Chapter 21: Hell's Gauntlet
They Fall in line
One at a time
Ready to play
(I can't see them anyway)
No time to lose
We've to move
Steady in Hell
(I am losing sight again)
Fire your guns
Its time to run
Blow me away
(I will stay in the mess I made)
After the fall
We'll shake it off
Show me the way...
"Blow Me Away" –Breaking Benjamin
Time: 0303 hrs.
Date: Sept 04, 3019
Location: James McCloud Memorial Hospital, ER
An orange vulpine touched down in front of the ER and beckoned a doctor near. It was Fox talking through Pyrox. "Get her in a room now. Make sure she is okay and give her these." The vulpine handed the buck an envelope and a purple rose.
"Wait, what am I...?" He didn't get to finish. He was already gone. "(Sigh) I don't get paid enough to come in this early." He muttered. He hefted the vixen and turned to walk inside the hospital.
Meanwhile...
Fox ran through the city and jumped towards wall and kicked off it. He gripped a ledge and vaulted upwards onto the rooftop. He looked up and saw an Agency CV-22 coming. It touched down and the cargo bay opened. Fox walked inside and the door closed. Fox sat down on one of the bay benches and closed his eyes for a bit.
He was snoring lightly until a falling book made him grab a blaster that wasn't there and aimed it at the book. Along with the book he saw Fay kneeling to pick it up as she stared at Fox. The vulpine sighed and put his hand down. "Sorry Fay. I'm still a bit high strung."
"Yeah you look really exhausted. What happened?" She asked taking notice at the vulpine's sluggish movements.
"Long mission. Saved Krystal. Killed an egomaniac. Same ol, same ol." Fox replied yawning.
"I see. So I take it you brought me along for "pleasure"?" She said feigning seductiveness. Fox nodded then his eyes opened in surprise.
"Fay says huh? No, no, no. I brought you because I needed your help. I'..." Fox calmed down when he saw Fay shaking with laughter. "Oh you're dead." Fox said grinning. Fox hopped across the bay and pinned Fay and started tickling her on her stomach.
"Yah!!! Quwihihihihit Fox!!!! It thihickles!!!!" She squealed in laughter. Fox continued his assault on the canine.
"Well don't toy with me like that or I'll tell Bill where you're especially ticklish at." The vulpine said while smiling darkly.
"You're bluffing," Fay said. Fox shook his head as he continued to smile like that. "Okay...okay. I'm sorry."
"All is forgiven." The vulpine yawned and scratched at his ear like an Earth dog. "Please, wake me up when we get there Fay." Fox said as he lay down on the bench.
"Sure thing Fox," She replied looking up from her data pad to see the vulpine snoring lightly and his tail whisking back and forth happily. She snickered and continued reading a file on ancient Flareian history.
Time: 1002 hrs...
Location: Recovery Ward, Rm. 213
Solar's rays of light flittered through the blinds of the room. The rays touched down on the vixen's blue fur, kissing it with its warmth. The vixen stirred and whispered something under her breath. "Fox..." Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up on the bed.
She rubbed her eyes and looked towards her bedside. She saw a familiar black and cream colored feline sleeping soundly in the corner, with her pink tongue hanging out the side of her mouth slightly. Krystal tittered and looked on the dresser beside her.
A gorgeous violet rose was in a crystal vase on the top of the dresser. Next to it was an envelope that had something written on it. She picked up the envelope and on the front it said in very intricate writing:
To Krystal
The vixen opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. She opened it and read it.
Dear Krystal,
Hey sexy. Hope your feeling okay. Sorry I had to leave you without any support but as you can see by now Katt's probably there. At any rate I'm sorry I almost let you die. I don't know what would've happened if Pyrox hadn't been there to help. Pretty ironic how a kiss brought you back to life huh? Though I'm not gonna lie. I haven't kissed anyone liked that in a long time, especially not that traitorous bitch Kim.
Anyway I'm sorry (Christ I'm saying sorry a lot huh?) I didn't say bye or anything. But Flareos called. I gotta know what this entire marking stuff means. I won't be gone long though. If everything goes right I'll be gone three months at the most, maybe more. Well I gotta go. See you.
Fox J. McCloud
P.S. Krystal I just wanna say...I'm not sure if you feel anything but...I still love you.
