"That....sucks...." a hologram of a young fox muttered. "I....hope ya feel better."

	"Thanks, Ace," Flia replied with a smile. "You've been a big help." She paused. "But I dunno if I'll be able to do the mission like this..." Ace nodded.

	"Well," he said, "If not, feel free to come back to the Skyhook...we miss ya."

	"Thank you," Flia sniffled. "I miss you guys too...I'll be back as soon as I take care of things here, k?"

	"Gotcha," Ace replied with a nod.

	"Bye Ace...you've helped a lot," the lioness said with a smile. 

	"That's what I'm here for," Ace replied as he adjusted his headband. "See ya. I'm out." his image disappeared. 

	"Ahhhhh...." Flia sighed. "Starla and Ace....always there when ya need em."

	"Who were you talking to, Flia?" Fox asked as he stepped into the room.

	"Oh, just Ace," Flia muttered.

	"McLeod?"

	"Yeah..."

	"Oh...." Fox mumbled. "You still part of that little alliance?" he asked quite sarcastically. Flia gave him a sharp glare.

	" 'Little alliance' ?" she muttered. "What's that supposed to mean? Are we having a problem here?"

	"No," Fox grumbled.

	"Yes, you do," Flia replied with a smirk. "It COULDN'T be because of Ri..."

	"Don't start..."

	"Ri..."

	"Shut up, Flia!"

	"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii......"

	"KNOCK IT OFF!" 

	"Rita..." Flia said with a blink.

	"Agh, sometimes you get on my nerves..." Fox growled.

	"Don't play that game with me, Fox," the lion muttered. "You know very well that you resent the Alliance...and I know why, too." She paused. "Now would you please get out of my bedroom? I have a mission to prepare for." 

~*~

"Prepare for landing sequence..." Flia ordered.

Within minutes, the Whiteclaw had landed on Venomian terrain. "OK," Flia said, clapping her hands. "This is where we get off. Report back on the bridge in thirty minutes with your masks and weapons...and...dress lightly. The atmosphere is not very hot but it is incredibly humid...so you might wanna wear shorts or something so you don't become dehydrated. Me, I'm gonna wear my usual fighting outfit...."

"Yeah, a short skirt..." Perria muttered. 

"Ahem..." Flia interrupted. "That's my style, ok? Chill...now.. get to it, peoples! Dismissed!"

Perria, Chamille, Flame, Bulk, and Wolf, as well as Fox and Falco reported back in thirty minutes, as was ordered. Flia entered the room with a smile on her face. She wore a pretty purple ensemble which included a short skirt, as Perria had said. She held in her hand the Lion Claw Sceptre, and strapped to her back was her katana. She now wore the silver headband that had been given her, and her black strapped boots accented the outfit nicely. And on her face she wore a smile. (see http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Dome/7412/fliaready.jpg )

"Very nice, you're ready." she said. "Now, put on your masks...we're headin' out." Each person put on their gas masks and headed to the airlock. 

~*~ 

	After hours of struggling across Venomian terrain, Wolf finally signaled for the team to stop. "Why are we stopping?" Fox demanded. 

	"Watch and learn, McCloud," Wolf ordered as he picked up a rock from the ground and threw it forward. It hit an invisible barrier and was charged with a tremendous electrical power. 

	"Oh...crud...an  electromagnetic forcefield...." Flia sighed. 

	"Now what, lobo?" Perria asked demandingly. Wolf pulled from his pocket what looked remarkably like a blaster... but a little different. He fired the unusual item at the barrier, and a hole was created. 

	"RUN!" he commanded. The others, not about to be left behind, ran through the hole behind him, making it inside just before the hole closed up again. "Remove your masks..." he said, taking off his gas mask. "The forcefield not only protects the Venomian base from intruders...it also protects us from the poisonous gas. Oikonny had this installed about a year ago..." he held out the device in his hand, "and gave us these to open and close the forcefield. Quite handy, no?" 

	"VERY cool..." Flia replied as she and the others took off their masks. "How much further is the base?" she asked.

	"About a hundred miles from here...." Wolf replied with a sigh. "It will be a long time before we get there...not to mention the great amount of guards we'll have to face on the way." Flia groaned.

	"There's GOTTA be an easier way..." she mused, glancing at the sceptre which hung at her belt. "I wonder...." She took the sceptre from her belt and stared at it.  "I wonder if this holds teleportation powers..."

	"It's worth a shot," Chamille replied. Flia nodded.

	"OK.... let's try this." she said determinedly. "Join hands everybody...we need to make sure no one is left behind." Sighing, each of them joined hands in a circle around Flia.

	"Imperial...Lion Claw Sceptre.... Teleportation....!" The Sceptre began to glow and float in mid-air. A light surrounded the team, and a powerful, wind-like force beat about them. "Don't let go...and concentrate on your destination...!" Flia cried. "Come on, guys, we can do this!" The light grew brighter and brighter, until finally, each of them dissappeared from sight.