A Planet in Need

[blackjack22]

Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic and I'm hoping it'll be a good one too  ! Anyways, hope you all like it!

Chapter 1-Unexpected Visitors

  "And now, the great Dr. Roberts, head of the Genetic Enhancements division of Haven Industries, is here to speak on behalf of the company about their lastest product, Rejuvenate. As you may have heard, there have been reports of rumors on several occasions that people who have used this product change and become extremely violent. Riots have broken in major cities worldwide from San Fransico to London to Tokyo with those involved either being bitten or otherwise brutally attacked by users of Rejuvenate. It is unknown whether or not the riots are being caused by users of Rejuvenate. Here is the doctor now."

  "Hello everyone," said Dr. Roberts, "it has come to my attention that these riots are rumored to be caused by our new product, Rejuvenate. I can assure you all that Rejuvenate is harmless and extremely beneficial. To remind you all what it does, Rejuvenate simply stimulates tissues in the body to repair themselves, causing only greater vitality and stronger tissues than before. Nothing more. It has no effect on the brain and cannot cause destructive behavior of which the likes are seen in the major cities. Thank you for your time."

  With that, Dr. Roberts is seen leaving a podium and walking away, while several reporters try to get him to answer questions while filming or taking pictures of him. He doesn't say another word.

"Um," the anchorman says frantically, "in other news, more sightings of shooting stars have appeared above the Western Hemisphere and several meteorites have-"

  "Stupid news," states Patrick Smith as he turns off the television. All day they've been talking about Haven Industries' Rejuvenate and that it may have caused the riots that were going on in a lot of the major cities. Every single channel was giving some sort of emergency broadcast about it and it made Patrick sick. Why didn't they just try to help the poor folks in the cities rather than play politics with some stupid company that only cares about the money its making? Not that he cared though.

  With nothing else to do, Patrick heads over to the refrigerator and grabs the first thing he touches, which turned out to be a bottle of water. Well, Patrick thought, I am thirsty. After chugging the refreshing liquid down, he glances at his watch.

"Heh, its only 5:00 AM. Guess I got another hour before I gotta go to work." he says to himself.

  Patrick worked at a family-owned sporting goods store and was the daytime manager. However, he had to get there early to make sure everything in the store was in its proper place. He never knew what that idiot Marcus would have done for the nighttime shift. The owners also insisted that there was a firemans axe under the clerks desk instead of a gun. They disliked guns and forced their employees to not carry them. Not a problem for me, Patrick thought, I don't get paid enough to keep up with my rent, let alone buy a gun.

 

  After grabbing some burnt toast and another bottle of water, Patrick popped in his iPod and snatched his keys from the rack and headed out of the apartment. He hastely grabbed a brown trench coat and a pair of gloves. It was freezing outside. A quick jog down the stairs and before he knew it he was in his car with a broken radio and driving off to the store. On the road he expected the usual light traffic and an easy trip into the city. For some reason however, the road was covered in cars, all of which seemed to be speeding. It was a miracle he didn't end up in a crash. It wasn't a huge city so Patrick wasn't too worried about any riots. However, large groups of policemen had lined up at the city limits and formed checkpoints, adding to the already lengthy commute time.

  Finally, he made it to work. He hopped out of his aging sedan, unhooked his earbuds, and entered the store, his employees not there yet. "Probably still stuck in that blasted traffic," grumbled Patrick. He looked up at the calender. Monday. He hated Mondays. Once again with nothing to do, he decided to try the TV again. It took a little while for it to warm up and he could hear the sound before seeing the actual picture.

