Star Fox: Shadows Of Sucross Movement 6 (A)

Star Fox
Shadows Of Sucross
Sixth Movement: Reintroduction To Madness

(Planet Sucross, Unknown Location, Unknown Time Of Day)

(Krystal looks around the big rig liner's cargo container, her arms and legs bound by cuffs and held by chains making them hold her slightly off the metal floor, the tension forcing her body to be tightly stretched out but not to the point where it causes immediate discomfort, around her she sees the unconscious naked bodies of others being shipped with her, men and women alike, even she doesn't share the luxury of being clothed, all of them unconscious from unknown meds, she looks to her right and notices Fox is in the cargo with her, but still unconscious, she slowly begins to close her eyes, her eyebrows arching up as she knows the situation as it is right now is utterly hopeless, her only escape to make time pass by is to fall asleep, her head lowers and her bangs flow down covering over her eyes and parting in the middle above her muzzle, the screen fades out to black as time progresses, the loud blow off valve of the big rig sounding off as it comes to a halt, but the restrained vixen pays it no mind, she continues to play unconscious, just listening for anything and everything, she hears the door to the truck open, two clicks showing that there wasn't just a driver but also a passenger in the front, the footsteps slowly scuffling across what sounds like pavement, the little kicks of the pebbles and stones, her heart begins to speed up, increasing its rate until the rear of the cargo hold is pulled up, she feels the sudden chill of the outside air sweeping in, trying her best not to shiver from it as her bare fur is exposed to it, then the loud slam of a spotlight is heard, its bright light blue light being shined directly into the cargo hold, she can see it through her closed eyelids, and then someone begins banging on the metal walls of the cargo hold, yelling to wake everyone up by force, it works as the once unconscious captives begin waking up in a startled panic, taking sudden gasps for air as if they were woken from a deep, deep sleep, like they just came back from the dead, even Fox woke up, blood veins showing in his eye whites connecting to his irises as he gasps for air before roughly coughing, to meld in with the vast awakening, Krystal also opens her eyes and slowly turns her head to the right to try and see who's outside the cargo hold, but she can only make out black silhouettes as the light is obscuring her vision from making any features out, the man on the left holds up his right hand and is holding a type of remote control, with the mere press of a button, the chains restraining everyone's arms are undone, but not entirely, they're released from the ceiling, no longer being suspended in the air through sheer height and tension, their weakened bodies dropping down in unison as they grunt and groan, some of them rubbing their heads or shaking them to further come back to their senses, but the disorientation is broken when the man on the right holds up a light machine gun in his left hand and aims it up to the sky, he pulls the trigger and the loud gunshot goes off to get everyone's attention and to make them afraid)

Unknown Man#1: *The man holding the light machine gun* All of you on your feet! Get in line! Single file! NOW! *He barks out in a taking no nonsense tone*

(The people are scared stiff, scrambling to make neat lines inside of the cargo hold, despite their arms being free from the vertical suspension, on a closer observation, their leg cuffs are all connected at the centers of the cuffs, like a chain gang of prisoners, their wrists still cuffed preventing any kind of free arm movement, Fox looks at his arms and legs and growls under his breath seeing that he's restrained once more, but then he notices he's completely naked and decides to simmer his anger down, knowing he won't survive long if he tries to fight back, Krystal would speak to him, but there is a woman in front of her, so she keeps herself silent)

Unknown Man#2: Move out! Come on now! Hurry it up! *Just like the other man holding the light machine gun, he barks out the orders with little patience*

(The captives one by one in neat lines begin to disembark from the cargo hold, the chains rattling and scraping against the bottom of the metal cargo hold container, Fox is the first from Krystal's line to look around to observe the surroundings, his eyes widen as he sees an outpost of sorts, a desert outpost with military grade trucks and other vehicles, he even sees an attack jet, the model not being something he's familiar with, most likely used to kill those who try to get away from the outpost or attack those who come too close to it, as he looks around to his right, he sees another big rig truck with more people being forced to disembark, all in chains like he is, upon looking forward again, two heavily armed soldiers wearing full on combat gear like juggernauts are seen slowly approaching the line, his heart sinks from the sight, they were armed with ridiculous overkill armor and firepower, they would mow down everyone without breaking a sweat, it would be a total walk in the park for 'em, but their job is different, the two heavily armed juggernauts aim their backpack laser pellet belt fed gatling guns at the group and give a quick spool to induce fear)

Juggernaut #1: *The heavily armored soldier on the left points his right arm back pointing his index finger* Move out, move out, we don't have all night, any funny business and your hide is going to be dragged by those you're chained to, follow the yellow arrows on the ground, failure to comply will result in death. *The soldier says despite his or her voice being muffled from the face concealing mask, making it sound like someone talking with a gas mask on*

