In the depths of space, arms scream throughout the command center while red lights fsh menacingly. Shouting can be heard from every corner of the room, commanders instructing their officers to raise the ship’s defenses from impending enemy attacks. In one corner of the room, a queen with fox-like characteristics can be seen standing in her human form and overseeing her crew as they prepare to avoid the worst possible scenario.

  Watching the chaos unfold, she scoffs, ‘These useless foxes can't even protect my own personal ship from mere common foxes. Where did I go wrong in selecting these fools?’ The queen says with a disappointed, but somewhat concerned expression. ‘If I was in my prime, I would simply take care of this situation on my own, but in my current condition, the best I can do is watch.’ The queen sighs, regretting her failure in allowing herself to become so weakened in the first pce.

  Across the room, an officer can be heard yelling to their commander about the ship's current status. “Commander, the hostile ship is rapidly approaching our position! If we do not warp jump out of here soon, we will have no options left!” he says, his voice strained with urgency.

  “Do you think I am not aware of that, you idiot! If we could warp jump this moment, we would have done that, wouldn't we?” the commander says, scoffing at the incompetent officer. “What's the status on converging our backup power with our main power source?”

  “It's not looking good, sir! The magical link between both sources has been disrupted by an enemy spell. Unless we can dispel their magic, we will not be able to get out of here.” he promptly replies, ignoring the insult from their commander. They were used to this sort of treatment, and they certainly have more pressing matters to worry about other than filing a compint with HR for workpce harassment.

  The whole ship trembles from an explosion at the rear. A new arm bres relentlessly, echoing across the command center.

  “Sir, we just lost our rear thrusters! It appears this might be the end for us! There is no feasible way for us to make a warp jump anymore!” the officer informs the commander in a panic.

  It's not like they don't have several other thrusters on this ship. This was, of course, the queen's personal spaceship, and she would have nothing but the best. However, a warp jump requires the rear thrusters to be operational, and without them, they won't be able to escape fast enough to avoid annihition.

  The queen breaks out into a cold sweat, hearing the status updates going back and forth between her command. She stares out the window of her ship from across the command center into the vast depths of space, contempting her situation and reflecting her life, wondering if this is the end. ‘Is this really how I am going to die? I have lived nearly 15,000 years and ruled for 6,000 of those years; I am to die by the hands of the common fox?’ The queen thinks to herself silently, with a grave expression. ‘Have I done enough for my subjects? Was I mistaken in the ways I ruled my kingdom?’

  Her eyes begin to move their focus from the depths of space, to her distant reflection in the reinforced gss of the ship's windows. Her hair is long and purple, flowing elegantly down the front of her shoulders and ending just below her breasts. Likewise, her fox ears, eyes, and tails were also purple, while her ears were slightly longer than the average fox's. She boasts 9 long tails behind her with white tips on the end of them. The queen often prefers to only have 1 tail out at a time, as it is more convenient to walk around with. However, when performing official duties in public, she proudly dispys all 9 of her tails to demonstrate her might, elegance, and most importantly, pride to all who observe her.

  In the very corner of her vision, but unbeknownst to her, a bck-bordered portal opens. The inside of the portal sparkles like the vast expanse of space with countless stars. Emerging from the portal is a fox with short bck hair, yellow eyes, and a single bck tail. She cautiously walks around the edges of the command center, intentionally making her presence scarce using magic and taking advantage of the chaotic atmosphere. Once on the other side of the command center, she makes her way behind the queen and quickly creates a sturdy magic thread. She wraps this thread around the queen's neck, firmly pulling back, suffocating the queen from behind.

  She gasps one final time as the assassin's presence startles her, stealing her breath. Looking back to see who it was, her face turns pale, making a grave expression at the one putting her in such a compromising situation.

  “S-sister, why?” the queen struggles to say out loud as her airway was almost completely cut off. Ordinarily, such a rudimentary attack would have no effect on her, however, due to the current state of her body, she does not have enough strength to resist her. ‘Am I really going to die by my own sister's hands? How could she treat me like this?! After everything we've been through together?! I don't know what is worse, dying by my sister's hands, or the fact that a being like myself could be killed merely by being choked out.’

  Looking back at the queen with a sadistic smile, the bck fox replies in a pyful tone not suited for such a serious situation, “Why? Why do you think? It's for a job, of course~!” Her yellow eyes shimmer with an eerie red tinge.

  The queen struggles desperately to break away, not wanting to let her life end in such a manner. Meanwhile, this whole situation goes completely unnoticed, the officers too focused on more pressing tasks and the queen did not have the strength to yell out for help. Perhaps even the ck of security for her own personal well-being was a demonstration of the opinion her commanders had of her. It was their duty to ensure the protection of the queen while on this spaceship, no matter the sacrifice.

  ‘She dares to betray me because someone posted a mission to kill me? You know what, fuck her! Why should I keep my composure and elegance when I am already to meet such an unsightly demise?! I couldn't care less! There, I said it. I don't care! If she's going to kill me for a ridiculous reason like that, then it's only right she goes with me.’

  A burning numbness starts to spread throughout the queen's body as she becomes dizzy, her consciousness starting to become fuzzy. Was this how it was going to end for her? No! If she were to fall, she would not fall alone. Using the st ounces of her strength, a pulse of white energy starts flickering in her right palm. Trembling, she forces her arm behind her and brushes her fingers against the bck fox's thigh. Once her fingers make contact, the white light extends out and wraps around the bck fox behind her. The bck fox notices this and rapidly increases the intensity of the magic within her threads, causing the queen's neck to begin bleeding.

  The queen looks back at her sister with a pained expression, staring into her eyes. Her vision begins to darken. ‘I know I said I don't care… but is this truly my sister's will? No, it doesn't matter right now. Betrayal is betrayal, and for this, we must both die.’ the queen solemnly thinks to herself in her final moments.

  ‘I'm taking you with me~!’ the queen says to the bck fox telepathically, right before losing consciousness.

  ‘Shit! I have to resist this spell!’ the bck fox thinks in a panic. The white light begins to form equally white chains that surround the bck fox, completely tightening against her body. It does not restrict her physical body, but rather her soul. This desperate and seemingly irreversible move entangles her fate with the queen's, beyond life and death. Even in reincarnation, as well as across lifetimes, these chains should never sever.

  ‘I have to fall back and come up with a different pl-’ Agony. Cold, searing through her body. The sensations going beyond the physical and affecting the very essence of her existence, her soul. She gasps for air, but no breath comes. The chains tighten around her soul further. Then, nothing.

  They both colpse, lifeless. The white chains fade from the bck fox as their souls slip from their bodies. Only now do the officers notice the queen and her assassin. The two sisters perishing together on a ship that was already set for destruction away from their home pnet.

  AnDwHaT5