Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

Star Lynx: Other Kind

Prologue: This Imperfect Lie

It was a good day for John. He had woken up when he alarm went off, had a great breakfast, and traffic was at an all-time low, which meant he got to the office early. Throughout the day, things went smoothly, meaning that he got everything taken care of on time, and his boss had approached him to tell him that he was giving him a raise, telling him that he'd worked hard enough to earn it. Everyone around him greeted him with grins and compliments, and he returned them in kind. He was an employee for the newly formed company known as AtmosPlan, an engineering company devoted to helping incorporate technological schematics provided by Humanity's newest partners into everyday transportation to dramatically increase efficiency. Currently, he had one last delivery to make before his shift was over, and his friend in accounting had told him that it was a file of experimental schematics related to Cerinian fuel tank integration.

Once that was done, he drove home. Currently, his girlfriend had suggested going out for dinner tonight and bringing a couple of her friends. He had asked around, but currently his friends had plans of their own. So, he went home and cleaned up. He brushed back his dreadlocks, trimmed his beard, and washed his face. He had no intentions of screwing this night up. And why would he? Everything was perfect.

"Any idea how we open these things?" Fara glanced at the side of the pods, then tried tapping the canopy, where the sleeping, Cerinian fox lay inside. On a whim, she called out, "Open sesame!" She was met with a slightly embarrassing silence before she shrugged and mumbled, "I got nothing."

SADIE remained silent, prompting Saru to ask, "Any luck with those files?" The robot nodded, but was silent. Near as any of them understood, SADIE had devoted almost all of her processing power to decrypting the files to get them done within the next few seconds, meaning she didn't speak or move, and save for the life-support systems on the Livid Vixen, most of their systems were off-line.

A low whirring brought their attention for a moment as SADIE straightened up and spoke, "I have finished decrypting the files and have determined that each one of these requires multiple 'keys' to unlock. First is any sort of tissue sample. As I understand it, these pods were calibrated to only unlock for anyone who doesn't have any nanotechnology in their blood, like the Cerinians or possibly any 'reverted' human as the file calls them. However, I do not know how the system would react to other alien samples. It may simply register as an error or lock it down."

Fay rubbed her chin in thought, "Any way we can bypass it?"

SADIE thought about it, "There may be a way to do so, but current analysis of Stasis Pods indicates that any tampering may cause the system to lock down. I remain uncertain about what would happen afterward, but there may be a distinct possibility that lock down may kill the inhabitants."

The date went very well. Sondra's friends were curious about why a human was dating a Cerinian, to which they had both just replied that it was legal, but beyond that, the night went very well, and when they got home, The wolf Cerinian presented him with a gift. It was a book, a mystery novel that he'd been interested in for a while. He appreciated the gift and let Sondra know. "Thanks for the novel, sweetie."

Sondra's response was to smile at him, "Come on, it's not like you weren't expecting it. I heard you talking about it the other day and decided that would be a good gift to celebrate the anniversary of our relationship."

John chuckled, "Three years already? Wow, the time really flies, doesn't it?"

Sondra yawned, "I'm glad you like the gift, honey. I'll be heading to bed in a bit though. Wanna join me?"

"I've run through the system scans on the Stasis Pods and noticed something bizarre." SADIE spoke out as Miyu tapped the side of the Stasis Pod, attempting to figure out how to get the scanner to work. "Given the data retrieved from the files, I've scanned the LOTUS Devices in each Pod and determined that one of them may be malfunctioning."

"LOTUS?" Miyu asked, her interest piqued.

The others paused as SADIE explained what she meant, "Lucidity Optimization Transfuser of Unconscious Systems. The LOTUS is constructed using telepathic conduits to put the mind in a sort of dream-like stasis, much like the bodies inside the Pods. In theory, once awoken, they should feel like they've only been asleep for a few days or weeks maybe. But one of them is malfunctioning and I have no idea what might happen once we wake that pod up."

Miyu looked at the pods and asked, "Which one is it?" SADIE pointed to the one pod that held the human specimen. Miyu frowned, "That's not good. SADIE, see if you can find anything in the files about fail-safes or the like related to this."

John was woken up in the middle of the night. He wasn't sure why, but recently, he'd begun waking up at night, always at Midnight exactly. At first, he wasn't worried about it, but this being the fifth time he'd done so, he was curious about it. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something. A blue flash, and for a moment, he could have sworn he saw numbers. His surprise must've bothered Sondra, as she groaned and looked up at him. Although tired and clearly struggling to stay awake long enough, she managed to ask, "Honey? What's wrong?"

