Krystal feinted backward, hardly raising her energy sword in time to counter Revan's first swing, aimed for her throat. Plasma sparked from the two weapons as they clashed and the two foxes held their ground, Revan forcing his blade closer as Krystal fought back. He is so fast, Krystal reflected, fighting back shock as she realized how close she was to losing it all in that single moment. Even through my telepathy I can barely read his moves!

"Don't take this fight!" Atticus coughed from just inches behind her, still hunkered down in pain. "He's too strong for you. Regroup with the others, leave me!"

With these words, Revan leaned in closer to Krystal so his muzzle nearly reached the vixen's ear. "Maybe you should listen to him," the malicious fox growled. "Then at least I will only be killing only one of you... for now."

"Never, I won't leave my friend here!" Refusing to listen anymore, Krystal gripped her weapon in both hands and thrusted outward with all her strength, forcing her enemy back. She took the initiative and prepared the next strike, leaping forward and lunging for Revan's shoulder. Focusing intently on his mind, Krystal engaged her telepathic senses to read his next move.

Again, the fox from Venom was agile, lowering his red blade to meet hers and forcing her to step past him as he pivoted out of the way of her increased momentum. Raising his arm over his head, he lowered it behind him in a slash.

Krystal saw this attack coming, but could barely roll out of the way in time as the crimson blade hit the ground, burning a scar in the dirt on impact. Before she could even recover, her vision blurred as Revan's knee slammed into her cheek. Shaking her head to clear it, Krystal swept her leg sideways trying to catch him by surprise, but her attack was easily dodged with a jump.

Fortunately for her, Krystal's failed maneuver bought her enough time to get to her feet and back up, gaining some distance between herself and her opponent. But a grin from Revan revealed that he had other plans. He wants to take the fight at a longer range, Krystal sensed telepathically as he drew a short rifle from a holster on his hip and fired.

It took all of Krystal's power and concentration to focus on each round, predicting where Revan would aim next. Darting forward, she reflected the first plasma round from her energy sword and weaved between the second and third like a serpent. As she neared, a fourth shot was aimed for her forehead; with a twirl of her glimmering blade, she caught the beam mid-air and deflected it back towards its shooter.

The returning projectile struck Revan in the shoulder, burning into his armor and clothing as a hint of surprise formed on his face. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Krystal threw a kick aimed for his chest. Finally feeling like she had the advantage in their fight, she was caught off guard when the dark fox dropped his weapons, catching her foot in his hands and twisting her sideways.

Krystal was thrown several paces away, rolling in the grass from the force of Revan's grip on her. Her energy sword was tossed from her grasp, landing out of reach as its yellow blade disappeared. Laying facedown on the ground, Krystal sensed her enemy's next move. He's aiming for my back! The vixen thought as she rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the sting of a plasma round as it impacted the grass beside her and sent dirt flying.

Sensing another attempt to fire, Krystal rolled again until she felt the thin metallic hilt of her energy sword find its way into her hand. She quickly flipped onto her back and activated her weapon as the next projectile was fired from Revan's blaster, carefully positioning her blade so that the incoming round was deflected back at him. This time the return projectile met its source, striking Revan's blaster and corroding it with plasmatic energy.

The angered fox threw his firearm to the ground and retrieved his energy sword as Krystal leaped to her feet. Dashing towards her with lightning speed, his blade met hers as the two foxes traded rapid strikes with each other. Krystal met the onslaught of slashes and swipes from Revan's blade fiercely, blocking and countering swiftly with the help of her telepathic sight as he continued to push her backward, gaining momentum.

A sudden surge in strength caught the vixen off guard as a clash of her weapon caused her to lose her grip. Her energy sword twisted out of her grasp and her torso met the force of Revan's metallic boot as he kicked her backward. She was sent hurling through the air with the strength of the attack until her back met the ground, letting out a shriek as rock jutted into her lower spine. Slowly rolling away from the sharp stone, Krystal found herself winded and unable to breathe as Revan slowly paced toward her.

