A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the Laser Quest laser tag arena in Kentucky, which shut down recently.

Chapter Two: First Strike

They soon arrived at the Laser Tag arena, a large multi-storied warehouse formerly abandoned and decaying. But a new coat of paint, an arcade on the first floor, laser tag on the second, and a food court in the basement had made it a popular hangout for the young crowd. And the StarFox team was just young enough to enjoy it.

They paid the five credits entrance fee, and instantly went up the stairs, past the game players in the arcade, to the Arena itself. Another ten credits rented the equipment, and entrance into the playing field. As usual, they got the run about the safety button, which if pressed would instantly bring up the house lights and alert the security/safety staff, and the rules. Simply put: play for an hour or until you got tired and wanted to quit. If you got tagged, the vest would light up brightly and the laser gun cease to work, and no one could shoot you. Then you had to wait in a designated 'respawn zone' until the vest returned to normal. The respawn zones were always bordered by red lights, one in each corner, and as everyone knew this is was common for 'respawn snipers' to camp the area, taking out people as they reentered the playing field. A little unfair, but legal as far as the rules went.

They entered through a tunnel, and to strobe lights and alarms as heavy metal/rock music played in the background. This not only told experienced players that new players had entered the field, but also gave experienced entering players cover, or at least tried to.

As usual, the StarFox team played by their starting rules: no teams, and they had until the alarms went off to get ready, about ten seconds. The instant they entered the normally dimly lit field, full of places to hide, climb on and dodge around, they scattered.

Fox ducked around a couple of pieces of terrain, smiling broadly. His dream long forgotten, he began to hunt anyone with a vest on.

After only a few moments, he heard a distant yelp from Slippy and Falco's triumphant laughter.

"Caught you!"

"Caught you!" he heard Krystal reply, and laser fire closely followed by the sound of a vest going off. He laughed himself, taking aim to zap another player, before narrowly dodging his target's friend's return shot. The strobe lights lit up the field suddenly, and Fox wisely hid himself from the revealing lights. Too many times he'd been caught out in the open before he'd learned better The strobe lights went out, and he resumed his fun... which lasted about rive minutes.

As he ducked into a corner, he heard a soft noise, something like a ptwew, and felt a sharp, burning pain on his left bicep. He yelped, dropping his laser gun to clasp his hand over the spot. His fingers felt wetness. Abruptly the 'players entering' alarms sounded, and the flashing lights revealed red blood on his arm and hand. Grimacing, he hit his safety button.

Instantly the lights came up, and the music quieted. Players stopped, understanding what that meant, and began to search for the one injured. After all, this was all in fun, and no one wanted anyone to get hurt.

"Here!" Fox called, gritting his teeth. "Here!" He looked up at a grid system on the ceiling, put there for just such a situation. "Grid four! I'm bleeding!" Falco and another, younger player, a canine, reached him first. Falco's eyes popped wide.

"Fox! What happened?"

"I don't know. The medical team arrived, and they were surprised as the severity of the injury. Quickly they put a thick gauze pad over the wound, had Fox hold it in place, then bound it and his hand to the wound for added pressure. Ten, with Falco, Slippy, and Krystal following in Fox's car, he was taken to the hospital.