A Fox in the Works

Fox and Oriana

A Fox in the Works was a long-running online furry story written by the late Foxeris that first appeared online on December 25th, 1995. The series was a sci-fi and fantasy mixture following the life and adventures of Fox, his wife Oriana, and their friends through a sprawling multiverse. The stories ranged from high fantasy, political intrigue, science fiction, mystery, romance and drama, all to varying degrees.

The series was completed in May of 2008. Since then the author has stated he will not continue the series, removed it from all locations and disowned it.

Background

A Fox in the Works was started, almost by accident, in the very early hours of Christmas 1995. The first story was a short writing exercise called It Begins Anew. Fox wrote it simply because he had not written anything in almost two months, and he wanted to get a story idea out on paper. He used himself as the main character simply because he was too tired to come up with a different name.

It would have ended there if it was not for Brian Antoine, who read the story and encouraged Fox to continue it. At the time Fox highly admired Brian, and had twice before attempted to start his own story series a la The Family nas Kan, both attempts failed. So when Brian asked for more, Fox was at least willing to provide it.

Forgoing plotting out more then the current story for the time being, Fox started to write the series, quickly establishing the core framework.

As the series progressed through the first year, an overall plan started to form as Fox became more comfortable with the story telling. By the time of ...And into the Fire, Fox had most of the next year of stories planned out, and taking a cue from Babylon 5 he started weaving the story arcs throughout the text.

The series also provided a place for Fox to hone his writing skills. The early stories are the work of an amateur, with a plot, and some characterization, but lacking in description and refinement. As the series progressed, the story telling improved.

While it is best to read the series from the beginning, the story Run Around is intended to be a mid-series starting point.

The series is edited in part by Hikaru Katayamma.

Previously, Fox had stated he was working on a long term project to edit the past story, removing the grammar and spelling errors that mar the work, but with the authors passing it is unlikely the project will ever be finished.

People, places and things

Dramatis personae

• Fox
• Oriana
• Rhea
• Rachel
• Jadith
• Sora
• Samantha St. Clair

Places of interest

Prid

The capital world of the Council, and where Fox and his family lives. Prid is the central location of the series. The planet is located in a binary star system two hundred light years from the edge of the galaxy. It was terraformed specifically for the Council, and outside of a few large cities, is sparsely populated.

Earth

Fox's home planet. At least six Earths are known to exist in the multi-verse. It's a small blue green planet in the out spiral arm of a barred spiral galaxy.

City of Corbin

The capital city of Prid, and was the capital of the Council. This is the largest city on Prid. Fox lives in one of the more expensive areas near the edge of town.

The Marble Hall

The sprawling office park and residential complex where the Council was located. It's buried under a ten mile-wide park in the center of Corbin.

The "Old" House

Where Fox and Oriana lived for many years. It's located in the wilderness of Prid and is connected to the Marble Hall by a teleport curtain. The house sits on the edge of a large lake, surrounded by forest. As the family started to grow, they moved to Corbin. Fox still owns the house and they sometimes spend time there.

The "New" House

Fox's current home in Corbin; a large, somewhat sprawling house in the more expensive part of town. Most of it isn't used, but Fox enjoys the having the extra space. It also allows him to offer a place for his friends to stay.

Organizations of note

• The Council
• HammerHeads
• Assassins Guild
• The Joint Consortium of the Multi-Verse
• Data and Troubleshooting Services of Kenterra
• The Consortium Security Council (the CSC)
• The Office of Special Defense (the OZG)

Series synopses

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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The series is broken up into five years, akin to seasons of a television series. It is primary made up of short stories, with the occasional novella and one or two novels every year. Each year is built around a large story arc first started in the previous year, and may continue onto the next. Many subplots wind through the series.

Prehistory

Fox first entered the multi-verse when he was just 15 years old, discovering his abilities as a Natural (and the fold in his bedroom) mostly by accident. In the early days he started exploring the different universes, meeting new friends in his travels.

