Regret Chapter 12
#12 of STARFOX-6: Reflections of REGRET
Chapter -12-
"No Control"
*"We've been over this," * Slippy said to Falco, arms folded. "Don't you remember when Fox and Krystal were on Fortuna and Krystal was in a coma? Fox was injured beyond belief and he went back to the planet to finish his mission alone. And I went to help him, even though you told me I was stupid for it. I'm not kidding, Falco, you couldn't stop me then and you won't stop me n-now." (End of Reflections of The Future.)
Lombardi huffed in frustration. "Amanda, talk some sense into your man. They shot down Fox; you want him to be next?" He turned back to Toad and said, "If Fox got shot down, what makes you think you have a better chance?! Seriously, man, you're not thinking. Who is to say they're not setting a trap? They've already been down there for more than a day. Believe me, if anyone wants to get into a cockpit... it's ME. But we don't need you going down there and screwing everything up."
"Falco!" Amanda glowered at the avian. "Have you considered the possibility that Land Master support might actually be something worth looking into? We've been waiting for two days and Slippy is worried!"
"Fine. But if we have to go down there, we do it as a team." He glanced back at Slippy and shook his head. "Look, bud, don't take this the wrong way or nothin' but we were told to sit tight while they do the deed. Krystal is telepathic so they obviously have an advantage."
Slippy made a fist and glared at Lombardi. Falco narrowed his eyes and the two grimaced at one another. Amanda threw her arms in the air. "Stop this nonsense! There's no use being standoffish. Besides, Falco, this is complicated. Slippy has a really bad feeling. He had a horrible dream last night and said that Krystal spoke to him in his mind while he was asleep. He woke up in a cold sweat and..."
"Yeah, I know the rest of the story. He ran into my quarters and woke me up - now we're here arguing on the bridge. Fine. But with a sensor blackout, none of us have an advantage."
The frog smirked and lifted his arm to Amanda. She hooked hers into his and they began walking off the bridge. The door slid open and they walked through. Slippy glanced over his shoulder and said, "It's my sensor jamming program. So I have the encryption software to see through it. If anything, they won't see us coming and we'll see everything." He paused for effect then said, "...Idiot."
Falco shrugged off the insult and hurried after them. "Well why didn't you tell me any of that! Let's go kick some ass already!" The falcon rushed by them and raced to the flight deck. In truth, he had the same eerie dream as Slippy but wrote it off as a nightmare. He'd never known Krystal to outwardly project her telepathic abilities to others so he partially assumed the fact Slippy had a similar dream was nothing more than mere coincidence. At this point, he still didn't think Fox and Krystal were in any real danger but if Slippy was able to jam the sensors of everyone but the team... well that would make things far more fun and Falco really liked to win.
The Star Fox team, sans McCloud, got to their fighters except for Slippy. The frog got into a Land Master tank and rolled it into position. Amanda went first, followed by Toad. Lombardi was the last to leave the flight deck but the first into the atmosphere. The Sky Claw's wings took on a red tint. Seconds later, the rest of the ship began to glow brightly. The tiny strip of green and brown was a mere dot in an enormous ocean. It connected two modest sized continents but the rest of the planet was water.
Lombardi tapped several keys on his dash then opened a channel to Slippy and Amanda. "Okay, so... do your thing and bring our sensors online, will ya?"
"It should be showing up any second."
"Well hurry it up, froggy." Falco's HUD scrambled for an instant then his sensor grid came online. A listing of blips showed up, including a metal 'object of interest' in the forest. He noted that Krystal's Cloud Runner was displayed with a glowing dot in the mountains, practically on top of Ocotoman's ship. Finally, there was some sort of shuttle in a clearing not too far from the unidentified 'object of interest'. "Okay... it's working. I see Kursed, or whatever it is she's calling herself these days, has her ship with Octoman's ship. Looks like they have things under control. What's the plan oh fearful leader?"
"I want to check out the shuttle and the metal debris in the forest. Since we know Fox's ship was shot down, I'm willing to bet the computer blip, marked "Object of Interest," is the crash site. Also, I want to check out that shuttle in the clearing. It's good to have reconnaissance."
"Leave it to me. The Sky Claw has a 'Hawkeye 64' high definition camera mounted in the nose. It's time to check this baby out and see what it can do from way up here." He moved his left hand to a control pad and began typing. A monitor on his forward dash came to life showing the forest in astonishing detail. He nudged the control stick to the port then down just a little. The clearing came into view and Falco's heart stopped. "Dammit!"
"What is it, Falco?"
"Slippy was right, that's what." He groaned and brought his left hand to his head, sifting his fingers through the feathers. "You can't be flippin' serious. Octoman is down there with Krystal and Fox."
"What's going on? Send me the data stream, Falco."
"No, froggy. Just... let's get down there. You don't want to see this."
Amanda joined the communication patch in protest. "Falco, don't withhold information. Just show us what's going on!"
