Five days prior...
"There. That feel any better?" Pilot Peppy asked Sir Fox as he adjusted a bandage.
"Yes, tha -"
"Hey!" came a shout from beyond the bushes. "Sir Fox! Look what we have!" Carefully Archer Falco looked, and his expression fell.
"What is it?" Sir Fox asked, wincing.
"C'mon," came the voices again. "Why not say hi to your little brother." Sir Fox's eyes widened.
"Sky umph!" His shout was quickly muffled by the others.
"Shh!" urged Alchemist Slippy. "We can't let them find us."
"But they have Skye!" Sir Fox growled.
"Listen up, kit!" came the voice again, and they all dared to peek. They saw several Sharpclaws in a nearby clearing, two setting up a pair of tall poled into the ground, two others restraining a stripped-to-the-waist Skye. "If you come out, your brother doesn't get hurt. Stay hidden..." They bound him between the poles, and one brandished a whip in his face. Sir Fox whimpered.
"No... not Skye...please..." he whispered, pained and looking away. Lady Krystal held him tight against her body to comfort him. The whip cracked once, in the air, and Sir Fox's ears went back. "They... they know he's frightened of them... or being hurt again... when he cries out, I don't know if I can stay quiet." He looked pleadingly at his friends and Peppy. "Please, if you have to, knock me out, or gag me. Don't let my love for my brother doom us all!" They grimly nodded
"Last chance!" came the shout, with another crack. Those huddled in the bushes could almost hear the mocking laughter pressing in on Skye, and in Sir Fox's mind he envisioned his brother's face, saw his fear and horror...
SNAP CRACK!
Down came the whip, and Sir Fox cringed, fully expecting to hear his brother's terrified cry...
Nothing. Not even a whimper.
"Hey, looks like he toughened up some," one Sharpclaw observed.
"Then try this!"
SNAP CRACK CRACK CRACK!
Skye gritted his teeth, but didn't cry out. This seemed to infuriate the tormentor, who brought the whip down again and again in rapid succession. But still Skye didn't cry out, until...
"Sir Fox!" he shouted painfully. "Listen to me! They haven't caught Skye, I am only his shadow!" He gave a small yelp, caught a bit off guard, but then just repeated his cry.
"Skye's shadow?" echoed Alchemist Slippy. "What's that mean?" Abruptly Pilot Peppy groaned.
"That's not your Skye, that's mine!" They looked at him in sympathy, but they knew there was nothing they could do for Skye at that moment.
"When night falls," Sir Fox said, "then we rescue him."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Night slowly fell, the stars spreading out across the sky. The Sharpclaws weren't taking any chances, setting watches and fires to light the area.
But they failed to watch out from behind...