"Like I said, you're going to die here," the hateful fox murmured as he approached. The visor covering his eyes gave away nothing of his expression as he formed a cruel snarl. "I will kill you first, then your friend is next!"

Krystal stared upward in horror as Revan raised his laser sword to strike, desperately grasping for her weapon that had fallen out of her reach. When she touched her hand to the ground in an attempt to pull herself closer, the dark fox above her thrusted his boot onto her hand. Krystal cried out in agony as cold steel crushed her fingers, unable to move under Revan's weight.

"You are just a pest, a nuisance that I must eliminate to succeed with my plans. Now, you die!"

As Revan's crimson blade fell, Krystal sensed the thoughts of Atticus. Turning her head, her eyes widened as the wounded warrior rushed toward her. The feline hurried with a limp in his step, drawing his talwar in her defense as he aimed to counter Revan's fatal blow.

Helpless to come to his aid, Krystal could do nothing but watch as Revan deactivated his blade, allowing Atticus' sword to swing past him. Once the hilt of his laser sword was at chest level with Atticus, the evil fox reactivated his weapon and its glimmering red blade extended through the feline's chest. Blood sprayed from Atticus' back as the laser sword pierced his body, jerking sharply as Revan forced his blade out.

The world seemed to come to a stop, and Krystal could not even hear herself scream as all feeling in her body went numb. As her friend collapsed, she wrenched her hand from Revan's grip and caught him, cradling him in her arms as she fell to her knees, weeping. Tears streamed from her eyes as they met Atticus' and the vixen was breathless with shock. "Atticus... Atticus, stay with me! You're going to be ok... I'm here, I promise you will make it through this!"

"It's... alright," the feline coughed up blood between words as he spoke. "This is my time... to go." Slowly, he reached for Krystal's hand and pulled it to his chest. Blood welled from his wounds and coated her fur, but she was indifferent to it. All that mattered was being there for her friend in his final moments.

"Oh, Atticus," Krystal sobbed, "you are too brave... you didn't need to do this." Guilt weighed heavily on the vixen's heart; if she had been stronger, Atticus might not have needed to sacrifice himself for her. She fought to defend him, but in the end he threw himself into harm's way for her instead.

The feline closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, this had to be done," he whispered as he opened them again. "You must live on... be the light and hope for Cerinia." Another cough spattered blood onto the grass beside him as blood from his wounds continued to coat the ground. "Look after my sister," the feline breathed his last words as the light gradually faded from his eyes and his body went limp in Krystal's arms.

"Atticus..." The vixen whimpered, weaving one hand through his dark hair while continuing to cradle his head with the other. "No! Come back, please! Atticus!" Suddenly Krystal burst into tears, pulling the lifeless body of her dear friend to her chest as tears streamed down her face.

"I guess the fool wanted his turn first," Revan's malicious voice interrupted her grieving. "His sacrifice will soon be in vain."

Wiping her tears away, Krystal raised her eyes and locked with those of her foe; the dark-furred fox took a pace backward, caught off guard by the fury and rage burning in her gaze. Lowering her friend's head and closing his eyes, the vixen raised herself to stand eye to eye with her enemy. "Atticus' death will not go for nothing!" Wiping the tears from her eyes, Krystal flexed her injured hand and took a deep breath, focusing both body and mind. You will pay for what you've done here!

"Let's see about that!" Revan drew a pistol from his waist and fired, taking only a fraction of a second to raise his weapon and aim simultaneously.

Krystal honed in on his mental trace, realizing that he would shoot just a second before he did, barely rolling out of harm's way in time. Reaching for her laser sword, she twirled and deflected the second shot before it could reach her.

Revan darted forward, firing several additional blaster rounds as he quickly closed the gap between them.