"...And now the riots are appearing everywhere, it seeems. Everyone whose not in a heavily populated area should try to get as far away from them as possible. If you are in one of those zones, get out if possible. If you cannot escape, find someplace to hide and stay quiet. The rioters are now acting without fear and are smashing through police lines and checkpoints." Images of policemen firing wildly into a crowd of feral-looking people who were severely injured yet continued to press them and fought in hand-to-hand combat. One picture showed a man with part of his arm severed fighting three officers simultaneously and seemed to be winning. Another showed a series of snapshots that were of a man who was shot in the arm and as the pictures came on, it showed that the wound closed up almost immediately. Patrick felt his heart drop at the next picture. It was his apartment complex. In the picture, the apartment complex was being swarmed by rabid individuals while police made heroic last stands or ran off to escape the creatures. Images continued to be shown as the newsperson spoke. "This just in. These things seem to be able to regenerate almost immediately after being attacked. They also do not respond to warnings from the police nor pleas of other citizens.... John? What now? We're on air genius! *sigh*. Just let me see it....... You got to be kidding me. Its not possible. Take that back to whoever gave it to you and tell them their fired!" The newsperson then drank a glass of water. His mood seemed to change slightly and he looked somewhat relaxed. "Now, where was I? Ah yes, these ruffians who are terrorizing major cities. They are believed to be a bizarre cultist group intent on the destruction of highly populated cities. Why? Our field reporters will find out. In other news, UFO sightings are at a record high-"

  "What the...?" Patrick gaped as he switched off the TV set and peered out one of the windows. He saw something that looked like it should have belonged in a science fiction movie or something. It had a sort of X-wing in the back with a large fin raised up in the middle. Underneath, he saw what looked like very high-tech cannons near the front. It looked very sleek. However, one part he paid a little more attention to. On the side, the was some sort of writing. He knew he could read it if he just get a better angle. Then, the spacecraft (at least that's what Patrick assumed it was) shifted to the left, and he make out the lettering. It read: STARFOX

well, hope you all enjoyed that!

[Fluxy]

Nice beginning! Those people are rough, a guy missing an arm and attacking an officer, Boss! Can't wait to see how Starfox gets involved. Great job! :D

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Awesome!

[blackjack22]

Thanks Juilius and Nick and everyone else who bothered to read this. Working on ch 2. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow

[blackjack22]

WARNING! Contains scenes of violence and brief language. Reader discretion is advised.

Man, I always wanted to do that!  Enjoy!

Chapter 2-Help from Above

  "Well, its official, the world has gone mad," grumbled Patrick as he looked out at the ship and the streets and noticed something heading for a larger department store across the street. Patrick instantly thought of the rioters and what would happen if they got to the shop. "I need a plan," Patrick said to himself.

  Working quickly, Patrick grabbed several things he might be able to use to defend the store. After picking up a baseball bat, miscellaneous sports gear for makeshift armor including shin guards, elbow and knee pads, football pads and a catchers mask, along with archery supplies, he glanced at the firemans axe. "..............Right. I knew that."

  As he picked up the axe from under the counter, he could see out of his peripheral vision that more people would be there than the police could handle. And while Patrick wasn't exactly the hero type, he knew he'd hate himself for the rest of his life if he didn't help out when he had the chance.

  "Now," Patrick spoke as he stepped outside feeling ridiculous, "I'll just get a few people over here, give them some equipment, and then they can save themselves. Brilliant."

  As Patrick started walking over there, he thought he saw something move behind a car. Cautiously, he raised the axe and said, "Who goes there?" in a rather frightened and pathetic voice.

  All he could hear was growling.

  "Hello? Are you okay?" Patrick said, letting his guard fall for a moment. Then, a bloody figure leaped out at him. Stunned, Patrick did nothing as it knocked him to the ground and took the air out of him. Grunting, he tried to push the person off him. He probably had a couple of pounds on the guy and he was also taller as well. That's when he remembered the man in one of the photographs on TV fighting the police officers with his arm broken. "Aw crap," Patrick cursed as the shady figure lifted him into the air and sent him sailing into a parked truck. Fortunately, all the equipment he grabbed had taken the brunt of the impact, leaving Patrick feeling somewhat bruised but overall okay. "Alright, if you wanna fight like that, then try some of THIS!" Patrick yelled as he swung his axe at the figure's head. With inhuman speed, the figure ducked under Patrick's axe, then clawed at his face getting its fingers caught in the facemask area. Immediately, Patrick snapped at them with his teeth and bit right between the joints. The figure gave off an animalistic howl, which startled Patrick. He knew that he couldn't just bite it so he shoved the blunt end of the axe into the creature's gut, refusing to think of it as a human. Once it let go, Patrick let his instincts take over. He first bashed his helmeted face into the creature, backed up, then swung the axe at its torso, thinking it would be easier to hit that way. As he connected with the figure, blood spattered out of the wound, but the thing continued to attack Patrick. And, just like in horror movies, the wound begins to seal itself. I don't think a cultist group would be able to do that, Patrick thought while preparing a second strike. "This outta do it," Patrick muttered as he swung again at the figure's head. He was expecting some other bizarre recovery, but it simply fell to the ground and stayed still.

