubbed her temples.
"Shuttle just went overhead." Another ground soldier appeared. "Transport shuttle, looked like."
She nodded. "I'll tell you the plan when Ivy and Geoff get back, all right?"
"What plan?"
"I was ordered by General Pepper to go into hiding." She stood and began to pace slowly back and forth, coat fluttering out behind her. "He gave me some orders, and said it was my choice whether or not to carry them out. He also said to gather people up and stick together. Besides," She stared into the distance. "Being here with an uncertain future is a lot better then being captured."
Everyone agreed.
"This sucks." Falco moaned. "Not only are we captured, he turns us into slaves!"
Fox stretched weary muscles, arms above his head, then wiped at sweat. "What'd you figure he do, let us go?" He sourly replied, grabbing one end of a heavy crate.
Falco grabbed the other end. "Wishful thinking that..." He grunted as they loaded the crate.
Fox rubbed the long scar that was now on one of his cheeks absently.
"That healed?" Falco glanced at him and went to the next crate.
"'The only wounds that haven't healed are the ones upon my heart.'" He quoted, rolling his shoulders as he walked, tank top discolored with sweat and grime.
"Quoting poetry now..." He lifted as Fox did, and once it was loaded, continued. "Appropriate though. I miss that guy too."
"I really miss him..." Fox's voice was distant. "Why he had to die is just beyond me.."
"Stop having a crisis and give me a hand!"
"You two are jabberboxes." Commented a nearby captured soldier, loading the next ship over.
"Yes we know it." Falco sighed, then snarled as a few feathers got pinned under the crate and pulled out.
Fox was still distant. "I've lost too many..."
"Huh?"
"I lost my parents, and now Pep as well...and I'll probably never see Fara again..." He hugged himself as he walked to the next crate.
"Absense makes the heart grow fonder."
"Or forgetful."
Falco snorted. "She loves you Fox. She won't forget you."
"I don't even know if she's alive.."
"I'm in the same boat! I don't know if Katt's alive!"
"I know I know.." He stripped off his sodden tank top and tossed it aside, then stretched again. "But hey if we see our girls again at least it looks like we've been lifting weights, eh?"
Falco laughed bitterly. "Yeah, like she'll fawn at my feet, SURE. More like she'll slap me for almost getting dead..."
"Then kiss you."
He laughed again.
"Okay that's enough over there!" A Venomian guard glared in their direction darkly.
They were quiet for several moments, then Fox started singing at the top of his lungs, the Corneria National anthem. The loading bay went silent in shock, then Falco joined in, and so did everyone else working, as loud as they could. The loading bay echoed with it, lights rattling a little even.
When they finished, many glanced at Fox to see what was going to be done next. Fox started singing the latest hit he could remember, and kept it up until the guard got fed up and shot the ceiling. Then silence desended again, workers returning gloomily to loading.
Katt Monroe stood in the center of a feild, hands in her pockets, squinting up at the stars which could barely be seen through the polluted haze. The grass that wove around her feet and legs was sick-looking, limp, ill colored. A nearby stream, once clear, ran sickly colors of yellow-brown and green. The air was musty and made one cough.
Zoness was in ruins. There was no arguing it. It was a mess, and would possibly never recover.
She hugged herself and swayed back and forth. Beside her, a portible sattelite setup beeped silently at the stars, and an empty message screen waited, detachable keyboard plugged in.
'Did anyone survive?' She wondered. 'I know Star Fox fell... Oh, Falco...' She moaned to herself. 'I wish I had been able to tell you... Able to help...'
A loud beep interrupted her thoughts. She knelt and looked at the screen.
WHO IS THIS? KATT?
She typed quickly. YES IT'S KATT. WHO HAVE I REACHED?
IT'S ME. BILL GREY.
She thought back, and nodded to herself. Sure, she remembered Billy. A close friend of Fox's. She started typing again. I WAS TRYING TO REACH ANYONE I COULD... IS IT BAD ON YOUR END?
Long pause. YES. MY SQUADS...MOST GOT CAPTURED... I GOT OUT, SO DID A SMALL GROUP OF HUSKY UNIT... I GOT A MESSAGE SAYING TO GET OUT AS SOON AS I COULD, GO INTO HIDING, ANYTHING BUT GET CAPTURED OR DIE...
I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR BOYS..
SO AM I... HOW DID YOU SURVIVE? HOW BADLY OFF IS ZONESS?
BAD. REALLY BAD. NOT SURE IF THIS POOR PLANET WILL EVER COMPLETELY HEAL, AT LEAST IN THIS LIFETIME.
There was a long pause.
WILL THINGS EVER BE THE SAME? She slowly typed.
I DON'T KNOW, KATT. I JUST DON'T KNOW..
I BETTER SHUT DOWN BEFORE I GET TRACED.
RIGHT. TALK TO YOU LATER. OUT.
She slowly turned off the link, alone and lost again.
"Fara we're supposed to lie low..." Hissed Alena, one of the Cornerian pilots and soldiers hiding out. "You dressing like that.. They'll follow you back here, and find us!"
Fara glanced down at herself. She wore tight jeans, a black spagetti string top, and the loose black trenchcoat. "Don't worry. They won't." She left the makeshift base on a motorcycle, heading for what part of the city had survived, coat fluttering.
She found a place to park and walked the streets, greeting who she knew. The entire populus seemed to be in a combined state of shock and rage. Venomian patrols walked the streets, and they were viewed with angry eyes. One group of kids even tossed things at them angrily then ran to avoid punishment.
Fara had a different standpoint on this. Dressed as she was, boys stopped to watch her go by, including the Venomian soldiers, who gazed at her like they were looking at an angel of some sort. After so long excluded from normal society, some of them weren't exactly prepared for leave time.
She strolled down the streets, singing to herself calmly, quietly, hands in pockets, tail waving back and forth a little, making the coat move more.
A wolf whistle flew through the air toward her. Turning, she saw a Venomian trio working their way through the midday hustle toward her. Seeing they were noticed, they continued to work their way to her.
She paused and leaned on the wall of a building, crossing her arms. She guessed they were foot soldiers, and all had tried to make themselves look handsome and approachable. All looked in their early twenties.
Fara considered and made a decision right then and there. She wanted revenge, and Venom was too powerful for a full-frontal assualt, especially with the few soldiers and pilots she had available. But they COULD undermine them, cut at their morale. And she would do all she could. Here she was, dressed like a seductress when she knew enough combat training to kill all three and not get hurt herself. So why not be a deadly seductress? Why not? Lure and kill them by one by one if need be?
Yes. It wasn't a wonderful plan, but it would be revenge enough to satisfy her.
The trio made it over to her finally.
"Afternoon." Said one, gaze lifting up and down absently, and looked like part of his most wild dreams had come true.
"Yes good afternoon." She agreed mildy. It took all her power not to leave the area or blush, but she steeled herself.
They talked for a while, and the trio coaxed her to show up at a certain dance club, then left, talking amongst themselves. When they were gone, she hugged herself. As much as she wanted revenge, the only person she wanted holding or even looking at her with interest was Fox... But was he even still alive now?
"Man..." Slippy flopped down on the bunk and rubbed his eyes.
"Tired? It's to be expected, we all are." Fox said, leaning/hanging on the bars of the cell he was in.
Falco nodded. "They're working us like we're machines."
"They're trying to work us to death." Slippy muttered, voice cracking twice in that sentance.
"Maybe." Fox set his chin on a crossbar and stared into space for a moment.
The door leading to the cell bank opened, and when Fox saw who it was, he left the front of the cell he was in and flopped down on the bunk, facing away from the front of the door.
"Well aren't you antisocial." Wolf commented. "I come here, I try to talk to you, and you ignore me. How's that for gratitude..."
No comment from Fox. He half-closed his eyes and let his mind wander, back into memories, before the war.
"You don't even have a REASON to ignore me. I mean, you really are being quite unfair. Perhaps I want to resolve our little differances and get you out of here? How are you to know?"
"Leave him alone, O'Donnel." Falco rumbled.
"I'm not doing anything." Wolf replied dryly, twisting to look at the avian.
'You're pestering me..' Fox thought, squeezing his eyes shut. If he had his way, Wolf would be dead by his hands, the entire Star Wolf team for that matter. Especially Pigma.... He clenched his hands into fists in rage.
"Oh-ho...Why the fists? A little angry?" Wolf's voice taunted. "Go ahead and say why, McCloud. Go ahead. Tell me what you think about this whole thing. In fact, let's start... With your father's death. When Pigma turned the team over to PRESIDENT Andross..."
Fox didn't move. Didn't make a sound.
"Flipping bastard." Slippy growled.
"Shut up O'Donnel!" Falco snarled.
Wolf ignored them. "Didn't that make you mad, McCloud? I'm sure it did. And now, the team has lost another member... the veteren and elderly Peppy Hare... I bet you cried, didn't you? Were a weakling and cried for the death of a coward?"
Fox was trembling in fury, but didn't move.
"And he WAS a coward. When your father was fighting, he ran from battle like a scared child. Your old man was a coward too by the way, and not only that he refused to admit he was beaten. That is why he's dead and gone...just like your mother..."
Fox took a deep breath, let it out, closed his eyes to the cruel prattle of his enemy.
"President Andross told me about that you know... How he loved your mother Vixy Reinard, who ignored him and married James... Only to die in a bombing meant for her no-good husband.."
