The assassins stumbled into an expansive room lined with windows that revealed the starry cosmos as the ship departed Carpon’s atmosphere and ascended into the endless expanse of space. At the head of the room sat an assembly of chairs that faced toward the ship’s largest window; the foremost two chairs directly addressed a control panel studded with levers, buttons, and joysticks. A green testudyne sat in one of those chairs, his large shell weary and cracked with age, matching the elaborate spiderweb of wrinkles that ran over his loose skin like the grooves in ancient tree bark In the chair beside him rested a large blue castorite, whose massive fuzzy tail flopped from his seat to rest against the cool metal of the spaceship’s floor.
“Grampa!” Bunnie snapped, striding toward the testudyne.
The pilot glanced over his shoulder, revealing a pair of large sunglasses perched atop his snout. He grinned. “Bunnie! I am so glad to see that you’re safe and sound, honey!” He gasped as he noticed Happy, lowering his sunglasses to reveal a striking set of orange-brown eyes. “What’s this? Don’t tell me you’ve born a child in my absence?”
Bunnie growled. “First of all, don’t call me honey, you twisted pervert. Second of all”—she pointed at the dangling Happy on her shoulder—“this is not my child. I’ve only been gone for six months—”
“Leporidites grow up fast, they really do,” Grampa said wistfully. “Ah, to be young again. I wonder which lucky lad had the honor—”
“Did you not hear me!” Bunnie snapped. “She’s not my child! You’re distracting me from what I really wanted to talk about—wipe that graffiti of me off the spaceship at once!”
He sighed. “But I thought it was quite lovely.”
“Lovely? Lovely! Why you—”
“You must admit that I really captured the essence of those thighs. It’s beautiful. How could I erase something like that?”
“You just don’t understand boundaries, you demented old creep! How’d you like it if I drew something—”
“Go ahead. I’d be charmed.”
“I’ve just about had it with your—”
“Um, Bunnie?” Happy asked. “Can you let me down?”
“Shush, honey!” Bunnie snapped. “The grown-ups are speaking!”
Happy sighed. “Fine, then. Well, this isn’t too bad. As long as you don’t forget to feed me, I don’t think it’ll be so bad up here. Hey ... hey, why are you putting me down!”
“As I was saying!” Bunnie began, waving a finger in the air.
The blue castorite had mostly been ignoring the conversation, but his fuzzy tail shot up as a red light began blinking from the control panel. He champed nervously with his gargantuan pair of beaver buck teeth as the scarlet light reflected off his amber eyes. “Grampa! Hey, Grampa, what does this light mean! I’m just the co-pilot—I’m not sure how to fix this on my own!”
Grampa waved a dismissive wrinkly hand. “You’ll figure it out, Da. I’ve been training you for a while now. Just wait until I’m done teaching this young lady a lesson.”
“A lesson about what? A lesson about learning to be trampled on by creepy perverts like you?”
“Bunnie,” Grampa said sternly. “As your wise senior—”
“Grampa!” Da shouted, frantically pressing buttons and mashing joysticks. “I need your help!”
“Damn it, Da Mitt!” Grampa snapped. He slapped a hand against a button and the red light stopped flashing. “Stop interrupting an important conversation between man and wife!”
“Wife!” Bunnie laughed maniacally. “Only in your wet dreams, you sicko!”
“Now who’s the pervert!” Grampa cried. “I’ve never heard a young lady utter such crude imagery—”
Happy held up her hands. “Bunnie? Could you pick me back up? It’s actually a lot nicer up there—”
“The red light is back again!” Da shouted. “Can you actually explain how to fix it this time, Grampa? You’re an awful teacher!”
Foxxess sighed and turned to Kitara, who showed none of the energy that her friends possessed.
The black felinyne stared blankly at the ground, retracting the energy blade of her scarlet soulsaber and slipping it into a pocket in her belt.
“How are you feeling after all that, Kitara?” Foxxess asked quietly. “I know you lost someone very close to you. Do you want to talk about it?”
Kitara drew in a deep breath.
Foxxess placed a reassuring hand on Kitara’s shoulder. “Let’s head to the kitchen so we can have some quiet.”