  After wiping the blood off his axe, Patrick turned to the department store. "If they're all like that, then those people don't stand a chance." Then, Patrick thought back to the news earlier that day. He began to put the pieces together in his head. Haven Industries denying about Rejuvenate being able to control people. The creature that attacked him had healed itself almost immediately after being slashed open. He had seen almost the same things on the news that morning but he couldn't figure it out then. Why hadn't he? It was obvious that Rejuvenate was causing the behavior, yet no one realized it, himself included. The screams from the department store could be heard for miles. He knew he would have some things to say to those Haven Industries bastards, but right now he was needed across the street. And, for some reason, he was terribly thirsty.

 

  Angel was not having a great day at all. First of all, more than half the people in the store were either screaming or crying about those cultist coming and killing us all. Absolute nonsense, of course, but she couldn't help but feel slightly worried that there might be more of them closer to here than the news said. From what she could gather, they head to places where people are gathered and attack. So, it made sense that she was a little scared, what with probably the most people in the shopping center were in this store. Her manager, Dillian, told everyone to make sure that the don't let anyone else into the store. To make sure, Greg, her ex boyfriend who also happens to work there, thought that if they made a barricade that would keep out the rioters. Of course, no one told the customers what was going on and they weren't happy to find out. With no knowledge of why the store was being closed off, they started to fight with the staff, then each other, until everyone had been happily beating the snot out of each other. Finally, Angel grabbed a mega phone, hopped up onto one of the checkouts, and yelled, "Everyone, just calm down. We all know that this isn't exactly the best of times right now, but we are just doing what little we can by taking precautions against the cultists. Now, we figured that if they can't get in, then we should be fine. Everyone just please remain calm."

  Suddenly, a man burst from the crowd that had formed while Angel was speaking. "Hey, I gotta get to my family! I already paid for my stuff, just let us leave!"

  "Yeah!" a woman's voice shouted, "My son's at home all by himself! I need to go home! I need to go HOME!" She began to shove her way to the front of the crowd, as did others.

  From her elevated position, Angel could see over the barricade. To her dismay, she could see the rioters fighting people, knocking them down, and then eating them! And there were several just outside the store! "NO!" she shouted, "do NOT open the barricade! It's for you own safety!"

  "I've had enough of this!" shouted the man from before, "I'm getting out of here!"

  Angel knew she couldn't get there fast enough to stop him and none of the other staff could either. And they also didn't know what would happen once the barricade fell. So, she jumped down, and started to tell people to get back. When that didn't work, she picked up a little boy right in front her mom, and ran to the security office. Several other people followed her and the mother to get the kid back. He bit her arm, but she shrugged it off. She had to save some people, even if it meant getting chased and beaten if she got caught. She fumbled with her keys at the door with the little boy crying in her arms, the group of people shouting at her, the mother leading the charge. Right as the were about to get to Angel, they heard the screams. "Quick, everyone inside. Now!" Angel told them as she rushed them into the safety of the security office.

  Then, they saw other people running wild through the store, all being chased by those horrible monsters. Angel felt tears well up when she saw a little girl being protected my her mother from several of the beasts. Scenes of tragedy were everywhere. The little boy in her arms curled up and sobbed in her shoulder. The mother only looked at Angel. "You...you saved us," was all she could say.

  "I know. But I couldn't save them," Angel sobbed.

  It took a while for Patrick to get across, and he was shocked at the damage the creatures had already inflicted. Blood was everywhere, and people were fighting desperately against the fiends, only to be attacked and devoured like when Patrick himself was attacked. There were two policemen, firing blindly at the monsters and looked low on ammo. Fortunately, the creatures seemed distracted enough by their firing to leave the others alone. For now, anyways.

