Chapter XVIII
Shattered
Chapter XVIII
The flight back to Corneria was spent in silence. Everyone was in the bridge, Krystal and Fay sat in the corner, the blue vixen fiercely clutching the rent and bloody helm. Her muzzle still dripping tears, poor Fay was slumped into her seat and holding her head in her paws. Fox sat in the captain's chair, his dull green eyes staring off into the space outside the window. Falco was staring at his blaster, rolling it around in his feathered hands, deep in thought.
Peppy was in his favorite chair, his long lapine ears were drooped to hang alongside his head. He was shining his glasses for the hundredth time, finding some small measure of comfort in the repetitive task
Slippy was sitting with his father, the two toads looked the second most worse for ware. Knowing that they had been the instigators of the humans downfall. No one blamed them, but they blamed themselves.
Fara and Miyu walked over to comfort the the sniffling vixen and collie. It was hard, considering they were crying just as hard.
Penelope was in the arms of her older sister. She had become mute when the reality of what happened to him bit her. She had cried herself to sleep, and her sister had carried her since. Lupa had not said a word since the news had been relayed. The two girls sharing their silence together.
Wolf was the only one who had not cried, he sat in a chair apart from the others. The lupine had takin the news and simply went off, having only entered the bridge five minutes ago.
"DOCKING AT CORNERIAN CENTRAL STARPORT." ROB intoned. He was at his station on the ship, he had no emotions to express.
The team had left the ship without any fanfare, taking a skycar back to headquarters. They trudged into the General's office, in significantly darker spirits then last they entered.
Pepper was sitting behind his desk and gazing thoughtfully out his window and into the streets. His visage was distant. He turned slowly to address them. "Hello Starfox, I wish that this was under better circumstances."
"I think we all wish that." Fox sighed. He looked back to his team, the women were still sniffling.
"Yes, I think so to. I won't waste your time, the funds have been wired to your accounts. The mission was a success after all." Pepper laid back in his seat heavily, changing the topic to one more...distressing. "The funeral will be at the end of the week....considering that there's no body, it will be more of a formality."
Fox nodded and did not respond, meanwhile, his team was silent. Beltino had been dropped off at his laboratory, Slippy had went with him. Wolf had just left as soon as the ship landed, and Fara had elected to stay for some reason. Lupa had stayed aboard to watch over Penelope. That left Falco, Fox, Krystal, Fay, Fara, and Miyu in the old hound's office.
"I understand if you need to go, I didn't know him as well as you did, but he was good man, one who didn't deserve all that happened to him." Pepper dismissed them, he was going to handle the rest of the political debacle with Oikonny, in order to cement the falsity of a terrorist attack.
They left his office and walked back to the ship, they couldn't stomach the pleasant air of the city. It made everything that happened seem like a fantastical lie. Like, when they got back, Alex would still be there, waiting for them with Penelope on his hip. He would be smiling and crack a joke, then he would make them something to eat and they would all sit-down to a delicious feast. And that's what was so crushing when they got back, he wasn't there.
When they dragged their feet back aboard, Fox turned to Krystal haltingly. "I...I...um, I need you to gather his personal effects."
She nodded quietly, one tear slowly glided down her furry cheek. It trailed over the blue fur, a shard of sparkling starlight in an ocean of cerulean. She walked off with Fay. When the door to his room opened they froze.
His smell still lingered, their sharp canine noses could still detect his comforting odor, it coated everything in the room. It was a like a thorny rose, it was wonderful, but it reminded them of their loss. They then went about the tragic business of collecting his things. They started with the desk and moved to the closet, placing the items inside a small plastic bin.
That's when they found it, the box he had concealed from them that he bought at the mall. It was a small thing, no bigger then shoebox. With bereaved hearts they opened the container.
That's when their hearts broke. Krystal lifted a necklace in her shaking paws. It was entirely made of silver and crimson rubies. It was thin and the center rectangular gem had an inscription on the silver backing. It read:
Krystal. You were a gem, shining in a lost man's darkness, lighting up in his blackest hour. You showed him why life had meaning. So now I give you a gem, so that no matter what, you will always have a light when the darkness comes.
Your's Forever,
Alexander
She stared at the inscription, finding a sense of warmth in the etched silver. He tears abated somewhat, for now she no longer felt like crying. This gift was a comfort in these dark times.