"SHUT UP!" Falco shouted, and everyone else in the cell block agreed. They respected Fox, knowing that the only reason he had lost was because Andross had known the test codes. "SHUT YOU YOU GOD DAMN BASTARD! JUST SHUT UP!"
"I don't see why I should..." Wolf reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, and unlocked the cell. Then he stepped into Fox's cell and closed the door behind him, still unlocked, sitting down on the only chair.
"Get out." Fox growled.
"He speaks!" Wolf faked being stunned. "You want me to leave eh?" He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit up absently, then clicked the lighter closed. The click seemed loud in the silent, listening jail.
"Yes." He still didn't move. "And put that fricking thing out."
"Don't like cigarette smoke eh?" He huffed a cloud of smoke in Fox's direction. "So. Do you want to talk?"
"No."
"Well maybe we could figure this thing out if we did eh? Maybe if you were willing to talk I could get you and your team free.."
"Get out."
"Andross was right about you.." He wove the cigarette absently. "He said before the war that you were a stubborn bastard. I agree."
No reply.
"The way I see it, Andross was right about everything. To think this war might never have happened, if Vixy hadn't married your father.."
"Shut up about my parents! SHUT UP!" He snarled.
"Whoa-ho! Strike a sensitive chord, did I?" He half grinned. "Yes it would seem that way.."
Fox rolled over and propped himself up on one arm, teeth showing in a snarl for a second. "GET...OUT...O'DONNEL."
"Now, now."
"Yes now."
Wolf snorted and blew a cloud of smoke in Fox's face. "All sensitive about your parents. Hmm."
"You have no room to talk about them!" Fox said in a low growling voice. "You didn't even know them. Especially my mother."
"Who got blown up." He wove his hand, and grinned when he saw a fire flash and glow behind Fox's eyes. "Ah, getting that old look in your eyes. You want to fight me, don't you? You already lost once."
"I want you to get OUT!" He roared. "You have no right to barge in here! GET OUT! You've made my life a living hell already, O'Donnel! GET OUT!"
"Maybe certain people were destined to win and others were destined to loose." Wolf contemplated the jail bars, mostly because he didn't want to look at Fox's burning eyes.
"Social Darwinism." Fox snorted. "Why did you bother coming here anyway, when you knew I'd just yell or ignore you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"So I know why when I kill you."
Wolf looked at Fox in surprise, then yelped when he was tackled off the chair and thrown into the bars.
"FOX! DON'T! IT ISN'T WORTH IT!" Slippy shouted, and was ignored. Whoops went up and down the cell block, cheers.
"GO FOX! KICK HIS ASS!" Falco shouted.
Wolf had gotten to his feet, only to be hit with a roundhouse kick that sent him into the metal door, which knocked open. He hit the floor with a yelp.
"FOX! THE SWITCH! LET US OUT!" Shouted another prisoner, banging the bars in excitement.
Wolf rolled to his feet and went for his gun, back to another cell. Falco reached through the bars and grabbed him, trapping his gun arm. "GO, FOX! GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Fox sprinted down the long, thin corridor. On all sides, fellows cheered him on. He grinned in spite of himself as he reached the control panel.
The alarms started screaming, and the cover slammed shut over the control panel and locked. The doors opened, and other soldiers came in, guns focusing on him. He slowly raised his hands over his head.
"God damn fool." Wolf limped up to him. Fox felt obscurely good that he had at least managed to hurt his enemy. "Did you really think you'd get out? You fool. Just like your old man.."
Then something slammed into Fox's head behind his ear. Fireworks went off inside his mind, and he slumped to the floor.
The jail went quiet. Absolutely silent.
"This is a warning." Wolf raised his voice so all the prisoners could hear him. "For all of you. Never try to pull this crap off again. Venom won. Get over it. You're lucky to be alive as it is. And these shenanagins pulled off by people like this," he nudged the unconsious body at his feet. "Will just get you all killed. Understand?"
Silence.
Two guards tossed Fox back into his cell and locked the door, then the entire procession of Venomians left.
"What you did today was very, very foolish, Wolf." Andross leaned on his desk and looked down at him. "Never pull anything like that again. Fox could have killed you, and I can't loose you, understand?"
"Yes sir." He said dejectedly.
"He beat you, O'Donnel." Andross harshly continued. "You were so busy teasing him he caught you off guard and could have killed you. I hope you learn something from this. People like McCloud never cave in and give up and it makes them all the more dangerous to us."
"Yes, sir."
"You are right about Vixy, by the way." His look softened ever-so-slightly. "But that is my business, understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Dismissed."
Fox moaned and coughed, rolling over in fitful unconsciousness, moaning again.
Slippy and Falco watched with unease. It was late, and they were tired, but Fox still hadn't woken up, and they were worried. He had been out several hours straight, tossing and turning sometimes, sometimes muttering and moaning.
The rest of the cell block was silent, listening to the tortured noises. They didn't say a word above a whisper, didn't make any noise. Some were asleep, but most weren't. They had rallied behind Fox because he simply would not give up, leading them casually. Now something was wrong.
"Could the blow have done something?" Falco said quietly, though it sounded like a shout.
"Possibly." Said Slippy, equally quiet, then rose his voice ever-so-slightly. "Is anyone here a doc?"
"I worked as a med tech." Said a timid voice from down the line.
"You saw what happened I think. He got hit pretty bad just behind his ear. I know that can knock people out, I've done it a few times." Falco said. "But no way could it have kept him under this long.."
"You're right... he should be all right by now... I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you.. We just have to wait, I guess..."
Fox tossed on the hard bed, hearing the voices only distantly, too distantly to be reached. He was living in a tortured landscape of nightmares. The hit had woken up memories he had blocked out, dreams he had blocked out. A car exploding and throwing him out the windsheild and to safety while his mother screamed in pain and died, a tour through a lab that didn't seem quite right, little kid memories, twisted by time, shaded by rage. He fought hard in his mind, but couldn't fight, someone knew a secret even he hadn't known, and he couldn't fight and couldn't win..
He moaned as he saw a blurred but familiar image. 'Fara... Are you even alive? I miss you..'
"He's having nightmares." Falco muttered. "Bad ones."
"Well he's got plenty to have nightmares about." Slippy replied.
The tortured noises from the cell across from them silenced them. Eventually, everyone in the cell block slept, if fitfully.
"Considering how you know this town, you've lived here all your life, haven't you?" The Venomian soldier, named Greg, asked curiously. Out of uniform and in dance clothes, he could have been anyone. Fara knew better.
"Most of my life, yes." She agreed absently, sipping her drink. The bartender knew what to serve her, didn't ask about who she was with. Greg was sitting to face her, acting more and more interested in her as time went. Fara had discovered that she had nerves of iron all the sudden, because it didn't bother her for some reason. She went along with a vague mental plan and pretended to be an innocent teenage girl.
"You know what I find amazing? Most of these people.." He wove his arm to encompass the club, "Won't have anything to do with anyone Venomian, yet you don't seem to care."
"You take people one at a time." She shrugged.
"Good philosophy." He toasted her with the glass he held.
It was a few hours later they strolled out of the club to get some fresh air. He had suggested it, as the club had gotten very crowded, and she went along with it. She needed him alone if she was going to do this...
"This is like a dream, you know that?" He remarked.
"Mmm?"
"I'm not a bad person because I fought for Venom. Not many of us are, and yet we're hated. Whole time I fought, all I wanted in the end was a good life and someone to love." He gave her a side glance. "I'm thinking maybe I found it..."
'Crap! Okay, okay. Stay calm, girl...' "You think so, huh?"
"Yes." He circled her waist with one arm absently as they walked down the street.
The neighborhood changed as they walked, but Greg didn't seem to notice, he was practically prancing as he walked. Fara stole a glance upward and saw that a flagpole on a building had a red flag fluttering.
"Hey, I have a friend that lives near here, do you mind if I drop by and say hi?"
"No, not at all!"
"We can get there faster if we cut down this alley..." She did so, and when they turned a corner, pulled a gun out of her purse and planted it in his ribcage.
"Is this some sort of joke?? No need to use guns girl I'll follow you anywhere!" He stared down at her in surprise.
She dug the gun in. "This thing is loaded."
He was silent in shock.
"I am a Cornerian Pilot. I used to date Fox McCloud. And I have had e-fucking-nough with Venom. We may have lost the battle but the war is far from over. I will undermine your little Emperor in any way I can, and that includes..."
"Taking an innocent life?" He whispered, voice cracking.
She snorted, then the look in her eyes softened a little for a second. "I'm sorry I have to do this Greg. Really, you don't deserve it, but you've said you're loyal to your Emperor, and you're the last kind we need around." She pulled the trigger, and when he staggered away, brought it up and hit him right between the eyes. He crumbled back, and she was left standing there, holding the silenced gun.
Fox stretched, looking over his shoulder at a nearby Venomian guard. His nightmares had given over to a living one in his eyes, and he wasn't sure if he could do anything about it. It was that fact that made him enraged now--the sheer helplessness of it all. He could do nothing. Nothing as he had watched Peppy's plane crash and heard his copilot's cry of pain then of death. Nothing as he was forced to watch his system beat and his hometown bombed. Nothing. His mother dead, his father dead, and their killer didn't seem to realize, didn't seem to care..
"Back to work, you!" Snapped the guard he was looking at.
The deep poisoning rage he had begun to feel boiled to the surface, and his eyes flashed once. The guard stepped back, eyes wide.
"Fox." Falco said, watching.