  Patrick decided it would be best to fight them one-on-one, since he doubted he'd be able to take such a swarm on by himself. I got lucky the first time, he told himself. What am I doing here anyways? How am I supposed to save all these people? Even the police are failing. That's when he saw a little boy grab a rake and started beating on one who had tackled his mother. Patrick knew he had to at least try.

  His veins coursing with adrenaline, Patrick smashed into the creature, knocking it over and away from the fallen mother and child. However, he misjudged his own strength, as he caused himself to fall as well, tumbling with the monster and crashing into one of the isles. He heaved himself up and tried to shove the creature away, forgetting his newfound knowledge of their strength in the heat of the moment. He only got part of the creature though, and to his amazement, it fell over again. "Not to nimble now, aren't we?" Patrick teased as the creature growled and moved sluggishly toward him. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Patrick bashed its head in with the axe. And again, it could not regenerate it back. Excited, Patrick yelled, "Aim for the head! Aim for their heads!"

  After he said that, he took a quick look around. He couldn't see either the mother or little boy, and hoped they had escaped. Actually, he couldn't see anyone else, for that matter. Most likely, the other people had either been devoured or were running away. Patrick knew he had to move, or he would become food just like the rest of them. He turned to see three of the things heading toward him, moaning or growling. Patrick was exhausted by now, as he was not used to carrying all this heavy equipment as well as the axe. He glanced backwards to see five more closing in from behind. Patrick considered his options, then charged the group of three. If he was right, he could simply knock them all down and get out of there. He didn't want to be fighting in the isles anyway because he had little room to maneuver away from the beasts.

  Axe thrust-ed into the air, Patrick bellowed and charged, trying to psych himself up and not think about how he was running into three superstrong beings that could tear him apart in an instant or crush him without breaking a sweat. He blinked for a moment, opened his eyes and jumped into the one in the middle. He had built up just enough speed to send all four of them backwards, and Patrick scrambled up to evade their claws. One tried to bite his ankle, but the shin guards prevented it. "What clumsy buffoons!" Patrick exclaimed as he ran to the end of the isle, only to slip on some blood, fall, and land next to a dead body.

  This time, the equipment did little to cushion his fall, as most of it had been too beaten up and flattened to provide decent padding. "Well, that sucked," Patrick stated as he saw more of the things get up and stagger towards him. "Guess I'm going to die a hero, then. Well, come on you cowards! Come and get it!"

  Patrick climbed up and ran to all the isles, not entering any just going by them, searching for survivors. Or the creatures. He hadn't found anyone else alive, so he ran to one more open space: the security office.

  He noticed that some of the blood looked like freshly-split blood, while the rest looked like days old. It was strange, but he'd think about that later. Right now, he needed to think about staying alive.

  Suddenly, one of the creatures leaped on him, sending him to the ground. Hard. Patrick tried fighting it, but it was useless. He just didn't have the strength to fight back anymore. That's when he heard a voice. A female voice. It was calling to him, but he didn't want to answer.

  Then, he felt the ground leave him, and he hit something else hard, which he didn't know what it was. "Hey you! Get up! Can you hear me?" it was the female voice. "Hello?!"

  He opened his eyes for a moment and his vision flashed red. His head hurt. His neck hurt. His whole body hurt. But he got up, somehow, and searched for the voice, forgetting the creatures around him. "Yes?" Patrick replied weakly.

  The voice sounded scared and shocked. "What the hell are you doing!? Get in here now! Before they get you!"

  Patrick could see them now. The creatures. His vision flashed red again and the ground moved. It took him a second to realize he had been hit again. But he wanted to listen to the voice, he didn't care about the creatures. He got up again, head throbbing, and headed toward where he thought the voice was. "Yes!" the voice said, "This way! Come on, you can do it! Hurry!"

  Patrick then saw her. She was beautiful. He knew that was the voice, and he held out his hand for her to take. His vision got red again. He blacked out.

  Damn it! Angel thought, And he is so close, too! She had to act fast. If she went too soon, they'd see her and then they'd get into the office. If she went too late, they would kill him. She glanced back at the others. They gave her a brisk nod to signal they were okay with whatever she wanted to do. She had saved there lives. And, hopefully, one more.

  She bolted out and headed straight for him, the monsters all groaning at her. But right as she grabbed him, another one latched onto him as well. She didn't have the power to win in a tug-o-war, so she kicked the creature in the face. It let go briefly, and that let Angel grab hold of the man and rush him inside.