(Fox gets the message, he looks down and begins to lead his line, following the yellow arrow which was painted onto the pavement, he is forced to lead them blindly into what-ever or where-ever they're being taken, Krystal being third in line, the two juggernauts following on both sides of the line from behind, but as Fox is walking, a loud, bone-chilling spool is heard and back over to the right with the opposite group he saw earlier, one of them tried to make an escape and both of the juggernauts tasked with that group are shooting who-ever it was dead right there on the spot, Fox's eyes turn pale from the ruthless no tolerance brutality, he and the rest of his line and even the line on the left side of his from the same cargo hold observes the brutality of one who tried to make a run for it, the gender of the person is unknown due to it being night time and the distance, but the corpse falls to the pavement in a sloppy heap of meat with smoking holes all around it, the laser fire was devastating, the gore, the poor person's lower jaw was even shot clean off, and even worse, the juggernauts who did it are now telling the line with the corpse in it to keep on moving, dragging the dead body with them, Fox and Krystal both have pale wide eyes and are in a cold sweat)

Juggernaut #1: *The soldier places the barrel of the gatling gun into the center of Fox's back while holding it with his or her left hand and leans in close to the left with its fear inducing helghast like helmet* Yeah, see that? That's what happens to those who try to be ballsy, so don't be stupid if you value your life. *The soldier says before leaning back and taking the barrel away from Fox's back*

Fox: *He grunts while clenching his teeth, his eyebrows arching up before closing his eyes in silent defeat, as much as he'd love to butcher some fuckers right now, he's in no position to do so, and he isn't about to put innocent lives in danger to sate his own desires, he slightly reopens his eyes and follows the yellow arrow leading him and the line into a facility of sorts, the design is unfamiliar to him, but he knows it can't be good, what-ever is waiting inside*

(The juggernaut on the right side of Fox's line, the same one who placed the barrel of the gatling gun into the center of his back, jogs ahead of the line and begins putting in a pin number code onto the wall mounted numeral input security panel, the code opening the slide apart doors with a quick "vvveeeuuussshhh" before waving his or her left arm, signaling the line to go inside, and Fox does just that, the line entering into what looks like a tram built into the wall, Fox looks around and sees it's a one way out kind of room, definitely a tram, the second line from the cargo hold Fox's line came from is also herded into the tram, and from the same juggernaut, another pin code number is put in and the doors quickly close, everyone onboard turn to the doors in panic before the tram begins to disengage from its locked position to move on, with a quick jostle which slows down, the tram begins to descend diagonally from the upper right to the lower left, going further down into the facility, the shutters on the tram begin to open revealing the plexiglass windows, at first it's nothing but a tunnel, but after exiting the entry tunnel, what lies before everyone is a more than high tech underground facility, literally built underground, from all over are trams carrying other captives, bound in chains heading to different locations of the facility)

Krystal: *She looks out through the plexiglass windows with pale eyes and observes the surroundings, just trying to fathom how such an advanced facility exists underground, her telepathy couldn't even sense any life under the pavement* W-what the everlasting fuck is this?

Fox: *He leans forward and looks to his left to see Krystal, his jaw drops slightly because he didn't know she was still with him, considering she didn't say anything and it's not like he really had the time to look back to try and see the others chained up to him* K-Krystal?! They got you to?! *He says with wide eyes*

Krystal: *She gives a nod while continuing to look at the massive underground facility* Yes, or did going unconscious mess with your memory? This is all because of that bitch....Stacey.

Fox: *He lowers his head and narrows his eyes* I remember having a hard time breathing, she shot me in the neck with something.

Krystal: Yeah, it was a poison dart, it closed our airways suffocating us to the point of losing consciousness, it's hazy a bit, but I remember, how can I bring myself to forget it...but right now, we're in pretty deep shit. *She then walks to the front of the tram to look out of the front windows, the other two behind her which're chained to her leg cuffs get dragged along*

Chained Man#1: Oi! Hey! You're draggin' us with ya! *He yelps in a Irish accent while being the last in the line for Fox and Krystal's chain gang*

Chained Woman#2: *She meeps from being tugged along, her hair bouncing slightly from the sudden movement as her long strands flow* H-hey! Have some consideration for the rest of us!

Krystal: *She looks back over her left shoulder and clenches her teeth* Oh shut it! You can withstand a bit of tugging! I wanna see the layout of the facility! Maybe even be able to make a plan to break our asses out of here! So deal with it for now! Ya big babies...sheesh.

Fox: *He grins nervously while arching his eyebrows up slightly* I apologize for her rudeness, but she's right, right now isn't the time to be dumbfounded, we need to start coming up with plans for an escape, god knows what the hell they're gonna do to us down here, and I sure as shit don't wanna find out.

Chained Man#1: Well, I can't argue, I wanna get the hell on out of here myself! But the least you can do is give me some warnin' before ya just tug me along with ya!