Krystal shedded a tear and put hand to her heart. More and more tears started to fall as she smiled silently. She heard rustling from the corner and saw Katt waking up. Katt yawned and she turned to see Krystal was up.
"Hey there Kryssie. How..." She trailed off as she feline noticed Krystal had tears rolling down her face. "Krystal, are you okay? What's wrong?"
The vixen smiled at Katt. "Nothing's wrong Kit Katt. Just read something really embracing."
Location: Pyrian's Plateau
The osprey dropped its altitude and landed on the plateau. Within the ship Angel was quickly debriefing Fox on the other features on the TAATV that were recently install while Fox was suiting up. "Fox are you sure you want to do this? I mean we can still call it off." Angel stated.
Before the vulpine put on his helmet he looked at Angel said, "What and not figure out how exactly I fit in with all this? Damn that. Besides I brought Fay all the way out here and just going straight would be equivalent to a big fuck you. I'll be fine."
"Okay Fox," Angel replied a bit unnerved. The cargo bay door opened and Fox slipped on his helmet. He revved up the vehicle and tore out of the cargo bay. The intense heat slapped Fox's face but the suit's temp control kicked in and he felt better. A pop-up showed up on his HUD and showed an incoming message. He blinked and the file opened. It was Fay.
"Fox? Fox can you hear me?" Fay asked.
"Loud and clear Fay." He replied while avoid a pit.
"Good. The video message system is working Angel. Okay Fox now this map is old but it's the best we got. Transmitting now...there."
A mini 3D map showed in the upper right corner. "Got it. Sheesh, 2534? Christ you ain't kidding Fay. This thing is old. It'll work though. What kind of hostiles will I be seeing?" He asked going off of a ramp and landing without feeling anything.
"Checking right now... Ummm...you'll see Dune Dogs, Plasma Birds, and...Oh my..."
"What," Fox asked sounding worried. Fay wasn't tough like Miyu but she normally didn't let anything get her down. "Fa... Oh shit..." Fox hit the brakes and stopped just before the behemoth. "Fay...what am I looking at?"
"That's a Terra Dragon. It guards the entrance into the canyon that lead to the castle. I'll try to help you as much as I can Fox but you're the combat specialist here."
"Great just my luck." He grumbled. He quickly hit the throttle and moved before a wave a fire nearly charred him. Fox charged behind a rocky formation and jumped of the tactical assault vehicle. He inched against the cragged rock and quickly looked out and brought his head back in. Fox decided it was time to bring an expert in.
Pyrox...Pyrox you there? His thoughts went on unanswered as the dragon advanced on his position. Fox could feel the rumbling from the dragon's massive steps. Pyrox, I could really use your help right about now!!!
Fox felt the suit heat index rise suddenly and a burst of flame smashed into the rock. It held up but the vulpine knew it wouldn't last for long. He'd thought of this and pulled out the HK416B assault rifle slung on his back and ran out from his cover. Fox fired a round off at the dragon.
The beast roared in defiance and fired another stream of fire. The armored vulpine dived out of the way and fired a burst at its stomach only to see the rounds crash against its rock hard stomach. "Damn it," He spat. "Fay? Fay you there?"
"Yes," She replied. "What do you need?"
"I need a way to kill this thing." He said as he caught a tail whip from the massive beast. He was briefly disoriented while Fay was talking.
Her voice was distant and dulled. "Fox...Fox? Did you hear what I said?" The vulpine quickly rolled forward and scrambled out of the dragon's rampage.
"Sorry Fay. What was that?" He asked as he waited for the dragon to come his way.
"I said aim for the soft spots. I'm uploading a new visor upgrade that should help. It should be coming up...now. Say Echo Visor."
"Echo visor." Fox's HUD changed to a golden yellow and several reticules honed in on different parts of the dragon's body. "Whoa this is awesome. Where'd you get this?" Fox asked looking in the lower left corner to see how much ammo he had left.
"Slippy just sent it. He said there's more to the suit. He didn't get time to add everything he wanted so expect more upgrades along the way."
"Okay. Tell Slips I said thanks. Remind to send him something while I'm here." He closed the comm. link and looked at the dragon. "Lock and Load."
Time: 1245 hrs.
Location: JMMH Outpatient Lobby
"And sign your name here." A clerk said. Krystal quickly scribbled her signature. "Okay you're all set."