  The beautiful girl was carrying him now. The one with the voice. He could smell her. It was a heavenly smell. She had saved him from the beasts of hell and he was going to live. His vision flashed red again. He was thirsty. That's when he heard a huge BANG!!! He was somewhat conscious now, and he looked around, pain everywhere. He couldn't really remember what had happened, except that he took a major beating.

  Then, he saw someone. Someone who came out of the bang. He looked like some sort of animal, but he didn't act like a monster like everyone else. He had something in his hands. It looked like some sort of gun, and he blasted through the sea of creatures. He moved very fast as well. Incredibly fast. He continued firing away at them, all of them falling to the ground shortly after.

  Patrick could think well enough to notice his surroundings. He was with the girl who helped him and there was the little boy from before. He could also see a few other people, but he didn't recognize them. Then, the man, who obviously wasn't human, but still male, said "I am Fox McCloud, leader of Team Starfox. And we need your help."

  Then, Patrick's vision turned red again, and he passed out.

[Fluxy]

WARNING! Contains scenes of violence and brief language. Reader discretion is advised.

I think everyone has wanted to say that at least one point in their life. Lol. Cool chapter, and can't wait to see Starfox's role in the zombie world! :D

[blackjack22]

Yes lol, the "creatures" are zombies. Its just these people haven't figured it out yet!  But its all good, Fox will tell them  :D

[Fluxy]

Yes lol, the "creatures" are zombies. Its just these people haven't figured it out yet!  But its all good, Fox will tell them 

Lol, sorry.  If dead peoples are moving, I suspect zombies before vampires. Even though there is someone named 'Angel'.

[blackjack22]

LOL. Just for that, I'm adding vampires lol jk :lol:

[blackjack22]

Well, um, it took me a while, but here it is!  Ch 3 is a gogo! Enjoy!

Chapter 3- Training Day

“Patrick, its time to get up now. They need you now. Don’t keep them waiting Patrick. You can’t stay here too long, or else you will die here.”

  Patrick knew that voice; it was his grandfather, who had been dead for several years. Of course it couldn’t be him, though. Since when do dead people talk to the living? “Wait. I’m alive, right Gampy?” Patrick asked, using his old nickname that he came up with.

  “Not at the moment Patrick. But your time hasn’t come yet. You have much more time before you can come back here again. They need you, don’t forget that.”

  “But what do they need me for? I’m sure that spaceman Fox can handle everything that’s going on right no-“

  “I’m sorry Patrick, but you have to go now. Don’t give in to the darkness, that’s all I can say. Don’t give in, Patrick.”

  Before Patrick could tell his dear grandfather anything else or ask anymore questions, he felt a sharp pain in his gut. The light faded for a moment, then came back brighter than ever. “Gampy-!”

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

  “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!” cried a strange-looking birdman that was standing right in front of Patrick, withdrawing his hand from him. He looked at him as if he was studying Patrick for quiet a while. Patrick also noticed he was in what seemed to be a white medical room. To the left of the birdman were several people and two standout characters. One looked like some sort of frogman or toad, while the other was the little boy who tried to defend his mother with a rake. On the right side of the birdman was Fox and a blue vulpine female, if Patrick had it right. There was also the beautiful girl that saved him. She had sky blue eyes, brown hair with blonde streaks and olive tan skin. Although she looked tired and had some dirt one her from escaping the department store, it didn’t diminish her beauty. Patrick noticed he had taken a lot of time to study her and looked away, his mind returning and his non-caring attitude as well. She’s not that great, he lied to himself. Patrick then noticed one other small detail; someone in the room was screaming very loudly. It took him a couple of seconds to realize it was him. He also saw that he was hooked up to a monitor as well as an IV drip. The pain was almost unbearable, and he began to lose consciousness again. But before he drifted completely into never-never land, he heard a very interesting scene, wishing he could have stayed awake for it.

  “Falco, you idiot! You went too far that time!” shouted the heavenly voice, his mind reverting back to adoration with its slipping grip on reality.