"Sister, hey, listen. You and I... we're cool. But your tone isn't going to make me change my mind. You two do not need to see this crap. Let's just hurry. We won't be able to do anything with our ships. Land in that clearing. There's a shuttle in the middle and some sort of gathering of people on the east side. Land on the west side, opposite of the shuttle to use it for cover. This is something we'll have to do on foot. Slippy, you stay in that tank. Use it to steamroll the bad guys. Amanda, get a gun and put it to the highest non-lethal setting - you're with me. Let's get the hell down there; this isn't a joking matter."
Neither amphibian spoke. Hearing worry in Falco's voice was an ultra-rare occurrence. Lombardi pushed the throttle bar to maximum then hit the boost.
At that moment...
Fox's left wrist was tightly tied to Kursed's left wrist_._ Both foxes had a knife in their right paw and were evasively ducking the other's lethal thrusts. They moved in a circle with cheering in the background. McCloud's eyes were dull and distant. He lunged at her, trying to pull her forward with his left forearm.
Kursed's blank stare glistened in the afternoon sunlight. She tilted her head, narrowly missing the blade intended for her throat. Without a word, she swished the short dagger crosswise, glancing Fox's shoulder. His face contorted to show pain then abruptly went expressionless again.
He went for another quick thrust. She lifted her foot and kicked at him despite having her left paw tied to his. However, Fox's blade caught her arm a few inches beneath the elbow. Blood gushed out, saturating the blue fur. There were already splattered droplets beneath their feet. Their shoes squeaked on the hull of the flat shuttle, which acted as their fighting platform.
The vixen made another quick attack but Fox jerked his head back. Her weapon struck the metal collar, creating a flit of sparks. Rather suddenly she cried out in pain and dropped to her knees. Octoman, down below them, shouted, "I told you to avoid the neck, you little blue cunt! You'll damage the collar!"
It had been a mistake because of the way Fox had jerked his head back but she couldn't argue. The pain nodes in her collar continued to shock her for several more seconds then the excruciating sensation came to an abrupt end. She wearily got back to her feet, panting in agony. Fox had been affected to, and his fur was frazzled. In a winded voice, she said, "My apologies, Master."
"Just finish killing each other," he growled then stomped back to take his seat. He settled down on the elevated chair, put the remote control on his lap then bellowed, "FIGHT!"
The round commenced where it left off. Kursed saw Fox's next move faster than his arm could make it. She jerked her left arm up, using their tethered wrists to block. The knife glanced over her paw and she cried out in pain then brought a knee into Fox's thigh to catch him off guard. She plunged her knife into his abdomen where his appendix was once located before having it surgically removed. (Reflections of The Future, Chapter 14) It was a crucial strike but because he'd had his appendix removed, her blade found only a pocket of flesh and muscle.
This time, Fox cried out through clinched teeth then drew his paw back ready to swipe at her again. He thrust the dagger towards her face but she jerked her head back. The blade struck her tiara but left no scratches on the alien metal. She quickly caught his right arm with her knife, causing him to jerk back. Kursed lunged towards him and head butted him in the face.
McCloud collapsed to the fuselage then scrambled to get back to his feet. She went to stab downwards at his forehead but he managed to catch her wrist. They grappled with one another, trying not to drop their knives. She snapped her teeth, catching the very tip of his right ear. The near-miss bite clipped only the very edge of his ear but the bite was enough to taste his blood.
Fox held his knife in the 'stabbing' grip and used his knuckles to jab her in the gut then he tried to bring his right paw inwards to slash open her belly. Kursed arched her back to avoid being gutted but his blade managed to slice through part of her shirt. The milky white fur of her midriff was displayed. Cheers continued from the soldiers at Octoman's side. Blood saturated Fox's shirt from where he'd been stabbed in the abdomen. Kursed's arm was dripping with the sanguine liquid as the two danced about one another.
"HOLD!" Octoman stood up. Both Fox and Kursed became motionless, staring through one another. The reddish-skinned octopus made his way up atop of the shuttle then approached them. "One of the guards has informed me that we're doing this wrong." He untied the two foxes then took Fox's right wrist and tied it to Kursed's left. He took Fox's knife and put it into the pilot's left paw. He gave the knot a hard jerk to make sure it was tight again then he made his way back down from the shuttle and returned to his seat. Once he was comfortable, he shouted, "FIGHT!"
Now that their arms were no longer between them, they were able to evade far more easily, making the bout far more interesting to Octoman and his crew. Fox jerked his strong right arm to the left and twirled Kursed off balance but she went with the flow and jumped to the side then tried to kick out his knee. McCloud pulled his foot up and blocked her boot, taking the blow to his shin. He brought his left paw out and nicked her waist, shredding her shirt and creating another small cut only skin deep.
She brought her knee up and caught Fox where he'd been stabbed earlier. He yelped in pain but tried to get in another strike. His dagger met hers, creating a loud clang that was audible to their audience.
