Deus Ex Machina
#1 of Chronicles of Sonic Fox
This story is rated "Y" for Yiffy. Reader discretion is advised. The sun is setting, bringing an end to another monotonous day. This is the only time during the day that I'm able to relax and try to convince myself that tomorrow will be different. It's quite the hike up the hills and through the forest, but it's worth it to reach my special spot; a small little ledge that overlooks the entire city. I came across it a few years ago and since then it's been my own personal sanctuary. As I sat down on my favorite rock I prepared myself for the same speech I recited to myself every day at the same place and the same time. It's just a little monologue about my life that I rehearsed in my head to help me see the changes in my life; I'm not a drama queen, but it helps me calm down after a long, hard day in this city. My name is Nik, just Nik. Sure if I wanted to be formal I would use my full name, Nikolas, but that's it; I have no last name. At least, I can't remember my last name. I was found in an alley by a woman named Sandra, an African American mother of two beautiful daughters who lived in what most people where I reside call the Rich District. When Sandra found me, I was half-naked and unconscious; I guess I must've hit my head or something. When I came to, I was in an orphanage filled with little kids and scary looking nuns. Apparently, Sandra had begged the orphanage to take care of me until I recovered, but when I told them I couldn't remember anything except my first name and my age, thirteen, the sisters agreed to keep me until I was eighteen. I don't know how or why they managed to keep me, but I was just glad to have a roof over my head and three square meals a day. To top it all off, Sandra visited me every week and even enrolled me at the school she taught at. In spite of my tragedy, I was one lucky kid for the time being. I don't know how I lost my memory, or how I ended up in that alley. I can't remember who I was, where I lived, or even what my parents looked like. I only have two clues; one is a strange, black, cylindrical object with that was found in my tattered clothing. It was decorated with what appeared to be wolves along its surface, it fit in the palm of my hand, and was extremely light, but when I tapped it against something it didn't sound hollow. I don't know what it is, but I've kept it on my person at all times from the day I woke up in the orphanage to this very day. I took it to a museum in the Rich District once to ask about the designs, but when this one guy inspected it he said he didn't know what it was but offered me two hundred dollars for it; it was tempting, but I had to refuse. There's something special about this thing, I know it! The second clue is even more bizarre; I had what appeared to be tattoos on my body. I had a crescent moon on my left shoulder, a sun on my right shoulder, and two canine heads on my back; both facing away from each other, the one on the left resembled a wolf while the one on the right seemed to be a fox. All of the tattoos were white and seemed to be tribal, as if they were given to me through some sort of ancient ritual; but that just seems ridiculous, in my opinion. What really mystifies me is that the tattoos are part of my body, as in they weren't made out of ink. Sandra once took me to a dermatologist to see what we could do about them, but the doctor said they were more like scars than tattoos, despite their tribal appearance. As creepy as it sounds, I'm glad they're not real tattoos; I would be crushed if my parents had tattooed me at a young age. At any rate, life was simple during those school years; Sandra ensured I got all the help I needed to keep up with the other students. At the orphanage, I was pretty much the king of orphans since I was the oldest. There was one young kid, Timmy, that became a close friend of mine, even if he never really talked much; but on one Christmas Day, he vanished. I guess he finally got adopted. The orphanage had a few television sets where the children watched Disney movies all day; I have to admit, "The Fox and The Hound" and "Lion King" were two of my favorites. But best of all, the Rich District would send toys, puzzles, and video game consoles our way, along with a few games; they once sent one Nintendo DS during my final year at the orphanage, which everyone fought over. Everybody wanted to play them so it was hard to get a turn, but what games I did play I mastered over night, such as "Star Fox", "Sonic the Hedgehog", and even "Halo" when it first came out. But I wasn't the type to just sit on my butt all day; I worked out at this one gym Sandra often took me to and played sports whenever possible, but never at school. See, the school was in the Rich District of Compass City; the north was where all the rich, snooty people lived while I and all the other rejects lived in the south, also known as the Poor District. As a "commoner", I wasn't accepted at the school; I remember how at lunch kids would take food out of the trash bins and offer it to me. I'm not sure why they picked on me so much; I wasn't hideous, nerdy, stupid, or even mean. Hell, in gym class where we had to shower I was in better shape and bigger between the legs than most of the other boys; I don't know why I always think about that when I compare myself to the others, but it makes me proud to know I can beat these rich kids at something. Once I finally graduated, I rarely visited that district. The adults weren't much better; rich men in fine suits always checking their pockets when I walked by, beautiful women crossing the streets just to avoid me like I was going to go on a rampage through town. The only person who ever cared about me in all of Compass City was Sandra; but one day, she just left. From what I heard, her husband, George, was having an affair with someone else and left Sandra and her daughters. The last day I saw her, she looked like she was terminally ill or something and told me to live a great life. Next thing I know, she jumps on a plane with her girls and is never seen again. From that moment, everything went downhill. Since I graduated from High School and turned eighteen, even though I had no idea when my birthday was, I had to fend for myself. I managed to work out a deal with the security cops at the mall on the western side of the Rich District; they let me stay in the break room and I wouldn't tell their wives about the numerous visits they get from hookers that I've seen on the corners of the Poor District. As much as I hated letting cheaters prosper, I needed a place to stay. Also, since most of the jobs in the south side were taken, I usually had to "borrow" a few essential items such as toothpaste and clothing. Of course, stealing earned me a bad reputation; but that wasn't the only reason. Since I first visited the Rich District, I've been taunted and humiliated by all types of stuck-up little