Alright! I am back and I brought with me a new story. Now, as the title might say what this story is about, this takes place before The Rise of Styx Omega. This is the prequel guys. You will learn a lot of things about how Fox becomes Krieger Aurelius and it'll be in good detail. Plus, you will get to learn about my OC, Jeff Meiners and how he became the wolf you read about from Fear Styx Omega. Sounds like a lot of good stuff and I hope you enjoy it! As always, I do not own Star Fox nor any of its characters except for my OC.
Also: I like to add by thanking a few people who helped me with some ideas to help me along with making the prequel. SpyketheWolf, Bryan McCloud. You're good people. Thank you for the help. Now, enjoy!
StarFox: Before Styx Omega
I gazed upon everything that once was considered to be the best technology in all of Lylat. Truly was an honor to be able to be in command of such a ship during the Lylat War. It may have belonged to my father and passed down when it was time for me to take over the family business, but the first time I stepped forth into this ship. It had become my new home.
Now, as I continue to sit in the same chair I sat in during that war. I can see nothing, but a battle-worn ship. The Great Fox, only eight years later, was now on the verge of total system shutdown.
I turn my gaze over to my friend, Slippy, who was working underneath a console that controlled the propulsion. His foot tapping to the bass of the song playing in the background. How he managed to get the song Undead by Hollywood Undead was beyond me, but it was a catchy song to listen to for its genre.
Thanks to his superior mind and his expertise on electronics and his superior mechanics skills, he was the only thing that was keeping this ship in running order. I guarantee the one day he decides to take a day off, the ship will shutdown and that will be the end of the Great Fox. Sad to say though, he's had to use some important equipment to make sure this ship stayed running. He basically had to completely dismantle the Arwings except mine, all the Landmaster Tanks and the Blue Marine, just to make sure this ship stayed running.
I turned my head and found a gray hare playing himself in a game of chess. This same hare has been like a father-figure to him. Peppy had been around since Star Fox was first created by my father, James. He's my godfather actually.
I first met him when I was only one year old. Been unable to leave me since. Always doing his best to teach me everything he knew, from basic wisdom on life, to doing a barrel roll in an Arwing.
When my mother, Vixy died, it was a hard time for my father and I. Thanks to their kind nature, Peppy and his wife, Vivian were always around to make sure we were okay. Soon though, it had just became James, Peppy, his daughter Lucy and myself when Vivian died when Lucy was only thirteen.
It was a hard time for all of us and soon that's when I met Slippy and Beltino Toad. Beltino was a famous scientist in the Lylat System and no other superior mind came close to him. It was thanks to him that the system had today's Hype-Worm technology. Today though, he claims he can make a new type of space travel, calling it a Warp Gate. Seemed unlikely to me, but we'll see.
It was also thanks to Beltino though that we now have everything we have today. His ingenious mind was far ahead of its time when he thought of the technology for the Arwing. G-Diffuser systems. No one had ever thought of it and they were always remembered because of how superior they were.
The Great Fox soon afterwards and there was something different about the way this ship was made compared to other battleships and destroyers. The main cannons themselves were more powerful than any ship in commission and armored plating installed to help the Great Fox withstand a massive bombardment against enemy ships. Not even three direct missile impacts against the same spot during the Sector Z mission was enough to destroy the ship. Took it out of commission yes when we had arrived in Area Six, but not enough to destroy it.
Everything was coming according to plan, but they were still rough times for the McCloud family. You see, when my mother died, her car exploded and instantly killed her. The thing was, it was meant for my father. No one really knew who could've done such a thing, but the answer came a short time later.
Andross Oikonny, another one of Corneria's brilliant scientists, had committed the murder. When he was banished from the planet and was forced to take refuse on Venom, his idea for Bio-weapons proved more harmful than good. The once fertile landscape of both Venom and Zoness were no more.