Anger surged through Krystal's veins, fueling her to move and fight more quickly and aggressively than before. Though her strength began to reach its limit just minutes ago, the death of her friend pushed her onward, allowing her to predict and dodge each blaster round with a nimble shift of her body.

As Revan reached striking range, the vixen carefully weaved her laser sword past his defense so that she could slice the blaster from his grip. The firearm was sliced in two pieces by the heat of the blade, each thrown from Revan's hand and left to fall onto the ground.

Angered, the Venomian commander grasped his laser sword in two hands and swung at Krystal furiously. Using his own momentum, she let her blade clash with his as she spun and aimed a lunge for his chest. Revan grabbed her arm, forcing her attack out of line as he thrust his skull into hers with a headbutt.

Pain seared through Krystal's forehead as Revan's helmet cracked against it. Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes, relying only on her sixth sense as her guide; sensing that Revan would throw a punch for her face, the vixen shifted her weight sideways and let his arm fly past her. Dropping her laser sword, she grabbed for his forearm and threw her open palm into the back of his elbow, popping the bone out of place with a snap.

Revan staggered backward as Krystal regained her sight, blood trickling down her forehead as she leaped and threw a kick that sent him flying backward several feet. As she retrieved her laser sword, the Venomian took a moment to fix his dislocated elbow by forcing it back into place with a howl.

Krystal took this opportunity to take the offensive, racing toward Revan with her laser sword prepped to strike. As she neared striking distance, she sensed his thought patterns and clearly detected his reaction to counter. Every movement comes from a conscious decision to act, her father's training echoed in her mind. Her increased adrenaline and rage seemed to work for her, breaking through the fog surrounding Revan's mind so that his thoughts became clear.

He plans to counter my attack; let's see if he can counter what he can't see! Instead of lowering her blade to strike as she appeared to, the vixen suddenly lowered herself to the ground, sliding underneath and throwing a kick backward at the unexpecting fox.

Caught completely off guard, Revan was knocked forward and thrown to the ground. Shaking off grass and dirt, the Venomian turned and faced Krystal, this time with a crack running down his helmet.

His previous headbutt must have caused a minor wound in his armor; now it's completely broken, Krystal reflected as Revan lifted the helmet off his head and tossed it into the grass beside him. The damaged armor and visor rolled several times before stopping just beside the lifeless body of Atticus. As Krystal stared into Revan's eyes for the first time, she could see the same anger and fury that emitted from his thoughts reflected in his gaze.

As the battle around them waged on, the two foxes faced each other down in silence for several moments. "You know this fight is pointless, right?" Revan grinned, lowering his laser sword. "Take a look around you; your friends are heavily outnumbered and outmatched, and this is only a small taste of the devastation the armies of Venom will bring."

Krystal hesitated, but slowly lowered her guard as she took a moment to glance at her father, fighting for his life with all his strength to defend what few Cerinian warriors remained against the Venomians. The power of his magical staff was the only thing keeping the enemy forces at bay as they desperately awaited reinforcements. Father, keep them safe just a little longer... Krystal sent a signal telepathically, Sera and the others should arrive any time now. Turning her attention back to Revan, she tried her best to stall for time.

"You won't get away with this," the vixen challenged, raising her energy sword and assuming a defensive stance. "You will pay for invading our home, and for what you did to Atticus!"

Revan's reply was only to laugh. "Do you honestly believe you can stand against me? If you thought this was our true strength, you're gravely mistaken! We'll see who is paying after this!" Raising his laser sword in his right arm, the fox unleashed a terrifying howl as he cast it forward in a battle charge.

Suddenly out of the woods behind him, a massive war machine burst from out of the thickness of the trees. The enormous armored vehicle tore across the ground on a pair of treads, ripping through the earth and uprooting trees as it emerged from the forest. A single turret protruded from the tank's armored frame, aiming for the Cerinian warriors as they combatted the remaining Venomian foot soldiers.