bastards and I became more irritable since Sandra left. People in the Poor District were usually too busy with the numerous jobs they had to mess with me, so the residents of the Rich District have earned my ire the most. It wasn't like I was the only one they tormented; one day I saw a group of rich kids messing with this homely pizza girl and I just lost it and hurled myself at them. Now I'm not some badass who can beat up a group of people without breaking a sweat, I usually walked away with a few cuts and bruises; but I never ran away from a fight. The only reason why I was actually able to win a few fights was probably due to the fact that I exercised almost every day, not to look good but to defend myself. Somehow I managed to fend them off until I heard sirens, which was when both the pizza girl and I ran for it; we went separate ways so I never got a thank you, but I didn't need it. What concerned me was that most of the time I wasn't fighting because it was the right thing, but because my temper had shortened since I left the orphanage. Since I had a bad reputation, I never made any real friends, or even asked out a girl. I couldn't understand why I never felt good enough; I had a decent face, a nice body, but I just felt inadequate. There were times when I would just reflect on my life and want to kill myself; but I never did. The only thing that stopped me was my own personal take on suicide; the only people who reserve the right to take their life were prisoners of war and fictional characters in books and movies, everyone else who did were just selfish for quitting life and leaving their family in shambles. Since I wouldn't end my life, I decided to leave the city; however, I had no money whatsoever. One day I just started walking, and by some miracle I found my special spot; I didn't leave the city that day, but I still wanted to. For three years this went on until the present; my memory never came back, I never left the city, and I never felt like I was capable of doing anything with my life. As the sun set, I finished my inner monologue and raised myself up off the rock. For eight years I have tried to figure out who I am; hell, if it wasn't for Sandra I probably would've been tossed out of the United States long ago for not having a social security number or something like that, no matter how much I looked like everyone else. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cylinder that I had kept with me since the first day I can remember. "Why was I left here all alone?" I whispered out loud, "Where were my parents? Why do I have these...markings on my body? What is the meaning of this thing that I've been carrying around for eight years?" I don't know why I spoke out loud; I guess I just get lonely sometimes. With a sigh I put away the strange object and turned to leave my special spot. "Do you really want to know?" a strange voice asked. Startled, I whirled around to see a cloaked figure standing next to the rock I was just sitting on. The cloak was jet black and the hood completely shadowed the strangers face, making me feel uneasy. The figure was huge, easily twice my size; how could someone so big just sneak up on me like that? "Who are you?" I asked cautiously. The figure sat down and relaxed on the rock. "That's not important," the stranger remarked. Something about this guy made my skin crawl; something about his tone didn't sit well with my gut. There was a faint smoky smell in the air, as if this guy had just smoked a pack of cigarettes. "I'll decide whether or not you're name is important," I replied irritably. The figure didn't even move an inch. "Oh, you'll know my name soon enough." Whatever doubts I had about this guy suddenly came to life and I could feel my entire body tense up. "What do you want?" I asked, keeping my guard up. The stranger chuckled as he rose up off the rock. "I'm here to take you away from all this," he said, pointing with a gloved hand to the city. "You don't belong here; we don't belong anywhere." "We?" I inquired. The figure raised his hand into the air and snapped his fingers. There was a rustle from the bushes behind me; I turned around and was startled to see seven more cloaked figures standing before me. Most of the cloaked characters were just a little smaller than the first guy, but still bigger than me. Also, there was one who towered over everyone else; I couldn't even imagine how that cloak he was wearing could fit over him. "We have been watching you for some time, now," the first stranger said as he strolled over to his veiled friends. "After eight years of struggling to survive, we believe you can finally join our ranks, Nikolas." I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "How do you know my name? Who the hell are you guys?" The group of cloaked strangers laughed, finding my confusion amusing. As soon as the laughter died down, one of the figures took a step towards me. "We are you're new family, one you will learn to love and respect," the stranger said in a seductive, feminine voice. The first stranger held out his hand, "Come with us; Join us." I had no idea who these guys were or what they had been drinking, but I wasn't about to follow these cultists just because they knew my name. "And if I said I wasn't interested?" I muttered angrily. The figure lowered his hand and chuckled once more. "Then you die." I couldn't believe my ears; did this guy actually say he would kill me if I refused? Before I could say anything, I saw something that sent a shiver down my spine. Behind the stranger, I saw something twitching from side to side; it was long, scaly, and seemed to be coming out of his cloak. Was it a...tail!? I scanned over the others and I noticed that I could see a few of them had tails, although they weren't all scaly like the first guys. As my gaze returned to the first guy, I could see his eyes; they weren't human eyes, more like the golden reptilian eyes. My first instinct was to run, but these freaks were blocking the only way out of my special spot; sure I could jump off the ledge, but the hill was so steep I would stumble and they would be all over me in seconds. Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation in my body; it felt like an electric current just ran through me. Next, my back and shoulders started to heat up. As I glanced at my shoulder I saw a light emanating underneath the fabric of my shirt; the light seemed to be originating from the marking on my shoulder. I turned to look at my other shoulder to find that it too was glowing where the marking was located; I could only assume my back was doing the same. Although the heat was not intense, it frightened me; I had no idea what was going on. Then something bizarre happened; I noticed a small crack running along the back of my hand. With my other hand I touched the crack and to my horror the skin fell off, revealing something soft, furry, and blue. Without warning, multiple cracks appeared on my arms; I could feel them racing up to my shoulders and spreading across my body. "He's awakening!" I heard one of the strangers shout, "Don't let him escape!" The eight cloaked figures moved towards me, some of them reaching within their cloaks for something. Before they got any closer, the world around me suddenly vanished and I was now falling. I couldn't see anything but bright blue light all around me; the only things I could see were some of the clay-like bits of skin that continued to break off of me. I screamed as I felt the cracks reach my face, and then everything went dark.
