Star Fox: The Next Generation Chapter 1

[Tiberius]

Meanwhile, at Starfox's Fichina base...

"But we can't just give up on him, dad!" "It doesn't matter. He betrayed us and left fr Star Wolf." "Thats not true!" The young fox pulled up a holoscreen. "As you can see here, he was set on course for his parents house. He logged the trip and had it authorized before leaving. He stopped at a bar to get some rest, but drugs entered his system, and we haven't gotten a signal since." he said. "You slipped a chip in him..." said Fox. "Thats right. I was going to tell him before he left. Whoever kidnapped him mustve found it." Fox sat back. "Do you think we can find him?" said Fox. "That might be hard. Kari and I could meditate and track him, but Mom's still training Kari on extensive telepathy. It may take a while." said Tiberius. "Well... Let's see if we can find them."

[Kursed]

Meanwhile, at Starfox's Fichina base...

"But we can't just give up on him, dad!" "It doesn't matter. He betrayed us and left fr Star Wolf." "Thats not true!" The young fox pulled up a holoscreen. "As you can see here, he was set on course for his parents house. He logged the trip and had it authorized before leaving. He stopped at a bar to get some rest, but drugs entered his system, and we haven't gotten a signal since." he said. "You slipped a chip in him..." said Fox. "Thats right. I was going to tell him before he left. Whoever kidnapped him mustve found it." Fox sat back. "Do you think we can find him?" said Fox. "That might be hard. Kari and I could meditate and track him, but Mom's still training Kari on extensive telepathy. It may take a while." said Tiberius. "Well... Let's see if we can find them."

"He's definatly not a traitor Fox although I had limited contact with him he had no thoughts or emotions of traitorous intend whoever was at that outpost must have jumped him, Although how is beyond me he seemed to be a very alert person I suspect some form of treachery, Most likely a beautiful she-wolf or a good friend of his that snuck something into him."Krystal explained what she knew. "Either way  You think it'd be best if we go after him Fox the blizzard hasn't let up and my all weather flying system on the starchaser needs repairs."

[Tiberius]

"No. We'll wait until we know where they are." said Fox. "Get Kari ready for a mind search, Krystal. We're going to have to find him." he said.

[Kursed]

"No. We'll wait until we know where they are." said Fox. "Get Kari ready for a mind search, Krystal. We're going to have to find him." he said.

"That's easier said than don Fox  just like your experiane in leading the Starfox team  Telepathy takes experience to learn I can teach someone how to fly a arwing through memories and thoughts ,but they'd fly like a drone till they develope their own flyign style."KRystal explained as she walked to Kari's room.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

(Thanks Julius. It will be a couple of more mammoth blocks of text yet, but after that I'll ease up again.)

"Oh don't you worry Mr. Douglas. We've just got started." She said to him before she looked over her shoulder and shouted out trough the open door. "Attila! Cliff! Our guest had awakened." Her two companions came in a few seconds later. The large fox snorted loudly as he pointed at Odin and giggled triumphantly."

This was unexpected. What did he have to offer them that they couldn't find elsewhere? "An intriguing offer." He replied. "But I'm already okay where I'm at. Why should I bother to leave it for a team which can be consisting entirely of incompetent idiots?" At the last bit he was looking at the fox, which were trying to swat a fly that had been awakened by the heat, only to hit himself in the face as it flew away.

"The new Starfox is allready doomed. Consisting of the two McCloud children without any real combat experience, and a neurotic hybrid. We on the other hand have four of the best pilots in the galaxy. Limitless resources and contacts, and the best equipment money can buy." She said confidently. Odin had no trouble believing her. But turning on those he had already pledged himself to was among the things he could never be able to do.

"We'll let him hang here and think about his situation for a while before we continue the negotiations." She growled to Cliff and Attila as she passed them and walked out of the room.

"Check!" said Attila, as Freya passed him and Cliff.  They then turned to Odin.

"Who you callin' incompetent idiots!?  You're the one who accepted the drink from a stranger!" snarled Attila, as he punched Odin in the liver.

"Yeah!  Shut up ya' butthead!" Cliff said, kicking Odin in the groin.

They didn't do any serious injury to Odin, but the punch and the kick each of them had inflicted hurt like hell.

Cliff and Attila left the room, shutting the door and locking it. 

[Asper Sarnoff]

Odin let out a groan as he started to regain conciousness again. The pain in his waist told him someone had taken the pleasure to give him a beating while he was out. Cowards! If he had been awake, he could have swung his feet up and around their neck, snapping it like a dry twig.

The spot where his head had hit the backwall hurt like hell, he was quite sure the wound would require a few stings afterward. Afterward? How sure was he that they would let him live as he continued to refuse their offer?

Only one option stood clear to him, he had to get out of this mess himself. He couldn't depend on his teammates to find out where he had gone before it was to late.