Krystal gasped and her heart skipped a beat. Focusing her thoughts and linking them with her father, she sent him a signal telepathically. Be careful! This must be the tank Atticus and his squad had encountered during their patrol. Let me help you, you can't defend our warriors and destroy it on your own!

No Krystal, leave this to me for now, the King replied. I've heard word from the captain of the guard and our reinforcements are nearly here. We can catch them in a counterattack, but I need you where you are. I believe in you; don't let their leader near the rest of the battle, where he can have the largest impact. Keep his attention fixed on you.

Wanting to turn and help her friends, Krystal nodded to herself, realizing that her father was right. A diversion was surely their best hope of enduring long enough for reingorcements to arrive. Returning her attention back to Revan, she allowed the Venomian tank to enter the battlefield without answering it. "It is you that is mistaken," the vixen replied to his threat. "You underestimate the strength of Cerinia!"

With a growl, Revan leaped forward and aimed a swipe with his laser sword.

Krystal matched him as she threw herself forward and their weapons clashed, sending sparks bursting through the air as the heat and energy of their blades met. Both foxes were pushed backward with the force of the impact, but Krystal immediately followed with a lunge for Revan's exposed chest.

The Venomian commander brushed her blade aside with his, letting her pass by and grabbing her by the arm. With a twist, the dark-furred fox swung his laser sword downward towards her back.

Retaliating by raising her weapon to shield her backside, Krystal's telepathy revealed Revan's attack before he could even make it. Just as their blades clashed once again, a sudden figure flashed by and knocked Revan sideways. As the fox's body was tossed into the dirt and rolled several times, a gust of wind caused Krystal to shield her eyes.

When she opened them and blinked, she realized that the newcomer was none other than Sera. The crimson vixen gave her a confident grin as she entered the fray, drawing her rapier from the sheath at her waist. A glance behind her revealed that she was not alone; she and her father had brought an entire host of Cerinian warriors, an army of dozens to combat the Venomian patrol that had pushed outside the forest boundary.

"About time you showed up," Krystal breathed a sigh of relief at the arrival of reinforcements. She relaxed her posture slightly, pacing toward her friend as they turned to face Revan together. Their enemy had recovered from the kick that took him by surprise, glaring at the incoming Cerinian forces as they swarmed the battlefield.

"I couldn't leave all the fun to you, Sis," Sera replied, keeping her eyes fixed on her new enemy. "It looks like you could use a hand."

"Don't let your guard down," Krystal cautioned, urging her friend to take matters more seriously. Especially after what happened to Atticus, she couldn't bear the thought of watching another friend get hurt, especially if it was Sera. A feeling of despair clung to the back of her mind, and she had to fight desperately to prevent it from surfacing. I'm not sure if any of the others know about Atticus yet... Maybe Father, if he was keeping an eye on me with his mind... but what am I going to tell Sera? What about Fero, and Savannah... she will be absolutely devastated.

Suddenly Krystal found herself fighting back rage. Reflecting on what Revan had done to Atticus seemed to trigger something inside her, a deep and intense desire for revenge. A shroud of darkness hovered over her mind, and she sensed an eerily familiar presence within her. This feels just like before, during training! Krystal recalled how she had lost control and wounded the guard during her battle practice just hours before.

A pulsing sensation in her heart and brain forced the blue-furred vixen to collapse to her knees, dropping her weapon to clench her head in her palms as she shut her eyes in agony. Revan must pay for killing Atticus! He took the life of my friend, and I will take his own in return! Krystal's own enraged thoughts came so willingly and naturally, yet they also filled her with fear. How could she possibly think such sinister things, even after what Revan had done? This just wasn't like her.

"Krystal, are you alright?" Sera gasped in shock, still hardly willing to take her focus off their enemy. "What's going on?"

Opening her eyes, Krystal was met with expressions of bewilderment from both Sera and Revan. Sera's concern for her was clear, but why did her enemy appear as if he had just seen a ghost? Revan's eyes opened wide with shock and he took a step backward away from her as he stuttered, "it's... you."