Fay was holding a light blue necklace, made of Fortuna sapphires. The cerulean links had a large opal centerpiece, that sparkled like the night sky. The back of this also had a description:
Fay, your cheerful and positive demeanor had brightened my life. I was a broken man, your unceasing care and geniality helped mend my deep scars. I hope that this will always remind you of how thankful I am.
Eternally yours,
Alexander
They stared at their gifts for a long time, the room all but forgotten. They hoped that in whatever afterlife he was in that he was happy and content.
The room was very dark, the lone figure was chained to a wall, several feet off the ground. He had been there for hours...days...years? He couldn't tell. All that he did know was that every so often an ape would come in and begin to torture him. The room was so very dark. They had taken his necklace, and now all he could see in the blackness were the archaic red runes adorning the wall. 'Were they there earlier? They must have been, they were always there, surrounding him, judging him. They whispered into his mind, tried to tempt him, but he remained strong, didn't he?
A door opened, chasing away his madness temporarily, and that damn ape walked in with his usual self-confident smirk. "Good Morning!" He greeted, voice filled with false kindness and joviality. "I hope you slept well."
The figure spat bloody saliva into the simians face. "Well that's not very friendly. You should be nicer considering you were responsible for destroying my precious marker." The ape scolded, wiping away the crimson spittle with a handkerchief.
"Go to hell!" The man growled in response.
"My my my! So feisty today!" The ape said in mock horror. "It's no matter, I will get what I want."
"Never, I'll never build those abominations for you. I would rather die!" The man shouted.
The ape tutted. "As if I needed your cooperation, I have ways of making you comply." The ape signaled and a cart was wheeled in, a wide and grisly assortment of tools lay upon it. "These will provide the inspiration for your assistance my good sir!" The simian gingerly lifted a cruel looking serrated blade, still covered in dried blood. He walked over and caressed it upon the bare skin of his captive. "Oh, I think I'm going to have fun today!" The simian, Eric Liedman, began to drag the blade across his prisoners skin. The anguished cries reverberated throughout the underground facility.
Fox was sitting in his chair, a ritual he preformed every day. His eyes scanned the outside of his ship, they were currently hovering over Corneria. 'Was this what Alex had died for? A world that didn't even belong to him.' Fox ruthlessly crushed that notion. Alex did belong here damnit! He deserved better. The orange vulpine sighed and brought his paws to the bridge of his muzzle.
The funeral had ended a few hours ago. It was a grim affair. All the members from the team that went to the surface had been there, as was General Pepper and a few dignitaries. They had all agreed that the news of his death should not be made public, so it was a small gathering. The team appreciated that.
The door to the bridge opened and Slippy entered. The toad had come back just before they journeyed into orbit. He spent all his time in his room, fiddling with the ruined helm of their closest friend. Fox was too sad to bother asking and so he left the young amphibian alone. And now, here he was. "Yeah Slip?"
"I found it."
"What?"
"The video player in his helmet, now we can see what happened. Maybe there is a chance he is still alive!" Slippy said with unusual enthusiasm. The death of his friend had taken a toll on the toad, and now he was grasping at straws. Still Fox decided to humor him.
"Alright Slip, play it."
"What about everybody else?"
Fox sighed. "Well then, go get them."
The excited toad ran out of the room. Many minutes later he returned with everyone. Fara was still with them, at this point Fox didn't know what to think about that, he knew know that it was his fault that things had gone sour between them. He dimmed his ego and decided to let her stay. But now they had something important to see. "So?" He gestured for Slippy to continue.
The toad jumped and ran over to the screen. He plugged in some sort of small device that looked foreign in origin. No doubt it was the deceased humans recorder. After a few seconds the screen went from black to a old corridor. "The recorder is damaged so its not going to play from the beginning." Slippy informed.
Alex was running down a hallway, with four other soldiers. "Where is this intersection?" He asked the one jogging alongside him.
At the sound of his voice, they all almost broke into fresh tears. If they tried they could imagine him in the room with them.
"Just around the bend." The man in the video responded. They quickly went around the corner and something impacted the soldier next to Alex.
"CONTACT!"
