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Breathing slowly, Jun strained his eyes to see what was in front of him. With the emergency lights having lost source of energy as well, the marten had to place his paw on the tunnel wall to guide him through the pitch darkness.

I hope Tang hasn't been hurt, thought Jun Fa_. I need to find her._

After the alarm had gone off, everyone scattered, some to evacuate and others to join the fight but Jun insisted on finding his sister. His target was to go back to the cabin but he chose an unfortunate path where the fighting was taking place. He watched in horror as the guards fought and fell trying to defend this base they've all struggled to build over the pass six months. He had no choice but to turn tail and flee.

The emergency lights failed shortly after that, completely disorienting the marten and now he was lost, and alone. Soft gunfire still echoed down the tunnels but he knew that they were still far off to be concerned about it, for now.

Sharp pain cut through his paw while was rubbing it against the earthen wall. With a gasp, he instinctively withdrew it and tried to inspect the damage but to no avail.

Only a sharp rock, thought Jun, hesitantly placing his wounded paw back on the wall. He was careful to not carelessly drag it across the earthen walls. No matter how dilated his eyes have become, there was not a shred of light this deep in the mountain, especially since the sun must have set over three hours ago.

The slightest sound of something scurrying on the ground nearby caused the startled marten to scream in surprise. Just an animal, Jun concluded. Tang, where are you? Jun continued to wish for some luck but he felt like he's been lost in the dark for an hour. His thoughts found refuge thinking about a fox that was much younger than Jun is now. I need your help, Yukiomaru.

Jun witnessed horrific sights when he was on Drach'n Fury but he never felt afraid. Tang did everything she could to protect him, and later he learned the incredibly abilities of Yukiomaru when he saw the video of the fox saving his sister's life when they tried to capture a Creeper. The only time Jun truly felt afraid on Drach'n Fury was when he saw Yukiomaru lying in a pool of his own blood on the bridge of the ship.

He's gone now, Jun had to remind himself. He tried to move faster but he couldn't move any faster than a normal pace walk. They killed him, so I have to defend myself.

No matter how fast Jun walked, the sounds of the fighting always followed him. He rounded a corner, guided by his paw on the wall, but over the echoes of gunfire, he heard something large wheezing ahead.

The marten immediately stopped, holding his breath and listened. The wheezing was steady and was definitely no small animal that shared the tunnels with them.

They can't be this far in the tunnels, Jun said to himself. They can't be.

Struggling to hold his breath, the marten refused to move a muscle for the fear of making a sound. In the pitch darkness ahead, something light dragged across the floor. A silent growl started to grow louder and louder. Fear flooded Jun's veins, paralyzing his limbs and constricting his chest.

They're not here. They're not here. They're not here.

An ear-piercing wail echoed through off the walls and the creature in the darkness was heard moving straight toward him.

"Nooo!" Jun's strained voice cried. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins, returning blood to them and Jun didn't hesitate to turn around and bolt back the way he had came. He willed his body to move faster than his legs could react, causing him to nearly fall over but he managed to push himself back up with his paws. He felt a force swipe his tail to the side, cause more adrenaline to surge through his body fighting the fear that was nearly paralyzing him.

His breaths were forced and shallow while he pushed himself forward. Every stride he risked running into the side of the wall and being thrown off balance but he somehow managed to avoid doing that. He dared not cry out again, but he could sense the creature never being more than a hair's width away from him.

Someone help me!

He nearly ran straight into a wall when he reached the juncture where his paw guided him through just moments ago. Turning on his toes, he now found himself running toward the gunfire that soon had screams accompanying the sound. He was heading straight for a feeding frenzy.

In the darkness, Jun didn't realize that there was another junction in the tunnels until he ran full force into a solid wall. He rebounded back and fell to the ground. With a sickening shriek sounded right behind him.

The ground and wall shook as the creature crashed dove straight into the wall as well. The lights flickered for the briefest moment, granting Jun vision of an infected gazette landing roughly at his paws, being showered with dust and rocks that fell from the wall. The neck obviously broke in the impact, now being held at an odd angle. One of the horns were shattered, and nearly ripped from the skull. Dead green eyes snapped toward Jun, piercing right through him.

He pushed himself up and ran parallel to the wall, guided by the nearly blinding flashing lights now. Behind him he could hear the alien-infected gazelle scream in anger as it got up and continued to chase.

With the lights flashing, the marten was able to see the doors on either side of the tunnel. He dove for one, crashed into and fell into the room beyond. He kicked the door shot behind him, and felt the creature forcefully throw itself against the door. Jun didn't waste any time in lowering the metal beam and sealing the door. Another impact on the door threw the marten back on his tail.