The first things I heard were alarms and a muffled electronic voice. I slowly opened my eyes, only to shut them again as an intense white light welcomed them. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness I finally got a good look of where I was. I was in some sort of laboratory or something; high tech devices, computer screens, and all sorts of weird stuff were all around me. The equipment looked nothing like anything I had ever seen before; there were a few things I recognized, but everything else was unfamiliar to me. Frightened, I sat upright and saw that I had been lying naked on some sort of table with what seemed like medical equipment attached to the sides. Where the hell was I? Some kind of hospital? Remembering what had just happened, I slowly looked down upon my body; I nearly fainted at what I saw. My body was covered with thick blue fur, excluding my chest and stomach which were covered in white fur. I jumped off the table in a panic as I continued to scan over my body. My feet were also covered with blue fur but now my toes resembled those of a dog, complete with little black claws protruding from each one and soft, squishy pads on the undersides of my feet. As my eyes worked their way up my blue furred legs, they nearly popped out of their sockets when they came to rest on my groin. My sac was still there, even though it was covered in blue fur, but my penis was missing! I was about to have a heart attack until my hands clasped against my crotch and I could feel my dick; my penis was still there, but now it was in a blue furred sheathe. To be honest, it felt kind of nice; better yet, my cock and balls seemed to be a little bigger. In fact, as I continued to look over my body I noticed that everything about me was grander; I was taller and my muscles were bigger, even if I couldn't see them under all this fur. As my eyes drifted towards my hands I noted that they still resembled my old hands but, like everything else, they were covered in blue fur and my nails were replaced with black claws. As I wondered just what I was, I felt something behind me twitch; I turned to see that I now had a blue furred tail with a white furred tip. The tail made it evidently clear that I was a fox, although I've never heard of a blue fox before let alone one that stood on two legs. With my body scan complete I looked around the strange room for something reflective and found a mirror next to the table. As I brought the mirror up to my eyes I finally got a good look of what my face now resembled; as I suspected, it was that of a blue furred fox. My ears were no longer human ones, but canine replacements which I had to admit looked cooler. I always thought foxes had black ears, but mine were all blue for some reason. My eyes were still the same color; emerald green, but know seemed more bright. I also had a white furred muzzle with a black nose on the end of it. Curious, I opened my mouth and saw that my teeth were now sharp canine ones. Using the mirror, I examined my shoulders and back; the markings were still there, but now instead of appearing on the flesh they also appeared on my fur as white furred tattoos. I had no idea which I would rather do; laugh or have a nervous breakdown. "Hello? Is anyone there?" cried a distressed female voice. Hearing that voice made me aware of the alarms going off; what had happened here? "If anyone's there, please answer!" The voice sounded like it came from one of the computer consoles nearby. I walked over towards them and stood in front of the only one that seemed active. "Uh, hello," I said nervously, "Who's there?" "Who are you?" the voice asked, "Are you one of the researchers?" Researchers? "Uh, no, my name's Nik and I don't really know where I am right now. I'm in some sort of medical room." "You must be the subject!" the voice exclaimed. "Subject? What are you talking about?" "Never mind; please help me! I'm trapped in this storage room and I can't get out!" "What happened? What's going on and where am I?" There was a brief moment of silence before the voice responded. "This is a secret research facility. A few days ago, our sensors picked up a life form in the harsh environment outside this facility; you. We brought you in and took care of you; but yesterday an unknown intruder infiltrated this facility and now everybody has fled the complex. I tried to escape with them, but the assailant captured me and threw me in this storage room. Please, help!" "Okay, okay! Don't worry, I'll help you," I reassured her, "What do I have to do?" "Okay, first go put on the clothes we provided for you over on the table next to the computer, we left anything that was on your person on top of them," the voice replied. I glanced over and saw a pair of pants, a pair of underwear, a shirt, a pair of socks, and some boots. On top of the clothes, just like the mysterious woman said, lay my wallet and the strange cylinder. I quickly dressed myself and put my wallet and cylinder in the pockets. "Okay, I'm dressed," I said to the computer. "Good," said the voice, "Now, pick up one of the portable radios on the desk to your left." I turned and walked over to the table and picked up one of two hand-held radios and turned it on. "Can you hear me?" said the voice from the radio. "Yes," I replied. "Excellent! Now exit the room through the door to your right; follow the signs on the walls to Hangar A. When you get to the hangar, you'll see a dark colored door with SR-556 on it; that's where I am. I'll be watching you via the security cameras, but to be safe let's go into radio silence. Turn your radio off until you reach the storage room." "Okay; I'm on my way," I replied. "Be careful," she added, "The intruder could still be lurking about. I...I think he's after you." I stood frozen in fear; could the strange figures that tried to kill me have followed me here? "What does he look like?" I asked timidly. "I couldn't see his face; he was wearing a cloak," she replied. Damn; that's not what I wanted to hear. "Okay, I'll be careful." I turned off the power, put the radio in my pocket, and made my way towards the door. As I approached it the doors opened automatically; I poked my head outside of the doors and looked around. The coast was clear so I went down the long hallway, following the signs that had "Hanger A" written on them. Fearing