Venom, with its acid-filled oceans and its contaminated atmosphere caused a lot of the people to ask why. Andross only answered it was Corneria's doing. A war was soon going to break out because of this.
General Pepper knew something was happening over on Venom and decided to use the newly formed Star Fox team to investigate. James McCloud, Peppy Hare and Pigma Dengar were sent in their new Arwings to find out what was happening.
Pigma betrayed the team, as he was working for Andross the entire time. Peppy was barely able to escape Venom, but someone was unable to. My father, James.
I swore vengeance that day to kill the ape that destroyed my entire family. With the help of various members over the years; which included Fara Phoenix, Falco Lombardi, Slippy and Peppy, we were able to put a stop to Andross' evil bio-weapons and I was able to destroy him. I could've sworn that I saw my father as I left Venom, but it didn't seem possible. One mystery I still have yet to figure out. "Son of a bitch!"
My mind snapped free from reminiscing and I turned my head over to a loud crash to my right. Slippy had dropped his tray of tools on his foot and now he was hopping around, trying to soothe the pain.
"You okay over there, Slip?"
"Yeah, just screwing up as usual. I'm the only one doing stuff around here so I was bound to hurt myself eventually."
"Well, don't forget to do your daily inspection of the Arwing. That's the only true working thing we have left."
"Yeah yeah. Don't worry. I won't." The toad said with a lot of annoyance in his voice. I could tell he was sick of doing all the mechanical work around here.
My personal Arwing was the only thing I had that was in working order. Everything else was dismantled, except for one certain Arwing. This belonging to Falco. He had left the team and took the last working Arwing with him. I guess to try and prove he didn't need us. Still was always a cocky fucker.
"Slippy? You got anything else on that player thing of yours? This metal-type music just isn't really cutting it for me."
"What are you in a mood for then?"
"I don't know. You know me for being more of a classic guy than anything. How about a little I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) by The Moody Blues?"
"Ah. Going with the classic rock kind of music. I think I can make it happen." The green toad said, as he walked over to the stereo and began to flip through his MP3 player, discovering the requested song a moment later. With in seconds, the song began.
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about." I said, feeling a small urge to start dancing a little bit. Though, that will never happen because I am considered to be one of the worst dancers of all time. I'll save you from being blind so you won't have to see that.
"Check." Peppy called out, still continuing to play his solo chess game.
"G-7."
"G-7? What about it? I have a Knight there."
"Hit. You sunk my carrier."
"Fox. Shut up, you're bothering me." Peppy countered, causing me to laugh a bit, while he went back to his game.
This was basically what went in day-in and day-out. There was nothing we could do, but try to survive together. It's the only true family I have left. I don't plan on abandoning them any time soon.
"Engine-three is overheating, request immediate shutdown!" The synthetic voice that we all knew belonged to ROB64, yelled, or at least what he called a yell.
"Fuck! Shut it down quickly, ROB!" I ordered, hoping that I yelled with plenty of time to spare.
As ROB continued to work on the console, something caught the robots attention. "The engine is not responding. Must require a manual shutdown in fifteen seconds."
"Shit!" I yelled, pushing myself out of the chair I was sitting in and took off out of the bridge, down the hall towards the engine room.
I knew this was useless because it took like twelve to get there and I already wasted two of them trying to leave the bridge. I was by far the fastest runner on the Star Fox team, by even I knew running proved to be futile. It didn't stop me though.
I kicked open the metal door that separated me and the engine room, but that also proved to be the most retarded thing ever. Knowing that I may have just broke my foot, I opened the door by pushing the button on the frame and experienced one of the worst feelings ever.
The number three engine was giving off so much heat that when it finally overheated beyond its maximum limit, it exploded and I was thrown from the engine room. Landing about fifteen feet away, I got back up and sealed the door and turned on the Halon system before a fire could brew.
"Mother fucking shit!" I yelled, as I collapsed to the floor, grabbing my foot with both hands.