It wasn't too long until Fox found himself in trouble, cut off from support and on an unknown world, the only way he was going to get home was to play at being a hero. After his survival he decided to start playing at being The Doctor, jumping to places at random, trying to fix what he saw was wrong, and generally poking his nose into other peoples business.

Soon, Fox started to pick up some friends who traveled along with him. Most of them were young and a little bit foolish, but many of the friendships he made then lasted for years. But he also made enemies. Two of them were tenacious enough to continue to threaten him as the years went by. He has had multiple encounters with each, usually coming out ahead each time.

Fox carries many scars for his different fights, and for many years wore a high-quality prosthetic in place of his left hand. Events would eventually conspire to replace the lost limb, but not for many years.

After a year and a half of adventuring, Fox told his secret to Becky, one of his best friends on Earth. He took her into the multi-verse and they worked together for until they were both exiled. During this time Becky gained a secret of her own.

Near the end of 1994, Fox and Becky ended up a planet called Catarn. This was where things went wrong: Fox and Becky got separated during a war and nearly ended up on different sides. They made the powers that were ruling the world very worried. This ended with the surface of the planet being destroyed as Fox and Becky ran. The pair were tried for the destruction of the world; though they were found not guilty, they were exiled back to Earth and forbidden to return to the multi-verse.

In the year that followed, Fox was worried and depressed. Worse yet, halfway through the year Becky had to move to England. A few months later, she was killed. It was only after this happened that Fox realized just how much he loved her.

Year One: The Song of Change

The year starts with Fox in exile on Earth, but soon he finds himself back in the multi-verse, being escorted by his old friend and former companion Oriana, an anthropomorphic lioness.

Things quickly get interesting after a botched attempt on Fox's life, and a murder on a distant planet. These two events leads into the investigation of corruption in the Council (the local ruling body of the multi-verse). This leads to Fox and his friends becoming pivotal players in stopping a coup by the HammerHeads.

As the year comes to a close Fox discovers that the fold to Earth has started to destabilize, and he's forced to chose between staying on Earth or in the multi-verse. Soon his hand is forced, and he has to stay, loosing Earth for the moment.

In the closing days of the year Oriana confess her love for Fox, which had been growing over the year, but which he does not yet return. She leaves him with a gift before they both go off in different directions, each one trying to understand the changes in their lives.

Year Two: Standing on the Edge of Forever

While trying to get away from it all, Fox is transformed from a normal human into an anthropomorphic version of his namesake for a couple months. At the same time he meets Sora when she literally falls from the sky, and who helps him off the planet. But Sora has her own problems.

At the same time Oriana is trying to find her own place in the multi-verse and decides to look up an old friend. This starts a chain reaction that leads to her killing a man and being forced into the Assassins Guild.

After this Oriana returns to Fox, who helps her though a cleansing at her Temple, which brings them closer together.

Other things have started to happen of interest, including a strange human named Burke who has started to pop into Fox's life, dropping hints and clues and the future. Fox goes on a side trip to help an old friend stop a war. Meanwhile, a new virus has wiped out two worlds in the multi-verse.

Soon after, a third, unconnected world dies from the plague, and Fox is part of the group who is sent to investigate a distress call. This results in Fox adopting a young skunk girl named Naomi as his daughter.

Fox, Oriana and his friends escape from a trap set by Grasion, his oldest foe. This leaves Fox critically injured and both he and Oriana are left unconscious as the year came to a close.

Year Three: The End of the Innocence

Fox and Oriana awake, only to discover that they have switched bodies. This lasts until they find a way to stop Grasion (which involves stealing a space shuttle), after which a magical user friend is able to change them back. However, this is only the start of the transformations for the year, as Fox starts to occasionally change into his anthropomorphic fox form, and starts seeing a unicorn.

While a new Council head is sworn into office, Fox is sent to investigate the people who seem to be responsible for the plague. That was curtailed when an attack that was meant for Oriana struck Fox by accident, transforming him into a non-morphic lioness.