He started to excamine the shakles that held him in place more closely. They were simple and crude, only cuffs with a large screw that had been fastened into the wall. The keyholes were large, and it would be easy to pick them open with the few tools he had on hidden on his person. The thing was that with his arms fastened so far from each other, he couldn't reach anything. The cuffs were far to tight to snuggle out of, that was clear. After he had hung after them for a while, his wrists were sore by the contact with the bare metall.

He started to put his back against the wall and force his hands forward with all his strength. He shaked violently and drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. He relaxed again, and discovered to his irritation that the right shackle hadn't budged at all. But the left one however, had twisted a little to the side. It seemed they hadn't screwed it down in as hard concrete as with the right one.

He started to work his left arm, twisting it up and down, forcing the screw to rotate back and forth in it's hole. He keept it going for what he tought was an hour before he was satisfied with how loose it had become.

Again, he put his back against the wall, and put all his might in forcing his left hand forward.

The muscles in his torso bulged under his clothes. He feared he would snap a sinew, but finally, his work was rewarded with the sound of metall moving against concrete. The screw slipped out half and inch, another pull and it loosened compeltely from the wall, allowing him to move his left arm freely.

He had no time to loose, they could be back again any minute now. He quickly started untie the laces on his left army boot before he kicked it off and lifted it up. He grabbed hold of the inner sole and removed it, revealing a thin piece of wire hidden in the sole. He took it out, put one end in the keyhole of the right cuff, and bent a 90 degree bend, he then pulled it out a little and rotated it before he gave it another 90 degree bend.

He took it out and studied the little Z at the end of the wire, satisfied with his work, he put it back in te keyhole, pushed it deep in untill he found the pin. He applied a little pressure, and the shakle popped open, freeing him completely.

He took the time to pick open the one still locked around his left hand before he hid the wire again and tied on his boot again.

It was time to sneak out of the door and get on his way without them noticing him. All the gear they had taken away he could do without. It was nothing important anyway.

But then another problem jumped in his way. The door out of the storage room, lacked a door handle on the inside.

This was it? He wouldn't be able to escape simple because no one had bothered to install a handle on each side?

The door was sturdy, breaking it would alert Starwolf, and with them having weapons and he not, he didn't like the odds.

The best would be to wait, and hope that only one of them popped in to check on him, and then take that person out of action and escape. A plan started to form in his head. He removed his thick shirt and started to rip it broad strips, which he started to tie together with one another. He hoped this would work.

Freya stood up from the sofa and walked up to the kitchen bench at one of the walls. She figured their... guest would need something to eat and drink sooner or later. And they had nothing to gain from threating him bad. That would only make it harder for them to convince him to deflect, which he invetiably would, with time. Also, his compliments before they had turned on him had hit a nerve deep inside the ice princess. Never had someone complimented her looks, tought she knew she that was something she had been blessed with all her life. Perhaps, when they had gotten him on their side, and they got to know each other a little more...

She abandoned that tought. Little was gained from daydreaming. She grabbed hold of a box with dried fruit, some dried meat and a mug of water fro mthe bench and headed for the door into the hallway.

"I'll see to out guest." She told Cliff and Attila, sending them a sly wink. To which they responded with rough smiles.

She closed the door to the mainroom behind her, crossed the hallway, opened the door into the storage room and walked in.

Her jaw dropped down in surprise as she saw the empty wall where her prisoner was supposed to hang. Surprise changed into shock as Odin dropped down onto her back, after he had hung from some pipes in the ceiling.

The mug shattered as it fell down on the floor, but that wasn't what concerned Freya now. She was fighting for her life. Kicking, ripping and punching Odin with the ferocity only a cornered beast could muster. But it was all in vain, he was much stronger, and had taken her by surprise. It was all decided as he threw her down on her stomach and forced her right arm far up behind her back. A gasp of pain escaped trough her lips due to the odd way her shoulder was held. Fear grasped tightly around her heart as she feelt a rope noose was put around her wrist and tightened. Shortly after, Odin had forced her left arm behind as well and put that in a similar loop before he tightened that as well, locking her arms brutally tight behind her back.

She were about to scream for help when a large hand closed around her snout, forcing it shut. She threw her head around, trying to free herself from his grip, but after she had shaken his hand off and opened her mouth to shout, a large piece of cloth was stuffed into her mouth before her jaws were forced together again, and another strap was bound around her muzzle, effectively silencing her.

There was little she could do to turn the table to her favor now, and after a few minutes, he had tied her ankles together an lashed them to her wrists with a way to short rope, forcing her to curl backwards into a painfull position.