that I would bump into the cloaked attacker, I broke into a run as I followed the signs. As I ran, hundreds of questions flowed through my mind; the most frequent one was "What happened to me?" Finally I reached the hanger; the place was completely empty. There was a faint smell in the air; kind of like gasoline, but different. I looked around until I spotted the dark colored doors with SR-556 on them and ran over to them. I pulled out the radio and turned it back on. "Hey, I'm here; what now?" I whispered into the radio. "Great," said the voice, sounding more than just a little excited. "Now, you see the locking-mechanism; the one with all the numbers? Enter this code: 563849 and push the green button." I spied the device and put in the numbers exactly and reached out to press the green button. "Look out above you!" screamed the voice. I looked up and gasped as a cloaked figure descended from the metallic rafters above with a katana in his hand. I jumped to the side but lost my footing and tumbled to the floor; the cylinder fell out of my pocket and rolled onto the floor. The assailant's katana clanged against the ground with a metallic whine. I slowly picked myself off the floor, picking up the cylinder in the process, and stood before the attacker. "Pretty good, despite that disgraceful fall; no one has ever dodged a surprise attack from me before," said the stranger in a cold tone. "You...you were with the others back in Compass City!" I exclaimed. "Correct," the stranger said. Suddenly, with one swift movement the attacker threw off his cloak. Standing before me was a blue furred cat of some kind; his lower body, chest, and forearms were covered with what appeared to be some sort of high-tech battle armor. He, too, had markings; he had what looked like two swords crossing each other on both arms. This cat was just like me. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a bow. "I am Razor Cougar; one of the eight members of The Remnant. My blades shall slice you to pieces, but all I need is your word that you'll join us and you shall be spared." "The Remnant?" I asked curiously. "Our organization;" he began, "You encountered all of us back in that pathetic city, but our leader has given me the pleasure of tracking you down." I was losing my temper with this guy; I mean, what did I ever do to him and his buddies? "What do you want from me?!" I shouted angrily. The cougar frowned in irritation. "I told you; I want your word that you'll come and join us, or your head." As much as I wanted to tell this guy to fuck off, the katana in his hand discouraged me from doing so. It was then that I realized these guys would just keep coming after me, so I decided to give up and join them. "Fine, I'll join if it means that much to you." Cougar slowly slid his sword back into its sheathe with a smile on his face. "You made the right choice, but before you can join us you have to prove that you will follow our orders." The blue cat then pointed at the storage room door. "Inside this storage room there is a woman, one of the researchers that were studying you; I want you to kill her immediately." His words seemed to slice into me like a billion glass shards. He wanted me to kill someone; and not just anyone, but one of the people who took care of me while I was unconscious! "What?! Why?! They didn't do me any harm!" I yelled. "No, but they have seen too much. We are not like them," he said in a condescending voice, "We are different, superior. We can't allow them to take our secrets from us; we are not meant to be studied." In all my life I never had that moment where it felt like I was at a fork in the path; this was that moment. Whoever that woman was, she had taken care of me and done nothing wrong as far as I knew; I could care less if she studied me. In fact, I hoped her and her friends had learned enough to explain what happened to me. I made my decision; it was the easiest choice I've ever made in my life. "No," I growled, which startled me a bit because I actually growled like an angry fox, "I won't hurt her, and neither will you!" The blue cougar swordsmen unsheathed his sword in the blink of an eye. "What a shame;" he said in a cold tone, "The boss saw so much potential in you." The cougar started to slowly walk towards me, blade in hand. I looked frantically around me for something to defend myself with; all I had were my fists and this cylinder. I spotted a wrench on the floor; I quickly picked it up and threw it at the advancing assailant. Razor Cougar immediately swung his sword at the wrench, cleaving it in two with one lightning quick stroke. As cool as that display was I knew that I was screwed. Cougar suddenly broke into a sprint and raised his sword up high. Without thinking I clasped both of my hands onto the cylinder and thrust my arms forward, closing my eyes tight with fear. There was a loud metallic clang as the sword clashed against something. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that the cat's katana had been stopped by a blade that was protruding out of the top of the cylinder. This thing that I've been carrying around for eight years was a sword!? The cougar was surprised by the blade; I took advantage of his bewilderment and pushed him back. As he stumbled backwards he just stared at the sword. "That blade...," he muttered. I gazed at the weapon in my hands. The cylinder served as a handgrip; that much was obvious. The top of the cylinder seemed to have opened up and formed a small hand guard; in the center of the hand guard was a long double-edged blade as long as my arm. I guess the blade came from inside the hilt, but what confused me was how a blade as long as my arm could be packed into an object that fit in the palm of my hand; there were no indications that the blade was collapsible or foldable. My inspection was interrupted as Razor Cougar lunged for me again, sword at the ready. I had never fought with a sword before, but I knew I had the strength to repel this cat. As he got in range, the cougar swung his word at me once again. This time I swung back, our blades clashed together and sparks sprang forth from them. The force of each other's swing knocked us back, but I managed to keep my balance while Cougar stumbled a bit. I ran towards him, ready to swing as hard as I could at his head. Razor Cougar saw me coming and at the last minute brought his sword up to defend himself. Once more our blades met, but this time my sword hit his with so much power that his snapped in half. "My sword!" he cried out in disbelief as he held half of his sword. Now that he was disarmed, I clenched my fist and swung it into his face. My fist crashed against his cheek and he fell to the ground. I circled him, waiting for him to get up, but he never did. Knowing he couldn't be dead, I put my hand on his neck and checked for his pulse; he was definitely alive, but unconscious. I couldn't believe I knocked someone out; I had never been strong enough to do that. As I calmed down I suddenly remembered that the woman who contacted me was still trapped; I decided it would be best if I helped her escape while Razor Cougar was out cold. There was a brief moment as I walked away from him that I had thought about stabbing my sword multiple times into his body to ensure he never got up, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I walked up to the door and pushed the green button; the door emitted this loud clanking noise as the locks were disengaged and the door slowly started to open. Before I could do anything else, I felt something crash down on my head and was lost in darkness once more.