#
A steel automatic door slid to the side as Kitara and Foxxess stepped inside a small room. Metal countertops lined the walls, resting underneath steel cupboards. All the essential appliances of a modern day kitchen patiently awaited their use; two microwaves, a refrigerator, an oven, and a toaster occupied convenient spots within the room. However, the two young females had no interest in their biological duties at that moment.
Wait—before you say anything, I’m not a bigot who’s behind the current times. All I said was ‘biological duties’. Just because the girls happened to be in a kitchen does not mean I was insinuating anything. You are the manifestor of any unbecoming ideas about these strong independent females, and as a result, you are guilty of upholding patriarchal tyranny. That is all. Now that I’ve exposed your true colors, let’s get back to the story.
Kitara and Foxxess took their seats around a steel table, facing one another. Their meeting began with a long silence that would be uncomfortable to anyone but the closest of friends, siblings, or other closely bonded pair—but for these two, the silence was a statement in and of itself. The quiet allowed Kitara to draw in several breaths as she stared down at the table, met Foxxess’ concerned green eyes, then returned her gaze to the table once more. She dragged her eyes up to meet Foxxess’ again. Then she collapsed her face into her hands. “I couldn’t do it. I can’t do this anymore.”
“Why?” Foxxess asked.
“I couldn’t protect Lambert,” Kitara rasped, her voice a choked remorseful croak. “I failed him and his parents. I can’t even go back to apologize for killing their son.”
“But you didn’t kill him—” Foxxess began.
“I may as well have!” Kitara cried, raising a pair of fiery tearful eyes. “It was my plan! I wanted to take control of the mission because I doubted Bunnie’s plan! I wanted to believe in myself! I wanted to be the invincible hero that everyone could rely on!” She drew in a shuddering, resigned breath. “Bullshit. Now I know it was all bullshit.”
Foxxess narrowed her eyes. “Things didn’t go the way you wanted them to. Instead of regretting the past, reflect on your mistakes so you can do better in the future.”
“What is there to reflect on?” Kitara demanded. “I was just a fool and got my friend killed because of it. For all I know—for all I know, I could get any one of you killed in the future because of my stupidity!” She pressed her hands hard against her brow. “And I just can’t take that. I just can’t take it.”
“You’re not stupid,” Foxxess replied sharply. “You killed Salizard when no one else could have. You saved all of us back there. You’re courageous, smart, kind, and strong. We all love you for that, Kitara.”
Kitara’s eyes widened, then welled up with tears.
“That’s right,” Bunnie said as she stepped into the room, followed closely by Da Mitt and Grampa.
Da clapped a meaty hand on Kitara’s shoulder. “You’re our friend. We’ll always stick by you no matter what.”
Foxxess glared at him disapprovingly. “Hey, you all could have knocked before barging in here. We’re kind of having a very personal conversation right now.”
“Sorry, we couldn’t help but eavesdrop,” Grampa remarked. “When it concerns our favorite felinyne, it’s impossible to keep us out of the loop.” He rested a hand on the table beside Kitara’s, reaching out a pinkie to knock against hers. “Hey. I love you. And not in a weird way. It’s like the love between a close father and daughter. But not in a weird way.”
“You’re just making it worse,” Bunnie hissed.
“It’s not in the same way that I love Bunnie,” Grampa whispered. “’Cuz we’ve got something real freaky going on. On the surface, it seems like she hates me ... but deep down— ”
“That’s enough, you deranged lecher!” Bunnie snapped.
Grampa raised a hairy eyebrow, gazing down at Kitara. “Hey, I think I got her to crack a smile out of that one.”
“No, she didn’t!” Bunnie denied. “She just smiled at what a freak you are and how much she wants to toss you into the cold vacuum of outer space!”
Kitara wiped away her tears and smiled. “Thank you, guys. Thanks for being here for me.”
Grampa chortled. “Of course.” He met Bunnie’s eyes with a smirk. “I’m just glad that Kitara can see the truth between you and me—with her whole mind-reading power and everything.”
Bunnie stared at Kitara in desperation. “No—there’s no way. There’s nothing gross like that in my mind, right? Right, Kitara?”
Kitara simply smiled, then turned to Da. “So Da, how’s it going piloting the ship?”
“Well, it’s on auto-pilot right now,” Da said. “But it’s bad practice to leave the ship unwatched for too long, so—”
“Kitara?” Bunnie begged.