  He then heard a series of squawking sounds, coupled by grunts and screams, of which he believed were male and female. He could also hear the sound of feathers falling out of a pillow, or something close to a pillow. There were a few scrapping noises as well, followed by something gliding on a wet surface, then more intense pain for Patrick.

  “There he goes again,” sighed the birdman’s voice, which Patrick guessed was Falco.

  “You did that to him! You-“ the heavenly voice cried out, but Patrick had already blacked out.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

  When Patrick awoke a second time without being punched or otherwise brutally attacked, Patrick looked around the medical room again, and saw a sign that read, “Medical Clinic”. He saw that he was wrapped in several places with bandages and had a few stitches as well. Guess I’m not as tough as I thought, Patrick pondered to himself. As he glanced around the room, he saw Falco lying in the cot next to his. He had patches of feathers gone in hand-sized clumps, along with a few good-sized lumps on his head. One of his wings was bandaged as well, though not as much as Patrick’s torso. He looked pissed, his anger almost tangible in the air. His head turned as he noticed Patrick observing him. “What do you want, princess? Looks like all that beauty sleep didn’t do a damn thing, did it?”

  ‘Um, what exactly happened here?” Patrick asked as he carefully got out of the cot, wincing as his feet touched the ground.

  “Well, I gave you a little nudge, some chick got really ticked off and jumped me. I tried getting some good hits on her, but she was pretty fast. Then, right when I started to get the upper hand, I slipped on some blood…I think it might have been yours. Sorry.” He said, as if the words tasted bitter in his mouth.

  “How did my blood get on the floor? Last time I checked, it usually stayed in my body, unless I got beat up.” Patrick stated.

  “How was I supposed to know you humans bled so easily?!” Falco said defensively. “Can’t even take a little tiny tap in the gut. Pathetic.”

  Falco then looked at Patrick, then at where he hit him. Patrick glanced down as well. It had the most of the bandages there, and there was a small area that had some dried blood on it. Falco then started to laugh, bursting out uncontrollably. He thought it was hilarious. Patrick didn’t. He decided he didn’t want to be kept getting made fun of and maybe he should check this place out. Figuring that Falco wasn’t going to exactly help him, he’d be better off trying all the doors and seeing which ones opened and which ones didn’t.

  As he headed outside the medical clinic, he noticed that most of the doors were locked. The ones that weren’t were either bathrooms or janitor closets. Right as he was about to give up, he saw the frogman or toadman hop on by with engineering equipment all over him. Patrick decided that he was going to need help at some point, so he might as well ask the engineer. “Um, hello there. My name’s Patrick and I was looking for the rest of the refugees? Do you know where I might be able to find them?”

  The toad looked up at him and said, “Well, it’s not far from here. I’ll show you the way, if you want. My name’s Slippy by the way. Slippy Toad. It’s a pleasure to finally meet earth’s hero.”

  Earth’s hero?! Patrick thought. Surely he has me confused with someone else. I’m definitely not a hero. “Nice to meet you too,” Patrick replied politely.

  The two continued to walk down the corridor and toward the refugee area. Patrick made a mental note to thank Slippy once he got used to this place. The door said, “Multi-Purpose Room”. This must be where they’ve kept the refugees, Patrick thought to himself. It was rather large, with plenty of cots for the humans to sleep in. He recognized a few from the Medical Center, but most were unfamiliar faces. That’s when he spotted the beautiful girl. He felt his heart race a little bit, and then regained his composure somewhat. Like I said before, she’s not that great, Patrick lied to himself again. All I need to do is just walk up to her and tell her thanks for helping me out at the department store. He strutted off, saying thanks to Slippy before leaving. Patrick also ran his fingers through his hair a few times, tucked in his shirt, and tried to hide the bandages and bloodstains. “Hello there, miss,” Patrick said in a calm voice, yet he was becoming very nervous and he didn’t know why. “Thanks for your help back at the department store. Those things were tough, huh?”

  She glanced up at him, and her face brightened. “Oh! Hello to you too, sir. And thank you for saving all those people. Are you okay? That Falco was being a real jerk to you. I hope you didn’t get very bruised up. Um, what is your name again? I don’t think I know it.” She finished, holding her left arm with her right, looking rather shy. Patrick couldn’t see the bandages on her arm either, though he could piece together that it was obviously her who tried to help him after he got hit by Falco.