Chained Woman#2: Yeah! A little warning would help!

Fox: Will do...now move on up, we gotta see what we're workin' with here.

(Fox's motley crew chain gang walks to the front of the tram, standing side by side with the Irish accented man, the long haired woman, Krystal, another woman, and Fox, from left to right, Krystal looks around, trying to make up landmarks from just the above view, but she squints when she sees something familiar)

Krystal: Hey Fox....remember how you used to tell me that during the Lylat wars, Andross' elite had a letter "A" on their stuff like a logo of sorts? *She asks while looking out the front of the tram*

Fox: *He looks to his left at Krystal while leaning forward to see her* Yes, why? *He says in an on edge tone*

Krystal: Right there, on the tower emitting the blue energy, look familiar to you?

Fox: *He looks to his lower right at the mentioned tower emitting the energy and sees an industrial sized, painted on letter "A", his left eyebrow raises from it* What the...no way, it looks just like the same font used back then, but for all we know, it could just be the letter designation for making it easier to identify the towers to perform routine maintenance.

Krystal: You can be right about that, it's not particularly uncommon for towers to have letters or numbers on them to designate an easier form of identification, considering they have identical builds.

Chained Man#1: Uuuhhhh, what exactly are those towers anyway?

Fox: One of two things, anti gravity towers preventing the ground from caving in, or energy generators supplying power to the entire facility, power that this tram would surely be running on, if we take those down, we might as well have dug our own grave.

Krystal: It would still be tricky considering how heavily armored and armed the guards are...with us as we are now, fighting back to break out is impossible.

Chained Woman#2: You know, I'm glad you two are trying to formulate a plan, but at the same time I think we need to introduce ourselves to eachother, considering we're kinda chained to eachother at the moment. *She says with a bit of a grin as her bangs cover her eyes*

Fox: Well always a time for introductions, lets make it quick.

Chained Man#1: My name is Fintan, just call me Fin for short. *Says the grey furred raccoon with dark blue eyes, a bit of a goatee at his chin, fairly muscle toned, not butch, but in shape enough to have a flat stomach and light abs*

Chained Woman#2: I'm Anya. *Says the grey wolf with long jet black hair, her bangs covering over her eyes, her body type is far thicker compared to Krystals, same goes for her "assets", she also has a bit of chub on her, but not too much either*

Fox: *He gives a quick nod of his head while looking to his left at the two others before looking at the silent woman chained right next to him* And you are? *He asks curiously yet firmly*

Chained Woman#1: *The rabbit woman looks to her upper right at Fox, turning her head slowly as her right bang from her hair covered over her right eye and cheek, for being a rabbit, her fur color was akin to that of a chipmunk's, she could be a hybrid between the two based on her parents' genetics, her body type being between Krystal's thin toned-ness and Anya's busty thickness, her left eye being a violet color which isn't a normal genetic trait* Rebecca. *She says softly yet firmly*

Fox: *He gives a tilted head nod to the left in understanding* Fin, Anya, and Rebecca, I'm Fox.

Krystal: And I'm Krystal, nice to be knowing you guys.

Fintan: *He gives a tilted head nod to the left as well* So....what's your stories to ending up in this?

Krystal: Me and Fox share the same story, we came to this planet to hunt down criminals for cash, typical bounty hunting, but then it lead to something else entirely, this syndicate which holds more power than we thought. *She says as she continues to look at the facility below, trying to come up with navigation routes based on landmarks*

Anya: *Her jaw drops a little, her gold eyes showing slightly between the strands of her bangs* Wait...a syndicate? You don't mean "The Shadows" do you? *She asks out of curiosity*

Krystal: *Her head turns to the left so fast that it's scary* You know them? *She says in a semi loud tone*

Anya: Know them? I used to be one of them....I was one of their drug dealers a while back, at least three or so months ago, yeah, my job didn't last long with them because they didn't need people using their product if you know what I mean. *She says with a bit of a grin*

Krystal: *Her intensity dies down a bit* Couldn't lay off the drugs could ya?

Anya: They gave me a forced rehabilitation...chained me up in a basement for two solid months, of course they fed me, it was to keep me alive, and the instant I lost the desire to do the drugs, they booted me entirely and are now having me be sent here as a means of "making myself useful"...so that arrogant cunt Stacey put it.

Krystal: *Just hearing the name makes her eyes go wide, her vision fading into red as she feels her anger welling back in, but she forces herself to simmer down by resting her forehead against the plexiglass with her eyes closed before looking back to the left with narrowed eyes* She got you to then huh? *She says softly, trying to keep the anger from getting the best of her*

Anya: Yeah.....and during my time of being chained up, she spoke to me often, told me how much of the syndicate's money I was burning just by smoking and drinking some of the product, but even though it's a no-no to do that, they're filthy stinkin' rich, livin' up in penthouses and mansions, the lap of luxury while I'm just wearing a suit, selling things on the streets, fucking merchandise grunt work...sure...I carried a pistol...but hardly ever had to use it.