“Hey!” Happy cried, hopping as she tried to reach the handle of a refrigerator compartment that hung above her head. “Can someone open this for me? I’m hungry!”
Bunnie placed her hands on her hips, glaring disapprovingly at Happy. “Hey! Where’s your positive piece of support for Kitara?”
“I’m not part of your usual crew, okay!” Happy cried. “I barely even know her! I guess I can say thanks for saving me, but you guys kind of kidnapped me, so—”
Bunnie glanced at Foxxess, pointing a thumb at Happy. “Should we throw that rodent into the vacuum of outer space? Her squeaky voice is hurting my ears.”
“I don’t know,” Foxxess murmured, resting her chin on her hand as she thoughtfully examined Happy. “I’m feeling kind of famished. I don’t usually advocate for the consumption of sentient beings, but she’s not very smart—and if we’re going to get rid of her anyway, why waste her?”
Happy screamed and fled across the room, throwing herself into Grampa’s arms. “No! Don’t let them eat me!”
Grampa smiled down at her. “Oh my. This is the first time that a girl’s thrown herself into my arms. I don’t know what to do, but I will take very good care of you.”
“Thank you!” Happy cried, hugging Grampa close.
Bunnie shook her head and turned away. “She’s done for.”
Happy frowned. “Hey, there’s something rubbing against my butt.”
Grampa chuckled. “Sorry, you have some fur out of place down there. I’m just grooming it.”
Grooming’s the right word,” Foxxess muttered.
Happy yelped and leapt from Grampa’s arms. “Won’t anyone here protect me?! Are there only cannibals and perverts on this spaceship?!”
Kitara cocked her head to the side, gazing curiously at Happy. “I’ve just realized ... if it wasn’t for you ...” She abruptly smiled and stood up, walking toward Happy.
Happy gulped, then bolted away to cling onto Da. “Hey—hey! It’s not my fault! Why are you smiling like that?”
Da looked down at Happy, then raised his hands in front of his chest. “Stop it, guys. You’re scaring this poor little girl. Since she’s here with us, we may as well take care of her until we can find a safe home for her.”
Happy gasped, then gazed up at Da with wide eyes. “My knight in shining armor! What’s your name, brave hero?”
Da looked down at her sheepishly. “My name is Da. Da Mitt.”
“Da Mitt!” Happy moaned. “What a beautiful name.” She squeezed tight against Da’s side. “Can I call you Daddy, Da? You’re just so strong and brave—I’d do anything to show my gratitude to you.”
“You can first start by not calling me that,” Da said, giving her a disturbed look.
Bunnie staggered into view, holding a cooking bowl filled with a creamy yellow mixture as she gazed at Kitara. “I know you’ve been feeling down since that mission, Kitara, so I’m going to bake a cake to cheer you up!”
“No!” everyone screamed simultaneously.
Bunnie switched one of her fists into an automatic whisker; it whirred ominously as she lowered it into her mixing bowl. “Let me just use one of my gadgets to mix this up real good for y’all!”
“Bunnie, stop!” Foxxess cried. “Your cooking gadgets never work!” She rushed over to prevent the chaos she knew would unfold otherwise. Alas, she was too late.
“Whoa!” Bunnie exclaimed as her whisker-hand spun out of control, spraying cake batter all over the room like a sprinkler. No one in the room was spared from the onslaught; yellow goo coated everyone as if they’d all taken a swim in a tub of paint. The mixing bowl went flying and landed neatly on Foxxess’ head. Bunnie stared nervously at her drenched friend. “Um, whoops.”
Foxxess took a deep breath as cake batter dripped from the bowl on her head. “I tried to warn you.”
#
A red orb floated in an ocean of black amid a sea of stars, twin asteroid belts swirling over its opaque surface, creating an X of rocky armor that hovered around the sphere. A spaceship blipped into existence before the planet and drifted into its crimson atmosphere.
The spaceship makes its journey through waves of scorching heat and descends into a sandy expanse, landing before a large golden feline creature—a statue-palace carved of gold that sat alone amid the sweltering sands, its paws extended as if greeting the arriving newcomers.
“We’re here,” Da said, staring ahead the golden sphinx that expands in his view through the cabin windows.