"Come on; get up!" My eyes slowly opened, but I couldn't see anything; there was a blindfold wrapped tightly around my eyes. I could feel myself being pulled up onto my feet by what felt like two pairs of arms. I tried to move my arms, but found that my hands were tied around my back. In a panic, I jumped backwards and was shoved immediately forwards. "Move it!" said a gruff voice, "The boss wants to see you!" The boss? No, I couldn't have been captured by The Remnant, could I? "What's going on?" I rasped out, "Where am I?" I felt something slam into my back, making me almost fall to my knees. "Shut up and get walking!" the voice barked. Realizing I had no choice but to do what I was told, I started walking in the direction the unknown brutes were pushing me. We walked for quite some time down what felt like a crowded hallway filled with other people pushing and shoving each other out of their way. I could hear a few of them laughing, probably at me, while others just grumbled menacingly. If it wasn't for the fact that I was blindfolded, I would've felt like I was back in High School. All of a sudden, we seemed to enter what I could only guess was a bar. I could hear this techno music blasting from the walls and numerous patrons arguing and laughing; I could smell the booze and smoke in the air. A few people started whistling and catcalling at me; one guy even shoved me into a table just for kicks. Finally we stopped and one of the guys that lead me here removed the blindfold while the other untied my hands. With the blindfold off I could see who was pushing me around; there were two monkeys in what looked like flight suits standing before me. I chanced a glance past them and saw that the bar was filled with various anthromorphic animals; the rough looking patrons were talking amongst themselves, watching some of the female waitresses walk by, or just staring at me like I was some kind of freak. "Get your tail in there," one of the monkeys ordered as he pointed at a door, "The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting!" I moved towards the door and opened it; inside there was a table with one chair on one side and three more comfortable chairs on the other. As I closed the door and walked over to the lone chair, I saw what looked like a mini-bar with three busty waitresses in bikinis; one was a white rabbit with long blonde hair and the other two were raccoons that could pass as twins. I sat in the chair and immediately one of the raccoon girls came over with a glass of water. Nervously, I took the drink from her hands and took a few sips to wet my dry throat. I heard a door at the other end of the room open and close, followed by footsteps and quite murmurs. When the figures appeared I could feel my eyes widen in shock. There were three animals walking towards me; one was a wolf with a white Mohawk and a cybernetic eye patch over his left eye. Another one was a skinny chameleon with an insane look in his eyes while the other was a black panther with a single white mark running down one side of his face. All three sat down in the chairs across from me and were instantly catered to by the three waitresses. After a quick exchange of orders the three of them returned their attention to me. "Welcome, honored guest," said the one-eyed wolf, "I am Wolf O'Donnell; leader of the Star Wolf team. The lizard on my right is Leon Powalski, and the feline on my left is Panther Caroso." I was stunned; the rivals of the Star Fox team were sitting right in front of me! I couldn't believe it; I thought they didn't exist! I tried to say something but couldn't gather enough courage to do so. "Heh," chuckled Leon, "Look at this kid; he can't even speak because he's in awe of us!" Panther folded his arms across his chest and reclined in his seat. "The strange fox must be quite afraid of us; with good reason." "A-are you real?" I managed to say, "Or am I just dreaming?" All three of them laughed at my bewilderment. "Oh rest assured, this is not a dream," Wolf stated. The waitresses came back to the table with drinks in their hands; each member of the Star Wolf team accepted them and sent them away with the exception of Wolf who whispered something in the rabbit's ear that made her giggle before she left. "So," Wolf began, "What's your story?" "I don't know," I replied, "One minute I'm in my home city and then these cloaked guys came after me. Then there was this bright light and I ended up in some research facility like...this!" I gestured at myself. "This isn't what I normally am!" Wolf nodded his head towards Panther who pulled out a folder. "Actually according to the data we found at the research station, you do," he said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. The black panther then reached down under the table and brought forth my wallet. Shocked, I patted my pockets which I discovered were now empty. "What? You thought we would be stupid enough to bring you here without searching you?" cackled Leon. Panther opened my wallet and pulled out both my ID and my "secret" magazine article that I kept folded up in it. "This," Panther resumed as he flashed me my ID, "Is not what you are supposed to look like; the researchers confirmed this with their study." Panther then unfolded the article and gazed at it with hungry eyes; I had torn that page out of a Playboy magazine and kept it with me for obvious reasons. Wolf and Leon glanced over at it and whistled. "Sexy chick," Leon said, "But an ugly species, never the less." I wasn't sure whether or not to be offended by that remark, considering what Panther just said. "The researchers compared your blood with two classified subjects and confirmed that you are their son; you and your parents are highly classified secrets in the Lylat System." "My parents?"I repeated, "Are they here, in the Lylat System?" "We don't know," Wolf replied, "All we know is that the Cornerian Military once came into contact with your kind before, your parents, way before the war with Andross. When they found you on Fichina, they sent their top researchers to examine you." I recognized the names of those planets, but I was too preoccupied with the fact that my parents and I were some kind of aliens to the Lylat System. "When the three of us came to raid the