Krystal: You wanna get back at her?

Anya: *She looks down sadly, her tail going between her legs* I don't know if I can....she's different from all the others, a total fucking monster...she deserves to be locked up in a fucking insane asylum with the key tossed into a gutter so the door to her cell can never be opened, let her starve to death in there...and the cruel irony is....when I was chained up and couldn't feed myself....she fed me personally....this little bit of chub on me....yeah...didn't always have this....she'd force feed me until I couldn't take anymore, walk up to you all nice and friendly only to fuck you over so hard, that bitch damn well psychologically scared me...using the force feeding as a means to compare me to the results of suckin' up the product we were supposed to be selling, taking and taking, she nailed that into my damn skull....she rules with absolute fear, the only person she bends over for is Maletto himself...he's the only one that calms her, when she's with him, the psycho inside goes to sleep and she's as sweet as can be, but if any other woman even comes close, the glare she shoots would kill you from the scare of making your heart jump.

Krystal: *She makes and maintains eye contact with Anya* I promise you Anya....I will kill her for you, I will do what-ever it takes to wring her fucking neck until you can hear the snap of every little bone there is in there. I promise to you, I swear to you, she is gonna fucking bleed and beg for mercy only to be denied it. *Her voice becoming more intense as the anger begins to bubble up a bit from listening to Anya's torture, her breathing turning into seething as her pupils begin to slit slowly, her body beginning to tremble from just pure anger*

Fox: Krys...I understand, I wanna kill her and her boss myself, but just try to take it easy, the anger is going to do more harm than good at this point...we can't have you going berserk yet...not now, so please Krys, try to bottle it, keep it in check...I'm also disgusted and surprised they'd even send one of their own out here.

Anya: I was the lowest of the low ranking in on the positions of the syndicate...all of their information was never even passed on to me, I was just a place-holder....nothing more, just a simple business thug working my ass off to make end's meet, I was dead-locked into a dead end position, I'm sure they planned for me to be killed off by some bounty hunters who'd give two shits less of my position, I was just trying to earn money, my own family had abandoned me because of my drug abuse, kicked me to the fucking streets, but my drug abuse wasn't because I was addicted, it was depression...if any of the syndicate members were good to me, it was the other lower ranks like myself as we'd shoot the breeze and drink and smoke, Krinkov himself despite his looks, he isn't a bad man, if the former leader didn't have a son, then Krinkov himself would be the leader and Stacey would be locked up in a padded cell for life.

Fintan: Your own family kicked you out?! What a bunch of bastards! *He says in shock*

Anya: *She shakes her head to the left and right* It's okay really, I didn't like or love them anyway, they were all a bunch of backwards fuckers, they all drank and smoked and used drugs, I was the only one who seemingly had no rights at all just because I was struggling with finding employment. *Her muzzle wrinkles a bit as she shows her fangs, tears slowly beginning to run down her cheeks* I hate them, I hate them all....my family...the syndicate. *She says as her voice shakes, the bangs of her hair covering her eyes*

Krystal: *Her eyebrows arch up sadly, her eyes narrow as she feels Anya's pain* You don't deserve to be here, and you don't deserve to be put on meds either, just like me and Fox, you got the bad end of the stick that life offers, you're not to blame for it, it was a moment of weakness which lead to exploitation, don't cry Anya, you don't need to shed tears.

Fintan: *He nods* Aye....you don't need to kick yourself for comin' from a family of bastards...for me myself, I was a simple country boy livin' off in the wide open country side, farmin' and raisin' the livestock, plowin' the land, the simple life, makin' sure food would be grown and industrialized for them city slickers to get their fill after a long day of starin' at computers, real sweat from workin' from dusk until dawn, and blood from the occasional cut on some of the equipment by accident, work scars, but it's life so what can ya do? Them damn suit wearin' assholes tried to muscle over the farm I worked on, handed down from generation to generation and even allowed friends of the fam to work on it if the city life failed for 'em, which on occasion it did, but they eventually got used to the work and they'd often say they've never felt more successful and at peace, never felt more alive and worth something, but in short, I clocked one of them fucks in the nose and made 'em run for the hills, I'll be damned to sell out to crooks in suits, but they have their ways, they came back in force, automatic rifles in arms, we were simple farmers, sure, we had guns, but they paled in comparison to the power they had, we were forced to surrender, my friends, I was tortured by just watching them get plugged with laser fire in their heads, one by one while on my knees, the people I'd sit down and talk to, the ones I'd have a good drink with, taken from me right before my very eyes and fighting back would only make me be next, the jack offs knocked me out with some kind of drug, and the rest is history because here I am, here we are...I'd love nothin' more than to slit their throats open and watch 'em struggle to breathe.