The young pilot shook off and went back to loading. That's mostly what they were made to do--load supplies and unload, because they weren't trusted enough to do much else. Rightly so, because many of the prisoners would sabotage any machinery they got their hands on.
"Fox?" Falco asked, gazing at his longtime friend.
"What?" Even to Fox, it came out as a growl.
"Nevermind."
"If you say so."
Falco wordlessly watched his copilot, watched him with eyes both wary and worried. He had seen his friend transform as Fox had looked at the guard, become someone, something else. The rage, the hate, he had seen it change Fox, and it worried Falco. Worried him a lot. He had seen fellow gang members eaten by hate and anger, watch them waste away and become something driven by their feelings. Fox had always been driven, but before it was for love of being a pilot, the extacy of flight. Now that love seemed receded, almost gone.
"What are you looking at?" Fox wanted to know, annoyed.
"I'm not sure anymore."
He blinked, then shrugged and continued to work. Already he was becoming more muscular, but muscles for strength, not for show, not body building. The prisoners didn't eat well, and it showed in most of them, in dull fur and eyes. A few were already having to tighten their belts. The theory that they were being worked to death prevailed.
Fox stopped for a moment and stretched his arms slowly above his head, letting a breath in and out softly. He was hungry, but everyone was, so he didn't care.
"Hey you!" The guard stepped close again, hand on his gun. "I'm not going to tell you again!"
The rage rose, so close to the surface he choked holding it back. His hands curled into fists as he lowered his arms, and it took every inch of effort in his body to keep lunging after and killing the Venomian.
"Don't Fox." Falco said quietly, watching his friend change again, but more so. "It isn't worth it."
Fox barely heard him.
"They'll kill you if you fight."
"What's it matter if I die?" Fox choked out, blood roaring in his ears. "Who cares if I do?"
"Fox. Fara's still out there.."
That reached his fevered mind, and he slowly calmed down, very slowly. Fara..oh god did he miss her... His breathing slowed, and he slowly turned back to work, not realizing the guard was shaking in terror. "Falco, what's wrong with me?"
"You're angry." Was the truthful reply.
He was quiet, then said, "Anger can't do this to me.."
"I've seen it before Fox." He said in between loading crates. "You're so angry it's taking you over."
"No shit sherlock.. until you started talking me out of it, I couldn't think couldn't breathe.." He leaned a hand on his forehead. "I owe you several buddy."
"Don't mention it, just work on controlling it."
There was silence for several moments, during which Fox thought about Fara, about how things had been, remembering holding her. Summer nights he thought would never end. Foolish of him to take such for granted, he thought. Now he'd do practically anything to make sure she was alive, still all right, to have her back. He lingered on a memory of a fall evening and felt himself begin to pine, begin to pine away for Fara. That won't help either, he thought, furious with himself.
The hanger was silent. Now the prisoners seemed to look to him for any amount of leadership, cues. They supported him and he was thankful for it.
After several moments, mind still lingering on that autumn evening, he rose his voice and started singing.
"Fall fires burning neath black twisted boughs. Sacrifice to above..smoke swirling quickly towards misting clouds... Offering.. of this blood.."
Fellow prisoners looked toward him, ears perking up.
"Into the flames, and without shame, consumed with howls and screams.. Pumpkins grin in their despair on all....Hallows eve."
It had been about six months ago but it seemed like an eternity. Fara and he had gone to a costume party, with masks. Hers had been black, ornate and beautiful.. Let her be ok, he prayed. Let her be alive. She's all I have.. And if she's dead, I promise who killed her will pay.
"Cruel be the wind as it quells my words I shout out to the rain; incantations I've so hope you've heard, that you live again. From deep earth brings forth rebirth. Witness but i shant believe; from below a chilling glow on all Hallows Eve..."
A ragged chorus slowly rose from another part of the hanger, a tremoring tenor. "Saint lucifer hear me praying to thee, on this eve of all saints. High be the price but then nothing is free. My soul I'll gladly trade.."
Falco just listened, working with Fox to load the shuttle. A dreary thing to sing, he thought, but something made him choose it, so no harm done, he supposed.
"Cold is the night in so many ways; Luna round, full and bright. Deep be the mud on the fresh dug graves, on yours I recite an ancient spell I know so well, success is guaranteed. I'll bring you back from where you've gone on all Hallows Eve."
That night the weary prisoners were returned to their cells. Fox flopped back on cot and looked at the ceiling. I love you Fara, he thought, wishing he could tell her personally, hold her.
"Fox are you ok?" Asked a voice down the line.
He didn't bother replying. He wasn't.
"H-hi!"
Fara managed a sincere-looking smile, shouldering the backpack had. The stammering Venomain's gaze was one she was growing used to, since Venomians were now her prey-of-choice. Fox was a distant dream, but one she hugged to her heart, refusing to forget about him like he was dead. She thought he wasn't, but no one could be sure now. After all, Peppy was reported dead, and if he was...
Now the name of the game wasn't romance, it was survival of the fittest, and she was busilly trying to show that Venom was NOT fit. She had been acting under various roles, sometimes seducing and killing single Venomians, other times sniping, and now she had decided to hell with it, let's blow some shit up.
She was standing in what was considered a Public Relations office, which was supposed to bring the Venomians and civilians together in a good meeting place. Venomian soldiers on leave hung around in hopes of meeting girls and so on, but civilians generally acted like the PR buildings (or what were now the PR buildings) were the plague. Thus they were good and easy targets.
She sat down and struck up a conversation with a number of the Venomians there, and after a while excused herself to the bathroom. She left her backpack there, but no one noticed, and a while later left.
Once half a block away, she pulled her bike over, hit a button on her watch, and the explosives in her backpack went off, taking the PR building with them. Then she continued driving.
If any civilian knew anything, they wouldn't say. They knew her, in a way: she was Sliver, and they thought of her as an avenging angel of sorts.
Half an hour after blowing up the PR office she staggered into a friend's apartment. Her friend, a kindly old woman who was a friend of her family, saw how she was feeling immeadiately and bustled her off to rest. Fara willingly collapsed on the old four-poster bed and accepted a mug of tea. Her friend, Anita, knew not to ask questions, and soon left her to her thoughts.
Which, as it turned out, shortly went back to Fox.
'What would he think of me if he knew about this?' She wondered, staring into the tea mug. 'Fox... what would you think if you knew I was murdering people... if you knew about all that's gone on... I love you. Please be alive.'
She stared out the window. The weather hadn't been good and had now turned bad, dark grey clouds and a chill mist, accompanied by wind. She crossed over and sat on a window seat, cradling the still-steaming tea mug and staring out. After a long time she starting to sing under her breath, watching the mist and wind play tag.
"Fall fires burning neath black twisted boughs. Sacrifice to above..smoke swirling quickly towards misting clouds... Offering.. of this blood.."
"Oo look, we have a new guard." Falco sarcastically remarked under his breath to Fox. "Or, rather, guards plural."
"Wonder why that is." Fox started doing some minor stretching. He was starting to look more like a shaggy, pointy-eared greyhound then his namesake. He was guant, no extra mass to him, too thin, but he looked muscular and strong. Falco's feathers hid the changes under them, but he obviously wasn't doing so well either.
"We'll probably find out. Come on we better get working."
Fox grunted he had heard, and they started working. By this time, he and Falco were so used to working they were like robots, in perfect tandem, both pulling their share without bickering. They were able to sense when one was getting a little tired and the other would take up the slack accordingly. They worked several hours, non-stop.
Fox felt his muscles finally protest too sharply, and said, "Ok Falco, that's enough. We need to take a breather."
"What about the guards?"
"Hell with them." Was the quiet reply. "My muscles are going to rip. Let's take a break."
They sprawled on the floor in relief, stretching a little then just letting their muscles relax.
"HEY! You two!" Snarled one of the guards. "Get up! Get to work!"
"We will." Fox replied. "Call this a smokeless smoke break."
"You arguing with me?" He demanded, stepping forward, hand on his gun.
Fox sat up and returned the stare, but deep down the rage that was his beast reared up and looked out, and he stopped seeing a guard. He saw a Venomian soldier, one of his enemies. He saw one of the people who helped to kill Peppy.
Falco saw the change start. "Fox don't start."
Fox didn't even hear him. "Even if you are trying to work us to death the least you can do is give us some respect and let us cool down." He said in a tight voice to the guard. "We work hard, but we still need breaks."
"You're going to be a dead man, actually both of you are, if you don't get up and get to work!" Now all the guards nearby had closed in.
Fox's breathing rate was speeding up, and the look in his eyes turned hard and enraged. Falco knew it was too late to pull him back. The only thing you could do now was get out of the way.
Fox easily flipped to his feet, looking around at the guards with murder on his mind. He wanted nothing less then death, destruction and revenge.
The guards pulled batons.
Fox grabbed the nearest one and snapped it in two.
"FIGHT!"
Falco backed away, watching with resignation as Fox fought the half-dozen guards. He figured Fox would get beat down, get over it, happy world. He changed his mind when one of the guards charged Fox, and Fox side stepped and swung his arm, clotheslining the guard and crushing several of upper chest bones as well as the throat of his victim. The guard was dead before he knew what was happening.
"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! FOX, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Falco howled, but knew from experiance that Fox couldn't hear him. All Fox knew was his rage and had to act on it.