Fox's fur and Krystal's hair began to sway wildly but the continued to fight, ignoring the distraction. Falco Lombardi's ship landed in the clearing and his shields went up followed by his canopy. He opened his wings and leapt from the top of his ship to the top of the shuttle, shooting a blaster towards Octoman in the crowd.
The eight legged creature dove away from his recently erected chair and hit the ground hard. His remote control tumbled away from his grip. He sat up and shouted, "STOP FIGHTING AND KILL THE AVIAN!"
Fox and Kursed blinked then turned on Falco. Both of them lifted their knives in a threatening way. Lombardi blinked in shock. "Whoa! What is going on with you two? SNAP OUT OF IT, already!"
Fox took a swipe at Falco without a word. The avian dove away from them, rolling over the shuttle's hull. He got back to his feet and lifted his blaster towards them but thumbed the settings down to 'stun'. "Yeah, that's going to stop right now."
Before he could fire, Kursed kicked her leg up and caught the blaster. It flew from Falco's grip and fell all the way to the dirt, far below. She lifted her right paw and brought it down quick in an attempt to stab the avian. He caught her wrist with both of his hands then cut his eyes towards Fox who flanked him, still tied to the vixen. Fox plunged his knife into Falco's hip, narrowly missing his kidney. Kursed kicked out his left leg, bringing Lombardi to his knees but he kept his hands on her right wrist to keep her at bay. Her knife came dangerously close to his eye. Even with all the pain in his side, he continued to fight her right arm.
Fox jerked the knife back out, lifted it high in the air then gritted his teeth, ready to deliver a death blow. Falco stumbled backwards and fell from the shuttle, narrowly avoiding his friend's lethal strike. The avian landed on his back with a long, low groan of pain. He brought one of his hands to his hip, favoring the stab wound. Blood soaked his feathery fingers, running along his knuckles and down the back of his hand.
Fox and Kursed leapt together from the shuttle and landed clumsily side by side. They stood up and raised their knives in near unison. They began to approach Falco with slow deliberate steps. Octoman shouted at the top of his lungs "KILL THAT FOOL!"
A gunshot lanced out through the void and struck Fox in his back. The energy round, set to stun, caused the pilot to collapse. His motor skills were gone. Kursed used her knife to slice the rope that bound her to him. Now cut free, she continued to advance on Falco with her knife lifted and ready.
Lombardi brought his legs up and used his feet to keep her off guard. "Hey, HEY! Back off!" His words had no effect on her. She brought the knife down and buried the blade in his boot, stabbing straight through the sole. It hit something solid inside the boot then she pulled it back out. The side of the blade had a scratch in it from one of his talons. Falco looked up, over her shoulder, and saw Amanda standing atop of the Tadpole Fighter.
From off to the north, Slippy's Land Master broke into the area, bowling down one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. The large trunk came down, causing the guards to disperse. Next, the tank's cannon roared to life, blowing the shuttle apart. The explosion threw Kursed to the ground. She sat up but was dazed and unresponsive with a blank look on her face.
Octoman crawled to his controller, picked up the unit and mashed down on the button. Fox, still stunned, managed to curl into a fetal position. Kursed flopped on the ground, screaming and writhing in agony. Octoman released the button on the controller and shouted, "I SAID KILL THAT STUPID BIRD!"
No longer dazed from the explosion, Kursed rolled over and pounced on Falco. He grabbed her by the wrists and tried to pivot about on his tail feathers so he could put his foot between them. She quickly jerked her left paw from his grip then punched him in the groin to immobilize him. Falco brought his knees up, together, blinded by tears. He brought his now-free hand up and grabbed her by the neck, closing his fist over the collar.
Again, Octoman hit the button on the remote. Again, Kursed screamed, Fox curled into a fetal position but this time the electric charge raced through Falco's hand. He was thrown from Kursed and landed on his hip where he'd been stabbed earlier. He gasped in an attempt to get a breath of air but couldn't manage it. Instead he opened his beak and reached for his throat. He flailed about, having had the wind knocked out of him.
Amanda fired her personal stunner again, striking Kursed in the shoulder. The indirect hit spun her like a top and her knife landed near Fox. She fell face down in the dirt, trembling like a shivering child from her muscle spasms.
McCloud's own body, having been shocked twice since being stunned, began to tense up again as the effects of Amanda's blaster wore off. He picked up the second dagger and stood up. Amanda shot at him but this time he evaded. Seeing Falco was practically immobilized. He delivered a swift kick to the grounded avian then charged Amanda and her ship.
To Fox's right, the Land Master rolled through the burning debris of the shuttle and the cannon swung about, catching Fox out of nowhere. The elongated barrel threw McCloud clear across the area. He rolled several times then came to a stop in a cloud of dust. Slowly he began to get to his feet, but his body trembled from adrenaline, despite the injuries, bruises and now a cracked rib.
Slippy opened the hatch on the front of the tank and stood up. He hopped out and stormed across the clearing towards Fox, keeping the burning shuttle between himself and Octoman's men. McCloud was fazed but shook off the pain and lifted both knives towards Slippy.
