Path of the Hunters [PART 3]

The hornets opened up once Cross and co were inside, effectively turning anyone stupid enough to be in their line of fire into chunks, litteraly. The door on the back of the pelican shut and the whole ship shuddered an took off, shoving everyone into their seats as the pilot proved Damien's description of their method of leaving very accurate. To anyone that noticed, the five vultures in the air left a parting gift in the form of all of them leveling the place and the area around it with their mega barrages before leaving.

"Mm..." Once the ride had steadied, the dog took her children from Mani, holding them both close. She nuzzled them, trying to settle them down again. It had occurred to her that they'd been surrounded by gunfire and explosions, which couldn't be good for their ears...

"Désolé," she whispered to them, sighing.

Damien sighed, "And it was such a nice house, too..." Shaking his head, he looked around, "Everyone make it out ok? Any injuries or the like?"

"Besides our pride?" Cross asked, fist clenched in anger. "No, we're all fine."

Nova hesitated, but got up as well, helping to comfort his children. "I'm so sorry," he said, more to his wife than anything. "I couldn't protect you like I should have been able to. They weren't supposed to be born into this... this war..."

"Ah, injuries to pride are easier to heal than physical ones...I'ma pass out now, 'kay?" He collapsed on the floor of the pelican, a significant bloodstain on his back as well as other scattered around him. "I knew there was a reason why I prefered sniping to frontline combat..." And he passed out.

"Nova... There is nothing to be sorry for." Aurélie lifted a hand to his cheek, but looked over at the human. "Bof..."

Mani jumped up from her seat, examining the human. "...He'll be fine. Nothing I can't handle." She pulled out a silver syringe, injected the fluid into him. "That should accelerate his healing."

"Good," Nova said. "I still need to properly thank him."

"Thank him?" The dog looked amused. "You still manage to surprise, mon coeur."

"Oh, I'm still pissed at him, don't get me wrong, but he's helped protect my family, now twice over." He smirked. "Besides, it's no fun beatin' around a dead horse."

She smiled and passed Aurora to him. They'd settled down a bit, but she wanted to give them one-on-one attention. And he'd had more than his fair share with Dart.

The co-pilot's voice came over the intercom, "Ok people, we'll be arriving at our destination in around five hours, so we suggest you get comfortable. Also, we hope you ate, the only thing we got here are military rations."

The ODST from earlier kneeled down by his commander and managed to move him into one of the seats and strap him in before taking his own seat and getting as comfortable as one could in standard military seating. Never saying a word. He nodded at Mani in a form of a silent 'thank you'.

Nova smiled warmly at his daughter. "Look at you..." he said softly, running a gentle finger along her face. "You have your mother's eyes. Strong eyes. Beautiful..."

Aurora grabbed at her father's finger with a strong grip, cooing softly.

Mani gave the soldier a small salute in acknowledgment, then went back to her seat alongside Sol.

That's when Crescent realized what was said over the intercom... and her grumbling stomach. "Mon Dieu! We never got to enjoy breakfast, this morning!"

The ODST's soldiers started to shake in was obviously poorly hidden laughter, even if one couldn't hear it through the sealed helmet, as he reached up above him and tossed an MRE at Crescent.

Aurélie grimaced. "Bof," she grumbled but ended up smiling when Dart reached out and touched her nose. She tapped his lightly, smile widening when he sneezed and grabbed for her finger. "Mon petit garçon..."

Crescent raised an eyebrow at the package handed to her, and opened it. Tentatively, she took a bite of a bit of the contents, and grimaced. "I am not that 'ungry," she said, setting the thing aside.

Sol laughed. "Take it from us, kid: just wait it out. The food on the flight's not worth it, at all."

Glad she'd managed to grab her bag, Aurélie shifted Dart to grab it and open it. She rummaged a moment before retrieving a chocolate bar and tossing it to the female wolf. "'Ere."

"Merci." She took a bite from it, savoring its refreshing taste over the otherwise dreadful food.

Nova sighed, nuzzling Aurora softly. "...Where are we gonna go, now? With them bein' so damn aggressive, and now workin' together..."

"It's 'ard to believe that they are," she murmured, gently cuddling her son. "I thought it impossible."

"Well, when you think about it, I guess they have the same goal, now... We can only run but so much, now..."

"...Then why are we still running?" Cross said seriously.

She tilted Dart slightly towards the echidna, frowning. "Guess."

"Come on, Cross," Nova said, shifting Aurora in his lap. "Taking on an army, while trying to protect a family? We've taken missions where people tried to do that. They all failed!"

The echidna grumbled, looking downcast. "I just refuse to believe this entire situation is hopeless; that we can't do anything more than run with our tails between our legs..."

"I know how you feel, Cross, now more than ever. I wish I could keep parading around like the great warrior I used to be. But I'm not, anymore. Now, I have something far more precious to protect than my wounded pride. And I can't do that, on the battlefield."

The dog laid her head on Nova's shoulder, sighing. "If we are to do anything effectively, we need to plan. The only way to truly defeat either family is going to the elders... Simply killing them would do little. They would need to oficially drop the orders.

"The odds of that 'appening, 'owever..."

They were silent for a moment. Then, Sol heaved a heavy sigh. "The only way we could turn this in our favor is through blackmail..."

"Impossible," Nova said. "Sure, they're both dirty, but they keep their skeleton closets tightly locked. Hell, I could barely scrape up a parking ticket on the Baudoins; it was only pure luck that I got the kill orders on Crescent's parents. The only way that would work is if we uncovered some plot for them to overthrow the French government..."

"Think they use computers?" Queried the ODST.

"Of course, but the Laroche elders are too set in their ways; too loyal to the royales to plot espionage." The Tuefel blade was suddenly in her hand, held safely away from the baby she held. "Per'aps..."