Fox: I wish that didn't happen to you.

Fintan: Aye....same here....but it's pointless to mourn the dead, but there is purpose in avenging them for being killed for a worthless reason...somethin' to put their angry souls to rest...my anger overwhelms my sadness.

Fox: As for you Rebecca?

Rebecca: *She closes her left eye and slowly pulls back the hair covering over the right side of her face, the revelation shows a hideous scar, her right eye socket severely burned, her right eye being a glossy dead ice blue-ish white without a pupil, but the iris can still be seen, the kind of glossy that could reflect in the moonlight, the series of charred veins going from her right eye down her right cheek to the right side of her neck, her hair being the only cover to hide it, even though her fur was lucky enough to grow back over it to hide the flesh, the scar still remains in all its gruesomeness* This scar....this is what they did to me and I will stop at nothing to get revenge on them, I was once a detective for the north city's police force, my fellow officers told me not to dig any deeper into it, but me and my mentor didn't listen, I was a rookie back then....I ran from them for at least two years...killing them here and there when I got the chance...but....eventually they got me, I had this scar long before I started killing them without hesitation, this scar...the right side of my face accept for my jaw....the nerves are dead, I can't feel anything from it anymore...and my right eye is dead...I'm blind in it now...I can't even close it because the nerves as I've said are dead. *She opens her left eye slowly* They killed my mentor, it was an ambush at a crime scene they purposely made to lure us in, we didn't see it coming, we were too busy following the trail of crumbs they left for us so to speak, they fired a rocket projectile grenade at us and it struck some barrels filled with flammable liquids, I'd say cheap gasoline, but I can't be sure, my mentor was burned alive, engulfed in the flames entirely, I could hear his screams, and the blast radius knocked me off of my feet, the shrapnel doing more than its fair share to me, you can't see the cut marks anymore because my fur covers it, but it fucked me up badly, I couldn't move, all I could do was hold out my right arm as I could barely force myself to look up and reach out for him before he collapsed from the fire burning him to death, when I passed out from the pain, they thought I died from blood loss, they stuck me in a body bag and dumped me into the fucking river on the east side of the city, the rush of the cold water woke me up, the bag taking on water, I had to claw my way out through the thick plastic before swimming back up, when I looked back down, I saw another bag sinking with me, my heart sank because I knew in my heart who it was, the body bag holding the corpse of my mentor, I wanted nothing more than to swim down after his corpse, maybe give him a proper burial, but I couldn't, I was short on oxygen, I was forced to swim to the surface and to let his body rot in the polluted water of the river, wounded and weak, I dragged myself back to the precinct I worked at, I barged into the chief's room to inform him of what had just happened, but the fucker....and the two men in there with him...they pulled their guns on me and told me "you should've stopped digging", oh did they open fire on me, but I was lucky enough to dive to cover, I ran my ass out of there as fast as my legs would let me, bleeding profusely as the strenuous activity of trying to avoid getting shot had made the thin layer of scabbing peel off to reopen my wounds again...I barely escaped with my life before I'd pass out from blood loss again...betrayed by the law I worked so hard to uphold, my mentor who I looked up to killed in the line of duty just so his fellow officers could get dirty money to maintain their ways of living, I was expendable, the badge meant nothing anymore, once I let it all sink in, I ripped the badge off of my coat and chucked it as far as I could, well...to be more poetic...I chucked it into the river where my mentor's body bag remains till this day....they didn't look for him, his missing poster still exists but no one is looking for him, only I know the truth, the cops are corrupt...for two whole years, I killed corrupt officers and those syndicate bastards alike, wounding the more honest cops in order to enlighten them to the truth which sadly made them get hunted down just like I was, if they survived or not, I don't know, I had to be on the move constantly, but once they caught me, they tortured me.

Fox: What did they do to you? *He asks curiously, him mouth slightly opened and eyebrows arching up because it surprises him that even the cops on the planet are crooked*

Rebecca: I was caught off guard by some crooked cops, they shot me in my leg, running away was impossible, they beat me on the spot with their clubs until I lost consciousness, but once I woke up, I wasn't in a cell at a precinct, I woke up finding myself chained to a wall with that bitch staring at me across the room, the one you call Stacey.

Krystal: *She bares her fangs and growls* Not you to! How many people did she fuck with?! Just how many?! *She asks in anger and in a distraught tone*

Anya: Ohhh no, don't tell me you're the victim of "that" torture, even though my time with them was short, Stacey was a charismatic gloater, she loved talking about her old exploits to strike fear into the new guys to ensure they did their jobs right, but she has gloating rights in the syndicate because she really does do the dirty work, ordered right down from Maletto himself, Stacey is more than Maletto's little pet psychopath, she's his top of the line assassin and handler of extremely sensitive and important matters, her secretary like attire is more than fitting given how she does her job to perfection in spades. *She says as her left eye shows a little bit from behind her bangs*

Rebecca: *She closes her left eye and lowers her head* I know, and this was two years ago...back then she was just as crazy if not even more so because it was so fresh to her, the experience, she has what I'd like to call "good girl" syndrome.