It was another calm morning as I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, fixing my head fur the way I usually do. Put a little gel in it and it made it all spiky. A lot of my friends liked it, but one particular really enjoyed it the most. Only reason why I kept doing it.
"Jeffrey, dear? Your breakfast is almost ready." A female voice yelled from a sub floor below me. It could only be my mother.
"Be right down, mom. Just finishing getting ready."
"It's on the kitchen table."
I smiled as I went back to the mirror and looked at my face. Perfect. I looked at my black fur and it was satisfied that I did a good job. I was always tempted to dye a white stripe down the center of my head, but then I be called a skunk. I don't know. I was eight, I still had a lot of dumb ideas ahead of me so we'll see.
I ran down the stairs and plopped my butt down on the chair I usually sat at. Right between my mom and my dad. My dad was already at work, he actually arrived at work around seven so he always left early.
My mom walked up behind me and kissed my forehead and said good morning to me. She smiled as I took huge bites out of my Toaster Strudel. "Jeff, how many times do I have to tell you to take smaller bites?"
"Until I finally learn to do so?"
"Don't get smart with me."
"Sorry, mom." I sulked, as I took a much smaller bite than I used to doing. She smiled and got up from her chair with her cup of coffee and went to go watch the morning news.
When she left, I took one huge bite and smiled to myself.
"I'm leaving for school, mom."
"Hold on. I'm coming." She said, as she walked into the front hallway of my house and wrapped me in a hug. "Have a good day, sweetie."
"You too."
"Be safe."
"Always am." I say the phrase I always say to her. When I say that to her, she's able to relax because she knows that I would never disobey her.
I ran out the door and found a couple of my friends already waiting for me. An orange feline who was my friend, Bill and a Saint Bernard, who was my friend Mike.
"You guys do that math homework Ms. Donovan assigned to us?" My friend Alex questioned
"Yeah I did and did you find it easy beyond belief?" "It was very easy, wasn't it? Hard to believe that's considered third grade math. I wonder what's in store for us today?" "Who knows, Jeff, but I bet I know who is gonna be really excited to see you." "Come on, Bill. Erin is just my friend. Just 'cause she hangs around me a lot doesn't mean anything."
"Sure it does. She has a crush on you."
"She does not."
"Wanna bet on it?" "I don't have anything to bet!" "Chicken." "I am not." "Chicken"
"You guys suck."
"Alright everyone. Please take your seats and we'll get class underway." My teacher, Ms. Donovan told everyone in class. She said it awfully soft, but we knew she could have a temper if provoked and we didn't want to see it. So we followed her orders and waited for the hippopotamus to start her lecture.
She smiled before she began, "Very good class. Now did everyone do their homework last night?" "Yes, Ms. Donovan" The class yelled in almost perfect unison. "Wonderful. Now I want all of you to get in groups of four and discuss your homework. In about ten minutes, we will go over it. Questions?"
"Do we choose anyone or just our table groups?" A girl in my class, Christina, a Chihuahua asked after she rose her hand.
"I'll leave it up to you, but if you just want to do table groups. That is fine by me. So let's go to work." She finished, as she watched everyone begin to ask one another to be in their group.
When it was all said and done, I was grouped with Erin, my friend James, a golden retriever and my friend Stephen, a wolfhound.
As we discussed our homework, I couldn't help, but notice that Erin was sitting awfully close to me. I turned and looked at the squirrel, as she didn't bother look at me, but kept her eyes on my homework. She was about less than a foot away from me and I was beginning to think that it was smart of me to not have bet my friends.
"Erin? I hope you are not copying Jeff's homework."
"I'm not Ms. Donovan. I'm just comparing." She said, as she backed herself away from me.
"I certainly hope so."
"She is, Ms. Donovan. We're just comparing."
"Well, talk about it too. I want to make sure that all of you understand the homework because I'm going to have a few of you write the problems on the board."
"Yes, Ms. Donovan." The class said in unison, as we all lowered our heads and got back to work.