John shook his head, "Nothing. Just thought I saw something."

Sondra groaned and flipped onto her back, "John, it's nighttime. You're just jumping at shadows."

John thought about it for a moment, then sighed, "You're right. I suppose I could to talk to a doctor about it."

Sondra looked at him, "Are you stressed about something?"

John shook his head, "Just tired. Go back to sleep, Sondra. We'll talk in the morning." She grinned at him, then adjusted herself so that she was facing away from him.

A small device slid out of the side of the side of the Pod and Miyu stared at it for a moment. It was a small tube just big enough for her to stick a finger in. In a flash of curiosity, she stuck her index finger in the tube and was surprised when she felt something poke it. She yelped and yanked her hand away from the device, noticing that her finger now had a small cut in it. She turned to SADIE as the robot registered the action, "It would appear that you found the scanner. The first series of locks are opening up as we speak. My best guess is that it would recognize organic matter that doesn't have the traits of Aparoid nanoflesh as safe. However, we still have two more sets of locks to unlock." A holographic display appeared on the canopy glass of the Stasis Pod, showing a line that appeared to vibrate randomly. SADIE commented on it, "It would appear that the second set of locks are voice-activated. Try saying something to unlock it?"

Miyu bit her lip. She had no idea what to say and decided to try what Fara had tried earlier, "Open sesame?" The display seemed to register the phrase as it disappeared and there was a brief, loud hissing as what looked like steam vented from somewhere inside the Stasis Pod.

SADIE analyzed it, "The second set of locks are opening. It appears that the LOTUS device inside this Pod has begun shutting down alongside the Stasis device. The final lock appears to be a straightforward lock that requires a literal key." Right when she finished, a small object dispensed from the top of the pod while something popped open on the bottom half of the pod. The device was small and looked somewhat like a flash-drive or a memory card. Miyu grabbed it and held it in her hands as SADIE scanned it, "The device appears to contain a power source inside it, like a battery. Try plugging it into the outlet on the bottom of the pod." Doing what SADIE suggested, Miyu inserted the device into the lock on lower half of the pod. The pod hissed again and the canopy glass split pen vertically, sliding into the pod and exposing the blue Cerinian feline inside it.

Everyone held their breath for a moment as SADIE scanned the being, "Her heartbeat is stable and her lungs are working. She shows minor signs of oxygen starvation. Not enough to be life-threatening, but fresh air may do her some good."

The Cerinian's eyes fluttered open and she took in the environment around her. She turned her head to the side and made eye contact with Miyu. Miyu only returned the gaze as the Cerinian slowly began to sit upright, breaking eye contact. She paused and took a moment to stretch, almost like she was getting out of bed. She yawned and after taking a few slow, deep, rhythmic breaths, turned to look at Miyu and asked, "Where are we?"

Miyu paused, "...You speak Lylat Standard?"

The Cerinian regarded her with a distant look in her eyes, "You speak Modern Cerinian?" She suddenly seemed to realize who she was looking at, "You look Cerinian. Granted, a bit browner and stripier than I thought. Are you the exception?"

Miyu was confused and offended as she gave an indignant, "Am I what?!"

The Cerinian's eyes widened, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. You have a certain aura about you that confused me." She seemed to pause for a moment, then asked, "What is 'Lylat?'"

Miyu found herself confused by the Cerinian more and more, "Lylat's our star, named after the goddess Lyla. You're in the Lylat System, and we're members of the Lylatian species."

The Cerinian cocked her head to the side, as if she was regarding Miyu, "What of Earth and Cerinia?"

Miyu paused, then glanced at the others. She looked back at the Cerinian and said, "...We might wanna wait until we get your friends up. It's a long story." The Cerinian seemed to become somber, but nevertheless waited for the others to wake up.

Fay walked up to the Cerinian and decided to introduce herself, "I'm Fay. That's Miyu and Fara and Saru." She then gestured to the Cerinian feline, "And your name?"

The Cerinian introduced herself, "I am known as Serrin. I am Captain of the Royal Guard. It is my job to protect the Matriarch and her family with my blade, my staff, and my life if I must." Serrin looked around at the pods near them and asked, "So, who are in the other pods?"

Fay glanced at the others and shrugged, "We don't know any names, but we can tell you what they look like. One of them is this Cerinian vulpine. A red fox. The other's a human. She glanced at Miyu, "That's what they're called right?" When Miyu nodded, she continued, "He's got dark brown skin and black hair that's been made into dreadlocks. Do either of them sound familiar?"