  “My name is Patrick. Patrick Smith,” he said, unsure why he was giving his personal information away so quickly. “What’s your name?”

  “Angel,” she replied. “Angel Scott.” She blushed for a minute and so did Patrick.

  That’s when a voice came onto the loudspeaker. It was male, very calm, and gave everyone a sense of relief. In fact, if Patrick remembered correctly, he had heard it before. It belonged to the foxman that had saved everyone in the department store. “Hello everyone. Just want to remind you all that training day will begin for all humans that are able and wish to participate in it. Provided that you are in reasonably good condition and don’t mind a little danger. Fox, out.” And the message was over.

  “Training day?” Patrick asked aloud. “Training for what?”

  Just then, a blue vixen entered the room. “Training for getting your planet back.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

  Patrick knew this was a bad idea. Why had he signed up anyway? This was stupid, Patrick thought, why not just let these freaky aliens get the planet back for them? It made no sense, but he had signed up just the same.

  Fox was there, along with Slippy and the blue vixen, which he now knew was named Krystal. No sign of Falco, to Patrick’s relief. He wasn’t too keen for a follow-up visit from the guy.

  Patrick turned to see the other humans who had bravely chosen to defend their planet. He saw Angel, who despite Patrick telling her not to, had volunteered. There was also a man named Greg, who took an immediate disliking to Patrick, more so than Falco did, anyway. And for some reason, they allowed the little boy who’s name Patrick didn’t even know volunteer as well! He couldn’t believe these things, not at all. And what were they fighting? The diseased, as Krystal put it. She basically told them that what was going on down there involved a disease and zombies, two things Patrick scoffed at, but didn’t comment on. Weren’t zombies supposed to be really slow and weak and stupid? Those things definitely weren’t slow. Or weak. Stupid, yes, but not weak. That made them very dangerous to humanity and the earth as they knew it. But also, if the virus left earth, it would be devastating on other planets nearby. Nearby if you have a friggin’ spaceship! Patrick thought, his eyes getting darker. He hated how that they probably didn’t even care about earth and that they were here just to save themselves.

  Just then, he saw Krystal turn and give him a sympathetic look. We want to help your people, not just protect ourselves. You will see that. She then turned away, with a small smile on her face.

  Patrick’s jaw dropped. Had she been in his head? Was she still there? He decided to just shut up and pay attention to what Fox had to say. “I know you all have some doubts about what’s been going on your planet. While we aren’t entirely sure what happened, we believe that some rivals of ours are tampering with your world. We’re here to help stop that. However, while we’ll be fighting our rivals, we will need some of you to gather your own defenses on the ground. That way, you can start safe havens and help protect your fellow humans.”

  He continued on, walking by the humans who were all lined up. “Now, we aren’t going to throw you all out there without some training. If you pass this training, we will let you go into the defending of your planet. Otherwise, you will have to stay in the Great Fox until your homeworld has been secured. Now, does anyone here wish to leave and wait for liberation of your planet to be someone else’s responsibility?”

  Patrick looked around, hoping Angel had some sense to leave. To his disappointment, she did not leave. In fact, no one did. Not even the little kid. Seeing how no one else would do anything, Patrick got up and said, “Look, I’m not quitting, but just why are you letting this child go into your training? Don’t you care about his safety? You said it yourself it would be dangerous,” Patrick finished, glancing at Angel before he was done.

  The boy then turned to Patrick, tilted his head, and said, “Sit down.” An unseen force suddenly gripped Patrick, and try as he might, he couldn’t through off the weight. At last, he collapsed to the ground, panting, and in a sitting position. Patrick thought he saw a small smile on the boy’s face before he fell back into line.

  Several other humans looked at the boy in horror, but Krystal stepped forward and said, “Don’t worry, the boy seems to be able to take care of himself. And he won’t go on any missions except with you, Patrick, since you seem to care so much for him.” And in his head, she continued, saying, We don’t know how he got those powers, but you seem to be capable of keeping him safe. An image of his charging the creature he now knew was a zombie in defense of the little boy and his mother. Make sure he stays close to you though. You seem to give him his powers, for other reasons we do not know. Your world is very strange, Patrick Smith.