Falco eased up on an elbow and shouted, "GET BACK IN YOUR TANK, you freakin' IDIOT! You can't fight him!"
Slippy had a look of resolve on his face. He stomped towards Fox and, in turn, Fox hobbled towards the frog. McCloud lifted both knives and Falco looked away, not wanting to see Slippy get killed. The vulpine pilot shifted both knives so that they were pointed down in the 'stabbing' position. Fox sniffed disdainfully then charged.
Toad squatted with his powerful legs then dove towards Fox, ramming his best friend in the gut, right where a rib had already been broken. Fox went down and Slippy landed on his stomach nearby. He was the first to get up and reached for Fox's collar. He gripped it firmly.
Octoman mashed down on the controller again, to shock the Star Fox members. Kursed screamed in a shrill voice from pain but... for some reason, Fox and Slippy didn't appear to be affected. Smoke poured out from the side of Fox's collar where the charge had been directed back on its electronics, frying the internal components.
Slippy turned towards Octoman and leered at him. He held his right hand up, displaying a small handheld device. He moved around the remains of the shuttle's bow then began rolling up his sleeves as he approached the octopus.
"KILL HIM!" Octoman shouted to his soldiers. The group of men rallied together, getting into a group formation. They hardly took two steps when the Land Master's cannon roared to life again. This time, Amanda was at the controls. The plasma round hit low, blowing the men in every direction. Their bodies were scattered throughout the surrounding forest, leaving a crater in their place. She piloted the tank about, bringing the cannon to bear on Octoman's position.
Slippy Toad approached Octoman drew back his right fist and, with every ounce of his pudgy frame, he struck the octopus in the face. The cephalopod flopped back, hit his head on the ground and went limp. His six legs straightened, his two arms flopped to the left and right, laid out like a snow angel. Trying to look mean, Slippy's lips pursed together then he spat on the unconscious red-skinned man. He turned away, took about four steps then doubled over, favoring his right hand.
Falco, having seen the whole thing, sat up with a wince then struggled to his feet. To his immediate surprise, Fox McCloud was there to help. The injured vulpine pilot put an arm around Lombardi's waist to stabilize him. The two pilots hobbled towards Slippy who looked rather miserable with his face twisted in a grimace of grief.
Winded, bleeding and disheveled, Falco shook his head slowly and said, "OH my God I'll never pick on you again, so long as I live. Slippy Toad, you are the man, dude."
Fox separated from Lombardi and approached his friend. He reached for Slippy's right arm and began to run his thumbs over the frog's wrist and joints, carefully. It was obvious that McCloud was still too stunned to feel the pain in his ribs just yet. "Damn buddy. You broke two fingers and your wrist is swollen. Could be a sprain, might be a break. You should go to a hospital and have that x-rayed."
Slippy was hardly able to stand still from the head rush and excitement. He took two slow breaths then, as calmly as the morning sun, he said, "That guy is hurting a lot more than I am." He opened his last two fingers and dropped a metal device into Fox's palm. Slippy feigned a thin smile and said, "You and Falco are hurting a lot more than me - I have no room to complain. Here, take this and touch it to Kursed's neck. Hold it there and I'll activate Octoman's remote control. That'll short out her collar."
"I have a better idea," said Falco. "Lets take it off of her and put it on Octoman, then we'll use that remote control on him."
Slippy shook his head. "No. I have a better idea for his fate. I found out that he's a wanted criminal on Venom for brainwashing some of Ranger Bowman's personal guards and kidnapping them. Dash's laws claim that abduction of a government employee is a federal crime on Venom, punishable by the death penalty. I say we drop him off with Venom's new leader and walk away." He turned back towards Octoman and went for the remote control unit lying on the ground.
Fox limped back towards Kursed and put the unit to her neck. He gave a nod from across the clearing. Slippy mashed down on the button. After a few seconds, Kursed's mind control collar began to smoke. The power light on the side went dim. The powered magnetic clasp failed and it fell away from her neck. Slippy made his way back to the group and snatched the collar from her throat and inspected it. "Hmm, he changed the way it connects. He probably learned his lesson after mine came off when I slumped in my harness straps after that dogfight we had." He threw it on the ground then reached for Fox's neck, jerked that one off and threw it besides the other. Slippy knelt to pick up Falco's weapon, which had been dropped earlier, and he changed the settings to the maximum yield then shot the collars. Both of them melted to mere slag.
Amanda ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck. "That was amazing! I bet you feel so vindicated after what he did to you two and a half years ago!"
Slippy blushed a bit. "Oh, well, yeah... I was pretty sore about that I guess."
She leaned in close and whispered against the side of his head. "You have an all-access pass to my panties tonight." She saw Slippy's eyes widened and his cheeks glow brightly, flushed from blood. Her eyes then fell upon his right hand, which he cradled tenderly in his left. She gasped rather dramatically, "What happened to your hand??"
Fox grinned at the two, having overheard what she promised her fiancé. "He hit Octoman so hard that he broke two fingers and injured his wrist. But I think Octoman is probably far worse off." McCloud tried to grin but his face hurt so badly that he was unable to smile at all.