base for anything we could use or sell, came across you, a researcher that you were trying to free, and your buddy that we saw you knock out; to be honest, we thought the two of you were Cerinians since you both had blue fur." "Yeah, Panther thought you might have been related to Krystal or something," Leon snickered. Panther flashed him a cold stare and grumbled to himself. That's right; Krystal was from Cerinia and she had blue fur. "Any way," Wolf continued, "We interrogated the researcher and she told us that not only that the two of you weren't Cerinians, but you don't even come from anywhere in this galaxy. So, we bagged you, her, and your friend and brought you here to our little hideout near Bolse to sell you back to Corneria." I couldn't speak; not only was I kidnapped by a bunch of mercs, but Razor Cougar was here as well. "Don't look so worried," Leon interrupted, "We've got him in a highly secure room with three guards watching him; you and your friend will be staying in a cell far on the other side of this station." "That reminds me," Wolf said as he reached down and picked up my sword from underneath the table, the blade had retracted back into the hilt, "Is this yours?" I nodded my head nervously. "Nice sword; it'll fetch a nice price on the black market. For the time being, you will be our prisoner until we get the ransom for the three of you; any attempts to escape will be dealt with harshly. Are we clear?" Once more I nodded. "Good; then we're done here. Panther; escort our guest back to his room. Leon; send the ransom message to Corneria, and keep an eye out for the Star Fox team. If Corneria sends anyone to saves the prisoners, it's going to be them." With that Panther rose up out of his chair and beckoned me to follow him quietly. Today was just getting better and better.
The cell doors slammed behind me as I entered the dark room. There was nothing inside except an old mattress and a few empty cargo crates. I trudged over to the bed, hoping to get some rest when I heard someone shuffling around behind the crates. "Who's there?" I called out. A female fox walked out from behind the crates, cautiously moving towards me. She was dressed in a purple shirt with a white jacket, a pair of lime green pants with a purple streak running down each leg, and combat boots. From a distance I thought she was Fox McCloud, but when she came closer I saw that she didn't have the white streak on her head; not to mention she had a pair of breasts. Although I didn't recognize her as a member of Star Fox I knew I had seen her somewhere before. "Are you the researcher who tried to help me escape?" "Yes," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you when Star Wolf knocked you out, but they had me outnumbered and outgunned three to one; please forgive me for getting us in this predicament." "Whoa, don't beat yourself up about it; I understand. Hey, if you hadn't of warned me about that sword-wielding Cougar my head would've been split like a melon." I shuddered at my own description of what would've happened. "Thanks for that, and for taking care of me while I was out; my name is Nikolas, but just call me Nik," I happily added, reaching my hand out to shake hers. The vixen smiled and grabbed a hold of my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "A pleasure to meet you, Nik; my name is Fara Phoenix." "Wait; you're Fara Phoenix?" I asked; no wonder I thought I had seen her before. "Weren't you Fox McCloud's girlfriend at one time or another?" Fara blushed wildly. "Well, um, yes I was; but that was a long time ago," she said shyly. "I'm sorry;" I quickly remarked, "I shouldn't have asked you something so personal." I could feel my own cheeks starting to burn with embarrassment. Fara patted me on the shoulder and smiled. "It's alright, but how did you know about that?" she asked curiously. "Well, you're going to think I'm nuts but here goes; where I came from the life and adventures of the Star Fox team are portrayed as a video game and, in your case, comic book." Fara just stared at me like I had just told her the exact time when she would die. "That's amazing!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I can't believe it; there are subconscious ties to other worlds far beyond our own! You must tell me more, for the sake of research!" I was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm. "Oh, uh, okay but it's going to take awhile to fully explain how things work in my world." "You're right," she quickly replied, "We need to get out of here as soon as possible." "Do you have a plan?" I asked hopefully. "Fortunately, I do," she said happily. Fara reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device that came to life when she pushed a small button in its center. "This is my pocket computer; thanks to this baby, I have been working on an escape route when the opportunity to escape arises," she whispered. "How did you manage to keep this?" I asked in a whisper. Fara flashed me a sly smile and thrust out her chest. "Well, let's just say the men who searched me were too distracted with something else to search my pockets." I guess boobs are just as powerful in the Lylat System as they are back on Earth. "I think I have all the info I need, but could you do me a favor?" "Absolutely," I whispered, "What do you want me to do?" The vixen placed the device in my hands. "I want you to see if you can find your sword; normally I would've done it but I'm having a hard time staying awake," she said with a yawn. Fara reached into her ears and pulled out two tiny metallic disks. "These are wireless headphones; when you're hacking into the security cameras they'll allow you to listen to everything that's going on in the area. Find out where they're keeping your sword so I can figure out the best way to escape and retrieve it at the same time. Do you think you can do this for me?" "Yeah," I said automatically, "You go ahead and rest; I'll search for my sword." "Thank you very much," Fara said as she leaned forward to place the headphones in my ears. When they were in place, Fara smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. My face felt like I had stuffed it in an oven as I blushed. Fara giggled and walked over to the bed. With the device in hand I walked over behind the empty cargo crates Fara had been hiding behind. Fara must've already hacked the cameras because the screen was displaying the bar where I had just come from moments ago. I found what looked like a "Next" button on the tiny keypad and pressed it; now the tiny screen showed me an overhead view of some hallway packed with mercs. My best guess was that this was some old spaceport that Star Wolf took over and used it as their base; after all, Star Fox did assault their base at Sargasso. I pressed the "Next" button again and the screen displayed a large room with weapons on the walls and a large bed near the back. Unable to see my sword in the room, I was about