(Next Class)
"Alright, class. Today, we are going to do state capitols. We are however, going to be doing the capitols of the planet Earth. Now, as I show you this map." My other teacher, Mrs. Sanders said, an elephant, as she lowered the map, "Earth consists of seven different continents. Different than Corneria, the planet is mostly water and all the landmasses are separated by large oceans. We are going to focus today on this spot of land here. The United States of America. Flip your geography books to page twenty-seven."
The class did what we were told and soon we were staring at the country on Earth. "This once planet was habited by a race known as humans, but a close to forty years ago. A string of bad luck led them to abandon the planet. We inhabited the planet and it has become the home to more than ten billion Lylatians. All in a matter of forty years." Mrs. Sanders smiled when she heard the class were struck in awe at the large number that was formed in such a small time.
"Now. Back to capitols. As you can see, the United States have a total of fifty states. A plot of land within its border was called a state. For starters, the state known as Illinois is outlined within these borders. It was easy for them to determine the border to its west because of this river known as the Mississippi River. The largest city in Illinois is Chicago, located here. The number is hard to determine, but it is said that over three million lived in Chicago. Would you think that is considered the capitol?"
Everyone nodded and expected their answers to be right. "Wrong. The capitol is way down here, in the city of Springfield."
"Are we going to need to know why the capitols what they are?" "No, Brandon. I just need you to know memorize the capitols when we take our tests next week. Now, look for the state of California and tell me its capitol."
Every one of us began in search for the capitol. It was hard because this was the first time I was looking at Earth and so I had no idea where to look. "Sacramento."
I looked up and saw my friend Anna had found the answer. "Very good, Anna. As you look right here, this is the state of California and right here. Is the capitol, Sacramento."
(Lunch)
We all gathered around our designated lunch tables, as we started to eat lunch. Like always, my mom made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a bag of Doritos and cookies. She also always gave me a quarter so I can buy a carton of milk.
"Why do you suppose we are already learning about Earth when I barely known enough about Corneria as is?"
"I don't know, Jeff, but I find this rather interesting."
"You find everything interesting, Bill. You were born to learn everything there is to know."
"Speaking of born. What are you doing for your birthday tomorrow?"
"My mom's side of the family is coming over to my house. She said I can invite a few friends over and so you guys are invited."
"You going to invite Erin?"
"Why do you always bring her up? She's my friend. Nothing more." "Hi, Jeff."
I quickly turned my head towards the direction of the female squirrel that stood right beside me. "You mind if I sit down with you guys?"
"No. Not at all." Alex said, pointing at the open spot next to me. I could feel my heart racing and I felt a little sweaty in a matter of seconds and I knew the two guys in front of me saw this.
"How are you, Erin?"
"I'm fine, Alex. How are you?"
"I'm good. Easy math homework, huh?"
"Very. You think it was easy, Jeff?"
I seemed to have frozen, but I did manage to squeak out a word. "Yes."
"You okay?"
"These Doritos. My mom got me the Habanero kind and it's a bit spicy."
"Why would you eat those?" "'Cause they're just so addicting." I said, as I ate another chip and just kept eating them. Erin seemed convinced, but I knew Bill and Alex were laughing at me.
"So, I hear your birthday is tomorrow." I quickly nodded in response. "Any plans?"
"Just family coming over and I get to invite a few friends."
"Am I invited?"
"Yes." I squeaked out again. Causing Bill and Alex to leave the table because they were beginning to laugh a little too hard.
"Great. I can't wait. Do I need to bring a present?"
"No. It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"Okay. You wanna play on the spider web during recess?"
"If they let us outside. Suppose to start snowing soon. At least that what my mom says."
"Well, if we do. Do you?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"Mother fucker! That's hurts!" I yelled in pain, as ROB did his best to wrap my foot in a dressing. Luckily for me, I didn't break my foot, but I did fracture a couple bones. I would have a hard time walking for a couple weeks.