A swarm of necromorphs emerged from a side door. Alex punted off the one attached to his comrade and dragged him out of the line of fire. Meanwhile he blazed away with his assault rifle one handed.
The three others covered his retreat. Soon the swarm had been wiped out. "This is why you don't let these things spread." Alex muttered as he helped the injured soldier to his feet.
"Thanks sir!" The wolf exclaimed gratefully.
"No problem, don't make it a habit." He chuckled. They continued their search for the missing toad. "Get a hold of Dobrey, let him know we found another swarm."
"Yes sir!" A wolf grunted, his helmet had been smacked off by a errant blade. Now he had a fresh cut alongside his jaw that still seeped blood.
While he radioed, Alex headed for the most likely location for the scientist. It was a research wing, the perfect place to use a captured doctor. Inside was a mess, it seemed that a swarm of necros had rampaged through. Blood was splattered everywhere and as usual, there were no corpses. "Spread out, look for Beltino."
The team split into three groups, Alex went alone. After searching for twenty minutes they concluded that he wasn't there. As they moved to leave, Alex heard a cabinet creak. He stealthily walked over and when he grabbed the handle, ripped the door of its hinges and pointed his pistol inside.
Of course Beltino was inside. "Why didn't you just come out?" Alex grumbled.
"I didn't know if you were friends or some of Liedman's henchman." Beltino explained.
"Fair enough, in any case we gotta get you out of here." Alex began to lead the frightened toad to the door.
A vent at the opposite side of the room erupted spilling out the twisted forms of the necromorphs. As the four soldiers engaged the new threats Alex watched over the toad, blasting any that got to close with his rifle. A figure leaped at him making him smash it with his rifle. He unloaded the ret if the clip into the twitching corpse. After some minor injuries the team resumed moving.
"Dobrey, do you copy?" Alex said over the radio.
"Dobrey here."
"Is the marker destroyed?"
"The big ass monolith?"
"Yeah."
"Pile of scrap in about ten minutes." Dobrey barked, chuckling.
"Good, we have Beltino and are moving to the exit."
"Copy that, recalling the other team now." Dobrey got off the channel.
Halfway to the exit they were set upon by a squad of guards. Alex was crouching under a desk with the toad. "why the hell are they still trying to kill us? Don't they know that the necros are running around?" Alex popped out of cover real quick and fired a burst into the chest of a guard that had gotten to cocky. The lizard fell with a brand new set of holes. One of the wolves took a blaster bolt to the hand and dropped his rifle. Alex covered him with a grenade. It exploded clearing the rest of the room. "Keep moving!" He ordered and grabbed Beltino and led him to the exit once more. They arrived at the gates to the surface.
There was a huge firefight between Dobrey's and the other team and a whole platoons worth of guards. Alex's squad changed the tide. Now they were pushing back the enemy forces. That is when he saw Liedman. The crazy ape was standing amongst his men and shouting something incoherently. And to make matters worse, necromorphs had followed the sound of gunfire. There was a huge three way warzone standing in-between Beltino and the exit.
Alex decided to take the risk. He covered Beltino with his own body and ran through the battle. He was shot in the leg and collapsed growling in pain. Beltino had also stopped. "What the hell are you doing? Get outta here!" He ordered and pushed the toad away.
Beltino turned and ran. While he was running Alex scrambled into a standing position. He limped through the battle, dodging blaster bolts and shooting necromorphs.
He saw a simian throwing a grenade. It sailed straight past him and towards Beltino, he would never make it. Alex used the kinesis module to pull the grenade back. It exploded when it reached his hand.
The recording went berserk and they realized why. The helmet was soaring in the air, knocked off by the intensity of the close range blast. It landed in front of one of the wolves and he picked it up. The last few minutes it captured was Alex holding onto the stump off his left arm on his knees, it was completely removed at the elbow. Nothing but gristle and bone. As the soldiers dragged the toad out of the fight the camera was still facing the direction Alex was in.
A necromorph smashed into him sending them both to the floor, except he couldn't get up. He was missing an arm. As it was about to strike the whole base shook. The bomb had detonated destroying the marker. The necro fell to the floor squealing.
Two guards ran up and smashed the wounded human upside the head. Then they dragged his body away. A trail of blood followed after the unconscious form. That's when the soldier holding onto the camera ran out of the facility and into the hovering gunship.