Odin now moved himself around and kneelt down in front of her. If a gaze could kill, he would have been struck down a thousand times by the lightinng steeming from Freya's raging eyes. "Now, how does it feel to be MY guest huh?" He whispered, to which she replied by an angry outburst, that was redused to muffled garbling trough the gag. Odin nodded, smiling, "Yes I know. Nothing worse than to be robbed of ones freedom. That is something we both have in common. We need to have fresh wind under our wings, we would rot and die in a cage." He bent his head closer to hers. "And if you had only swallowed that pride of yours and shouted for help at once, ."

And with those words, he stood up and walked out of her view, moving gently trough the door and closed it behind himself, trough the hallway and put his jacket on over his ripped up shirt, the rest of which he had used to tie up Freya. he stopped, listening for anything that could signal Cliff and Attila would come bursting after him, guns blazing. But he could only hear loud speaking and the odd laugher from the main room.

He got outside and closed the door behind himself. The snowstorm had become worse now, and the cold hit him like a wall. He figured he was a little closer to his fathers castle than the Starfox base, and that he should push on.

A quick look at his bike confirmed what he had feared. His captors had smashed up the distrubutor. He wouldn't be able to fix that without any reserve parts. He would have to go on foot, for about fourty miles.

He had always enjoyed long walks in the mountains while he was young and lived here. But not in a snowstorm, not as exhausted as he was now. He wasn't sure if he would make it, but everything was better than staying here. he would rather die free than live as a prisoner.

He set off in the direction he knew was north, his inner sense of direction would keep him on course, but if his feet would carry him there, that was uncertain. He took comfort in the fact that his tracks was covered up in a matter of minutes. Starwolf had no way to track him in this storm.

Freya stopped struggling, drenched in sweat. It was hopeless. Odin had done his job to well. She couldn't reach a single knot, and the rope he had woven from his own shirt was to strong that she could tear it apart. She sighed into her gag. She wasn't sure if she should hate him, or respect him for his resourcefullness. He had been foolish to walk into their trap, but she had tought it impossible that he would get out of it again, and even more that she would fall into a similar trap herself. She didn't want to think what Cliff and Attila would say, even less Silver and her father. This whole mission had been a failure from start to end, and it was mostly because of her. She promised herself she would never mess up again, ever.

For now, there was little she could do except wait for Cliff and Attila to find her and release her.

(Phew. Last big wall of text from me for some time now.

Tiberius, Kursed and Falcory, if you want to, you can go out and searh for Odin now, find him unconcius and almost frozen to death about ten miles south for his destination. Take him to the castle, so he won't have to leave for it a second time later on. It have the medical equipment to take care of him.)

[Kursed]

Krystal and Kari  couldn't stand letting odin alone to who knows what his captors were doing to him. THey started to sneak out to the hanger when Alex caught them "Don't tell anyone please."KAri begged.

"I'll keep them busy go ahead and Find Odin."Alex whispered back.

The two blue Vixen's nodded heading for  Landmaster tank equipped with thick treads for  the snowy planet's environment they'd use the sensors on the tank to find Odin then using their telepathy to  find him once they got close enough the heating system should keep them warm as well.

Alex waved as the two vixen left the base in the snow landmaster in search of Odin.

They Found him about  30 minutes later 10 miles from the base it took them that long to drive through the strm Krystal  who had the thickest fur of the two got out to check  on him. She set  her hand on his forhead "Dang he's almost frozen solid !"she growled  fur on her face already covered with snow flakes, she rushed Odin's limp body into the land master setting her hand on his forhead again she tried to find where he was headed "39 miles north Kari I'll take care of Odin till we get there."Krystal said putting a blanket over Odin to keep him warm even in the landmaster it would take him some time to warm up.

The Snowmaster  as it was called soon arrived at  the Castle that Odin was trying to head to. Krystal once agian got out and knocked on the front door her tail dropping snow as it slowly flicked from side to side.

[Tiberius]

Tiberius was in his room, wondering were Kari and Krystal were. Fox was too busy trying to get back in shape.

Tiberius sat up in his bed. "You know what, I'm gonna go find them,"

[Kursed]

"find who?"Alex asked she had been waiting outside Tiberius' room.

[Tiberius]

"Kari and Krystal." said Tiberius.

[Kursed]

"Kari and Krystal." said Tiberius.

"Oh they went exploring deeper in the base no need to go after them their fine."Alex replied trying to cover for the two.

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Attila and Cliff were playing poker, laughing, and were unaware that Odin had turned the tables on Freya.  "'Ey!  Freya's been gone too long!" Cliff said.  Attila looked around.  "It's too quiet in here...you don't think..." he said, his eyes growing large with fear. 

The two of them scrambled towards the room where they had kept Freya.  They saw her tied up.

"Oh, S#!T!" they both said simultaneously.

They cut her bonds, freeing her.

"Sorry Freya...we did bad..." said Cliff.  "Are you all right!?  How on Fichina did this happen!?" asked Attila. 