to switch cameras when I heard a door open from beyond the cameras view. Curious, I watched as Wolf O'Donnell and the rabbit waitress walked into view; this must've been Wolf's room. "Wow," the rabbit said, "You have enough weapons to start a war!" Wolf pulled the rabbit close to him as he started walking over towards the bed. "I like to think that I'm prepared for any emergency; you and your friends are safe here on this station." "You have been very generous," the rabbit whispered, "More generous than I initially thought you would be." The rabbit then hopped onto the bed and took of her bikini top, throwing it to the side. The rabbit had great breasts; she would've been the perfect model for Playboy. "Come here, Wolfie; let me thank you for all you have done for me." With a grunt, Wolf leapt onto the bed with her and pulled her close to him. "You know," he growled softly, "Most people who call me Wolfie don't live to tell the tale; but perhaps you can persuade me to let you get away with that." Wolf cupped one of the rabbit's huge breasts, squeezing it in his strong hands. The rabbit smiled as she gently pushed Wolf onto his back; her hands playing with his ears. The rabbit slowly made her way to Wolf's waist and fumbled with his belt buckle. As I watched I felt a bulge in my pants. I sat down and unzipped my pants; when I pulled down my underwear I saw my foxhood for the first time, sticking halfway out of its blue furred sheathe. I was surprised by the size of my manhood; it seemed to be about an inch or so bigger than it was when I was human. When the rabbit pulled down Wolf's pants and revealed his throbbing member, I spread my legs and started to gently rub the head of my erection as I watched what happened next. The rabbit took Wolf's cock in her hand and slowly caressed it from base to tip, using her free hand to squeeze his furry balls. Wolf groaned as the rabbit pleased him and placed his hand on her head. Receiving the message, the rabbit brought her head down and licked the tip of Wolf's cock like a lollipop. My own erection was now free from its sheathe, thus allowing me to stroke its impressive length thoroughly. Wolf seemed to enjoy the rabbit's tongue play, but he was eager for something else. "I think it's time to lose these," he said, pulling on the bikini bottom. The rabbit smirked and stood over Wolf, giving him an amazing view once she took her last article of clothing off. I couldn't see from where the camera was positioned, but Wolf's one eye widened with lust at the sight of her naked body. Slowly, the rabbit squatted down over his erection, teasing her nether lips with its tip. The rabbit eased down onto his shaft until her rear rested on his sac. Wolf started to thrust his hips into the rabbit's pussy, lifting her off the bed with each movement. I suppose I should have felt some degree of shame about watching the two of them together, but Wolf was the one who locked me up in the first place so I owed him nothing. I stroked myself vigorously as the rabbit cried out in pleasure while Wolf continued to bombard her snatch with his cock. I closed my mouth tight as the incredible sensation of climax slowly started creeping up cock, trying my best not to moan. Wolf let out a snarl and pressed up into the rabbit as hard as he could; the rabbit quivered on top of his cock as both their juices flowed from her flooded cunt. Unexpectedly, Wolf gently lifted the waitress off of him and laid her down beside him, covering her with the dark sheets of his bed. Wolf rolled out of the bed and pulled his pants back up before kneeling down beside the worn out rabbit. "I have to go attend to something, but I'll be back. You should get some rest; we're going to have a lot more fun later." Then I saw something that made me stop in mid-stroke; Wolf placed a kiss on the rabbit's cheek. Unable to cope with the guilt of watching this sentimental moment, I pulled my pants back on and zipped them up, trying as hard as I could to ignore the raging hard-on still pulsing within my underwear. I quickly pushed the next camera button and was now staring at what looked like a cell with two mercs lying on the ground; a small trickle of blood flowing from the top of their heads. It took me a minute or two to realize what I was looking at; this must've been the cell where they were keeping Razor Cougar! He was out! I dug the headphones out of my ears and shoved them and the device into my pocket. I rose up and ran from out behind crates to see Cougar standing there with my sword in hand and holding Fara in a chokehold. The blue cougar flashed me a smile and slowly moved towards me with Fara struggling in his arms. "Well, well, we meet again for a third time now," Cougar said as he put the blade of the sword against Fara's throat. "You seem surprised to see me." "Let her go," I growled. Cougar smirked at my remark. Before I could react, he shoved Fara into me, knocking both of us to the ground. As I rolled over onto my back Cougar raced up and put his boot down on my throat. I threw my arms up in an attempt to remove his boot, but he was too strong. "You broke my sword," he said with a cruel smile, "Now I'm going to have to use yours to lop your head off!" Cougar raised my sword up into the air, ready to bring the blade crashing down onto my neck. I couldn't tell what was going on; I couldn't concentrate as I scrambled beneath his foot for air. In a desperate attempt to free myself, I thrust my hand up into the air; what happened next was completely unexpected. A blue light glowed around my hand and I felt this strange feeling in my body, as if something was readying to be released. Suddenly, there was this force that shot out from my hand followed promptly by a loud boom. Cougar went sailing across the room, along with my sword. Now able to move and breathe, I crawled over to my sword and clasped both hands to the handgrip. Cougar swiftly rose up off the ground and was now bounding towards me with a hate filled look in his eyes. As I tried to get up off the floor, the point of the blade accidently protruded out in front of me. Cougar went wide-eyed as he tried to stop himself, but he was unable to prevent himself from slamming into the point of the sword. The blue cat gasped as he saw the blade enter his body and the blood flowing out of him, as well as I. Horrified, I pulled the blade out of him causing him to double over in pain and fall to the floor. Fara ran over to my side, checking me over for any injuries. "Nik," groaned the cougar, blood gushing from his mouth, "You'll have to do better than that to destroy all of us." Cougar tried to roll onto his side, but the pain was too much and he collapsed back onto his stomach. "With my death, The Remnant will never stop hunting you. You have my sympathies." Razor Cougar reached for something on his belt; a small black cube with yellow numbers on each side. With the push of a button, the small cube started