Serrin nodded, "The description of the vulpine sounds like Sabre. He was part of the guard. A metalsmith serving as the apprentice to the current metalworker. He and I were as close as siblings, to the point where I would be proud to call him my brother." She paused, "As for the human, that sounds like John. He was unemployed, last I knew. Lived an an apartment with his lover, and did a lot of parkour and climbing as a hobby. I regret that we haven't spoken more since before we began the Long Sleep. I trust that more pods were recovered than just these three?"

Fay paused, unsure of how to answer. Serrin seemed to pick up on her hesitation, "There were more pods beyond our own... Weren't there?"

The sound of the next Stasis Pod hissing drew their attention toward the next one, where the fog cleared away to reveal the Cerinian vulpine as he stretched and groaned as life flowed through his body once again.

When John woke up, he realized something was different. He looked next to him and saw Sondra, sitting up with the blanket wrapped around her. He sat up and asked, "Sondra? What's wrong?"

Sondra looked at him, then looked away and he saw images in his mind. He saw himself through her eyes, of him screaming at her in anger and stomping out the door, leaving her and her child behind. The images stopped and John scooted closer to give her a hug, "Oh, Sweetie. I'd never leave you! You've always been there for me and I've done my best to be there for you in return." He heard Sondra sniff and took a seat next to her, "Honey, I'd never hurt you, especially after you've done so much to help me!" He gestured to himself, "When we first met, I was in a bad spot, remember? I had problems and you helped me work through them. Besides, you know as well as I do that even though we can't have children together, I'm just as ready to be a father as you are to be a mother." He paused, "...Right?"

Sondra said nothing, at least until she looked at him and grinned, "I'm not ready to be a mother, John." She glanced at him and was met with a reassuring grin, "But I'm glad you understand, at least." She sighed and looked back at the wall, "But I don't know if my parents are ready to learn that I'm dating a human."

John blinked, about to ask why that was, when he realized that something wasn't right. The moonlight streaming into the room wasn't right. The more he stared at it, the more he realized that there was a slight red tint. He turned to ask Sondra only to see her standing up, clad in what looked like armor forged from scrap metal, asking, "Hey, are you coming or what? We've got only a few minutes before They arrive."

He blinked again and suddenly, he was staring at the streets outside in broad daylight, through the visor of a gas-mask and clad in similar armor, with a shotgun in his hand. He checked the holographic watch projected on the visor. It was 9:30 A.M., but everywhere he looked, everything was bathed in the colors of twilight. He looked up at the sun and saw a black disk that seemed to permanently eclipse it nowadays. He looked in the streets and saw countless corpses, some deformed and horrifically mutilated with monstrous robotic implements that failed to fully manifest before the host was killed, some were even attempting to merge multiple corpses together before they died. He wasn't sure he wanted to try and identify any of the bodies, because he was scared that he'd find someone he knew among the piles of corpses.

He blinked once more and he was back in his room, and Sondra was giving him a strange look, "You alright? You were gonna say something and it seemed like you just kinda lost yourself."

He shook his head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"We've got a problem. Even though the rest of the pod's turning off, the LOTUS is remaining on-line." SADIE announced, "It appears that some of the programming for the LOTUS shutdown procedures is corrupted, some of the wiring connecting to the pod's main computer is fried as well and the LOTUS is running on a fail-safe system."

Serrin observed as the pod opened up, exposing the still-sleeping body to the elements. She brushed a hand against John's arm, "It's not just that it's broken. He doesn't want it to shut off, whether he realizes it or not. His mind is the only thing keeping the LOTUS active right now."

Fara raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

Sabre answered as Serrin checked John's pulse, "It means whatever happened to the LOTUS, it's caused him to become dependent on it for some reason or another. It's an addiction, and if we don't get him out of the LOTUS, it'll fry his brain." He moved to Serrin's side and gave them a brief explanation, "Cerinian minds may be suited for such complex mental constructs and interactions over incredible periods of time, but human minds aren't as well suited. Humans are naturally a guarded species that rarely opened their minds to telepathy and other psychic abilities, having spent most of their existence unaware and thus under the assumption that such abilities didn't exist. This means their minds are highly resilient to psychic influence, but it also means that what does get through their mental defenses strikes them right in the soul. When we tested the LOTUS, we were worried that the dreamworlds it created could start to feel real enough that someone hooked up would be lost to it."

Fara bowed her head and sighed, "You know what? I'm half-inclined to say this is all crazy, but I've seen enough by now that I can't really say so or not."