"How much is it?" Katt asked pulling out her wallet. She was surprised to hear the clerk say,
"No charge. In fact it appears your bill has already been paid. Have a nice day and thank you being a patient at James McCloud Memorial hospital."
As they walked away Katt muttered to the vixen, "Kind of ironic since most everyone here is a patient against his or her will."
Krystal laughed and Katt joined in. "So what do we do now?" Krystal asked the feline.
"I don't...Got it." She replied. "Why don't we call up Miyu and Valerie and have a girl's night out?"
"That sounds like a great idea. What time?" The vixen asked excitedly.
"Uhh...how about nine? I should have all of the team's paperwork done by then." She replied.
"Okay. I'll be ready. Say can you give me a ride to Fox's?" The vixen asked walking toward Katt's car.
"Five credits." Krystal shot her a look that said "You're kidding right?" "I'm playing Krystal." Krystal and it went away when Katt said, "It's actually."
The sapphire vixen grumbled while she pulled out a credit chip. I love being me. Katt thought.
"Oh yeah? Well by the time I get done with you tonight you're gonna wish you were someone else." Krystal said smiling at her maliciously.
Location: Flareos' Foyer
The armored vulpine rolled out of the way and emptied ten rounds into the dragon's soft spot. Orange blood poured from the dragon's multiple wounds as it roared in a volatile mix of anguish, pain, anger and defiance. Fox answered with defiance of his own as he targeted the dragon's eyes and fired three consecutive bursts into its eyes.
Its head flailed around in a frantic manner as if it would get the shells out and get its sight back. But to no avail. The fox decided it was time to end it. He dropped the nearly emptied clip and slapped a fresh mag in the rifle. He roared in determination and charged the dragon. Fox summoned pyrotechnic energy in his legs and pushed off the hard and soared towards the dragons head.
Fox grabbed onto one of its horns and forced its maw open. The dragon's mouth was full of teeth. To anyone else it would've been very menacing. However not to him. Fox pulled out his rifle and clicked it to full auto. The dragon flailed back and forth to try and release him back he was to well dug in. "Eat lead asswipe!" Fox yelled. He pulled the trigger and the gun rattled loudly as the rounds smashed into the dragon's mouth and blood, enamel, and bone matter splattered the vulpine's armor and visor.
Fox continued to pull the trigger until the thirty round magazine ran dry. Fox jumped from the head and landed on the ground. Fox didn't even cast a second glance as the dragon crashed to the crimson surface. He hopped on his TAATV and rode away.
A pop up appeared on his HUD and he said the command word. "Open." The pop up opened into a live video message from the Osprey. It was Fay.
"Excellent work Fox. That was tough. Okay but it's not over yet. The palace is well over 200 miles away. Do you want to you come back for a re fuel?"
"Yeah that might be a good idea. See if you can't get Angel to send for some HK416B ammo please? I'm going to set out again in the morning."
"Sure thing Fox. Hurry back. I'm making dinner. I was able to find some herbs, berries and roots. I was even able to catch a few plasma birds."
"Sounds good. What's Storm doing?" He asked looking at his threat detector. It was clear.
"She's in the cockpit. Said she had to do something for the Agency. Don't ask." She said jokingly.
"Wouldn't dream of it. Hey when I come back you wanna send a message to everyone?"
"Sure thing. All the more reason for you to hurry up and get your ass back here." She replied.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Fox said. "Tch, dames." He quickly regretted that when Fay answered.
"Hey, I heard that." Fox whistled nonchantly through the mic.
Location: Osprey
"So have you found anything?" Angel asked monitoring the screen. "Anything....incriminating?"
"Well I don't know about incriminating but I did find some new weapon plans. Also something 'Project Prometheus.' Not sure what it is but it involves a mech suit and a lot of nano-technology. Lots of money." The agent said.
"Excellent. Go ahead and download it and get out of there. I don't need you getting captured Rio."
"Cool. Mind me asking what this is about ma'am?" Rio asked grabbing anything else he might've thought useful.
"Sorry Rio but that's classified. Just worry about getting out of there." Angel replied.
"Roger. Freeman out." Angel closed the link and heard Fox coming back aboard the Osprey.
Sorry Rio. But if I told you anymore than you need to know then you'd be in it too... She thought to herself as she went to greet the returning vulpine.
Hope you enjoyed the first fight of many on Flareos. You know the drill. ShadowFox0324 out.