“Already!” Happy complained. She sat atop Da’s lap, scowling. She swiveled and hurled herself against Da’s chest, sobbing. “I don’t want to leave you! You’re my soul-mate! We’re star-crossed lovers! I knew ever since I saw your ... your beautiful buck teeth that we were meant to be together!”
“Give it a rest!” Bunny snapped, unbuckling her seatbelt and striding to the front of the cabin, resting her prosthetic hands on the backs of Da and Grampa’s seats. “You’re just upset because you won’t be able to freeload off of us anymore!”
“No!” Happy insisted. “You would never understand! He’s my lovey-dovey hubby!”
Da flinched. “Er ... Happy? Could you give me some space? You’ve been hanging onto me for hours now and calling me all these weird names.”
Happy gasped, clutching her heart as if stabbed fatally. She tumbled from her perch on Da’s lap, crumpling to the floor and hanging her head. “You ... you’re divorcing me?” She raised her dejected face to meet Foxxess’ peeved gaze; the vulpusite sat next to Kitara in the back row of seats and couldn’t be bothered to entertain Happy’s antics. “Kill me. I can’t live like this anymore. I’ve lost ... everything.”
Foxxess rolled her eyes and glanced at Grampa. “What the heck are we going to do about this obnoxious rabbit? One’s more than enough, and I’m sure you agree.”
“I do,” Grampa said, grinning.
“Hey!” Bunnie protested.
Kitara slipped out from her seat and stretched. “We’ll just have to see what our leader has to say about it.”
Happy knit her brow. “Your leader?”
Da pressed a button on the control panel. “I’ve opened up the landing ramp. We’re going to take you to meet him.”
#
The assassins traversed a checkerboard-like expanse of golden and black patterned tiles, gleaming golden pillars lining their path as orange sunlight beamed in through crystalline glass windows that stretched across the room’s exterior. At the head of the room sat a wide marble staircase, and at the zenith of those stairs rested a massive silver throne. A shadowy figure sat within the throne, his form enshrined in white robes.
As soon as the assassins fell within a spear’s throw distance of the stairs, they moved as one to kneel and bow their heads with reverence.
“Is that your leader?” Happy whispered loudly, pointing a finger at the mysterious dark silhouette.
Not a word was uttered in response, and not a muscle twitched from the assassins. Their entire demeanors had changed as soon as they stepped within the presence of the unknown figure.
Happy suddenly felt terrified. Very little could be said for Happy when it came to her ability to hold her tongue, but she did have an excellent survival instinct. Every nerve and cell in her body screamed for her to be still and quiet, and so she listened, hastily imitating the assassins as she evaded the gaze of the shadowy creature within that throne. Nonetheless, she caught glimpses of the mysterious archon’s gleaming golden eyes that shone like polished disks of pure gold, and the overwhelming dread that came with this sight was enough to stop her frantic little heart right there and then.
“You may speak,” the shadowy figure said, his voice low yet lacking the rumble of bass, his tone somehow comforting and unsettling at once. “You don’t need my permission to voice your thoughts.”
Kitara was the first to speak. “My Fuhrer, I must apologize and bear the full blame for all errors that occurred during our mission. I deviated from Bunnie’s plan and this resulted in the death of our informant.”
The Fuhrer remained silent for several moments. “Did you assassinate the target?”
Kitara grimaced. “Yes, but—”
“But what exactly?” the Fuhrer asked. “You accomplished your mission. I’m not the one who assigns leaders, followers, or strategies. I am merely a visionary, and you all are my sacred tools to make that vision a reality. As long as you remove any who stand in the way of my vision, there’s nothing to regret.”
Kitara took a deep breath. “I ... I understand.”
“I don’t hear it in your voice,” the Fuhrer said. “I know you lost someone whom you became attached to. I’ve experienced the same time and time again.” The golden eyes narrowed. “Eventually, I realized that all that matters is vision. Friends, family, or lovers can be erased in the blink of an eye—but a sacred vision will last for as long as anyone exists to carry out its will. Even if I were to die—”
“I’d never allow it!” Grampa cried. “Never! I’d die a thousand deaths before allowing anyone close enough to harm you!”
The shadowy figure chuckled. “Agasizzi. You’re the longest serving member of my mission. You and I both know that my time is short—my species is not like yours, and I don’t have much longer to live. No matter how my life ends, I want to make sure that I’ve created a capable group of warriors who will fulfill my vision without fail.” His eyes travelled to Happy. “Since I’ve brought up the topic of the next generation, I’m curious to hear how this young leporidite came to join our ranks.”