The lioness has her own mind and personality, and she is named Rhea. Over the following month Fox is slowly destroyed and Rhea takes over, until he is completely gone inside and the lioness flees into the forest.

This is a state that doesn't last long, as Rhea sufferers a serious accident. Fox's mind is restored, and with help from a woman named Romana, he is taken home. Once there, his friends help turn him back, but not without side effects. Fox now has eyes the color of ice, and sharp claws.

Fox adapts to his new abilities while going on another side trip, looking for an item that Graison had hidden. During this, things finally come full circle, and Fox realizes his love for Oriana.

Two things happen soon after to change the status quo: Oriana finds a way to leave the Assassins Guild and Naomi starts to age rapidly into a adult. Both become pregnant, with Oriana carrying Fox's child.

Things take a turn for the worse when Fox is sent to the world that created the plague, only to learn that the new Council Head has given him a bomb that will kill everyone on the world. Fox refuses to take this action, and it starts a chain reaction that brings about the end of the Council and the start of the Joint Consortium of the Multi-Verse.

As the year comes to an end Naomi has her child, but at a great cost, and Fox finds a way to become a anthropomorphic lioness again. The appearances of the unicorn are connected to a person that shouldn't exist, and the possible return of a friend Fox thought to be long dead.

Year Four: Mirror Cycle

The beginning of the year starts on a slightly sour note as the attempts by Fox and Oriana to wed is short-circuited by her culture. They try to fill in the needed blanks, but come up empty. Soon it's Rhea who comes up with the answers, permanently making her part of their relationship and allowing them to be wed.

At the same time, Fox is starting to learn of something disturbing about a man named Cain - who is his double. This double has a fairly nasty history of terrorism and violence, and has taken an interest in Fox.

In the early part of the year Oriana gives birth to twins, and soon after Fox and Oriana receive a message that confirms that his old friend isn't as dead as he first thought.

Soon, Fox gets a chance to meet his in-laws, which goes better then one can expect. Soon after he successfully provides a way for Rhea to have her own body, so they no longer have to share.

This is tempered when Cain makes a move on Fox, which is unsuccessful, but puts everyone on edge. Fox decides to take the fight to Cain, which works to a point, but he does eventually get away. Fox continues to follow after him, even when it leaves him without any backup.

Eventually Cain ends up dead, and Fox makes a new friend in Samantha St. Clair. Cain's death nonetheless brings about implications about a new enemy who has the patience to wait a lifetime.

As things start to become normal again, Fox sheds some of the extra responsibility he had gained over the last few years. At the same time he is looking for a way to get Samantha back to her home, which leads him back to his double at Metamor Keep.

Things start to get worse as the next month wears on, and Fox becomes seriously ill. This leads to the discovery that he has become a shape-shifter, but one with very few forms. Because of not understanding his power he had made himself sick, but he learns to control it.

Meanwhile, Oriana has an encounter with a golem that has been following her for a few months. Soon she learns that the spell that made it belonged to the HammerHeads, and realize that they might still threaten her family. To learn to protect them she turns to the only experience she has, and rejoins the Assassins Guild, a move that Fox is not supportive of.

Thanks to the help of Oriana and Samantha, Fox learns more about the mysterious NeverEnding that has been watching him for the last few years, and who seems to be the one who sent the unicorn to follow him.

As the year winds down, Fox is preparing for a long mission to collect the last of the times that Graison had hidden in the multi-verse. Soon after, information about who has taken an interest in Oriana drops into their lap, pointing to a small group of people including the presumed dead second-in-command of the HammerHeads.

Year Five: The Neverending

Year Five has been finished.

Trivia

• The story was the third longest continuously published furry series on-line, following behind The Journal Entries of Kennet R'yal Shardik and the comic strip Kevin and Kell.
• The series has featured crossovers with the Metamor Keep story universe.
• Fox's Earth is the same world seen in Brian W. Antoine's The Family nas Kan series. Fox has made an appearance in Brian's stories, and Brian has appeared in Fox's.