Kursed groaned softly and brought a paw to her head. She sat up, favoring her arm where she'd been cut during the knife fight. One of her paws was equally in need of bandaging. She looked around at everyone then said, "Where is that bastard? I'm going to..."
Fox put a paw on her shoulder then helped her the rest of the way to her feet. "No need. One of my teammates flattened him." He turned to Falco and Slippy and said, "Thank you. If it wasn't for the three of you showing up when you did, Kursed and I might be dead. And much worse. Octoman was going to have the survivor load up Kursed's ship with explosives and fly to Corneria's Capital City then take out half the town. I wish I could remember anything but at least now I know one thing is for sure... I've got one hell of a great team."
Falco favored his hip where he'd been stabbed earlier. "I wish I could take some sort of credit for this... I'm your ace pilot and your right-hand man but... Slippy deserves the praise today. He's the hero of the hour, here. He made us come down here, he had that little device to short out the collars then..." Falco nodded back towards Octoman, "Then he got to have all the fun."
Fox rubbed his forehead. "What exactly happened between you two anyhow?" he asked the frog.
Toad shrugged his shoulders. "He put me under his control a few years ago, back during the Anglar War, then forced me to fight the people I loved the most. You and Amanda. I was so humiliated because I would never do such a thing. I love both of you. You're a brother to me - we've been in practically every class throughout school. And Amanda... she's my everything." He glanced at her with a semi-shy smile. "I can't imagine what I'd have done to myself if I'd hurt either one of you."
With a grunt, Lombardi gently prodded his hip then glanced back up at Fox. "It's a good thing avian biology is a little different, else you'd have shanked me in my kidney."
"Vital organs are vital," Slippy noted. Everyone turned to look at him but no one spoke. Kursed chuckled softly. Fox came next, somewhat snickering through clenched teeth although his face was too swollen with pain to smile. Falco blinked then thought about what the frog had said and joined in the chorus of soft laughter. Slippy blinked at them, looked from side to side and scratched his head with his uninjured left hand. "What? ...What'd I say?"
The avian shook his head and turned to Kursed. He wrapped his arms around her in a surprisingly joyful way. He nearly wept with happiness, something very out of character for him. But deep down, the vixen understood because they had a special bond. He'd found her, years ago, on her deathbed (Chapter 15, Reflections of the Future) and now, again, after assuming she'd been dead, he was face to face with her. Falco patted her firmly on the back and she returned the gesture.
"What's going on?" asked Fox, looking quite confused despite the swollen bruises beneath his facial fur.
"This girl has more lives than Katt Monroe," Lombardi chuckled, relinquishing the firm hug. He reached up and fluffed her bangs, causing her to readjust them. "I don't know how she does it, but every time we think she's dead, she proves us wrong." He turned back to her and said, "I don't care for this new name of yours, though. It's a little dramatic sounding for my taste."
"Is that a fact?" she murmured with a chuckle. "It's good to be back, though."
Slippy's face brightened. "So you're going to stick around this time? You're not going back to anyone else and you're not staying on Kew? You're really back with Star Fox?"
She eyed the frog for a moment, glanced at Amanda then Falco and back to Slippy. "Today marks the last time that Fox and I ever fight. While he doesn't really remember our relationship, he does remember that we loved one another. We talked things out and I think we're going to give our relationship another shot." She paused for effect, cut a sidelong glance at Fox then said, "Provided he doesn't break up with me again because Star Fox is too dangerous."
Fox lifted his paws defensively, despite a quick pinch of pain in his torso. "Are you kidding? After having just fought with and against you? Star Fox isn't dangerous - you are." He offered a lame grin but his face hurt to bad to maintain the expression for very long. Falco, Slippy and Amanda snickered in unison.
McCloud placed a paw over his abdomen, covering his bloody shirt. "Okay. Let's clean up. You three take Octoman to the ship and lock him up. Make him as un_comfortable as possible. Kursed and I will head back to the mountain base, retrieve her staff and my gun then we'll take her ship back to the 'mothership' or our '_base' or whatever. We'll see you there."
Slippy gave Fox a funny look. "It's called the Great Fox."
The vulpine pilot furrowed a brow, creating a crease in the fur of his forehead. "What kind of name is that?" He blinked, seeing Slippy, Kursed and Amanda look away. Meanwhile, Falco facepalmed with a groan. Fox shook his head slowly. "What?" He cradled the stab in his abdomen with his left paw and the lump of his midsection with his right one. His shirt was soaked in blood from the shoulder and from his gut. His ear was filthy with dust and dirt, which stuck to the bite mark he'd sustained. "I'm just saying it's a weird name for a ship."
Amanda adjusted the bow on her head. "Never mind them, Fox. You two climb aboard my ship and I'll take you to the mountain and drop you off. They'll stuff Octoman into the cargo compartment of the Land Master and secure it so he can't try to start trouble if he wakes up before we return home. Falco, help him get that moron in the tank - don't you dare let him do all the work with an injured right hand. I'll see you boys back on the carrier."