Scurrying away from the door, the marten unintentionally slammed into the furniture in the corner of the room. A raised bed was nearby and Jun squeezed himself under it while the alien continued to bang on the door, attempting to break it down.

Each impact made Jun flinch. He tried to cover his ears but it didn't help as he could even feel the impacts through small vibrations on the door. He felt each one rock his core, paralyzing his muscles once again.

Those eyes! It wasn't the dead gazelle's eyes that he saw, but the eyes of the alien itself. Its intention wasn't to infect me. It's angry. Not just angry, it's vengeful.

The banging continued on the door, growing more desperate.

It's going to get in. Go away, go away!

Fear gripped his chest, and he couldn't catch his breath. His breaths were shallow as he began to hyperventilate. The furniture around the room rattled with each impact. The lights fluttered with the impacts until the emergency lights finally stayed on. Persistently the alien continued to slam itself into the door, each blow cutting Jun's breath short while he tried to catch his breath.

Through his fear, he tried to think of a way out but nothing came to mind. There was only one way in and out, and the Creeper was on the other side of that door. The only ventilation in the tunnels were tubes that are far too small to crawl through. There was no other way out of the room.

After an eternity of the marten wishing and praying that the door would hold, it finally stopped to the sound of gunfire. Something fell against the door.

Finally he gained control over his breathing again while he waited. Someone tried to open the door but failed due to it being barred.

"Anyone alive in there?" a muffled voice asked through the metal door.

"Tang?" shouted Jun, scrambling out from under the bed.

"Jun?"

He didn't waste any time removing the bar and opening the door. His sister stood on the other side, standing over the disgustingly infected gazelle and heavily armed. She held an assault rifle in her paws and had two side arms hanging off her belt. In addition to the weapons she had personally, Commander Cassander was behind her with another two soldiers.

Neither of them moved for an instant, while Jun felt tears swell up in his eyes. Thank you, Tang. You saved me. She stepped toward him and pulled him into a hug.

"Where've you been?" she asked. Commander Cassander moved down the tunnel and out of sight while she continued hunting the infected.

Jun didn't answer while he squeezed to his sister tightly. They held each other in an embrace for nearly a full minute before Jun opened his eyes and saw the infected gazelle still moving. He looked directly into its eyes and still saw the hatred.

Without a word, Jun reached for his sister's belt and pulled free one of the pistols. Releasing Tang from his embrace, Jun aimed directly at the eyes of the infected dead and squeezed the trigger without the slightest sign of emotion in his eyes.

You have no claim to vengeance, alien. I take my vengeance on your race for what you did to Yukiomaru and this planet!

Tang jumped back from the explosions and passed a glance from the now dead alien and her brother. Her eyes were wide with surprise, seeing a side of Jun that has never existed before.

"I did find it strange that Aggressor ventured so far from his territory to attack us," muttered Jun. He didn't take his eyes off the heavily infected gazelle.

"What're talking about Jun?" Tang asked, still surprised by her brother's actions.

"Just a theory, Tang," he answered, meeting her gaze once again. "They targeted us. I don't know why when this war started, their behavior was unusually aggressive and risky when they came after us. It cost Aggressor, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, his life."

"We'll discuss it later," said Tang, her eyes glancing at the weapon still in Jun's paw. No doubt she wanted to ask for it back but was unsure of how Jun would react. "We've taken back control of most of the base but we still need to take control of the breach site."

"How'd they get in?"

"That's still unclear," Tang answered. "I'm going with Commander Cassander to find out. She thinks these infected are from the city. If that's true then the Creepers put a lot of resources in this attack and if we hold them off we might turn the tide in the battle for the city. I'll have some of her guards escort you to the medical facility."

"I'm going with you," Jun insisted.

"No, you're not," answered Tang. "You're not fit to aid any one."

"I'm tired of being useless," Jun snapped at his sister. "I can take care of myself. I need to prove it to everyone that I'm capable of leading the resistance while you're in orbit. This war cannot be won if I let everyone do the fighting for me. "

"Our research is far more valuable so don't say that you've been useless," Tang urged. Jun looked up at her with irritation displayed across his eyes but he didn't say anything. She sighed and suppressed her disappointment in Jun's behavior. She pulled her other weapon from her belt and offered it to her brother. "Stay close."

Leaving the room, Jun didn't give the dead gazelle a second glance as he stepped over it. The meerkat and her soldiers were further down the hallway, heading towards the fighting that Jun had been trying to escape all this time.