Another body hit the ground before one of the guards got lucky and connected with the back of Fox's skull. Fox made a noise that was half snarl, half yelp and fell forward, sprawling on the ground, fireworks exploding across his range of vision. But he didn't pass out. He didn't let himself pass out, instead tried to get his arms under himself and get up.
"That should have floored him. Hell, hard as I hit, it had a chance of killing him." The guard gasped.
"Well, this will floor him." One of the other guards pulled his gun, and was stopped when he heard someone clear his throat.
Fox had heard the click of the gun, and let himself slump to the floor, vision still dancing. His life flashed slowly in front of his eyes, then he settled on two favorite memories--when he was little, with his parents, and one of the walks he had taken with Fara. He didn't notice just how quiet the general vicinity had become.
"That is quite enough of that." Wolf stated, arms crossed.
"He killed two of our fellows!" The guard choked out.
"Private, you heard me. Holster the sidearm."
The guard did.
Wolf crossed over to where Fox was laying, eyed him, and said, "Ok, McCloud, you can stop the act now."
It took a few minutes for that to reach Fox's conscience, then he pushed himself up and knelt there for a few minutes, rubbing the back of his head. "Why de fuck are you helping me, O'Donnel?" He wanted to know, eyes narrowed to slits. The rage within paced and prowled behind his eyes, making the color of his eyes seemed bruised and ill looking.
"Well, that is a good question."
"You don't like me any more then I like you."
"If your hate was a weapon I'd hate to see how many universes it'd destroy in one blast. Get up."
He did.
"Simply put, I decided to wander through and see if you were behaving... by the way, you scared that last guard so bad he's off duty perminately. The point being, when I saw what was going on, I decided the only person who would kill you would be me."
"I'm flattered." Fox sourly replied.
"And vice versa, I take it."
"I reserve the right to make you a corpse."
"I'm flattered. But if I'M going to kill you, I want it to be in a fair fight."
"Nothing fair about how you fight. Fucking shut down codes."
"Talk to Pigma about that one."
"That walking side of ham talks too much anyways."
"I agree heartily. No, the POINT is, if I'm gonna kill you, I want it to be fighting, perferably in the air. So I couldn't let a guard kill you could I?"
Fox laughed bitterly. "No, I guess you couldn't."
"Correct. So, if all the guards are paying attention, the only one who can kill Mr. McCloud here is ME. And no the authority can not be deligated down. No one can point guns at him, understand?"
"But he killed..." One of the guards blurted.
"We killed his parents and one of his team mates and he's having problems dealing with it, so shut the hell up. If you're in one peice, Mr. McCloud, I suggest you and your buddy Falco get back to work. And the rest of you can disperse."
They numbly followed his orders, and Wolf left.
Fara opened one eye. Anita had set a new mug on the bedside table, and left without a word. Fara sighed and numbly covered her eyes with the back of her hands. She had slept fitfully, a restless, nightmarous sleep. One of the images stuck in her head was standing, reaching out to Fox, but silent and sorrowful because she was looking at a tortured ghost of what had once been her sweetheart. In her dreams he had been dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.
'He's alive!' She said to herself firmly. 'He's got to be alive... I'd know if he had died... I'd know...' A choked sob caught in her throat, but she fought it down with all her might, steeling herself. Fox was alive. No alternative..
She sat up and picked up the mug, slowly drinking. Well, for now, she decided, she wasn't Fara, she was Sliver. The will of her people was her will. The people wanted Venom dead and gone. So be it.
She sat there for a while, accepting her new mentality. After a while, she almost rejoiced. She had a purpose now.
She knocked back the last of what was in the mug--tea or coffee, she really hadn't noticed--and got up. Anita just gave her a slow nod. Anita had a sixth sense. She knew things most people couldn't have picked up on in ages. She knew what Fara had decided and respected it.
"Here." She tossed Fara a loose, flowing black cloth shape which turned into a trench coat when Fara examined it. "Thought this might be of help."
"Thanks Anita." She pulled it on.
"Godspeed."
"The same." She left, striding easily, considering her next move.
"Who did this?" Andross propped a foot on a peice of uncleared rubble, starting at what was left of the PR building.
"Well, sir.. We aren't sure. We've heard.." The soldier trailed off.
"Out with it."
"Sliver."
"Which means what to me?"
"He or she's a people's avenger is what we've heard."
"Oh really? Since when has this been going on?"
He coughed. "A while sir."
"WHAT?!" Andross roared.
The soldier quailed. "I mean, well, sir, I.." He stammered, then said, "W-we suppose it's the same person sir. We keep finding dead soldiers in singles, and sometimes... an entire group gets sniped.. No suspect, and then we picked up on Sliver..."
"Who is this Sliver?"
"We don't know, sir. We honestly don't know."
"Well you better find out now hadn't you? Something like this can't afford to be ignored like it has. It's an obviously dangerous situation. Get on it. Find this 'Sliver,' and bring she or he to me."
"Y-yes sir, YES SIR!" The soldier saluted shakily, then bowed.
Fox leaned on the front of his cell, looking out without really seeing anything.
"Fox are you ok?"
"No not really. I got this odd feeling... like something's going on outside." He shifted a little, rubbing his muzzle then tracing his scar absently. "I can't explain it either."
"Oh." Slippy's voice was still cracking, but it was now a lot lower--an octive drop or more. He looked across at Fox with obvious worry.
"God what I would give to get out of here... see if anything is left..." He sighed, feeling the rage rear up inside him and bare it's teeth in fury. He turned away from the bars and barely prevented the growl that trembled in his throat. He wished he had taken the risk and had killed Wolf the last time he had had the chance. No matter the consequenses. He felt no mercy toward Star Wolf or Andross. No mercy at all. He flopped on the bunk, then sat cross-legged. He had fashioned a bandana because of how much he sweated when working, and it was tied around his head, the long ends going down the back of his neck.
"That's what we all wish." Falco said.
"I know." He sighed. After a moment of silence, he started singing, loudly and with a touch of anger in his voice. "End of passion play, crumbling away. I'm your source of self-destruction. Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear, leading on your death's construction. Taste me you will see, more is all you need. You're dedicated to how I'm killing you. Come crawling faster, obey your master, your life burns faster. Obey your master!"
"Master!" Shouted the others in the cell block, listening. They knew the song.
"Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams. Blinded by me, you can't see a thing. Just call my name, 'Cause I'll hear you scream. Master!"
"MASTER!" The jail rattled with it. They had solidly rallied behind Fox, and now the singing seemed to help lift their low morale.
Guards burst in, as Falco took it up. "Master, Master, where's the dreams that I've been after? Master, Master, you promised only lies. Laughter, laughter, All I hear or see is laughter. Laughter, laughter, laughing at my cries. Hell is worth all that, natural habitat, just a rhyme without a reason. Neverending maze, drift on numbered days, now your life is out of season."
One of the guards pointed a gun at Fox, and the voices slid to a halt. Fox rose an eyebrow, standing and going over to the bars, looking at the gun then pushing it aside with one finger. The guard glowered but what Wolf had said had gotten around. Seeing his victory, Fox grinned. "I will occupy. I will help you die. I will run through you. Now I rule you too."
The other POWs whooped and cheered.
"Come crawling faster, obey your master." Fox rose his voice to a blood-lusty shout. "Your life burns faster.
Obey your master."
"MASTER!" Ended the POWs as the guards left, unable to do anything.
"Damn Fox!" Shouted Falco. "That was great how you just stared him down."
"Ain't enough." Fox muttered.
"It's practically all you can do." He pointed out.
Fox sighed as he felt the rage under his skin stir again, and tried to calm himself. He knew that he could have taken the gun and killed all the guards. He also knew it would have screwed everyone including him. Wolf might have extended personal courtisy but if he killed more guards chances were he'd get the firing squad or something to that effect, along with everyone else.
So all he could do was wait for the chance, and stay strong.
Fara tossed and turned restlessly in bed as her memories tormented her in dreams, then startled awake, shaking off a particularly bad image. She hugged herself, shivering.
"I'm coming Fox. I'm coming." She whispered to the darkness. "I promise. I'm coming. If you're alive, I'll help you."
"Glad you could join me, Mr. McCloud." Andross said cooly, gesturing for the handcuffs to be removed.
Fox lowered his unchained hands and sat wordlessly. The rage skirted the edge of his mind and buzzed under his skin. He was talking to the man that had killed his parents, and he could not do a thing. Not now. "I didn't think I had a choice. What do you want?"
"I was hoping you could help me out with a problem I'm having." He sat back, pressing his fingertips together. "It seems that a soldier from your side has been spending his or her time causing me trouble. Blowing up PR buildings, sniping my soldiers, killing them off in singles..."
"Hurrah for whoever it is." He replied sourly.
"I need your help to figure out WHO it is. He or she goes by the name Sliver."
He didn't react. Didn't even twitch. But the name echoed in his mind. He knew it from somewhere. "No idea who it is."
"None? More's the pity." Andross sighed, picking up a coffee mug and taking a drink. "I heard that you got badly beat up by the guards..."
"So?"
"And Wolf has taken a step to prevent that. He told me that he wanted the honor of killing you if you were going to be knocked off." He wove a hand. "You're a basq, aren't you McCloud?"
"Yes."
"Then you live by the vandetta. You hate to the grave. It's the same when you love." He stared into the distance. "Your family line is all alike. Stubborn and refusing to admit their failure. Too proud."
He barely prevented a snarl, feeling the rage rise. His eye color swirled like it was caught in a hurricane, and the sheer anger caught in his throat and he almost choked on it.