beeping. Fara's eyes went wide with terror as she tried to pick me up off the ground. "It's a bomb! Let's get out of here!" she cried, motioning towards the now open cell door. I managed to stand up and start running with Fara helping me; we narrowly escaped the blast as we passed through the entrance. I glanced back to see the room enveloped by a green light; as soon as the light faded, I could see that everything had been completely vaporized, including Cougar. "I guess now is the time for our escape; follow me," Fara whispered as she sped off down the hallway. I was able to keep up with her as she rounded corner after corner, never stopping and always muttering to herself. "The hangar is just up ahead; there's a ship there that I know how to hack into and with luck we'll be out of here before anybody realizes" she stopped in midsentence. Wolf, Leon, and Panther stood before us with guns at the ready. "I had a bad feeling when the guards at the cougar's cell weren't responding, so I came to check up on the two of you," Wolf snarled as he aimed his blaster at Fara, "Glad to see my instincts are as sharp as ever." I threw myself in front of Fara; if they wanted me alive, they wouldn't shoot me. "Move," Leon yelled, "And we won't have to blow your kneecaps off!" "Wait, Wolf," Fara cried out from behind me, "You don't want to do this!" Wolf lowered his blaster; Leon and Panther kept theirs pointed straight at me. "Why not? We don't need you and I'm sure the Cornerian Fleet will accept your test subject even if he's a little crispy." "Cougar just tried to kill us; instead, Nik killed him. Now all of Cougar's allies are going to be after him, and if you kill him first they are not going to be happy," Fara answered. Wolf scoffed at her explanation "If they want him dead, then why would it matter who killed him?" "Because his father deserted them and the only way for them to save face is to eliminate him and his son themselves," she replied. "What?" I gasped as I turned to face her. "I'll tell you later," she whispered. Wolf thought it over for a while, leaving his wingmen free to perfect their aim. "Fine, let them go," Wolf ordered. Panther and Leon both stared at him in disbelief. "What?! Why?!" Leon questioned. "I have no intention of getting into a fight that doesn't concern me," Wolf stated. The one-eyed Wolf then looked at me and smirked. "Hope you can handle yourself, kid." Wolf and his men slowly turned and walked away, clearing the way for our escape. As Fara and I made our way to the door, Wolf turned around and stared at us. "Just so you know," he said coldly, "Just because I'm not coming after you don't mean nobody else is. Better get moving." Wolf then rounded the corner with Leon and Panther and left us to our escape. Fara opened the hangar door, revealing a beat up star fighter. Although it had its nasty battle scars, the ship seemed to be intact and it had enough room for the two of us. As Fara started to climb the small steps that led to the cockpit, alarms went off and the hangar was filled with a yellow smoke. "Knockout gas!" she coughed as she sat in the cockpit, "Nik, get in!" I climbed the steps as fast as I could, which was a difficult task thanks to my constant coughing. I sat down behind Fara and closed the cockpit, sealing us off from the gas. Even though we were safe, I still felt woozy. "Hold on!" Fara yelled as the ship's engines came to life and the entire fighter started to move towards the exit. Although my eye lids felt heavy, I managed to see space for the first time of my life. The way the stars seemed to move behind us, the sight of the station rapidly shrinking as we fled, and the serenity of it all was overwhelming. Fara pushed a red button in the middle of the dashboard, which now was glowing with a faint light. "It's okay," she gasped, trying to catch her breath, "I sent out a distress beacon; a ship will come and pick us up in no time." For two hours we drifted in space; Fara said she was flying towards Corneria, but Since Bolse was so far away from it we would need an Orbital Gate to make it there before our fuel cell tank ran empty. Neither Fara nor I could stay awake; our escape and the knockout gas took a huge toll on our stamina. Suddenly, while Fara was asleep, our ship started to drift in an irregular direction. With half closed eyes I could make out the silhouette of a large ship approaching our vicinity. A part from its size, the ship had two powerful looking cannons as well as four wings jutting from the sides. As it came closer, our ship seemed to be drawn towards the opening near the belly of the other ship. I was scared at first, but something about this ship seemed familiar. As our ship entered the opening, a pair of mechanical arms grabbed a hold of us and slowly brought us further into the ship. We suddenly stopped and there was this bright light shining from outside the cockpit. Four figures appeared outside the cockpit; two of them were trying to open the hatch. As the cockpit opened I could hear them talking, but I was too tired to force my eyes to open. "Hey, isn't that Fara?" a high pitched voice asked. "Yeah, guess she was one of the researchers on Fichina; and this blue fox must be her new boyfriend, eh buddy?" another voice said in a joking manner. "Very funny; I can see why you never go out on a date with your girlfriend. It must hurt getting smacked all the time," a serious sounding voice remarked. "Ooh, must have struck a nerve there," the previous voice replied. "This one is still conscious, but he's fading fast," a female voice interrupted. "Alright, let's get them to the medical bay ASAP," the serious voice ordered. I used every ounce of energy to open my eyes just a little; one of the figures leaned close enough for me to get a somewhat good look at his face. "Everything is going to be alright," said the fox. Knowing I was safe, I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me for the third time. To be continued... Star Fox characters are owned by Nintendo. This is it; the series I've wanted to do for so long. I have thought out the entire story series for the past year and I'm finally starting to write it. Due to a few incredible stories I've read, I want to ask that everyone give me their honest opinion, no matter how harsh in order to make this series a great read for everyone. One thing I want to say is that even though the first few chapters are centered on Star Fox, it won't remain that way. What I had in mind after the first few chapters was to invite writers and artists to star in this series; I've already got three people in mind so if you want to be the star of a chapter please let me know. Just in case you're wondering why I wrote this series, I wanted to bring my fursona to life through my writing since I can't draw to save my life; also, I think having people picture writers and artists as their fursonas is a lot more fun than just thinking of them as everyday people.