Confused and distraught, Krystal desperately searched her enemy's mind trying to determine why he acted so strangely all of a sudden. Still, a lingering fog clung to the fox's mind and she found it difficult to interpret his thoughts and feelings. All she could tell was that something seemed terrifyingly familiar to him. As Krystal linked her mind with his, the fragile connection revealed that when he looked into her eyes, he saw two blood-red irises staring back at him.

Krystal gasped and nearly collapsed in terror. Again, she sensed the strange link between her altered attitude and the change in her eyes. Blinking rapidly and willing that they return to normal, she addressed her friend by lying, "It's nothing, I'm fine."

Raising herself precariously to her feet, the blue vixen took deep and steady breaths trying to calm herself down. This isn't right, Atticus wouldn't want me to be like this. Protecting and defending my allies; that's what he would have wanted. That's what he gave his life to do. Another calm exhale brought Krystal back to her senses, just in time to realize that another Venomian soldier had joined Revan. She braced herself for combat, but the lizard's words came as quite a surprise.

"Commander Revan, our troops are heavily outnumbered. We did not come prepared for a full-scale encounter, and even our tank is compromised. Their leader wields a powerful magical force; with him at the head of their army, our limited forces stand no chance. We have been forced to take full retreat," the Venomian reported. He cast a wary gaze at Krystal and Savannah, but chose to ignore them as he awaited orders.

The dark fox hesitated, still somewhat caught off guard as he resisted the urge to gaze deeper into Krystal's eyes. "Fine, give the order. We will regroup and form our next plan of attack," Revan murmured resentfully. With another glance at Krystal, he growled, "don't think that you have seen the last of me. This is far from over!" With his last words, he turned and followed his soldier as they began to retreat.

"Wait, I'm not finished with you yet!" Krystal felt her strength returning as she broke into a run, chasing after her enemy. "You can't just come here and expect for me to let you get away!"

Her words were silenced as Revan turned and hurled his laser sword straight for her. As the crimson blade of energy neared, Krystal raised her sword to retaliate and deflected it upward into the air. The weapon spun several times as it fell, landing just inches beside her as it hit the ground and its glimmering blade deactivated. When Krystal turned to look back at Revan, he had completely vanished.

"What? Where'd he go?" The blue-furred vixen cast her gaze across the battlefield in both directions without seeing as much as a trace of the fox she had just battled with so furiously.

Sera paced toward her, looking just as astonished. "I'm not sure," she murmured, stopping beside the weapon Revan left behind. Stooping down to pick up the metal rod, Sera turned it in her hands before pressing the button on its side, igniting its crimson blade of energy and giving it a twirl. "I'll take this as a consolation prize, anyway," she joked halfheartedly as she looked onward at the battle around them. Breathing a sigh, she deactivated her newfound weapon and strapped it to her belt. "It seems like we made it just in time."

Krystal watched as her allies swarmed the fleeing Venomian ranks, chasing them back into the forests from which they came. Even the massive Venomian tank, which had initially pinned down her father and the few warriors he had, was defeated as Cerinian warriors swarmed it from all sides. After having its single cannon frozen solid and rendered useless by the King's staff, the lizards and apes manning the war machine had abandoned it. One by one, the enemy forces became fewer and fewer, until Cerinian warriors were the only ones inhabiting the village's outer perimeter.

"What was that back there, anyway?" Sera's sudden question interrupted Krystal from her thoughts. Her expression and tone betrayed her concern as she added, "that fox you were fighting... he said something strange, as if he recognized you from somewhere."

Still puzzled at Revan's words, Krystal didn't know what to say. "His name is Revan. I think he is a Venomian commander, someone of a higher rank in their military."

"Do you know him?"

Shaking her head and sighing, Krystal was just as confused as Sera. "I don't think so... How could that even be possible? I've never seen him before in my life."