Krystal: *She raises her left eyebrow out of curiosity* "Good girl" syndrome? What the hell is that? Some kind of made up disease or something?

Rebecca: It's a part of a mental instability which makes her strive for perfection to appease the demands of a male figure in her life, as a former detective I've researched various psychological studies to get in their heads to further understand them and learn how to make sense of their erratic patterns, of course I didn't learn my techniques until after the betrayal, good thing libraries exist with computers on a locally flooded network of activity making it difficult for me to be tracked by them, I've researched various forms of psychology to delve into their minds to make sense of what many would mark off as the ramblings of the insane, but really it just comes down to mental disorders which aren't biological but are caused from traumatic stress like post traumatic stress disorder.

Krystal: *She narrows her eyes in understanding before looking down* Post traumatic stress disorder is a bitch to deal with.

Fox: *He closes his eyes and sighs* That it is.

Fintan: *He looks to the left and right with his peripheral vision and mouth open slightly* So....you two suffer from P.T.S.D?

Fox: *He slowly reopens his eyes with a bit of a sad look* Yes....fighting in many wars as a merc for hire will do that to you.

Rebecca: A lot of troops and mercs alike commit suicide from the severity of their P.T.S.D, looks like you're one of the strong ones who didn't...or at least not yet.

Fox: In the past I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it, but over the course of time things changed and the weight was lifted, had I followed through on it, I wouldn't have met the one for me. *He begins to smile a bit as he looks at Krystal*

Krystal: *Try as she might, she can't help but blush* F-Fox....come on now~.

Fintan: *He smirks playfully a bit* Oooohhhh, I get the picture, that's why you two are so close the way ya are, I gotcha entirely.

Anya: Wow~, like something out of a movie.

Rebecca: *She clears her throat to get everyone's attention in the group* May I continue? I'm happy for your....status...but I've yet to finish.

Fox: *He blinks before clearing his throat looking around nervously* Y-yeah, continue.

Rebecca: As I was saying about Stacey, she has "good girl" syndrome and it stems from the desire to please a dominant male figure in her life, her record of perfect crimes and exploits are all to please Maletto, she'd even die for him if need be in order to protect him, as you said Anya, the psycho goes to sleep when she's with him and I've seen it first hand, in order for someone as crazy as her to be so wound around his finger and whim like that, he must've did something to win her over entirely, something during a time of weakness which brought on her unwavering loyalty to him.

Krystal: *Her eyes widen from a flash back of Stacey talking about how they're similar, she grins widely from putting the piece together because she felt the same way when Fox first saved her on Sauria all those years ago* He saved her from something life threatening, something that almost could've killed or destroyed her, it had to be something serious to make it stick.

Rebecca: The psychological act of loyalty comes from something being done which sparks a great amount of gratitude, something like saving one's life from a life threatening or mentally scaring event is sure to do the trick leading to such blind loyalty and if not deep rooted affection, Stacey clearly has this....in fact....a lot of women might have this, the need to repay something deep rooted, like I did with my mentor, out of love, out of respect, and out of hatred...the reasons vary but lead to one thing alone, something very impacting in the heat of a moment sparking the trust. *She says while closing her left eye*

Krystal: *She lets the analysis from Rebecca dawn on her a bit and further remembers Fox saving her back then, but then she remembers all the good times they've had and she smiles slightly* Yeah. *She then regains her composure* So uhh, what was the torture you endured?

Rebecca: To put it bluntly, I was beaten like a living punching bag by the thugs, injected with various drugs and poisons, cut and taken advantage of, they did horrible things to me, prolonged starvation, sensory deprivation, Stacey kept on upping the ante just to please her boss. My left eye was different back then, it wasn't always violet like this, the iris, this isn't the first time I've been sent to one of these facilities, I know exactly what this place is, it's a research lab, completely off the grid performing bio experiments on living people...my eye...my eye is a mutation brought on by the previous experiments I've endured, my fur grew back over the burns because of the experiments, it was by sheer luck...these bastards are trying to make bio weapons while performing experimental research, expanding in all areas, from chemical warfare, freakish bio experimentation and mutations, they're planning on starting wars like those of some war from a long time ago which took place outside of this system...I think it was called the Lylat wars.