Falco and Slippy went for Octoman while Amanda followed the two foxes back to her fighter. With everyone injured except her, she knew she'd be playing the role of nurse over the next few days. She wasn't looking forward to it.
Kursed slumped into her cockpit , glad to have her staff back. But she was equally pleased Fox was able to retrieve his gun and his jacket with the scrapbook. With Fox back on the Murphy bed, she piloted the Cloud Runner from the hanger-like cavern at the top of the mountain. Octoman's personal fighter was left behind. She rotated about then opened fire on the unshielded ship. One shot was all it took to make the fighter explode.
After a short time, she landed in the clearing where one of Octoman's shuttles was still smoldering. She settled near a crater caused by the Land Master during the skirmish earlier. The Cloud Runner grunted softly then became still. Kursed made her way back to the hold and moved towards Fox. "How're you feeling?"
"My ribs are pretty sore," he murmured with a light shrug. "I'll be fine."
"One of us needs to go back to your crash site. We have to use the beacon to signal the Great Fox so that when it comes into the atmosphere, they can lock on and use the tractor beam to get that stuff out of the forest. I'll do it."
"Oh, no, you don't have to..."
"Save it," she said in a commanding voice. "I mean it. You have broken ribs, Fox. You can't go walking back there with a deep stab wound and broken ribs. I mean it."
"It's just a little pain. If I'm really the fairytale hero you say I am, I'll be fine."
Kursed clenched her teeth together and glared at him for being stubborn. After a moment, she sighed and shook her head. "Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgments."
She waited for his reaction, and to her pleasant surprise he afforded her with a nod. Kursed smiled and told him, "Your health comes first. Take the Cloud Runner back to Great Fox immediately. They said that the docking and landing sequence codes are still the same - this ship will be able to land automatically. Great Fox is the only big ship in orbit over this planet. You can't miss it."
"You're going to wait for me, right? You're not going to run off are you?"
"If you don't get your tail back to that carrier... let's just say we'll have a problem. I don't want to be with a stubborn man. It's bad enough that I've been a stubborn woman, lately. All that nonsense needs to stop."
"Fair enough." He began to sit up but the pain was incredible. Instead, the pilot slid his legs off the bed and with her help he got to his feet. Calmly, Fox lowered to his hands and knees, keeping his torso perfectly straight. He climbed up into the cockpit without another word.
Kursed took her staff from the charging plate on the wall then exited the craft through its aft hatch. She removed a metal transponder, given to her by Slippy before he left the area. She looked over the object for a moment then stuffed it back into her newly acquired official 'Star Fox Team' logo embroidered jacket.
Behind her, the Cloud Runner lifted from the clearing and disappeared. She watched it ascend into the clouds and pondered the difference between its design and that of her original Cerinian Shuttle. Certainly there were still remains from the Cerinian shuttle lying on the surface of the Meteo theme park asteroid. She dismissed the thoughts and, once Fox was gone, brought her paw to her aching forearm. She favored the bandaged spot then glanced at the bandaging on her other paw, where she'd been stabbed during the awful fight, earlier. Kursed sighed and began walking into the forest, alone, with her staff.
It took about half an hour before she found her way back to the crash site. The Nova bombs were still sitting besides the ship. She came around to the other side and used her staff to force each one back into the cargo compartment in the belly. By the time she got to the last one she was tired and had broke a sweat. She gave it a push but it wouldn't budge.
Kursed's eyes shut and she sighed quite loud, her tail flitting about fitfully behind her. She pushed her staff into the ground so that it was sticking straight up in the air then placed her paws on the last bomb. Her body relaxed then, utilizing the technique of her people, her fur bristled up. Controlling the Dahn Daju wasn't easy but it wasn't terribly difficult, either. The bomb rolled forward, coming dislodged from the dirt. It rolled right to the hatch ramp then she used her staff to pry it the rest of the way up until it slid onto a pair of metallic rails. She shut the hatch door then slumped back against the fuselage, panting softly.
"You! Telepath!" The masculine voice startled her. She looked up from where she was leaning against the Arwing's hull then tilted her head. It wasn't her watcher. Instead, it was a man dressed in some sort of fatigues in an unfamiliar style.
"So you are a Kew Hunter."
He folded his arms across his chest, approaching her in a casual fashion. "Your perverted mind tricks tell you that, girl?"
She blinked. "No, my..." She wanted to say that her watcher mentioned it but then she remembered watchers weren't supposed to interact. She tilted her head and said, "My keen eye - I'm a perceptive girl."
He gritted his teeth. "Telepaths aren't supposed to know about Kew hunters until it's too late for them. Are you somehow able to read my mind? After all, you understand my language so you must be reading some part of my mind. You're even speaking back to me in my native tongue. Hmm... I've not seen a telepath with your abilities before. Where are you from and why are you here?"