"I saw that." Andross chuckled softly. "I saw you change. No question. You're basq."
"Why do you care?" He asked, voice rumbling like distant thunder with the fury it contained.
"I think it matters to know this sort of thing. It means you will never forgive me."
"I wouldn't anyway."
He laughed. "I loved your mother with everything I had. She saw right through me because she only had eyes for your bastard father. Is that my fault? No. When I took a step to remove your father from the picture, it killed your mother. My fault? No. Pigma killed your father in battle, not I. And yet you never will forgive me? Who is wrong?"
His eyes clouded and swirled again, but he said softly, "Don't you dare insult my family line."
"Why not? You can't stop me."
"Whatever happens Andross, no matter what. I'm going to kill you. Your little right-hand flunkies Star Wolf won't stop me. I'm going to kill you. I'll see Venom's forces forced back to where they came from. If I die doing it so be it."
"Basq bastard. Guards, take him back to his cell."
Once Fox was gone, Andross sat back and thought. The conviction in Fox's voice when he had said that had him a bit worried.
Fara crouched on the ledge in between two gargoyles and looked out at the city. In the black trenchcoat and with the shadows, she looked like a gargoyle herself.
She looked out, eyes focused on a complex she knew was a prison, where POWs were being held. She knew for some reason that Fox was there. She could sense it somehow.
Doing a raid on the complex was impossible. Everyone told her so. It had intense security. You couldn't go within fifty yards of it.
Nothing was impossible. Improbible, unlikely, but not impossible.
It would have been easy to DESTROY the complex. Sure. But to RAID it, now... not so easy. Wiping everything out would be a piece of cake, but she needed most of those inside alive.
Spotting movement, she picked up her binoculars and peered closer...then felt her heart jump and pound, unbeleiving. "Fox?"
She didn't know who else it could be. He was being escorted by a number of guards, all of whom were watching him warily. He had lost a lot of weight, but seemed more muscular too. Even as she focused better, he turned toward her, as if he sensed someone watching, and she knew it was him. Even with the scar, no one else could have his eyes. They were sadder and wiser, with a harbored anger she didn't expect, but it was Fox. "Fox, baby.." She whispered softly, looking into his eyes even from the distance. "What did they do to you?"
His eyes held no answer. The guards shoved him along and he went willingly, but she noticed the guards had a nervous air about them. Even if they escorted him they stayed well out of his way.
"I'll try and help you, if I can." She vowed.
"You hear?" Asked a voice from down the line.
Fox was doing chin-ups on one of the bars handy. "Hear what?"
"Andross emptied one of the other cell blocks, one of the lighter security ones. Let'em go."
"Wonder why we're considered heavier security." Slippy muttered.
"City militia. Special forces. More dangerous to Andross if released." Fox replied, dropping one arm and doing the chin-ups one handed.
"Show off." Falco growled, doing push-ups. They hadn't been worked for a few days now. No one could speculate why. Some worked out in their cells, others took the oportunity to sleep most of the day and try and recover.
"Shaddup. After all the ones I've done I should be able to." Fox replied, switching arms.
"And you've worked harder then me? Don't think so."
"Different endurence level. How da hell should I know?" Fox sighed and dropped down, stretching his arms out. "You ever got the feeling you're being watched but you didn't know who it was?"
"Sure. Why?"
"Coming back from Andross' little chat I felt someone watching me. I turned and looked, couldn't see anyone. Near as I could tell someone beyond the complex was, but for some reason not with hate or anger. Like whoever it was wanted to help." He shrugged.
"If you say so. I mean there's got to be people out there who are still on our side."
"Mm." He sat on the edge of his bunk, propping his elbows on his knees. "Sliver."
"Say what?"
"Something Andross asked me about. Said someone going by the name Sliver is out there. Killing off Venomians in assorted ways. Blowing up PR offices. Sniping. You name it, apparently this person has decided on wiping Venom out in any way he or she can."
"Whoa.."
"Andross wanted to know if I knew who Sliver was. I didn't tell him this but it sounds familiar. Couldn't say WHO it is, but it rings a bell you know? Me I'm just glad there's someone out there who hasn't given in yet." He sighed. "I know I haven't."
"Think Andross will let us out?" Asked a voice down the line.
"I severely doubt it. No if we get out of here I think it'll have to be under our own power, not because a madman decides to release us. He knows we're dangerous."
"Who says we are?" Protested another.
Fox laughed, long and low. "What's your first impulse when you see a Venomian? Say hi? Or put a bullet in them?"
Long silence.
"If you said the later, you're a danger, in Andross' mind. Well I know I am. Can't deny it so to hell with it. I know I've sworn revenge."
A slow chorus of agreement rose up.
"So say we do get out? What happens?" Falco wanted to know.
"Me? I'm going down fighting. See about finding this Sliver, whoever it is, and join in the rebellion."
Another chorus of agreement.
"I'm going DOWN in a blaze of glory!" Fox burst into song. "Take me now to know the truth! I'm going down in BLAZE of glory.."
"..Lord I never drew first, but I drew first blood..." Fara sang. "I'm no one's son, call me young gun..."
She wandered the streets absently, strolling along, coat fluttering almost like a cape. It was nearing midnight, and no matter who was in control, this part of town was notorious for dance clubs, bars, and the like. It wasn't a nice part of town either, but she didn't care. She had a fully automatic handgun in her purse.
"Fara!" Called a voice.
"Hey Shawn." She wandered over. "What's up?"
"Got some news, friend. Step inside the office.."
Shawn's 'office' was above a dance club, which was noisy and hard to see in. Fara was used to it, brushing through the crowd as she followed Shawn, up a dim flight of stairs and through a doorway guarded by a pair of gang members.
Inside the 'office' were a number of tables, covered with assorted weaponry. Shawn specialized in illegal weapons trade, and luckily for Fara he was on the side of the rebels. Very much so in fact.
"What news?"
"I heard about your proposed raid on that complex." He said.
"Gonna help?"
"My brother's in there man. Of course I am. I know your sweetheart-of-choice is too..."
She smacked him upside the head.
"I had that coming, I know you're sensitive about it, or him, as the case may be. I put out the word to a few good friends of mine. We'll help in any way we can--armor, weaponry, personnel."
She grinned.
"Oh no... ARGH!" He protested as she hugged him. "Hey hey hey I thought you were being loyal to Fox...or at lesat that's what you said the LAST time I hit on you..."
Still grinning, she ruffled his fur. "Don't say you didn't enjoy it!"
"That's the problem! I did but if I try anything I know that you'll beat me up!"
"Damn right! So what other good news do you have to say?"
Bill sighed and ran his fingers through his fur absently, staring up at the stars. The transportable sattilite system that sat next to him was beeping away silently.
BILL?
His fingers flew to the keyboard. KATT?
FARA.
NO KIDDING? HOW'S THINGS ON CORNERIA...I MEAN AS THEY ARE..
COULD BE A LOT BETTER. KEEP YOUR EARS OPEN. TELL KATT TO ALSO.
SOMETHING GOING DOWN?
YOU BETTER BELEIVE IT... I HOPE. I'LL LET YOU KNOW.
RIGHT FARA... IS FOX ALIVE?
She considered, then said. YES. HE IS... SO ARE FALCO AND SLIPPY.
THANK GOD!!
TALK TO YOU LATER. MIGHT BE RUNNING A TRACE...
He watched the screen go blank and sighed, allowing a half smile.
"What's up?" One of Husky Squad that had managed to escape with him walked over.
"Fara's planning something."
"Oohh..."
"Don't ask me what though."
Bribing guards, sneaking in in personnel transports.. 'Sheesh,' Fara thought. 'Where did I learn all this?'
Meanwhile, another group, mostly black ops members, snuck in and started a distraction by blowing up several feul tanks. They were well on the other side of the compound by the time the tanks went up. Seconds after the explosion happened, the people hiding in the transports burst free and started fighting.
Fara led a 'lance' of fighters into the complex. The Venomian guards attacked and met swift deaths by spurts of bullets from the rebels' guns. Interrogation of a few guards they snared led them to the prison blocks.
"JEEZZUSS! What's going on out there?" Shouted a voice from down the line.
"Those are guns genius." Falco snapped.
"Yeah. But those ain't Venomian issued." Said Fox. He was leaning on the bars, deep in thought. "Those are Cornerian force issue."
"What?!" Shouted several people.
He smiled a little. "It's Sliver."
The door hissed open. "Yo! You guys Cornerian?" Shouted a voice.
They shouted an affirmative.
"Right." Someone threw a switch, and all the cell doors opened. "Come on we'll get you armed."
Fox strode to where the rebel stood. "Who ya with?"
The rebel was in urban camo, and he smiled. "Corneria, but when Venom attacked... several groups managed to dodge capture. Now we're just rebelling. Figured you guys dodged attack.. hey.. You're Fox McCloud, aren't you?"
"Yeah, well, that is my name admittedly.." He said, accepting a handgun and checking the ammo.
"Listen up! We can't clog the halls so we'll take you out in groups!" The rebel was joined by fellows, and they divided up the prisoners. "Let's move!"
Fox knew the way. He sprinted down the hall, leaping over fallen Venomians and taking out those newly arrived, quickly plowing a road for those behind him.