Sera took a step closer, facing her eye to eye as she probed, "could it have something to do with your eyes? I saw what happened, how they... changed..."

Krystal shifted backward uneasily. She bit her lip nervously, unsure of how much she should tell her best friend. Even though they had been like sisters since they were kids, she still hesitated to tell Sera the truth. I guess she has seen enough already, there's no going back from here...

"It's happened more than once today. I think it has something to do with the nightmares I've been having recently. Whenever I feel angry, or upset, something just..." Krystal paused, shivering as she spoke the words, "takes control. There is some kind of overpowering rage inside me, and my eyes seem to change to crimson red at each outburst."

"What triggered it this time?"

Immediately Krystal was overcome with guilt; she still hadn't told anyone about Atticus! How would they react once they knew what happened? Who already knew...?

Taking Sera by the arm, the vixen took her friend across the battlefield to where Atticus' body lay. Thankfully, and to her surprise, she and Sera were the first to discover him after the fight had settled. The feline lay exactly where Krystal had left him; on his back, facing the sky with his eyes closed, motionless. Two gaping wounds tore through his chest, leaving the grass and dirt around him stained in his blood as it slowly poured from his wounds. Krystal could hardly even bear the sight; though she had been there and even witnessed his death, it was still almost impossible to believe that he was truly gone.

Sera's eyes widened in shock and she covered her mouth to prevent a scream. Eyes watering with tears, the vixen shook her head back and forth. "No, no, no, no... this can't be..." Turning back to face Krystal, she knew the answer to her question before she even uttered the words, "he did this, didn't he? Revan..."

Krystal nodded as her eyes began to water. "He gave his life to save mine," she nearly choked on her words as her heart was filled with grief and loss. "He was wounded, badly... but when I couldn't hold Revan any longer, he threw himself in the way."

Suddenly, the young vixen realized that she and Sera were no longer alone. Cerinian soldiers were beginning to notice Atticus' disappearance, flocking over as word spread of their comrade's death. It only took one soldier to begin the chain, and in a matter of seconds, guards were rushing over to mourn their loss.

"Atticus! Brother! Let me through, I need to see him!" The voice of Savannah cried out from among the crowd as she pushed and shoved her way to the front. When she first laid eyes on her deceased sibling, the feline fell to her knees and wept, wrapping her arms around his torso in anguish. "Please don't leave me!" Savannah wailed.

Krystal felt as if her heart would break, watching helplessly as the young feline grieved for her brother. Is this what it's like, to lose a comrade? A friend? Someone you love, and hold so dear to your heart? The pain of losing her friend felt incomparable, but was surely nothing compared to what Savannah felt. Krystal had to concentrate to keep herself from probing into her friend's thoughts, knowing that she would be unprepared for the pain that she would surely find. She couldn't imagine the thought of losing someone so close to her at such a young age; what if it had been Sera, instead?

Through the gathering warriors, Fero stepped forward, bowing his head in sorrow and respect at the loss of his dear friend. He said nothing, but Krystal noticed a teardrop beginning to form in his eye as he sniffled, wiping it away before anyone else could notice.

A hand rested on Krystal's shoulder and she nearly lashed out, only to realize that it was her father who had come to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," the King whispered to his daughter. "If I could have been there, I would have, but..." regret echoed in his voice as he continued, "our few soldiers were so outnumbered, and so outmatched... I gave everything I had just to secure the survival of the others."

Krystal nodded slowly, unable to reply at the sight of sister morning brother in the middle of the circle of Cerinian warriors around them. But the more she analyzed her father's words, the more she came to a sudden realization. She herself was a telepath, just like her father. Though her skills were not as trained to be able to cast her mind across the battlefield, she knew what her father was capable of.

"So you knew?" the vixen growled in a low voice. "The moment it was about to happen... you knew, and still you did nothing."

The king narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his child. He didn't reply until Krystal jerked her shoulder from out of his grasp and stormed away, leaving the body of Atticus and those who mourned him behind her.