"My world, Cerinia, feel to a tragedy that was unavoidable. The central star collapsed. Billions are dead and it's possible I'm the last of that race. I'm here because I came to stop a criminal from hiding out in this area. I'm not sure how I'm able to understand you, as your kind blocks out my ability to hear conscious thoughts but I assure you I'm not scanning your mind as an act of perversity. Incidentally, how did you know I was telepathic?"
"We lock on to people's mental signatures. Yours is developed, allowing me to see that you can read thoughts. It is, shall we say, an underdeveloped version of your abilities. But you probably already knew that, since you can somehow read my mind."
"I'm afraid I can't read anything more than your emotions," she said with a frown. "And I can tell that you're not happy to see me, but that much is obvious by the coldness in your eyes."
"I kill your kind for a living," he sneered. "I'm pleased to hear your race has been eradicated. It is the mighty Creator's way of giving other species back their freedom of thought and free will."
"After what has happened to me over the last few days, believe me when I tell you, sir, that NO ONE can appreciate free will more so than myself. I've recently had it stripped from me and it was awful. I'll politely decline to comment on your words concerning my friends, family and home. While I find it ignorant to say such things, I understand that your job is to stop errant telepaths from becoming dangerous. I mean harm to no one. In fact, I didn't even kill the criminal I tracked to this planet. I put him into custody. A jury of his peers will decide his fate on the planet Venom in the Lylat system."
"Your presence here is less than comforting to me," he said in a throaty voice. "If you really are the last of your race, then you're all alone."
"That's unfortunately the point," she said, trying not to be facetious about his semi-insulting words. "I assure you I'm leaving in peace after I clean up the mess that was made on your planet." She gestured to the Arwing. "We also extinguished the smoldering remains of a shuttle in a clearing not far from here. It belonged to Octoman, the criminal I'm bringing to justice. I have acquaintances that are coming through here to pick up these scraps then we'll be underway."
"You know... I've always wanted to catch a telepath and find out what makes them tick," he mused, folding his arms. He wasn't a badger like Darius - instead, he was a generic looking weasel. It was obvious that the two races were related but also had trademark differences. The man continued, bringing a chill to her spine. "Little girl, no one would find you if there aren't others like you to search. Knowing your mind better would help us do our jobs better."
"If you're looking for a volunteer with whom to play mind games... you should probably look elsewhere."
"I didn't say anything about volunteering." He leered at her then grinned deviously. Rather suddenly he disappeared. There was no light or fancy effects but, all the same, Kursed felt her eyes hurt terribly. Seeing him teleport made her eyes sensitive. She covered her face and groaned in pain.
He appeared behind her with an arm around her neck. "Just relax. There's no need to struggle. You'll be our test subject, female."
Kursed swung her staff back hard but it struck the Arwing hull. She looked around through squinted eyes but didn't see him. The woman continued to pivot, making a full turn. Again, he was behind her. His arms moved around her body, gripping at her wrists to subdue her. She cried out in anger. "Leave me alone! I mean you no harm!"
The forest began to rustle wildly. They both stopped to look up. Kursed's eyes were narrowed. They could see the belly of the Great Fox carrier. Little flashes of the thrusters along the hull helped to keep it steady and motionless directly above. She gritted her teeth and said, "Those are my friends and they're here for me. And if you don't want any trouble, I suggest you leave peacefully. If you promise to do so, I'll return the act of good faith and leave in an equally peaceful fashion. What say you?"
He released her arms. She turned around to face him but he was already gone. Kursed composed herself and breathed a sigh of relief. Her head lifted again and she whispered to herself. "Good timing, Fox. Thank goodness." A beeping sound filled her ears and she looked around. The little metallic object was on the ground by her foot. She assumed it must have fallen out of her pocket during the scuffle.
Kursed picked up the transponder and removed the adhesive cover from the back then firmly placed it on the Arwing's hull. The beeping stopped and the device began to flash. She hurried around the Arwing's remains then climbed into the cockpit seat and buckled herself in, keeping her staff between her knees. She lifted a paw to reach for the non-existent canopy then laughed in spite of her force of habit in realization that it wasn't there. The Arwing began to tremble.
She placed her paws against the starboard dash panel to keep her back straight. The ship continued to quaver. The vibrations made some of the instruments clatter where Fox had shot an enormous hole into the controls. Metal pieces jangled together like shaking a paw full of loose change. The hull righted itself so that Kursed was now looking up at the belly of the new Great Fox. Her eyes became less agitated and the pain subsided. Darius Vai had been right when he told her that he had to be out of eyesight before teleporting.
The Arwing's hull lifted from the hardened dirt, leaving a fantastic metal impression in its wake. The fighter's remains continued to ascend. A round port opened above her and the small ship passed through with ease. She was lifted into the flight deck and remained there for a moment. Her ears flickered, hearing the hatch slide shut with a clang. The tractor emitters lowered the Arwing, with its nosecone curled into a 'J', until it was resting on the hanger's deck plates. The field vanished.