Fox, Krystal: *Their eyes turn pale from just the mentionings of the bio experiments and the nail to clinch it tight in the coffin was Rebecca talking about the Lylat wars*

Fox: They're trying to make identical wars to those of the Lylat wars?! *He says in a serious tone, for once Fox has lost his cool and composure*

Rebecca: *She turns her head to the right to look at Fox, her left eye making contact with his own pale green eyes* Yes...and it turns out the syndicate here, "The Shadows" as they call themselves have connections to events prior to the wars themselves, the bastards running these more than illegal labs are scientists from that era, all of them having been close understudies of some wacko by the name of Andross, they're his legacy, carrying on his studies but adding their own twists to them for both pleasure and for the expansion of the darker side of the scientific field, but more just to build up a secret bio army to get revenge in the distant future when they've perfected mind control inducing drugs and have created bio experiments which can be controlled one hundred percent, they're gonna unleash those monsters on the unsuspecting public, targeting cities right at their capitals, attacking branches of government, we're talking way beyond the scale of a mere terrorist attack.

Fox: And the one's holding the keys to this insanity? *He says in a bit of a growl*

Rebecca: The ones holding the keys to this horrible operation is the syndicate..."The Shadows"..."The Shadows" didn't perform the atrocities first hand, they don't get directly involved with the bloody work, but they are the biggest weapons dealer and material transporting organization in the galaxy, they're a galactic corporate criminal enterprise far stronger than any manufacturer company making weapons, same goes for war ships and cruisers, their connections are wide and varied, from the typical low life thug and all the way up to the big wigs of tyrannical military governments, they are the arms of death, reaping massive rewards for supplying on demand, civil wars, intergalactic wars, systematic wars like that of the Lylat wars, arming the demanding armies and militias is the biggest bang for their buck, but when in low tide like this, they go for another venue of operations, the basics of organized crime grunt work, abductions, trafficking people to be sold off into whore houses, selling drugs and booze, muscling over businesses to be laundered money, their skill set knows no bounds and their connections took years to establish, they are nearly all mighty and untouchable...even many of the secret organizations of the galaxy are in cahoots with them, simply because they're in the position of supply on demand, it's a vicious and productive cycle of operations which if pulled off properly, they'd stand above the law entirely...they'd easily corrupt the police forces if cash could earn their loyalty, and in my case it did, and for court houses, forget it, they'd pay off the judges and wire money to their accounts under the radar, and for those who don't play ball, they get violent, they'll blackmail them, they'll bust the deals wide open for the law itself to remove the issue while removing all evidence of their initial involvement, they're just that tight.

Fox: *He closes his eyes* "The Shadows" is a suitable name for them, like a black hole they suck in everything and everyone, forcing them to bend to their will or suffer the consequences, and it looks like we're just in that minority now about to just become another one of their grand pay-offs to mad men who desire to cause nothing but trouble in the galaxy.

Rebecca: For two solid years I've did as best I could to bring them down the vigilante way, to hopefully put my mentor's soul at rest, my right eye, I no longer consider it a scar, I consider it a symbol of what was taken from me by them, my mentor is dead and my right eye is dead, I can't see through it but perhaps his angry soul can, hehe, as crazy as it may sound, but perhaps the reason why I can't close it aside from my nerves being dead in that side of my face, it probably because like a window, he wants to witness every waking moment, every little twist and turn and revelation, but like everyone else who's gone crazy in this world, perhaps this is just my own touch of insanity right? We all try to make sense of things beyond our comprehension but the rabbit hole only goes deeper and deeper, hehehe, I'm sorry for my rambling, I'll shut up now. *She says while having a slight smile*

Krystal: I don't think it's all that crazy, you said you reached out for him in his dying moments with your right arm before losing consciousness, it is possible he saw you in his final moments reaching for him and he reached for you as he was dying, his soul could've very well transferred into your eye.

Fintan: *He shivers* Ooh-hoo-hoo. *He shudders* Talkin' 'bout ghosts and souls and stuff like that gives me the willies.

Krystal: Well.....the thing is...I'm a psychic. *She tries her best to lay it down gently, looking to the upper left with a nervous look on her face*

Fintan: *He blinks while looking like a dot eyed chibi with an "x" shaped mouth* You're a what?! *He yelps in surprise, letting it sink in*

Fox: Yes...she's psychic, more along the lines of telepathic though, but it's branched into other areas over the course of time I've been with her.

Rebecca: *She turns to her left to look at Krystal, her dead glossy eye showing* So, what's the analysis psychic?

Krystal: *She looks into the dead eye and squints as she begins to see something like a face forming through the cloudiness, her psychic nature kicking in as her pupils begin to dilate to the point they can't be seen, the pale color kicking in before she slumps her head forward, she then begins to speak in a breathless, empty voice* Rebecca....I saw you in my final hours....as my soul left my body and as you laid unconscious, I planted myself inside of your eye, contrary to you believing it's dead, it isn't entirely, you're right about me using it as a window to observe what you're going through, sadly I can only observe, please, please put these horrible crimes to an end, "The Shadows" must be stopped before it's too late, every time you look into this eye, I want you to know I am always with you, I am always watching, and I am always hoping for the truth to be told.

Rebecca: *She gasps and leans back, her left eye welling up with tears* Renard.

Krystal: Shhhh, don't shed tears, the time for it has long since past, don't be sad, I died doing my job, there's no shame to be had, my time inside of this woman is short, so allow me to say my final words to you before I return to your eye. *She says in a possessed breathless voice*

Rebecca: *She nods* S-sure.

Krystal: I am proud to have been your mentor, and I have watched you struggle to bring justice to a lawless city, continue fighting Rebecca, don't give up, not until the bitter end, let me see them get their just desserts, through that eye of your's, I shall see justice be served, and order restored.

Rebecca: *She smiles a bit, holding the tears back in her left eye* For what they did to you and me, I'll see them all get their just desserts...revenge...is a must have.

Krystal: Don't let the need for revenge destroy you, take down the monsters...without becoming a monster yourself...keep that piece of wisdom with you Rebecca...now, I'm giving this woman her body back, I am always with you, deep within your right eye...looking through it, like a window. *While possessed, Krystal raises up her head to look at Rebecca and her eyes are a glowing spiritual turquoise entirely, the black rings for her irises are seen and her pupils are extremely dilated, but unlike before where they completely vanished, they're there, but just barely* Stay strong Rebecca...I'm glad I got to see your face again from the outside. *Her eyes begin to lose their glow and revert back to normal, her head lowering slowly as her eyes close*

Rebecca: Renard? *She says cautiously before placing her cuffed hands on Krystal's left shoulder*

Krystal: *She jerks back to consciousness with a sharp exhale, panting quickly before coughing and looking around* I...I just blacked out...what did I miss?

Fintan: *He blinks, rubbing his eyes with his cuffed hands* I don't bloody believe it, she is a psychic.

Anya: I know my bangs are covering my eyes, but right now I'm wide eyed, I'm scared and impressed at the same time.

Fox: Told you...she's psychic like that.

Rebecca: *She sighs* Looks like I wasn't crazy for thinking that theory after all, thank you Krystal, and I'm sorry you blacked out like that.

Krystal: *She manages to calm down* Y-yeah...but everything that just happened, it doesn't exist in my mind, I really blacked out during the whole thing, so....what happened?

Rebecca: You gave me closure....lets put it that way....you gave me closure and another reason to put those syndicate assholes down...thank you, Krystal.

Krystal: *She lowers her head and coughs a bit* Y-you're welcome.

(The tram jostles as it finally reaches the facility and docks into position, everyone onboard stumble a bit from the sudden shake, but unlike the way they were told to enter into the tram, the front of it begins to open like a vertical hatch, the shutters closing back over the plexiglass windows as the top half opens upwards flapping up and the lower half flapping down, standing before the group is a scientist standing in the center of two heavily armored and armed juggernaut class soldiers, but the helmet configuration clearly shows they're gas mask mixed with haz mat specifications and are armed with light machine guns which resemble the QBB LSW, given the type of work that's going on in the facility it only makes sense so they don't get contaminated by accident given the nature of the experiments and research, Fox takes a good look at the scientist and narrows his eyes as he sees that all to familiar bold fonted upper case letter "A" on his forehead, the status symbol of those of high rank within Andross' army from so long ago, whether force commanders or scientists, the short man begins to chuckle before breaking out into mad laughter from the catch of the day)

Mad Scientist: AHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~!!!! Wow! Those syndicate guys really do deliver the finest specimens to be worked on! *His eyes then widen upon looking at Krystal* Uh....oh my....THEY EVEN SENT ME A CERENIAN?!!!! B-b-but their kind is supposed to be extinct!! Since before the Lylat wars from so long ago! Cerenia was blown up!

Krystal: *She clenches her teeth, her eyebrows arching up as she takes a step back, had it not been for the armed guards with the little scientist, she'd smash her cuffs over his skull* Don't get too happy you bastard.

(The two guards don't take lightly to Krystal's quip as they aim their light machine guns at her in unison, the "chakking" of the plastic and metal frame being heard as they take aim, but the scientist holds up his left hand giving them the silent order to stand down and they do)

Mad Scientist: You have a bit of fight in you, I like that, all the more to see how long you'll last here missy.

Krystal: *She looks to her left at Anya and Fintan, then to her right at Rebecca and Fox before sighing and lowering her head, her ears perking back in defeat*

Mad Scientist: Yeah...that's what I thought...guards, lets get them settled into their quarters. *He says as he turns to his right and begins walking with his arms behind his back, grabbing his wrists*

(The two guards nod in unison before stepping back with their guns ready, both pointing to the right with their left hand's index fingers silently telling them to follow the scientist, Fox silently does so, taking Rebecca, Krystal, Anya, and Fintan along with them, and the second group as well, like prisoners they walk single file chained together at the legs, their hands still cuffed, the screen slowly fading to black for the transition)