They had confiscated Venomian tanks and more transports, ripping out transponders. Once they got in the Red Zone, where most buildings flew red flags to show that they supported the rebel cause, they would be safe, but it was fifteen miles. Five miles out a diversion waited to get the Venomians off their tail, but until then they'd be on their own. The former POWs leapt into transports with whoops. What was left of the Star Fox team climbed on top of tanks, picking off the Venomians who interfered with their escape. Most of the guards seemed to have been cleared out already. Andross' release of most of them to leave time was now their undoing.
Fox steadied himself and picked off a sniper, then crouched as the tank started moving fast.
'Who is that?' Fara wondered, getting only a second-long glance of him before he crouched, obscuring her ability to recognize him. 'I'll see soon enough I suppose..'
The convoy ripped through the streets, Venomian forces hot on their tails, but not for long. The streets had been cleared, and blasts from rebel tanks and bazookas finished the Venomians as they got into Red Zones. There the convoy split up, abandoning the transports at the edge of the zones, different rebel leaders leading them to safe areas.
Fox stood off to one side, against a building, waiting for Falco and Slippy, when he saw someone that made heart leap and pound. "Fara?" He whispered, then called, "Fara?"
"Fox?" She turned and met his eyes from across the street, where she was talking to some of the other rebel leaders about placement of the POWs, and grinned. "FOX!"
They met each other halfway. He picked her up easily, swirling her around then holding her close, smiling. "God... I prayed you were alive.. you're the only thing that kept me going in there..." He whispered.
"Thinking of you kept me sane." She replied, cuddling into his chest, then looking up at him, tracing his scar with one finger. "Oh baby what did they do to you.."
"Nothing. I got it in the crash." He brushed it off absently.
"...is Peppy really dead?"
He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Yes."
"Oh god... We need to get someplace safe.."
"You know someplace?"
"Yes. Come on."
"Falco! Slippy! Get your tails over here and come on!"
"YOU'RE Sliver?" Falco said, stunned. They were in Anita's apartment. Anita had gladly let them in, telling Fara that other apartments were being prepared for the former POWs to use, and left to check on them.
"Yes indeed." Fara said, glancing at Fox, who was leaning on a wall. "I imagine it kinda stuns you guys..."
"No not at all." Said Fox.
Anita came back in. "If the three of you are willing to share, a three-bedroom apartment is ready.."
"I'm going to check it out, ok Fox?" Falco stood. So did Slippy. Both knew that Fox and Fara wanted some minor privacy, and respected that.
"Fine by me. I will later."
Anita led them out, closing the door behind them.
Fara stepped up to Fox and hugged him, taking just a moment to drink in his scent. "You're so skinny.."
"They worked us like slaves and didn't feed us all that well." He sighed, holding her close. "You did ok though.."
"I guess. General Pepper broke the news to me... oh god that was about the worst thing that's ever happened to me... he told me to grab some fellows and run.. Bill and Katt are free too."
"That's a good thing to hear.. I killed a few guards while I was a POW, Fara. Killed them in cold blood."
"Hardly cold. I don't blame you. I've done worse. I've blown up, sniped, and shot several dozen by now."
They stood there a few moments. He nuzzled her. "I love you."
"Love you too."
They kissed for several moments, letting go of the frustration they had held during their separation, then just stood there holding each other.
"Looks like I'll need a nickname, eh?" He remarked. "Sliver and...?"
"We'll figure it out later." She assured him later with a laugh.
"Mmm I'm sure we will." He smiled a little, turning into his old self for a while.
The Red Zones. Wolf looked down at a map of Corneria City. Half of it was now Red Zones and those zones were spreading fast. He had spent the past two days mapping these areas out and now he knew the flags meant rebel supporters. Half the city or more already.
Not a good thing, he knew. Andross had almost no control, no matter what he said. A rebellion, underground and quiet, was growing, surging, and not just in Corneria City. It was everywhere.
The way he saw it this was going to be one of the most short-lived presidential springs in history, and when Andross went down, so did Star Wolf.
'But I'm not going down unless I take McCloud with me.' Wolf thought darkly. 'And THAT is a promise!
Techno-dance music thumped, fast and furious. Sitting in a corner booth, used to the pace, Shawn reclined.
Fara worked her way through the crowd, Fox following. Having already gained some weight back and with more professional treatment of his scar, he looked different from when he escaped. Also helping was the presence of Fara, which soothed him in more ways then one.
"Shawn!" She called.
"Weeey heey heey!" He said, beckoning. "Come on over, girl! Good to see you!"
She slid into the booth, across from him, then slid more so Fox could sit. "Thanks for your help with the raid."
"I see it made you more happy." Shawn grinned. He flirted with any girl he could normally, and the presence of a boyfriend did nothing to deter him. He had gotten beat up a few times for it too, and didn't really care.
"Yes, well, it made a lot of people more happy."
He grinned again. "Anything for a lady. What's up?"
"Dropped by to see what I owed you. I know you don't do things for free."
He laughed. "Normally I don't, but this raid of yours was good for me too, so no charge."
"You provided the guns I take it?" Fox asked.
"Sliver, hun-ney, you need to keep your boyfriend more updated." He drawled, making Fara roll her eyes and Fox glare. "Yes I did. And some armor as well via a few friends of mine."
"Nice of you to do that."
"Saved your ass if anything, eh?"
"You really shouldn't provoke me you know. Even if you ARE on our side."
"I'm so scared."
Fox glared but fell silent.
"Better keep your boyfriend on a shorter leash, Sliver hun. I'll be right back." Shawn stood and went to the bar.
"What's with you?" Fara asked, looking at Fox. "You know I hate it when you act possessive."
"Sorry." He said honestly. "But, I... I can't help it. You know I changed and..." He fell silent, then said quietly, "And I love you. You're almost all I have left. I can't help it but get angry when another guy flirts with you, I..."
"Aw hell, Shawn always flirts, with just about any girl he talks to. But I understand." She leaned into his side absently. "And as for how you've changed... The only thing I see is that you're more quick to anger."
"That isn't the half of it.."
"I don't give a good god-damn." She punctuated herself by kissing him, much to his delight.
"So THIS is how you behave unchaparoned?"
"Shawn you're just asking for an ass kicking, you know that?" Fox said once he and Fara got unentwined.
Shawn laughed, toasting to him with a beer bottle. "Yeah usually. It's happened before god knows."
"Yah, well, your next one just might be from me."
"Fyah! I look forward to it. Oh, and Fara, just found out from Wally. It seems that your good friend O'Donnel has been nosing around the Red Zones, and guess who he's looking for?" He pointed to Fox.
"I'm not surprised." Fox said. "If he and I run into each other, well..."
"We get the idea." Said Fara quickly.
Fox sagged into the couch wearily, yawning, tail twitching meditatively. Simply put he was worn out.
Who blamed him though? He had been helping the rebels ever since he got out basically, though no other moves had been made of great importance. Their red zones spread with increasing speed, they now had most of the city supporting them. They had to keep their weaponry and armor hidden from view of the Venomians, and so far had mananged to do that.
But what was the next move?
He knew. Liberate Corneria City, capture the Venomian bases within, and take out Andross. Easy? Hell no. But what else could they do? It needed to be done, and he wanted to do it. And besides..
Fox felt his breath rate pick up as he even thought about Wolf O'Donnel, and heard himself snarl softly when he thought of Pigma Dengar. He forced himself to calm down, but knew his blood was hot for revenge against those who had hurt him.
Hot? His blood boiled at the thought of his noble, honorable father, being killed by someone who had once stood beside him. He forced himself to calm down again, taking deep breaths, but it didn't really help.
Rain pattered against the window, and he stood, going over to the window to watch the rain. He remembered being little and asking his father how they could live with the rain, it being so grey and depressing. His father had replied that the rain wasn't depressing at all, and had pointed to a rainbow.
He smiled sadly, bowing his head, feeling tears of loss streak down his muzzle.
"Hi Fox." Not realizing that Fox was crying, Falco came into the room, absently dialing a radio station.
"Afternoon Falco." He muttered.
As Metallica started playing, Falco wandered back to his room. Though he tried hard to hide it, he missed Katt, missed her a lot, but Fox had noticed.
He looked out at the rain, feeling his tears fall faster no matter how hard he tried to stop them. Recognizing the song, he lifted his voice, shaking with emotion.
"So close no matter how far,
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters."
Falco was sitting on his bed, rubbing his eyes, shaking his head. He was glad that Katt was still out there, but he wanted to tell her what he had been afraid to say for so long. He had come from a very bad part of town, and needless to say it had scarred him deeply in some ways. His father had beaten him, his gang had both supported him and taken advantage of him, he had been arrested multiple times. Yet Katt saw something in him he hadn't even seen in himself, and he didn't know why.
Outside, he heard Fox begin to sing along with the radio. He bowed his head, considering, then also started to sing.
"Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters."
"Andross?"
"Yes?" He looked up.
"The entire town is a red zone." Wolf crossed his arms. "We have no support here."
"So?"
"I suggest we start getting a lot more troops back on detail. The rebels might start their next move soon."
He sat back. "Agreed. I'll see to getting most of the army back, and I'll tighten security around the bases. Oh and Wolf," He added when O'Donnel started to leave. "Don't let your personal vendetta interfere with your performance."
"Yes sir." Wolf left, setting his jaw. To hell with what Andross said, he was going to finish this. Because while he didn't admit it, he was also a basq.
"We know where their bases are, and we know their tactics. We have the advantage, strategy wise." Fox said, looking at maps. "But manpower wise, they have the advantage."
"Smaller groups move faster." Said Gotham, one of the rebel leaders. "We'd also have the advantage of movement."