  Patrick couldn’t take it anymore. “Get out of my head!” he yelled as he clamped his hands over his ears. He felt some pain, but it seemed to be from inside his head, rather than an external source.

  “Sorry,” Krystal said apologetically. She moved to help him, but Angel got there first. She quickly checked his pulse and felt his forehead. The boy had returned his gaze to Patrick, and the pain increased slightly. “Arg! I said, get out!” Patrick bellowed, squeezing his head even harder. He also noticed Krystal buckle slightly, as did the boy. Angel had jumped back and several people were looking at him.

  “What’s his problem?” Greg asked, annoyed. “Giving up on training already? Pitiful. Can we please get on with this, without Mr. distraction?”

  “I’m fine,” Patrick lied, glaring at Krystal. She looked sad, but her face seemed to have pain as well. That’s when Patrick noticed the boy again, who was looking at Krystal now also with a glare. Am…I...affecting the boy’s powers? Patrick thought to himself, very afraid. He watched the boy’s gaze return to normal, and that Krystal was no longer cringing in pain. “Unreal,” Patrick said to himself. “Why…ah, nevermind. Yes, I’m done being Mr. distraction. Sorry.” He looked once more at Krystal, then to Fox. Fox glanced to Krystal, she closed her eyes for a second, then Fox looked at Patrick again, then to the boy. “Yes, I think Krystal is right. You will be with the boy.”

  Everyone else seemed to be staring blankly at them, unsure of what just happened. Fox looked to them all and spoke again, calming everyone down again. “Now, let’s begin.” Fox pulled out a clipboard and continued. “As I have just said, Patrick and the boy will be in one group, along with Angel, Greg, and Arnold.”

  Patrick decided he probably would have to control his emotions a little better and that he’d be seeing Fox and Krystal later, to which Krystal nodded. So, she can also hear my thoughts as well as get in my head, he thought, to which she gave another nod. Angel obviously had no idea of what happened, but looked happy to be with Patrick. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to being with Greg and he had no idea who Arnold was. Patrick gave up thinking for a little while and let Fox finish assigning training groups. When he was complete, Fox reached into his pocket, and pulled out some sort of weird hologram-ish map-like thing. Probably a map-o-gram, if he knew his sci-fi.

  “This is a holomap, for those who didn’t know,” Fox explained, “And we will be flying around earth for a while, which is here.” He indicated on the map, then continued. “For your training, some of you will be able to choose whether you would like ground missions or flight missions, after you’ve been approved, of course. For now, you will all be assigned ground missions and be working together in groups of four, with one exception.” Patrick knew he meant his group.

  “Each group will be getting a holomap, along with communicators with the Great Fox, incase you need assistance. However, the first mission will be here, in a section of North America.” The map focused in on earth, then on the United States. “I will personally lead this mission, since it will also be part of your training. I’m sure you all have some experience with the diseased, or zombies. So, you will have some idea on how to fight them. For now, since we don’t have a cure, we will be forced to kill them. Aim for the head, that’s their weak point. You may either use equipment you’ve brought along, or use equipment that we have for you. We don’t have enough for everyone, but we do have enough for some of you. Head to the weapon locker, Slippy will show you were that is. Once everyone is equipped, we will begin the mission. I know this is just a training mission, but it’s a real one too. I’m sorry, but that means most of you will have to learn on the go. We don’t have much time, so please hurry. And thanks for volunteering.” With that, Fox slipped away down a hallway. Krystal gave Patrick and the boy one last look, until she was caught by Angel. Then, she followed Fox away.

  “This way, humans!” Slippy said, hopping down another hallway which had ‘Weapons’ labeled above it. Patrick hoped that this time, he wouldn’t have a similar experience than last time. With a last glance down the hallway, Patrick followed his group out and to the locker.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

“Isssss the boy readyyyy?”

“We believe, not yeeeeet. Sssssssooon, though, my lord, sssssoon.”

[Fluxy]

Well, I feel silly for not commenting on it when I read it.  Well, no point to stop now, cause you know I will pester the crap out of you if you become one of the quitters. :P

[blackjack22]

Oh heck, why not?  lol jk, I ain't giving up yet. I still need to figure out the rest of the story...  :oops: