Rise of the Alters: Chapter 1
#2 of Rise of the Alters
Chapter 1: The Alter Fox
An old Venomian battle ship flies through space at a steady rate heading in the direction of Katina.
On the ship, a red fox lies in his bunker thinking to himself.
"Well another day, another ship." The vulpine sighed, "Man, this is getting old. Especially since it's
not even fun. What was I thinking when I joined these losers?"
A static voice hissed from over the intercom.
"Hey, newbie! Get your tail to the pods, we reached the ship sooner than we thought."
"What a pain. Oh well." The fox said as he got up pulling out an old used platinum colored blaster and
placing it under the bed until he got back. He walked out of the room locking the door behind him.
A Katinan supply ship carrying food and medicine heads toward Corneria, in order to help all the
survivors from the Aparoid attack. The ship's commander, Lieutenant Jennifer Greyson was in charge of
the mission. Greyson is a gray furred cat with dark stripes. She is a strong fighter that also has a
sense of justice for the weak. She also happens to have a record for being able to prevent any command
ship under her watch from being destroyed on the battlefield.
"Lieutenant, there's an incoming transmission from base." One soldier informed.
"Alright, put it through." Replied the feline commander. An image of a black furred wolf appeared on
the main screen.
"Greetings lieutenant."
"Colonel Summers, this is a nice surprise. What can I do for you sir?" Greyson grinned.
"As you know, many Cornerian and Katinan supply ships were raided and destroyed." The wolf said, "And
your ship is entering the area where most of the ships were attacked. Be on guard."
"Will do sir." Greyson responded firmly giving a salute. At that the transmission was cut off. The
cat sat back in her seat smiling thinking how nice it was the colonel called just to see how she was
doing, then figured maybe she'd do something special for him.
"Lieutenant, there's something on radar." Another soldier called out.
Greyson's smile faded into a look of seriousness, "Put it on the main screen." The screen showed a
small, white, arrow-headed shaped pod with the Cornerian insignia on the side and a red blinking light
on the top.
"It looks like an escape pod. That's one of ours! Lieutenant, do you think that this is a survivor
from another attack?"
"It's hard to say from right here." Greyson said, "Let's bring it onboard."
The ship sends out two soldiers to retrieve the pod. The two float out in spacesuits and a tow cable.
The two manage to reach the floating pod to see that it's been damaged with the scuff and burn marks on
it, but was still usable. One of the soldiers looks inside and finds someone in there, but can't tell
for sure who, the glass on the inside was fogged up and the glass was scratched on the outside making
it hard to see inside only enough to see a body though. He nods to the other one who then attaches the
cable on the nose of the tiny craft. They raise their hands to signal the others to reel them in. The
craft and the two soldiers were soon pulled back aboard the ship and the airlock closed behind them.
"The pod is onboard." A soldier reported over the intercom to the bridge. The two soldiers remove
their helmets showing both were canine breeds, one a white beagle with a brown spot over his left ear
and eye and the other of a terrier breed with tan fur. The two dog soldiers opened the pod and find a
young fox inside.
"Hey, look at this." The terrier pointed. The other soldier looks at the young red fox inside the pod
wearing a black sleeveless jacket, a blue shoulder pad on his left shoulder, dark colored pants, and a
light gray and white long sleeved shirt. He did have an unusual hair color with it being brown mostly
but with some patches of crimson.
"What? But he's just a kid." The beagle soldier noted.
"I know, poor guy. Let's report this to the lieutenant." The other dog soldier said as he went over to
the intercom. The beagle notices the fox starting to move.
"Hey, kid. Are you alright?"
Suddenly the fox formed an aura around him making him glow and opened his right eye with an evil grin
on his face. Before the soldier could react, he was hit hard to the stomach and was knocked
unconscious. The fox them jumped out to attack the other guards. The terrier saw this and rushed over
to the intercom and hit the alarm.
"Lieutenant! We've got a situation down here! Send some-" The desperate voice on the intercom called
out.
"Lieutenant, the signals been cut off!"
"I knew it! We're going down just like the others!" Yelped a cowardly soldier.
"I don't want to hear talk like that! We're not going down on my watch!" yelled out Greyson. "Have
the security team meet me in the docking bay and put this ship on lock down!" The lieutenant hurried
out of the control room and went to the cargo bay.
The fox throws on the ground the broken intercom.
"Oh no you don't! Not yet. We're just starting to have a little fun." Said the fox as he walked over
to the cowering soldier. Before the fox could do anything else, he heard the doors open.
"Search for any survivors." Greyson ordered. The steel doors behind them closed and locked preventing
any escape.
"Heh, looks like your buddies came here to rescue you." The vulpine grinned.
The soldiers carefully entered the room. They search around looking for the intruder. They found one
of the soldiers that was unconscious, the beagle still in his spacesuit.
"Lieutenant, I've found a survivor."
"How is he?" Greyson asked.
"He'll be alright."
"Good, get him out of here and see if there are any more survivors." Said Greyson.
"Help! I'm over here!" Screamed the terrier. Greyson and her group rush over to see where the scream
was coming from and see the other soldier also unconscious.
"Be careful men. He's in here somewhere." Greyson warned with her blaster drawn and ready to fire.
The group went around searching.
"Has anyone found something?" asked the lieutenant.
"Not yet, ma'am."
"All clear over in this corner."
"Keep searching, we have to find him." Ordered Greyson. "I know he's here, I can feel it." The ship
was shaking because of an explosion. Greyson and her team went to see where the blast came from. They
find out that the doors were blown off. "After him! Don't let him get away!" A small blue capsule
landed in front of them and released a gray cloud of smoke surrounding all of them in a thick fog.
Some of the other soldiers began to worry, but still held onto their blasters with a firm grip. "Stay
calm, just be careful." Greyson said. The other soldiers nodded and began to move around barely being
able to see three feet in front of them, especially since the cloud was trapped in the hall with them.
One of the dog soldiers searches around pointing his blaster ready to fire, until he turns to his right
and finds something coming towards him.
"Lieutenant! I found him! Huagh!" The soldier yelled out before he was attacked. Greyson couldn't
tell what was happening but knew where to go. As she went to where she heard the soldier's call, she
saw his body flying towards her. She managed to duck in time but one of the other soldiers following
wasn't very fortunate. Greyson was still looking until she heard another of her soldiers' scream out
and the discharge of their blaster firing. Greyson rushed to where the screams were and found the fox
holding an unconscious soldier by the throat.
"Freeze right there!" Ordered Greyson, "Let him go." She was able to see part of his face, a young red
fox with brownish-crimson hair standing up on his head and his left eye closed.
"You're the one in charge of this ship, huh?" Said the vulpine.
"Yes, I am. Now answer this, who do you work for?"
"Can't say."
"What do you want?"
"Just all of your supplies and cargo."
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that. There are other people that need these supplies and I won't let
them down just because you're trying to play space pirates!" Greyson yelled, "Are you the one who's
been attacking the other ships?"
"What if I did?"
"Then I'll take you down!" The cat said as she aimed her blaster at the fox, but he threw the soldier
at her. Greyson dodges again and fired a shot aimed at the vulpine's heart. The fox blocks the shot
with his right arm. Greyson doesn't hesitate to fire more shots but the fox's arm blocks each and
every single shot. Greyson runs back into the cargo bay trying to lure the fox. She hides behind a
stack of large steel crates close to the wall. The fox enters the room looking around. He keeps
walking around not searching to the gray cat even as the smoke disperses into the area. Greyson
speedily climbs to the top of a large stack of crates and uses her knife to cuts the ropes tying them
down.
"This is getting dull." The fox complained, "Give up your stuff and I'll spare you and all your crew."
"I don't think so." Greyson grunted pressing her back to the wall with her feet on the crate. She
pushed the large crate onto the fox and it crashed on top of him. Greyson thought it was over but was
still cautious holding her blaster ready. To her horror, the fox was standing there unharmed and had
blocked the heavy object with the same right arm.
"Nice try!" The fox said as he punched the crate on the bottom causing them all to topple over.
Greyson had jumped off, landing her feet on the ground and starts firing her blaster at the vulpine.
The fox just stood and blocked the attacks with his arm. The fox struck the ground, launching himself
toward the lieutenant. Greyson moves out of the way and tries to fire point blank at the fox's head
but the vulpine's hand was already on her blaster.
"Hey, you're pretty good. But not enough to stop me." The fox smirked as he crushed the blaster and
tossed it aside.
Greyson took a step back before lunging with her knife at the intruder. The fox catches the knife by
the blade and breaks it off. "What is he?" The cat wondered. Before Greyson could get back, the fox
threw a broken piece of the knife and threw it at her. Greyson had to stop in order to dodge but it
was all the intruder needed in order to catch her. He grabbed her shirt collar and pinned her to the
ground.
"Like I said, you're good. But not good enough." The vulpine mocked.
"What are you?" She asked noticing that the fox had Andross' insignia on the blue shoulder pad.
"Me?" The fox grinned, "I'm your worst nightmare."
The next morning, Greyson woke up in the hospital on Katina. She sat up, shocked to know that she was
in a hospital bed, but was greeted by a familiar voice.
"I'm glad you're awake." Said the black furred wolf sitting in a chair next to her, "You started to
have me worried."
"It's good to see you too, Colonel Summers." Greyson sighed taking a few deep breaths but then went
into a panic, "But how did I get here? And the ship? The cargo? The crew?"
"Calm down, you were knocked unconscious in the attack. And those soldiers will be alright, however,
your ship and its cargo was lost." The wolf saw a look of disappointment on the lieutenant's face.
"You're upset about the ship, aren't you?" Summers asked. The lieutenant looked away and nodded with a
disappointed look on her face. "Listen, don't be so hard on yourself. There was nothing more you
could've done and you know it. It's more important that there weren't any casualties."
"It's not that. It's...the fact I let so many people down because I couldn't stop just one pirate! A
young one at that..."
"We're working around the clock to find out who he's working for and for who."
The feline sat up in bed rubbing her eye and scratches her head, "Oh...my head. Wait, I remember he the
Andross' emblem on him. I'm guessing he's probably Venomian."
"Venomian?" Summers wondered, "Looks like Corneria still can't handle things on their own in finding
the rest of those thugs."
"And judging by the stuff he had, the pod, a smoke bomb, and an impenetrable arm for a shield...he was
well-equipped."
The wolf nodded, "This information can help out further with the investigation." He then placed his
paw on Greyson's shoulder and laid her back down in bed, "You on the otherhand, need your rest."
"Okay..." The lieutenant groaned.
"But what I don't understand though, is why there were no casualties whatsoever. So I have my doubts
about him being an actual Venomian." Summers pondered.
"He's still young, maybe he's not as bad as those other soldiers from Venom."
"I highly doubt that. They'll use anything, even little children to further their ambitions. But I
meant about what one of the other soldiers said about him."
"What do you mean?"
"After you were knocked unconscious, he told one of your soldiers to get you and the rest of the crew
to abandon ship because the rest of his group was coming to pick him and the supplies up." Greyson
looked up in surprise at the colonel hearing this. "It could be some random gang of space pirates
trying to make themselves appear to be Venomian soldiers, my guess is Starwolf. But whoever it is,
they will be brought down." The lupine looked up at the wall clock, "Alright, you better get your rest
now." As he started to get up, the cat grabs his wrist.
"Okay, but can you stay with me for a while? Please?" Greyson asked poking out her lower lip pouting
and looked up longingly at the wolf.
The lupine sighs, "I am off duty for another half-hour, so I don't see the need to leave right away."
"Wesley, thank you." Greyson smiled holding the wolf's paw in her hand.
In the asteroid field lies hidden one of Starwolf's bases, Volstra. It wasn't as big as Sargasso, but
it did have plenty of room to carry plenty of soldiers and supplies. Inside the hangar, the space
pirates have a little celebration.
"Hey, we really scored big this time!" Exclaimed an ape soldier.
"Yeah, this one was a big haul." A raccoon said.
"And it's all thanks to the newbie!" Said another primate soldier.
"Aw, gee guys. Thanks." Said the fox.
"Let's give a toast to the new guy!"
"I'll drink to that!" The pirates chug down their drinks.
"Hey kid, you can drink some of this too."
"No thanks, I don't drink."
"Tch. Fine, more for us then."
The door to the hangar open and Wolf walks in. He becomes furious seeing his soldiers goofing around
partying instead of being hard at work. "What's all this?" Wolf asked as he looks around the now
silent group of partiers, "I won't ask again, tell me!"
"W-well you see, sir, we were just havin a little party that's all." One of the ape solders said then
gulped.
"A party?"
"Yeah, to celebrate our biggest catch in a while."
"I didn't authorize this so clean this mess up and get back to work right now! All of you!" Wolf
ordered as his gaze went upon the fox and pointed to him, "You, brat, I want a word with you." The
soldiers began to clean up everything like Wolf ordered them to. And the vulpine and Wolf went to
another section of the hangar.
"What the hell were you thinking!?" Wolf scolded, "Throwing a party like this!"
"Hey, it wasn't my idea. I'm not really into what the other guys are up to." the vulpine responded in
a calm manner.
"You had better watch your step around here, got it?"
"Sure no problem Wolf, I mean Lord O'Donnell." The fox said as he gave a salute.
"I'm going to be watching you, kid. So you'd better do everything I say or else, do I make myself
clear?"
"Yes sir!" The vulpine gave another salute before returning to working in the hangar.
Wolf had then left the hangar still fuming over the fox's attitude. Back in the hangar, the fox enjoys
a few minutes to rest until Panther walks in after passing by a very angry Wolf.
"Hey you." Panther called out, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Just taking a little break, that's all." Responded the vulpine.
"Did you finish my cleaning Wolfen?"
"Yeah, all done."
"We'll just see about that." Panther said as he examined his ship. "Mmhmm...not bad. Looks okay."
Panther then notices a few streak marks on the cockpit. "You, call this done? It's awful! My
beautiful Wolfen must be perfect when it goes into battle. Clean it again and wax it, right now!"
"What!? But I cleaned the thing and waxed it with all that wax you wanted me to use. Geez, you
could've made a wax city with all that!"
"Do it or else." Panther said as he left.
"Damn, I really hate that guy!" The fox said to himself kicking a box of tools.
"Ha ha ha! You're gonna have to deal with him like the rest of us."
The fox looked over at the alligator that said that. "I know but he doesn't have to be such a pain! I
don't even know why we take orders from him."
"Ha ha! Yeah, but you know the only reason we have to follow orders from him is because he's on Wolf's
team." The alligator said, "Hey, how about I help you with the cleanup and then get you a soda, on me
of course."
"Sure I guess." The gator drops a bucket with cleaning supplies in it and walks out.
"Hey! I thought you said that you were going to help?" The fox whined.
"I did. I got the cleaning stuff so all you need is the water and I'm getting the drinks. Take care,
little buddy."
"Dammit, Ralph! That wasn't much help you lazy bastard!" The vulpine yelled out as the gator left the
hangar, "And I'm not little!"
"Looks like he got you again." Said a brown-feathered eagle.
"What's it to you." The fox said glaring at the eagle.
"Heh, don't worry. He usually does that to everyone."
"Sure, easy for you to say Shawn, especially since you've known him longer than me."
"That's true also. Well, take care."
"What? You're leaving too?"
"As I recall, Panther told you to clean his ship so have fun." Shawn said walking away.
"Damn, I can't find any good help around here..." The fox grumbled to himself.
Wolf finishes checking up on the soldiers making sure they were working and not goofing off and he
takes the elevator as he heads toward his quarters. Yet, he was still unhappy with the fox's attitude
earlier. When the elevator doors open, Leon walks in and the doors close. Wolf looks over to the
lizard and sees him leaning to the side.
"Do you even trust him, Wolf?" Asked the lizard.
"What choice do I have, Leon?" Wolf answered, "He's too valuable to lose right now."
"I'm just a little concerned that's all."
"Don't tell me you're getting nervous." Wolf said glancing back over at Leon.
"No, it's just that we might be the ones using him or...he's the one using us."
"Don't worry, I have ways of knowing."
"Oh? And how may I ask would you know?"
"Leon, what is he?"
"He's an alter user."
"No, I mean what is he?"
"He's a fox."
Wolf nods, "Since he is a fox no one trusts him. And I bet that everyone is just waiting for him to do
something because they're going to get some kind of promotion. But in reality, they aren't getting
much of anything."
"Good plan but what if someone actually decides to help him?"
Wolf closes his eye and thinks of that possibility, "Then you'll have some new playmates." The
elevator soon stops and Leon begins to walk out.
"Listen Wolf, we still have to keep a tight leash on him, otherwise he'll become too wild to control."
The elevator door closes. As Wolf heads up he thinks about what Leon said.
The next day came as the young fox deals with being worked like a dog, mainly by Panther.
After getting up early to do cleanup, the fox wonders around the base. The fox went to the control
tower area. He noticed two guards talking and one of them, a dog soldier, brown-haired retriever, went
into the bathroom and the fox followed. The bathroom was a mess with brownish decay on the walls and
floor, toilets that had urine sprayed on the seats, leaky sinks that would drip if not shut very
tightly, and the stench in there was horrible. That was mainly due to the fact that after some use the
toilets, they never flush and it stays for days even weeks and there was the ventilation was poor. The
guard went to one of the urinals trying to undo his armor and unzip his fly. He mumbled to himself
about how rotten the bathrooms were, and how he'd hate to have to clean them. And while doing this,
doesn't notice the fox behind him until he feels a hand grabbing the back of his head and forcing it
into the wall. The fox picks up the unconscious soldier and drags him into one of the stalls. And in
the stall, he stole the guard's armor. It was still a little large for him and a snug fit for his
tail, but it would have to do. The disguised fox walked out and went to go into the control room.
"Sorry, but you don't have access." Said a heavily armed ape soldier.
"Will this work?" The vulpine answered the ID he stole.
"Sure, go ahead."
The vulpine entered the area and had made his way to where the main computer was located. Fortunately,
nobody was ever really in the room, only during security scans as well as when or if they come under
attack to contact either Wolf or the other bases. He then removed the helmet from the heavy armor
gasping for air with his fur wet from sweating.
"Man, it's hard to breathe in that suit. Let's see, if I'm right then everything should be stored
here." The fox accessed the computer and started scanning through the files searching for something.
"There's nothing here. A protected area, huh? I hope this thing works..." The fox pulls out a disk and
puts it in the computer. The disk's program destroyed the firewall giving the fox full access to
everything. "It's got to be around here somewhere. Dammit, it's not here!" The fox yelled out as he
pounded his fists on the keypads.
Meanwhile, one of the other pirates had went into the bathroom, a crocodile soldier. He stood up at
one of the urine-covered urinals not bothered by the smell. He then gave a small sigh of relief but
then heard some moaning noises from one of the stalls. Once the croc finished, he zipped himself up
and went over to the locked stall and heard more groaning.
"Hey, are you alright in there?" The croc asked. He didn't get an answer but he did hear a thudding
noise. The reptile looked under the stall to see and found the canine soldier, but then remembered
that he was supposed to be on duty and seeing him on the ground with some blood dripping from his
forehead, the croc kicked the door in and found the guard out of armor and in his underwear. He then
realized something happened and goes off to sound the alarm.
The alarms were going off making a siren noise and the computer room was flashing in a deep red
color.
"Oh no! Not good." The fox tried to shut down the computer and make his escape but before he could
leave two guards appeared at the door. The fox punches one and kicks the other as he ran past them.
In the hallway, other security guards found him and started firing. The fox ran in the other direction
toward the elevator lift. The two guards he ran by were also firing from the other end of the hall on
the vulpine as the armor took the damage. When the fox reached the elevator, it already went down.
The guards had cornered him.
"We've got him now!" Said one of the guards. "Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" At that the
vulpine gave a sly grin as he raised his hands and jumped off. As the fox was falling the armor he
wore disintegrated and formed into orange armor that fused onto his arm, three red blades formed on his
back and his brownish-crimson colored hair stood up on his head. He took his red claw and dug into the
wall to as he fell down to the hangar area. The guards opened fire on the vulpine.
"What are you guys waiting for? After him!" Ordered one of the guards, "Contact Lord O'Donnell!
Inform him on the situation."
Wolf was in his quarters taking a nap trying to clear his mind to plan out their next course of action,
as well as the fact he hadn't slept in four days. Now he woke up because of the blaring alarms and he
goes out to find soldiers hurrying around.
"What's going on?" Wolf asked one of the soldiers.
"Lord O'Donnell, we're under attack!"
"McCloud?" Wolf guessed opening his eye in surprise.
"No sir, it's someone else, that fox kid."
Wolf's face turned to one showing blazing anger, "Damn that kid! Where is he heading to?"
"He's going to the hangar." At this Wolf rushed off to get to his ship before any more damage was
done.
The vulpine reached the hangar and when he did he found himself under fire from the troops
inside. The fox took cover behind a control panel then he pulled out his scratched up blaster and
returned fire. Soon enough the back up troops arrived and the fox was surrounded and was being shot at
on both sides.
"This is way too much. I've got to reach a ship." The fox said to himself as he put up his blaster in
his holster. He placed some smoke bombs and then punched the ground sending him flying over the
pirates. The bombs then went off creating a large smokescreen blinding the space pirates. The fox
took advantage of the situation and jumped into a Wolfen. By the time Wolf, Leon and Panther reached
the hangar, the fox had already taken off.
"We're too late!" Said Leon.
"Not yet. To the Wolfens!" Yelled out Wolf. Wolf and Leon climbed into their ships and Panther soon
realizes that his ship was gone.
"Hey, that little punk stole my Wolfen!" Panther complained.
"Well what do you want me to do? Use another!"
"But I cannot!" The feline protested.
"Then just stay here!" Wolf yelled, "Everyone else, get to your ships!"
"Wait! Lord O'Donnell! Your ship!" Called out a raccoon mechanic. Before the mechanic was able to
reach them, the two Wolfens took off in pursuit and so did many pirates.
The fox was out flying at high speeds trying to get away until he found himself surrounded. "Crap,
they already caught up to me!" The fox thought to himself.
"Where do you think you're going?" Asked an agitated Wolf.
"Anywhere but here." Responded the vulpine, "Sorry, but you don't have what I'm looking for so, I
decided to leave."
"You cocky brat, you won't make it out of here alive." Said Leon.
"We'll just see about that!" The vulpine said as he flew straight into a group of pirates and shooting
at them.
"Shoot him down, that's an order!" commanded Wolf. The ships started firing on the lone Wolfen but the
fox manages to avoid most of their fire he doesn't notice Leon behind him. The fox found a clearing in
the asteroid field and tries to activate the ships hyperdrive but Leon had locked on and fired before
that happened.
"Gaaah!" The fox screamed out feeling the ship shaking violently with the alarm beeping, "Oh no, the
controls. At least I can still make the jump but now I've got to wait. This isn't good."
"Did you really think you could get away?" The lizard coldly taunted. The young pilot desperately
tries to escape from the lizard's sights. "It's over." Leon said as he shot another charged shot at
the fox. The vulpine tries to shake it but fails in all his attempts. He then went on a head on
collision course with one of the pirates. Just before he crashed, the fox steered the ship out of the
way just only having one of the wings cut the underside of the ship as it was then blown up by the
charged shot. Wolf flies over to the Wolfen and rams the ship causing a lot of damage. The fox then
used the boosters to pull away before Wolf could finish him but Wolf pursued the fox, firing at every
chance he had. The fox was turning in every direction in order to dodge then found himself cornered by
a group of pirates firing on the ship. The fox tried doing barrel rolls but only so much damage was
prevented.
"It's over, kid." Wolf said as he charged his laser for one final attack. The fox finds another
clearing in the asteroids and tries to execute the hyperdrive but his path is blocked by Leon and by
several enemy ships.
"Where are you going? The party's just begun." Leon said as he fired on the ship. The fox did a U-
turn but Wolf closely followed with the ship in his sights.
"Now you die!" Wolf then fired a charged shot at the stolen Wolfen.
"No. Not now, not yet." The fox said to himself. "I won't die!!" He then hits the hyperdrive shooting
him through hyperspace right before the ship was hit by the full effect of the shot.
"Sir, we've lost him!" Reported one of the pilots.
"Don't worry, we'll get him ourselves. Leon!" The two Wolfens try to activate the hyperdrive but it
fails to activate.
"Wolf, my ship isn't responding!"
"What the..."
"Lord O'Donnell!" Called out the raccoon mechanic over the intercom, "I tried to tell you that your
hyperdrive systems have been removed."
"Removed!?" Wolf roared, "Who gave you the order to do this?"
"W-well sir, someone said that y-you wanted the Wolfens hyperdrive systems removed to be repaired and-"
"I've heard enough."
"Do you think that he got lucky?" The lizard asked.
"Maybe...a little too lucky. Everyone return to base." Wolf then heard an explosion over the
intercom. "What's going on? What was that explosion?"
"Wolf, look!" Leon said as he pointed to the base.
Wolf looked and saw that the tower area was destroyed.
"Just who was that kid?"
"I don't know." Wolf said in a low growl, "But he won't live to regret the day he messed with Wolf O'
Donnell!"
As the lone Wolfen exits hyperspace around orbit over Corneria, the exhausted young fox then
drifted into space.
"That...was a close one." The fox said breathing hard, "Who knew his little toys proved useful afterall?
Smoke bombs, the armor, and this ship? Heh...I wish I could see the look on one-eye's face! Ha ha ha...I
must've really got him...good..." The young fox then starts to get sleepy and his arm returns to its
regular form, the blades disappear and his hair returns to back down on his head. The fox reaches for
his cracked blue shoulder pad with Andross' emblem on it and rips it off. He then laughed to himself
weakly not noticing a large ship heading his way before drifting asleep.
Another day passes by in the Great Fox for the Starfox team as it flies over Corneria, except
Peppy wasn't there with them. Fox lies in his bed thinking about how great it is to see Peppy after a
long time since he left the team and went into retirement. Fox then gets up and leaves his room and
sees Falco at the door.
"Hey McCloud, bout time you woke up. Or did you forget what we're supposed to do today?" Asked the
avian.
"No, I didn't forget. I was just thinking that's its been a long time since we saw Peppy."
"I know what you mean." Falco agreed, "C'mon, the other are waiting on the bridge."
The two starfighters reached the bridge and there already waiting was Krystal and an overly hyper
Slippy.
"Good morning sleepy head." Krystal said.
"Good morning to you too." Responded Fox.
"Wow, I can't believe we're finally going to see Peppy again!" Exclaimed Slippy as he spun around in
his chair.
"We'll all be glad to see him again in person." Fox added.
"Yeah, I wonder how much older looking that guy's gotten." Falco joked.