"Right." He nodded. "My thought that is we take their main base and Andross the others won't be able to react in time, and that'll weaken them."
"Take Andross out?" Said one of the other rebel leaders, bewildered.
Fox lifted his gaze to her. "He might be insane, he might lead an army, but he's not immortal." He looked at the others. "And as said, once he's gone, it'll weaken them. Even better, they might turn on each other to determine the next leader."
"Wolf O'Donnel." Said Shawn. "Unless you plan on taking care of him too?"
He was quiet for a moment, then said, "There's a question between O'Donnel and I that needs to be answered."
"Don't let your vandetta interfere with our intent." Fara said quietly. "Though I realize how you feel."
Fox didn't reply.
"It's armageddon, what's what's going to be." Said Falco dryly. "Do you know what the odds are against us?"
"Yes I do." Fox threw his weight into it, and the gear slid into place. "Yo, Brad! All ready!"
"Roger that!" The tank's engine roared to life as Fox closed the hatch, then it drove away, taking a place in the line.
Fox looked at the growing number, and allowed a small smile.
"Where we getting these anyways?" Falco asked.
"Slippy's father Beltino."
"Same man who was running us bankrupt?"
He laughed. "The same. Slippy talked to him. Arspace Dynamics is under Venomian control, or was, because it's under the Red Zones and is now under our control. That's where we're getting the tanks and so on."
"Ohhh." He nodded. "Always good."
"Always."
"What's the next move?"
"Well, right now we're just gathering forces.. but soon we'll start moving. Hopefully we'll be able to overthrow the bases in town, and take out Andross in the process. Then we move on, clearing the planet, and just keep pushing."
"You make it sound easy."
He stared into space, and saw Peppy going down, then shook off until he saw where he was.
Fara, dressed in night urban camo and carrying a sniper rifle, crouched on a building corner and watched the Venomian satellite base. It wasn't the main one, but really a supply depot. She brought up the gun and watched through the scope, sighting on the gas tank beside the building then pulling the trigger.
The explosion echoed through the city as the base was incinerated, the huge gas tank setting off several others on the base. She watched, then backed off, sliding down fire escape railings and landing in a back alley. It was dark as the city got, and she double-timed for the red zones.
"HEY! Over there!"
She cursed softly and spun around a corner, pulling her handgun as she heard Venomian troops run toward her. She spun and brought up the gun, shooting them with deadly accuracy, killing five and mortally wounding another. Then she ran again, legs pumping, panting.
Then she tripped and went down, rolling to her feet and going for her gun. It was kicked out of her hand and kicked away, and she froze as a cold gun barrel was pressed to her temple.
"Well, well, WELL!" Chuckled a voice, chillingly familiar. She looked up, and saw it was O'Donnel. "I'm guessing you're Sliver, aren't you? But I know you from somewhere else... ah yes..." He smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one. "You're McCloud's little girl friend, aren't you? Get up." She stood, arms up. He took her sniper rifle, studying it. "Yeah, this is a match to the rounds we found in the others. You ARE Sliver! I assume your little boyfriend knows, the bastard."
She stayed silent.
"Come on. Let's go."
"They got Fara."
Fox nearly lost it right then and there, shaking in complete rage. The others saw and backed up, even if they were his friends. His eyes seemed to glow with his rage. After many long moments, he said one word. "How?"
"She took out one of the three supply depots and was caught on the run. Took out several of them, but they cut her off." Related one, watching him with wary eyes.
He was silent, dangerously so. In his mind, he calculated the forces he'd need, the armor, the guns. The rebels were at almost full readiness. He turned away, rubbing his chin.
"Fox?"
"Time to start doing the big planning." He opened maps, voice hard, authorative. "We've got to take the rest of the satellite bases and then the main base, quick succession. The other depots can be taken like the last, but take more caution. Don't get caught if at all possible. While you've got the ghosts doing that get the others ready, and arrange for the armor and ammo we'll need. We're going to take down Andross himself, and Star Wolf if we can. Without their leaders, Venom will turn on themselves, and we will be able to liberate the city, then with any luck, the planet."
They hustled, grabbing phones, making calls, arranging things. Fox knew where he and Falco would be--on the front lines, leading and commanding. He turned and left the room, looking out a window, at the grey misty sky. He stared for a long time, then whispered, "Dad... If you can hear me... I know you're gone.. but please.. let Fara be alive. Let us be able to carry this through..." He bowed his head, and shed what he knew was going to be his last tears until liberation.
"Ahem."
Fara looked up and glared at O'Donnel, who was leaning easily on the bars of her cell. "What do you want?"
"A talk." He looked at her for several long moments, tail waving, and said, "It's a crying shame, you know."
"What is?" She demanded.
"That you aren't Venomian."
She laughed, long and bitterly. Fox. She calmed down, shaking her head. "What do you care?"
"You'd be surprised." He tried to sound charming and almost pulled it off. "Besides I'm curious why Andross didn't kill you."
"How should I know?" She stood and walked over to the bars, studying him. Before she had always seen him from a distance, and it shocked her when she saw the similarities between Wolf and her Fox. Strangely alike, but they hated each other. She knew that Fox was planning to kill O'Donnel, and the one in front of her probably returned the favor. The real shock was that under the Venomian uniform, under the rough, scarred exterior, was a very handsome young man. She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes.
"He talked to you. Maybe he told you for all I know." He tilted his head slightly, cocking an eyebrow, voice very smooth, oily.
She stepped up to the bars and glared into his eyes. "He didn't. Hell even I'm suprised I'm still alive. Bait I suppose."
"Yes, but we do have a proposition for you. After all, it would be a tragedy to kill someone with such beauty as well as amazing skill. Trained as a ghost?"
'Bastard.' "Yes actually. You should know, haven't you read my file?"
He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "It's a lot more... interesting asking the real person." He had leaned forward, so they were practically nose to nose.
She refused to back down. "I'd just as soon as kill you as talk to you."
"A real shame. And here we were going to offer you a very high paid, high ranking position in our forces.."
"No way in hell."
"A very real shame." He leaned forward the rest of the way and kissed her, grabbing her belt through the bars.
She tried to yelp, but couldn't. He wasn't doing anything but kissing her, though, using his hold on her belt to keep her from stepping away. As she stood there, frustrated and furious, she realized that O'Donnel was forbidden fruit in a way. He was evil, very much so, at least to her, but something about him was darkly alluring, drawing her to him. For a second, she even felt herself kiss him back, then grew furious at herself. This man didn't love her. This man could never be what Fox was to her. She twisted and broke his hold. "Back the fuck off O'Donnel."
He only smiled, feeling what she had done if only for a moment, and left.
She sat on the edge of the bunk and rubbed her eyes, miserable. Fox would come get her. Fox would rescue her. And she was doing this. For all the confidence he put in her, she suddenly had no confidence in herself.
Fox prowled, back and forth, tail lashing. He was waiting. That's all that could be said about his condition. He had transformed, become what he hated himself to be, a machine fueled by anger. The only thing, only person who could calm him, was Fara, and she had been captured. Now the drive to overthrow Venom was worse then ever, targetted especially at O'Donnel, who he had learned had captured the love of his life, the only reason for his living except his job.
No more. He'd take no more from Venom. He was supposed to lead them in, but to hell with it--Falco, who knew more then he did about urban warfare thanks to his gang-related past, could lead. They had told him not to jeapordize their missions with his anger, but he could take no more.
It took only moments to gear up, and he left his apartment.
"Not saying goodbye hm?"
He turned, and saw Falco standing there. "I don't say goodbye."
A sad, knowing smile. "I know."
Then he was out of the building, stepping onto the back of tanks and trucks to get to the edge of the Red Zones. Now in their territory, the armor wasn't hidden. They patrolled the streets activily, and those there were happier for it.
The Venomian base was on full alert, but clearly it was being dismantled. On the edges of the base, Venom guards were razed by rebel pickets. The battle was coming down here. Already the satellite bases were destroyed.
"McCloud!" Called a voice, and a teen only a little younger then him jogged over. "What are you doing at the front lines sir?"
"I have something to do." He replied, looking at the base. "I need to get inside there."
"My lance will come with you sir!" Was the excited reply as he referred to his small group of soldiers. "We're guerilla fighters by expertise."
"Be glad to have you along." He replied. "Let's go."
He whooped and sprited away to gather his group.
"It's started." Said Andross. "Get the troops moving. We've got to evac."
"Yes sir." Wolf said, passed the orders on, then went to the cell block. Fara glared. "So what do you say, babe?"
"I say fuck you. No way in hell I'm becoming a Venomian."
"I'd gladly take up your offer but I've got problems. Your little friends have arrived." He said with real regret and left, heading outside. As he walked, his vandetta suddenly rose. Fox would come. He was sure of it.
Gunfire strafed the Venomian base, but Fox ignored it. He had talked some with the lance, and they were attacking elsewhere. He wanted to go in alone.
"McCloud!" Shouted a voice. "What are you doing?"
He ignored the voice as he stood and suddenly sprinted, leaping and rolling over a burning car that was serving as a barricade against the rebels, taking out a small group of enemies with a spurt from the fully automatic gun he carried. Really, these minor enemies weren't the reason he was here. Fara was. But also rearing up inside him, becoming prominant, was his simple want for revenge. Even as a battle raged on around him, he stood and threw his head back. "O'DONNEL!" The shout echoed across the base even above all the gunfire and warcries.