Kursed unfastened the seatbelt harness and climbed out of the ship. The Cloud Runner was fifteen meters away with a refueling apparatus connected to the sides. She pondered getting some of her personal belongings from within then changed her mind. "I'll worry about that later," she murmured aloud, surprising herself with the unintentional monologue. She reached back into the Arwing, got her staff then headed for her old quarters.
There was an induction pad to her left as soon as she entered the room. Kursed placed her staff on the pad and walked into the bathroom. The door swished open and she approached the mirror. There was no getting around it - she'd seen better days.
To the right of the mirror something had been carved into the wall. She leaned close to examine it and saw several names scratched out. After several indistinctive scribbles, the word, 'Panther?' was at the bottom with a crude circle around it. She remembered doing something similar in her room at Sargasso. She opened the mirror, took out a metal file and began to scratch out Panther's name then, beneath it, etched 'Fox' into the wall and carefully carved a heart around the name. Satisfied with her work, she closed the mirror and sighed in content.
Kursed's ears perked up then she left the bathroom just as Amanda entered the quarters. The amphiboid called into the main part of the room. "You in here, girl?" Their eyes met from across the room. Amanda smiled. "Hey! There you are. How're you feeling?"
"I wish I could explain," said the vixen with a frown. "I'm glad you guys picked me up when you did - I think I was about to become friends with the locals. They're an unnerving sort."
"How so?"
Kursed shook her head and glanced off to the left. "I get the feeling that... well... let's just say if you guys hadn't showed up when you did, things might have gone very differently."
Amanda didn't know what to say. She nodded thoughtfully then her eyes zeroed in on the nail file. "You want to get a Mani-Pedi when we get back to Corneria?"
The cerulean vixen pondered the offer for a moment then smiled gingerly. "You know what? That sounds like fun, Amanda. I would like that. I've not done something girly in a long time. But I have a stop to make, first. After we drop off Octoman on Venom, I would like to stop by Sauria. I know they're at opposite sides of Lylat from one another but... Business, personal needs then pleasure. Deal?"
The amphibian nodded with a smile. "You've got it, sweetheart. Listen, Fox is on the observation deck. I'm sure he'd come and see you but after dressing those wounds, ROB told him not to wonder around. He's a man - believe me honey I know the look in his eyes. He wants to see you."
Kursed placed the nail file on a nearby coffee table then gestured for Amanda to take the lead. "It's been a while since I've been on this ship. Can you show me the quickest way?"
"Right this way!"
*"You're in so much pain," * murmured Kursed. She sat on a cushioned sofa in the observation room with Fox lying across the sofa, his head on her lap. "You just bottle all that pain and hold it all inside. It's going to tear you apart, Fox. If you let it out, once in a while, you'd be adding at least ten years to your life."
He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "The worst years. The kidney dialysis years. The wheelchair, old-folks home years. Nah, you can keep those years; I don't want'em."
"If you have any more days like today, those years will start quite soon." She placed a paw on the side of his face, careful to touch back by his neck, behind his eyes, mindful of his tender bruises. "You impressed Octoman."
"That was exhausting," he said earnestly. "I felt like I was going to break a blood vessel in my head, fighting the effects of that stupid collar. Actually, you did a lot better than I did."
"I just lasted longer. You actually succeeded for a few minutes, there. You had it in you to tell him off. I couldn't even manage that. All I did was refuse to call him 'master' until after he started shocking us over and over."
McCloud looked away with a secret shame. "Yeah. I wish I could have that memory erased. When will my real ones return? It's frustrating - what if this is permanent?"
"Fox, don't let it bother you. I much rather you act the way you've been treating me, after all."
"But you said you wouldn't want to work things out until you knew for sure that I wouldn't revert. You said I'd need my memories back to see if it would change anything before you make a decision about us. I'm sorry. I don't mean to rush you into making a relationship decision. I'll drop the subject; I just... I know I want you in my life."
She smiled then leaned over until her lips tenderly touched his, careful not to put too much pressure against his muzzle. "I bet you were quite a confident flirt seventeen years ago." She sat back up then gently rubbed behind his ears.
"What was seventeen years ago?"
"I believe you were eighteen when you dated the first girl in that scrapbook."
Fox's eyes widened. He reached up for the paw behind his ears. McCloud took her paw firmly in his and gave it a squeeze then guided it to his chest, opposite of the broken ribs, so that she could feel his beating heart. "I was sixteen years old, at the Cornerian flight academy. You were the girl in blue from my dreams." (Reflections of Fox McCloud, Chapter 1)
A smile started at the corner of her muzzle then spread across. "You remember that?"
"Did we really meet in our dreams all those years ago?" He looked intrigued but kept his head on her lap, not willing to move at the moment.
In reply, she simply smiled at him. After letting him wonder for a bit, she simply said, "I think you're on to something." Her heart rate quickened, feeling his pulse beneath her fingertips. She felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside - his first true memory of the past was of their first celestial meeting. She decided that it was a sign. A very, very good sign.