“Oh, oh no,” Bunnie hastily interjected. “My Fuhrer, you need not worry about her. She’s just a ... a bad joke. We accidentally saved her and she’s been with us ever since.”
“My Fuhrer!” Happy squeaked, making an awkward salute as she stumbled to the front of the group. She then fell to the floor, banging her head repeatedly against the tiles as she gushed out a near-unintelligible stream of pleas and whimpering requests. “Please don’t kill me! Please don’t pluck out my fur! Please don’t eat me! Is Fuhrer okay—is there anything else I can call you to please you more? Just don’t kill or torture me please—please!” Her voice dropped to a sobbing whisper. “If it pleases you to do anything else to me ... just please be gentle!” She let out a wail, then slumped to the floor, panting. I’d be exhausted too if I’d released as much emotion as the unhappy Happy did.
“My child,” the Fuhrer murmured, his voice heavy with pity and compassion. “Come here.”
Happy stood up and hesitantly walked up to the Fuhrer, stopping before his throne.
The Fuhrer reached out a gray wrinkly hand, which he rested on Happy’s head. “You have been very brave to survive as you have. I can see all your memories by looking into your mind. Only a very special few could have endured and escaped your life situation. You don’t have to try to hide any of your pain from me—let it all out.”
Tears rolled down Happy’s cheeks. “Salizard ... he only wanted virgins. So when he was done using them, he’d throw them away like trash—he’d kill them! My sisters ... one by one, Salizard used and killed them all! They always protected me, even until the very end!” She sniffled, drawing in a shuddering breath—she’d began to pant as an unspeakable terror filled her eyes. “Salizard liked the curvier dancers. So my sisters warned me to eat very little. Even if I was very hungry, I did what they told me—I listened to them, even after he’d killed them all. I didn’t know how else to repay them other than to keep surviving.”
Bunnie frowned, grimaced, and looked away.
“After Salizard had his turn with me, I was so scared,” Happy whispered. “I didn’t want to let down my sisters. I couldn’t die!” Her shoulders trembled as if an electric current ran through her body, then she stared at The Fuhrer with confused, sad, angry eyes as blazing tears burnt their way down her face—and she shouted: “Why! Why did I survive! Why did I try so so hard to live when I didn’t want to because I was afraid all the time and I missed my sisters every single night—” She broke off into sobs, and the Fuhrer pulled her close, allowing her to rest her face on his thigh as he rubbed his hand over her back.
After granting Happy a while to pour out her grief, the Fuhrer addressed her once more. “What will you do now, Happy? Do you still want to survive?”
Happy lifted her head. “I ... I don’t know. I just want to feel safe for once. I just want ... I just want to be happy.” She looked down, then met his gaze again, her eyes brimming with desperation. “Can you ... can you protect me?”
“I’m sorry, my child,” the Fuhrer responded. “I’ll do my best to provide for you with the little time I have remaining. But once I die, the only one who can look out for your safety is you. You must learn to take your power back into your own hands.”
“How can I do that?” Happy asked. “I’ve felt powerless all my life. I’ve always depended on others to help me.”
“Only you can answer the dilemmas created by your experience in this realm,” the Fuhrer said. “But I can tell you what I’ve decided to do. I’ve realized that there are many souls like you in this cruel universe ... and souls like me who suffered with no one to call on for help. That’s why I envision a perfected universe free of suffering, tyrants, and injustice in any form.” His eyes flitted across the room, falling upon the kneeling forms of Foxxess, Kitara, Bunnie, Grampa, and Da. “That is why I’ve created the Liberation Brigade. They have all dedicated themselves to liberating this universe from injustice.”
Happy took a deep breath, stepped back, wiped the tears from her face, and stared the Fuhrer in the eyes. “If that’s what you truly want, then I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
“I’m glad that you’ve made your decision,” the Fuhrer said. “If you choose to join the members of my Liberation Brigade, you’ll need to go through years of harsh training first.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Happy said. “If it means my that sisters will be able to rest easy knowing that their sacrifices meant something, then I’ll do everything in my power to make a difference.”
ns 15.158.61.50da2