The boys put on their coats and dashed outside.  But they couldn't find Odin's tracks.  "Odin, here boy!" called Cliff, whistling.  Attila clipped Cliff around the ear.  "What the hell are you doing you nincompoop!?" Attila asked him. Cliff punched Attila in the arm "Shut up, butthead, I don't see you comin' up with any ideas!"

"He got away...ther's nothing we can do...Freya's gonna kill us!" Attila said, looking around.  "He's gone in a zap." said Cliff.  "That's 'gone in a flash', Cliff!".  Attila corrected him.  The boys trudged back inside and hung their heads in shame, as Freya gave them the evil eye.

[Tiberius]

"Oh they went exploring deeper in the base no need to go after them their fine."Alex replied trying to cover for the two.

"Are you sure? They may have gotten lost." He tried to get past Alex and look for the two vixens.

[Kursed]

"Are you sure? They may have gotten lost." He tried to get past Alex and look for the two vixens.

"Then we better go check for them they went that way."Alex said pointing down the hall.

[Tiberius]

"Tiberius started waking down the hallway, and started looking around. "I don't see them. Maybe they took one of the vehicals out to look for Odin. I thought we were going to look as a team!" he said.

[Falcory]

Logan finally reached the docking station. He jumped out of his arwing and looked around.

The place was awesome.

Logan cooly looked at his bunk number and headed towards the door.

(Sorry guys. Been busy lately.  )

[Kursed]

"Tiberius started waking down the hallway, and started looking around. "I don't see them. Maybe they took one of the vehicals out to look for Odin. I thought we were going to look as a team!" he said.

"They went really deep into the base."Alex replied  as she walked up behind Tiberius.

[Tiberius]

He stopped and turned around. "Are you sure?" he said. He turned back around and headed down deeper into the parts that were still under construction. It was a perfect opportunity for them to get locked in, or for her to make it seem like it.

[Kursed]

He stopped and turned around. "Are you sure?" he said. He turned back around and headed down deeper into the parts that were still under construction. It was a perfect opportunity for them to get locked in, or for her to make it seem like it.

"Yeah i'm sure."Alex replied following Tiberius.

[Tiberius]

He opened up a section that was under construction. The walking areas were stable, but the locking mechanisms were easily manipulated without knowing.

[Kursed]

He opened up a section that was under construction. The walking areas were stable, but the locking mechanisms were easily manipulated without knowing.

Alex thought for a minute then locked the door and shut it on Ti  quietly."I really hate doing this."

[Tiberius]

(wait, are they both inside? Because if she's out and he's in, he'll be ticked)

[Kursed]

(wait, are they both inside? Because if she's out and he's in, he'll be ticked)

(Get ticked she's outside.

[Tiberius]

He turned around after noticing it got dark. "Alex!!!" he yelled. "LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!"

[Asper Sarnoff]

(You got the location a bit wrong Kursed. Odin travelled 60 miles from the Starfox base to the shelter, and then walked 30 of the 40 miles from there to his fathers castle.)

Once again, Odin started to regain conciousness. It was starting to become a habit for him to pass out. Where he alive? The last thing he remembered was fighting his way trough that snowstorm.

He then noticed Kari and Krystal sitting at the footend of the bed he was lying in. They had noticed he had finally awakened and were smiling down at him. It was obvious it had been them that had found him in the storm and brought him here to the castle. "Thanks." He coughed out as he fought his way up into a halfway sitting position, leaning on the small mountain of soft pillows behind himself.

He was disappointed that his parents wasn't here and watched over him, but just as he tought that, he saw a large figure walk out of the shadows near one of the tall windows. As he came into the light streaming in trough the windows, it was clear it was his father, Fenris.

"Good to see you awake son." Growled Fenris deeply, but with an undertone of concern and care in his deep voice. "Only half an hour longer out in the snow, and you would have been beyond rescue." He closed the distance to the bed in a couple of long strides and bent down and gave his son a fatherly hug. "Your mother is a business trip on Katina this week, but I had the feeling you might show up here any time after that mess you left on Corneria."

He released Odin and stretched himself out to his full lenght again. "We will have a long talk together later son. But for now, your friends are probably just as curious as me on what happened."

Odin started to lay out everything that had happened. From how he had meet up with Kari and Tiberius on Corneria, their visit to Cerenia, and what had happened here on Fichina that had delayed him.

Freya struggled to keep tears of rage from dripping out of her eyes. "I'm sorry guys. I failed you, and all of Starwolf." She said as she were rubbing her wrists to get the blood to stream freely again. Her ankles had luckily been protected by her boots. "There is little more we can do. He is on guard now, and won't fall in another trap. The only thing left to decide is if we should leave for Sargasso at once, or stay here and spy on them."