Wolf heard, turning his head towards it. He was standing on the wreck of a burned tank, looking out. He saw Fox, and smiled grimly. "MCCLOUD!"
Focus. Fox walked forward as he saw O'Donnel do the same, leaping off the wreck and walking towards him. Seeing his enemy tossing away an assualt rifle he tossed away the uzi he had, not noticing that others on the feild, Venom and rebel alike, were staring. It didn't matter to him.
They stopped only a few feet away from each other, sizing each other up, trying to stare each other down. Wolf saw that Fox had gained back weight and muscle, but had no spare mass, was still gaunt somehow. He might never fully recover from how he was treated as a prisoner. Fox saw how muscular Wolf was, probably from strict training, possibly from drugs as well.
"There's a little question as yet unanswered between us." Fox calmly remarked.
"Which one of us is better?" Asked Wolf with a short laugh. "That was decided. You went down."
"That wasn't combat."
He nodded begrudgingly. "Your planes are gone. We'll never find out, in the air. But we can find out now."
Fox silently stepped back into a fighting stance, shrugging out of his jacket. He was calm, deathly calm.
"By the way, you have a nice taste for girls." He rose an eyebrow. "Fara is... exquisite."
Something in him broke with a scream of rage, and the calm left in a torrent of fury-driven fire. His eyes flashed and glowed, and he changed to what he hated. "If you've so much as touched her, O'Donnel..."
Wolf crouched and did a sweep. Fox leapt and retaliated, all rationality, all reason gone. All he knew was anger.
Around them, a circle appeared. No one else even as much as aimed as them. Didn't dare to. Because they knew if they tried to shoot who was their enemy, they'd hit their ally.
Falco, who's group had hit full force and was slowly forcing the Venomians back, saw the fight, and felt resigned. He had known that someday it would happen. He just hoped that his friend would be the one walking away alive, and if he didn't... that was what Fox wanted, right? To die for his cause? He didn't know. He forced himself to look away, shouting orders, stepping inside a hanger to see if it was clear.
"Well, well. Lombardi."
"Powalski." He returned, eyes narrowed, taking a single cautious step back. They were enemies going back a long time, much longer then Wolf and Fox did in fact. From the same neighborhood. Grew up on the same streets. Lived under different gang symbols. As far as their gangs went, they were mortal enemies, and Leon seemed to harbor a deep hate for him anyway. Falco had another reason. Powalski was a torturer and he had lost friends because of him.
Leon snapped a chain easily, the edge of which flicked the air a foot in front of Falco. "Come to liberate Corneria, eh? Won't fucking happen."
"It is happening." Was the stone reply. "Whether you like it or not."
Leon laughed, the high maniacal sound grating along Falco's nerves and down his spine. "I have money on Wolf winning by the way. I'm willing to bet he's gonna beat Fox down." He smiled sadistically. "Your friend McCloud's a weakling, Lombardi. Admit it."
"He's stronger then the entire Venom forces combined."
"And yourself?"
He hesitated. Was he strong? "Yes."
"Prove it."
The lines were holding. Both of them.
Fox spat blood out as he circled, eyes on Wolf. A long cut went up Wolf's cheek, almost identical to Fox's cut. The two felt muscles burn and protest, and ignored it as they fought again.
Wolf didn't understand it. He had inflicted some good hits on Fox--was pretty damn sure he had broken several of his opponent's ribs--but Fox just didn't seem to agknowledge that fact. He had to be in some pain, but didn't feel it. Wolf himself was beginning to feel exhaustion. How had Fox gotten so strong? He shook it off and drew from his reserves, telling himself that he was a lot more strong then Fox, by a longshot.
He saw Pigma watching, out of combat, from the corner of his eye. The look was mean, coldly interested in what was going on. He forced himself to ignore it, turning to his mind to the future. If Fox won, he died. If he won, Fox died. Simple. And if he won, he wondered just what Fara would say to that? Mm yes! Just how had Fox managed to land her? He wondered, and he blocked and returned, only to have his punch blocked. It was beyond him. Fara WAS exquisite, an angel. Angel of Death, he corrected himself, wondering just how many of his fellows she had killed. Still, god damn she was beautiful. Sexy. That was probably how she had gotten close enough to kill his fellows--charmed her way, like a snake. He almost laughed. Some girlfriend Fox had! Tough and gorgeous both! He doubted she'd ever agree to become a Venomian, and that subbornness would reaffirm if he killed Fox. Still maybe he could get Andross to use his various techniques to make Fara change sides and forget she was Cornerian... He forced himself to stop that line of thought, he was becoming distracted by it as it was.
Pigma watched, calculating the hurts on either side. Fox was the more wounded of the two, he judged, but Fox was just beyond pain, had stopped feeling. Wolf was the more exhausted. Even with the weights, and the occasional dose of Stim, Wolf was wearing down, drawing deep into every reserve he had.
Did the outcome of this fight between the leaders of Star Fox and Star Wolf matter to Pigma? Actually no. He had no feelings, bad or good, for either. He was being paid and that was all that mattered.
Inside the complex, Andross stood, arms crossed, watching the assorted screens that were feeds from security cameras. His lines held. Barely. And he saw that more rebel armor was on the way. So what, it was one city..
Inside, Fara paced, waiting impatiently. She knew her position could be worse. No one had touched her while she had been here, and that was a godsend, especially since she had seen that Wolf was extremely interested in her. To hell with him.
She stood on her bunk and punched up, but the tiles held. Damn. She hopped off and resumed pacing.
"HEY! ANYONE HERE?"
"YES!" She shouted, leaping to the cell door and rattling it. "I'm a Cornerian Ghost and Defensive Pilot! Get me the fuck outa here!"
There were no others in this cell bay, but all the doors opened slow, and she sprinted out and to where the rebels stood. They handed her a gun and sniper rifle. "What's the situation?" She asked, checking ammo automatically.
"The lines are holding, for the most part, but we broke through. You're the only one we found."
"Thanks guys. What about Andross?"
"Elsewhere in the complex. Star Fox and Star Wolf are both outside."
She knew, could feel, what was happening outside. She turned slightly, rubbing her eyes, something in her stirring and waking up. Many ghosts had psychic abilities, it was a help if you were one, but she had never noticed telepathy or the like. She did, however, have a sixth sense--she could sense what was going on. That was why she had known that deep down, Fox was alive when he had been imprisoned. She knew now what was happening. A battle raged outside, and Venom was being slowly pushed back. Fox was closed to it all. He was fighting Wolf. Falco and Leon were also at it.
"Squadron Leader Phoenix?" Asked one of the rebels, watching her. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Let's go."
Wolf and Fox split apart again. Wolf was panting, and Fox's breathes wheezed. Both were sweating, muscles burning and locking up, pressed to their limit.
Wolf's vision was fading in and out now, but he focused and it cleared. He would win, he told himself, but looking at Fox he wasn't so sure. His opponent still felt no pain, and the rage in his eyes was just...terrible. There was no other way to describe it.
"Kill him." Pigma said bluntly from the side, appearing. He had been ignored by the other fighting soldiers. He was good at disappearing, at being able to fade into the wall and be ignored. "Kill him Wolf. He's beginning to kill you."
"SHUT UP!" Wolf snarled. But he knew that deep down it was true.
"Dengar." Fox said, and it was like all the hate, the rage in a galaxy, was packed into one word. It burned, scorched like battery acid. "Keep out of this. This is not your business."
Pigma only smiled coldly. "Child. Little child. Misled."
"The misled one is you."
Wolf, seeing Fox distracted, charged. Fox sidestepped, sweeping Wolf's legs out from under him and bringing his elbow down hard on the back of Wolf's neck.
Wolf howled as he crumbled to the ground, pain lancing through him, but he got to his hands and knees, panting. "I... I..."
"Should never have messed with my family." Fox said in a cutting voice.
Wolf stood and turned, and got hit with a roundhouse kick from behind. He reeled, staggering, then looked to see who it was. Fara stood there, watching calmly. "That's for my friends who died fighting you."
He smiled a little, looking at her. God, gorgeous, so gorgeous. She was a cobra.
"You pig!" She glared.
"I didn't say anything.." His knees gave out, and he knelt, gathering everything he had left. Fox hadn't moved, but he wouldn't hit a man who had his back turned to him.
"You didn't have to. You know what I trained as."
He looked at her, and almost laughed. 'Shit... She's psionic...'
Gunshots cut the air, close, too close. They turned, and were stunned.
Fox was gasping. Red bloomed across his chest. His back was arched, and a thin keen whispered from his throat as he fell. Wolf focused past him, and saw Pigma, with a gun raised and smoking.
"NOO!" Fara screamed.
Wolf drew. It was a mindless action. The gun bucked in his hand, and Pigma fell.
He looked at the gun and then looked at Fara. "Kill me."
She didn't ask. She did it.
The sun rose over a liberated Corneria City, blood red.
"Red sky at morning." Said Falco. He was beat up, and had a fractured arm, but had won over Leon.
"Venom take warning." Fara replied. The sunrise was as red as Fox's blood at been the night before. Currently he was curled up in his bed, alive. He'd have to heal. He had a lot of broken ribs and a punctured lung. Only fast action by a med team had saved his life.
Fara touched Fox with her newly discovered power, which she suppose had manifested because of stress. In his room, he stirred, feeling that touch, and she smiled a little.
"I think we're going to make it." He remarked.
She looked out over the city, at the red flags flying. "You know what? So do I."