Following, her father called out, "There wasn't any more that I could have done! Even if I could have sensed it telepathically, how was I supposed to get there without risking the lives of the entire patrol!"

Krystal spun around and glared as she sensed her inner rage surging beneath her fur. "But you could sense it, and you knew what was going on; what he was about to do. You could have stopped him! He didn't have to die for nothing!"

"Listen to me!" the King roared, nearly matching her own fury. "Atticus didn't die for nothing, he knew that as well as you and me!"

"Then what did he die for? I don't see anything that was gained from his sacrifice!"

"Well clearly you aren't looking hard enough! When I look at you, I know what he gave his life for! Atticus died so that you might be able to live on, to be the hope for Cerinia in these darkening times."

The king's words caused Krystal to freeze. Her father used words similar to Atticus as he breathed his last. You must live on, be the light and hope for Cerinia, the feline had whispered to her with his final breath. "Atticus said the same thing, before–" Krystal couldn't force herself to finish her sentence out loud, the grief of her friend's passing too near. "What did he mean, what do both of you mean by that? How am I supposed to do anything against the armies of Venom?"

"I sensed the force that came over you, just before Revan fled back into the woods. Combined with your dreams, these things bring an ancient prophecy to mind, but I can't be sure of anything just yet," the King admitted as he approached his daughter once more. His anger gradually faded into compassion and sorrow as he looked Krystal eye to eye. "Many questions are now arising, things that need time before they can be truly answered. But what matters right now is that we are there for Savannah, and the rest of our village, as we mourn the loss of Atticus."

Krystal turned her attention back to where her friends and allies were gathered, ashamed that she had allowed herself to feel anger toward her father. There was no changing the past, what had happened was now set in stone. Still, the vixen pondered at her father's discovery. What could this ancient prophecy say? How does it apply to me? Does it tell of how we can stop the Venomian invasion before more lives are lost? Krystal's head began spinning with questions, but exhaustion weighed heavily on her, both physically and mentally, from her battle with Revan. Leaving her questions for the time being, she followed her father silently as they headed for the others.

"The armies of Venom have not been defeated, only pushed back temporarily," Krystal's father murmured as he led the way back. "They will return in greater numbers, launching a full-scale offensive after taking some time to regroup. I was able to collect some information by scanning the mind of their leader, the one you fought, but his mind was shrouded in darkness. Even I could not clearly detect his thoughts."

As the father and daughter returned to the body of Atticus, Cerinian soldiers began to depart for home one by one. The two foxes stood by Sera and Fero, looking down on the deceased feline while his sister still grieved over his body. Some quiet whispers and murmurs were shared between the guards as they slowly faded away, until Sera, Fero, Savannah, Krystal, and her father were the only ones remaining.

After a moment of long silence, the King spoke up. "It's time that we be on the move, Venomian soldiers may still patrol the edge of the forest. This place is no longer safe."

"If you'd like," Fero approached Savannah and put his hand on her shoulder, "the King and I could carry him back to the village for a proper burial."

Savannah turned and lifted her face to look up to his, eyes red and tears still trickling down her cheeks. She gripped the raccoon's hand in hers and whispered, "yes, I would like that."

"I was with him when he was struck down. He fought and died courageously until the very end... He deserves nothing less." Krystal hoped her words would help to comfort her friend, still clinging to a small feeling of regret that she hadn't been stronger. She wished there was more she could have done for Atticus, something that could have prevented his death from happening.

A hand reached for hers, and she looked over to see that it was Sera. "I'm sure you did all you could, sis," the crimson vixen told her.

Taking her friend's hand and breathing a deep sigh, Krystal led the way as her father and Fero lifted Atticus' body and began the trek back to the village. Savannah followed at the rear of the group, hardly taking her eyes off her brother's body and never looking back; back to that place where her brother's life was taken, to that place where Atticus breathed his final breath.