"Falco!" Krystal scolded, "You should really watch your beak."
"Hey, calm down I was just kidding. Sheesh, can't take a joke."
"Unknown vessel detected." ROB reported.
"Put it on the monitor." Fox commanded. The monitor screen shows a Wolfen ship drifting in space.
"Look, it's got that rose on it." Slippy pointed out.
"Hey Krystal, that Panther guy is here to see you." Falco said with a smirk on his face.
"I've got nothing to say to him unless he's surrendering himself to the authorities." Krystal said
crossing her arms and turning her head away.
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen. Hey Fox, let's go and thrash him. Fox?"
"There's something odd about that ship." Fox noted staring at the image.
"Ah, you're just worrying too much."
"Maybe but it's better to be safe than sorry. ROB, can you enlarge that image?"
"Affirmative." Responded the robot. As the image was increased, the damages were more visible. The
team was shocked to see that the ship had taken so much damage.
"What in the world happened?" Falco wondered.
"That thing is totaled!" Slippy said in a surprised shrill voice.
"Wait, something's not right." Krystal said.
"What do you mean Krystal?" Fox asked.
"I'm sensing someone in there but it isn't Panther or anyone from Wolf's team."
"Let's bring that ship in."
"What? Are you crazy? What if it's a trap? You know that there's been a lot of attacks recently."
Said Falco. "We should just blast it right now."
"I know how you feel, but if the pilot's alive then we might know something about what happened."
"Yeah Falco, and I doubt that Wolf would even do that to one of his own ships." Slippy mentioned.
"I agree, we should help." Krystal added.
"Fine, let's bring it in." The avian said reluctantly, "But if something happens don't say I didn't
told ya so."
As the Wolfen drifted in orbit around Corneria, the radar shows a large ship heading towards
him. The fox still holds on the broken shoulder pad and drops it on the floor. Still in a deep sleep,
the vulpine begins to dream and wonder at the same time, how he got into that mess.
"Come on? Is that all you've got?" The fox said as he destroyed a bird like creature. The
vulpine had an orange arm with a red claw, three wing blades on his back, hair that stood up on his
head except for a large strand and his left eye was sealed shut. "You guys aren't really making this
much of a challenge." The fox taunted the masked soldiers trying to capture him, "I was hoping this
would be more fun, oh well."
Then ten of the masked fighters combined their powers to form a large four-legged dragon creature.
With a mighty roar, the beast tries to crush the vulpine with its claws but the fox easily dodges. As
the dragon swung its tail at the fox, he struck the ground with his fist and went into the air.
"Time to end this little game! Shocking First Bullet!!" The fox yelled out as the blade on his lower
back disintegrated and shot out sapphire colored energy propelling him toward the dragon and with one
punch, shattered the entire head section. "This is seriously getting old."
Suddenly, the Aparoids overtook the masked fighters. The dragon then disappeared, as its controllers
were being killed off and absorbed one by one.
"Well that's new." The fox noted as he watched the bugs devour the refined alter users. They turned
their attention towards him, "I'm guessing you guys aren't here to help me out."
One of the Aparoids then lunged at the fox but he swiped the bug away. Then slowly they all started
attacking and some were attaching themselves to him, mainly his alter.
"Damned bugs, get off! Terminating Second Bullet!!" the fox then struck the ground clearing the
Aparoids around him but there were plenty more but they didn't bother to attack.
"Huh? Why did these things just stop?"
"Hey, Kazufox!" Called out a mysterious voice.
"Huh? That voice, it sounds familiar but...it couldn't be, could it?" The fox said to himself as he
looked to see the person that called his name, "Kite?"
"Long time no see." The desert coyote said as he was surrounded by some of the Aparoids.
"Kite, get away from those things!"
"Don't worry. These guys don't mean any harm."
"Yeah right! But...how are you-I mean I thought you were..."
"Dead? I was until these guys came along."
"So, it's these bugs that saved you?"
"Yes, they're the ones who brought me back alive."
"Okay, but what do they want with me?"
"They want you to join us."
"Us?"
"Yes, together with these creatures you can have all the power you ever dreamed of. Everyone that
you've known to be dead will be back and you will become one with the ultimate being in the universe."
"Sounds interesting, give me time to think for a while."
"We don't have time! The queen needs your help! Hurry, she's in danger. Your power..."
"Hey, nobody is going to use my power for themselves got it?"
"Don't be foolish. You would rather waste your life fighting these meaningless battles instead of
helping us take the universe that rightly belongs to us?"
"Guess so, besides Kite, if that is who you really are. I prefer that we keep our separate bodies. No
offense but I'd rather not share a body with you. I don't want to be that close of a friend anyways,
don't take it personally."
"Very well then, we shall make you join even if we destroy you in the process!" The coyote said as he
sent the group to attack Kazufox.
"How stupid do you think I am? The real Kite would know better than to underestimate my power. Here,
let me show you why! Obliterating Last Bullet!!" At that the fox launched himself towards the image
that took the form of his friend and destroyed it. The bugs then went to attack Kazufox. "Come on you
bastards! I'm ready for you!" The vulpine yelled out as he opened his left eye and transformed
himself. His arm changed shape, a propeller formed on his back and he had an eyepiece covering his
left eye. He fought the bugs with the best he could. He was soon outnumbered and overtaken as the
bugs started to merge onto his arm. It seemed like things would be over except for the fact that right
at that moment, the queen of the Aparoids was destroyed and the planet started falling apart. Kazufox
noticed that they stopped. He didn't bother to wait and see what would happen next so with the strength
he had in him left, fought his way out. He made his escape before the group exploded leaving no trail
of anything.
"What was that all about?" Kazufox wondered. Suddenly, his arm began acting up and then he vomited due
to the withdrawal of the Aparoids' infection. He returned to his normal form and had vomited again.
"Serena!" The young tri-colored cat girl looked over at the squirrel running over toward her.
"Hello, Aron. What is it?"
"I heard that Kazufox came back, is that true?" The tired squirrel asked.
"Yes, he did come back. He's at home right now."
"How long though?"
"I'd say about three months."
"Man, I guess news around here is getting really slow, I mean three months?"
"Not really, you know that Kazu doesn't like to make himself stand out. He said that if everyone found
out that he came back then everyone will want to see him and he won't have any peace."
"I see, so how's he doing?"
"To be honest, I don't really know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, on the outside he seems okay but there's something bothering him but I don't know what."
"Would it be okay if I went to see him?"
"Sure, just try not to bother him too much."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Aron laughed, "Well, I'll see you later." As he walked on, he wasn't
quite sure himself about the recent events that had happened. "Lots of strange things have been
happening. First those bugs and now Kazufox came back? Something bad must've happened." Before the
young man could continue, he was soon greeted by two familiar figures that he knew. One of them was a
short mouse and the other was a tall horse. Both of which wearing the same dark uniforms as Thomas,
but it had the Venomian symbol patched onto the arms.
"Well, well Aron, long time no see." Said the mouse.
"Not you two. What do you want?" Aron demanded.
"We came here for that girl you were just talking to." The horse answered.
"What do you want with her?"
"That's none of your business." The mouse hissed.
"I won't let you two slimeballs lay a finger on her." The squirrel said as her started glowing. A
small chunk of the ground disappears and forms into three diamond shaped crystals that floated around
Aron.
"Hehehehe. I wonder how much stronger he's gotten." The mouse laughed.
"I doubt if it was much at all." The horse added in.
Not too far away, Kazufox was outside training. The vulpine began to glow as he tried to form
his second alter form but with no success. "Damn, those bugs must've done something to me. It's been
three months and I still can form my alter! I don't like this, I feel like a sitting duck right about
now." The fox was then surprised as he heard an explosion nearby. "Me and my big mouth!" Kazufox said
as he ran to where the explosion occurred. He travels down the road and sees that the squirrel was
beaten and bruised up.
"Hey, what happened?" Kazufox asked as he lifted up the squirrel.
"Kazufox? Don't worry about me." Aron said as he cringed in pain, "They've got Serena."
"Who? Who's got her!?" The fox asked but then heard some more explosions, "Nevermind, I know where
they are!" Kazufox said as he rushed off to find his friend.
The mouse and the horse continued their rampage through where the homes local civilians were
located, until Commander Thomas arrived on a platform with several masked alter soldiers. "Well? Have
you found her?" asked the liger.
"Commander, sir! We've brought the girl." The horse reported.
"Excellent. Now let's go." The liger ordered. The two took the unconscious feline onto the platform
and it started to ascend. Then they notice a vulpine chasing after them.
"Get back here!" The fox yelled out as the platform lifted higher and higher. He then formed his alter
arm with three red blades, and his left eye sealed shut. The fox strikes the ground and flies up
toward the liger. "Did you here me? Let Serena go!"
"Is that her name? Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." The liger calmly said.
"Shocking First Bullet!!" The fox then increased speed as he flew towards the them. The commander
noticed the eager look on his two soldiers' faces and nodded for them to attack. The mouse formed
lightning conductors on his shoulders and metallic gloves and boots while the horse formed a small tree
like creature that stood on two roots as if feet and was wrapped around by its own vines. The tree
creature shot out a barrage of leave blades. Kazufox continued upward trying to block the leaves even
though his clothes get cut and even bleeds in other places the leaf blades sliced. Then the tree
creature lashed out one of its vines at Kazufox and onto his leg. The mouse then shot a bolt of
lightning at the tree, which transferred the shock all the way down the vine and hit Kazufox.
"Gaaaaaah!!" Kazufox screamed out, "That still won't stop me! Terminating Second Bullet!!" Kazufox
then launched himself even faster and was soon over the group. He saw Serena being carried by the
liger and decided to hit him. Just before he could attack, the liger just deflected the attack with
one swipe. Taking advantage of the moment, the tree creature sent its vines to wrap around Kazufox and
the mouse fired a supercharged lightning blast that sent Kazufox howling in pain flying downward.
"Damn you, give back Serena!" the fox asked the liger but was ignored, "Obliterating Last Bullet!!"
Kazufox launched himself again but he was too far out of reach to do anything. "Serena!" The fox
called out to his friend but could only watch helplessly as they disappeared in the distance. He was
took weak to stand up and fell down on his knees hitting the ground cursing himself.
The fox had stowed away on a ship that went out into space on his own searching for the
kidnappers. He didn't realize that the ship was property of Wolf O'Donnell. When the ship arrived at
Sargasso, Kazufox made an attempt to try and sneak out and find Serena.
"Hey you!" One of the soldiers called out as he aimed his blaster right at Kazufox, "What do you think
you're doing?"
"I'm here to see the one in charge here." Kazufox answered.
"Did you hear that? He wants to see the boss!" Another soldier laughed.
"I'm serious! Let me see your boss!" the vulpine angrily responded.
"Who do you think you are, kid? No one sees Lord O'Donnell unless he wants to see you. But I'll let
him know that you want to see him while you spend time in timeout!" The soldier said as he pushed his
blaster against Kazufox's back. The gun disappeared as Kazufox then formed his alter and took out the
guard in one hit.
"Open fire!" The other soldier ordered.
The fox went on against the space pirates taking them out one by one while blocking their shots. The
group of pirates soon surrounded the fox. Then everything went silent except for the sound of a few
footsteps. Out of the crowd came the three members of Starwolf.
"Lord O'Donnell, sir. We captured this intruder."
Kazufox remained quiet as he kept his eye on Wolf. "So this guy is the leader. He isn't the same guy
I'm looking for but they both have the same badges." He thought to himself.
"I heard someone was looking for me. Didn't expect it to be a kid." Wolf said as he examined the fox,
"So what do you plan to do? Try to catch my bounty? Or did you come to challenge me to a battle
against my Wolfen? If you think that just because you're a fox you could even put a scratch on my ship
then you're wrong."
"I didn't come here for that. I'm here for a job."
At that, the soldiers started laughing and taunting the vulpine.
"Enough!" Wolf commanded, "I'm no babysitter. What makes you think that you're even worth my time?"
"Thought you might need some muscle to help you out." The fox said with a smirk on his face.
Wolf examined the fox closely before he would decide his answer. "Fine then. You will be under my
command from this day forward. I hope you can handle yourself around here because no one's going to
help you if you get hurt." Wolf said as he noticed the vulpine's left eye was sealed closed, "What do
you think you're doing?"
"What do you mean?" The fox asked innocently.
"Don't be cute! I mean your eye!"
"This? A little side effect from this arm here." The fox said as he then returned to his normal form.
"Humph, that had better be all that it is." Wolf said as he walked off with a surprised Leon and
Panther. Wolf noticed some of the soldiers whispering to each other, "Well? What are you idiots
waiting for? Somebody show him around. And would someone get him to the showers? He smells worst
than Pigma."
"Hey, at least I don't smell as bad as your breath." Kazufox thought to himself.
The fox then felt a hard slap on the back. He quickly turned around and saw the alligator that hit
him. He was a slightly lighter shade of green than some of the other reptilian pirates. He had on
long dark pants with the cuffs on them cut, a gray grease stained t-shirt on, and two black wristbands.
The gator was well over six foot, around 6'5" or so and he had large muscles especially in his arms
and upper body area. "So, new guy. Welcome to the group!"
"And who are you?"
"Me? The name's Ralph. And I'll be showin you around."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Kazufox asked the suspicious gator.
"It takes a lot of guts to sneak aboard one of our ships and actually talk to O'Donnell like that."
Ralph answered, "I mean, you're practically still in your diapers!"
"Dammit! I'm not a kid! I can handle that guy anytime!" Kazufox snapped.
"You're still a kid no matter how tough you act."
"You really like to piss me off, don't you?"
"It's funny watching you get so steamed over something as small as that. Hey, I know. I'll call you
my little buddy."
"What? There's no way! I've got a name you know!" Kazufox yelled out at the gator.
"Bet you do, but I'm the one who's going to be responsible for showing you around so the least you
could do is show a little respect. Little buddy." Ralph teased grinning.
"I'm not little!"
"You're shorter than me so I say you are."
"But you're taller than most of the others that are here."
"And your point is?"
"Nevermind." The fox sighed.
"Well now that that's done. Let me show you to some of the others." The gator laughed, "See that bird
over there? His name is Shawn. He's a buddy of mine." Ralph pointed out towards the eagle, then sees
a rabbit walking their way, but has somewhat of a scowl on his face. "Oh and this guy over here is
Ronnie, another good friend."
"Hey Ronnie." The fox said extending a hand towards the white rabbit. The rabbit only glared at the
young fox then walked away. "What's his problem?"
"You'll have to forgive Ronnie. No offense but he doesn't really trust foxes."
"Well that's too bad for him."
"Anyways, let me show you around to some of the other guys."
"Wolf, would you mind explaining to me why you let him join like that?" asked an impatient
Leon.
"Leon, we hit the jackpot. That kid is an alter user." Wolf replied.
"Alter user?" Leon questioned.
"Didn't you know? Guess not. I'm not completely sure but I know that they have the ability to
rearrange molecules to take a certain shape. They are extremely powerful. In fact, they are so strong
that they are considered monsters or mutants. They are outcasts of society."
"How do you even know this?"
"I found out about these things when we worked for Andross."
"Andross? But why would he not tell us about these alter users?"
"Don't you see, Leon? He was afraid that we'd focus our attention on capturing alter users instead of
trying to stop Starfox. Apparently he had quite a collection, but what he did with them. I have no
idea. But he'd probably use them for his experiments."
"So we're just going to use that kid?"
"Precisely, all that kid really is though is a tool. And we'll use him until he is no longer of any
use to us."
"Two weeks...and I've reached only a dead end. Serena, wait for me. I'll save you, I promise..."
the vulpine thought to himself as his dream comes to an end.
"Hey, he's staring to wake up!" A voice cried out.
The young fox then awoke and found himself in a bed with bandages covering him. He looked around the
room to see a green frog, a blue bird and two foxes, one was a male red fox like himself and the other
was a blue female. The vulpine thought about how strange it was for a fox to have that color. He then
noticed the male fox walking over to him.
"Hey there, my name is Fox McCloud. What's your name?"
"Me?" the young vulpine answered, "The name's Kazufox."