Serrin turned to Sabre, "We'll need to coax him out somehow, convince him that his dream isn't reality." She held his hand, "Are you ready, brother?"

Sabre glanced at their clasped hands and nodded, "Ready, sister."

John stepped out of the shower, feeling like the king of cleanliness. He grinned and walked up to the mirror, towel wrapped around his waist, to brush his teeth. He noticed his reflection and took a few looks, then grimaced, "You're starting to look a little thick, John." He glanced down at his belly, taking note of the small gut he'd put on. His boss had told him to take the month off for some reason and wouldn't tell him why. He was half-inclined to think it was because of a surgery he was getting soon. He was going to get his wisdom teeth removed and questioned his boss as to why he'd need a whole month off, but his boss never told him. He turned on the water on the sink and was surprised to see the water looked... pixelated.

He blinked and it looked normal. Sighing, he splashed some water on his face in an attempt to clear away the bizarre experience. He looked up at the mirror and was surprised to see his reflection staring at him, standing straight up and disturbingly thin. He held a hand up and waved, realizing that the mirror wasn't showing a reflection anymore. "...It's not real," The reflection whispered. John was confused and leaned forward, trying to see if this was some sort of trick. The reflection suddenly reached out of the mirror, grabbing him by the throat. He grabbed at the reflection's arm in panic, slipping off what felt like something slick. He realized that the water droplets on the reflection's arm weren't water droplets, but clusters of numbers. "This isn't real, John. Wake up." With that, the reflection jerked its arm back, slamming him headfirst into the mirror.

He hit the ground and held his head as pain lanced through it. He held his hand, feeling hot, wet blood soaking it, only to see red binary code covering his hand. He yelled and scrambled to his feet, the towel forgotten. He opened the door to the bathroom and fell into what seemed like a bottomless void, until he realized that blue binary code was beginning to pop into existence around him. He looked around, frantic, and saw Sondra falling alongside him, unconscious. He tried to reach out to her, but was snagged by unseen hands. He yelled out to her as she fell into the void, disintegrating into binary code as she did. He glanced at his outstretched hand and realized that he was likewise disintegrating. However, his code was being pulled upward, and he looked up to see a bright light. He tried to cover his eyes, desperately begging whatever saw fit to do this to him that he could be left alone.

John spasmed and gasped for air as he woke up in reality. His eyes darted all around the room, strange faces staring at him with mixed concern and curiosity. He tried to get off of whatever he was laying on, desperately trying to wake up from this dream before it became nightmarish. He felt two sets of hands grab him, along with a female voice trying to calm him down. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar face. It wasn't the one he thought it would be, but seeing her was something of a relief. He opened his mouth, intending to speak, but closed it immediately when he felt the sudden wave of nausea. Serrin grabbed him as he started to tumble forward, comforting him, "It's okay. You're awake now. These people just rescued us and we're gonna be sticking with them for a little while, okay?"

John thought about it for a bit, and the memories. He could remember everything about his 'dream' so clearly and vividly that it was a strange, scary thought that all of that was just a dream. Yet, everything here felt just as real and suddenly, things began to click into place. He was at one point engaged to a Cerinian named Sondra, but he remembered that they were eloping, and he was unemployed. He then remembered the monsters, the undead shapeshifters that stole the forms of those he knew just to try and kill him, and how he lost contact with Sondra, his father, and stepmother. He then remembered Serrin and Sabre, two other survivors, one of them a trained Starwing Armor pilot, the other an experienced mechanic, and being asked to get into a Stasis Pod as a last resort, in the desperate hopes that they could just outlast the apocalypse and wake up to start over.

Seeing as they were definitely not being attacked by those monsters, John seemed inclined to believe that they had outlasted the apocalypse. He felt weak at the moment though, and with his stomach rolling, it was hard to even entertain the thought of moving if only because he was trying to stop himself from heaving on the floor. He felt Sabre's arm around his shoulder and lift him up with what seemed like no real effort on the vulpine Cerinian's part. He heard one of the strangers speak, "Saru, escort them to the medical bay. We'll need to make sure that they're okay."

The ape being nodded, "I'll take care of them." He turned to the three of them, "Follow me. I'll need to run some basic checks on all three of you."

A/N

→ Original Content (Lyla) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ Whereas the previous story started somewhere around two months after the first one, this one starts only hours after the previous episode. This story's gonna pan out a bit differently. There is going to be a general plot here, but while the previous two were very strictly a "cause-and-effect"-ish plot, this will be more "slice-of-life"-ish by comparison. There will still be an over-arching plot, but it's a bit more relaxed and slow this time.