The further they dwelled into the tunnel the more evidence of the battle was seen. Gun blasts had caused entire portions of the earthen walls to collapse, covering broken and beaten bodies. The carnage reminded the young marten that even the trained soldiers under Commander Cassander's command had been killed throughout the night. His resolve wasn't weakened in any way while Jun stepped over the corpses.

Their path was now illuminated thanks to the lights operating normally again but they were guided by the gunfire that grew louder and louder. Before long, the Commander and her soldiers ran ahead to regroup with some other survivors of the attack. Jun started to follow but his sister grabbed him by the paw and held him back.

"Yelena is only allowing us to stay with her if we stay back," she said. She tried to give Jun a stern look but he averted his gaze. "It's our job to find out how the Creepers could have possibly gotten into the base and give the Commander advice, as it always has been since we joined their crew."

"I gave advice to Yukiomaru, not her" muttered Jun, staring down the battle-torn tunnel. Dust still fell in small wisps from the walls with every sound of a gunshot.

"He would be disappointed to see how you're behaving now, in your first battle," remarked Tang. That surprised Jun; he turned and looked directly into her eyes but only saw the truth.

She's right, thought Jun, averting his gaze once again, now in shame. Yukiomaru would be disappointed if I were to ignore my responsibilities.

Movement caught his eye, further down the tunnel and in the flickering light. It was difficult to see through the dust but Jun recognized the figure instantly. The infected hatchling! The one that defeated Yukiomaru!

With his paw still in his sister's grip, Jun raised his weapon with the other paw and fired down the corridor. The hatchling turned and smiled at him before running away from the group. Without even realizing that his paw has been released due to Tang's surprise of the gunfire, Jun sprinted down the corridor after the creature.

"Jun! JUN!"

Deaf to his ears, the marten chased after the strange Creeper with remarkable speed. He flew over the debris and corpses on the ground and he managed to close the gap between him and the Creeper. It dodged around a corner before Jun could catch it but he didn't slow his momentum.

Jun slid sideways, and nearly fell to the ground but he pushed himself back up with a paw and again fired wild shots at it. Pieces of rock and dirt fell from the walls where the shots landed but none of them managed to hit. He sprinted forward again, his tail trailing behind.

Running through nearly a kilometer of tunnels, Jun chased the Creeper but never managed to land a single shot. The faltering lights worsened the further he chased the Creeper through the tunnels but offered enough dim light to allow him to see where he was going.

Through the darkness, a dim light started to glow in the distance. He skidded to a halt when he heard and felt the wind blow over the mountain. The Creeper had vanished, replaced by a gentle snow and the dark clouds overhead. The purpose of the tunnel didn't make any sense because all it led to was a few trees and a steep cliff.

It's snowing, Jun first thought. It's the warm season; how's it snowing now?

A gust of wind started to tug on his fur, blowing away the snow and carrying the groans of the dead with it. Jun stepped back and slowly turned back toward the entrance of the cave. Out from it walked several infected soldiers and civilians from the base.

One of them lunged straight at the marten. Jun threw himself to the ground, barely managing to dodge the attack. His ear twitched at the sound of another lunging at him, giving the marten only the chance to roll.

Jumping back up, Jun stumbled back as one of his enemies swiped at him. His attackers halted long enough for Jun to see that he was surrounded by five of them. He also realized that he had dropped his weapon when he dodged their attacks.

I was lured out here. In the distance he could hear the wind picking up again but through the noise there was a higher pitched sound growing louder as well.

Growling, the nearest Creeper lowered into a stance ready to pounce on the marten. It leaped for him. Jun closed his eyes and braced himself.

Shock slammed into him and threw him against the ground, following something that sounded like an explosion. Landing hard on his tail, Jun grunted in pain, as he could taste blood on his tongue. He was surprised when he realized that nothing had tackled him. The marten opened his eyes to see snow flurrying all around him, without a sign of the five creepers at all.

Eyes wide, he looked around but wherever the Creepers went, they were nowhere nearby anymore. Whatever hit them left no trace either. Confused, Jun slowly stood back to his paws despite the soreness he felt throughout his body. He stumbled over to the side of the cliff and looked down to see the infected bodies lying at the bottom, broken beyond the use of the alien.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Jun turned around and saw through the snow a rodent of some type walking towards him. On the ground near the rodent was a shivering reptilian.

Jun's fur bristled, and he clenched his teeth at the sight of the Velmarian. The only was he's seen was the infected one that took his the fox he's come to love like a brother. His first instinct was to kill the Velmarian.

"Don't worry about him," said the springhare. "He's not infected. Now tell me, why were there Creepers on my landing pad?"