"I understand you were trying to beat the countdown, but what made you think you would be able to kick down a metal door?" "Shut up, Peppy. I wasn't thinking."
"You damn right you weren't."
"Why are you so mad at me?"
"Because I didn't get footage of that. I would've loved to have sold that to Corneria's Funniest Home Videos." "Fuck you." I countered, as Peppy and Slippy began to start cracking up at my fuck up. It was a shame they couldn't even get to see it in person. Oh well. They knew they'll be other days that they'll get to see me screw up.
"There you go, Fox." ROB said, as he finished wrapping my foot. I had little motility, but I guess that's the price you pay for being stupid.
"Thanks, ROB. Get back to your station. I can handle it from here." I said, as I tried to put my combat boot back on. I had a feeling it wasn't going to fit because that wrapping made my foot fatter. I was groaning in pain as I tried to get my foot in the boot, but with success. It fit.
"Incoming message. General Pepper on line one."
"Of course on line one. We don't have anyone on hold! Patch it through." I said, trying to stand up, but I knew this would hurt too much. I grabbed a hold of a piece of titanium and I used that as a walking stick. If I didn't know any better, I think that stick was put there for a reason.
"General Pepper here. How you doing Star Fox team?" "Been better, General. What can we do for you?"
"Fox. We need you to check out the planet on the very edge of Lylat, a planet called Sauria. We received a distress call an hour ago and you are the closest ship to the planet."
"General. We barely have enough power to move, but Sauria is too far away for us. It take us a day to get there and who knows if we have enough power to get back."
"We will pay you handsomely for this."
"So what is it you want us to do?"
"Check out what is the problem with Sauria. It is known as the Dinosaur Planet and they speak a language known as Saurian. Use a translator to figure out what has happened. All we can get from them that the planet is breaking apart. When you arrive, report the appearance of the planet."
"Sure thing, General. Star Fox out." I finished, as I watched the holo-emitter shutdown and we were alone again. "Alright, ROB. Set course for Sauria. Fastest speed you can give us."
"Roger. Setting course and preparing to travel at fifty-seven percent propulsion."
Slippy. In that time, got the Arwing ready because I have a feeling only I'm gonna be able to go down there. I grab a few weapons from the armory and load them into the cargo hold. "Peppy. Don't say a word about me limping."
"Not gonna happen, son."
"I figured." I said, as I did my best to walk normally out of the bridge, but with a stick in my hands and doing my best to keep the weight off my right foot. A laughter could be heard soon afterwards. "I said don't say a word!" "I'm not saying anything. I laughing!" Peppy countered, as his laughter caused him to start crying a little.
It took a total of twelve hours to get to this planet. A trip that should've taken only two so that comes to show how bad of shape the Great Fox really is. Upon arrival and put the planet in a safe geo-synchronize orbit around the planet, we shut off the engines to prevent power from being wasted.
"Look at those tectonic cracks all across the surface. This planet looks like it really is going to break apart."
"The way those cracks look, I'd say we have two week the most, Fox. When it does, it'll cause a complete atmospheric failure and everything on that planet will die in a matter of minutes. Not hours like I'm sure you were expecting."
"Shit, Slip. Alright. The Arwing ready for departure?"
"Yep. I'll inform the General of the situation and tell him how severe things really are."
"Just inform him, but tell him everything is under control. Don't worry about a thing. I got this."
"If you say so. Come on. You got a lot to do and so little time to do it."
"Start the clock because I have a feeling that we may need to do a worldwide evacuation. When there are twelve hours left, inform Pepper that bring as many freighters as possible to get these people off."
"Got it."
With that, I hobbled out of the bridge and made a quick journey down the stairs towards the hanger bay.
It truly was empty in here now. There was only one ship left and this one had been rigged so it would keep running. I had doubts, but I knew it would get me down on the surface and back.
The engines ignited without problems and I took this as a good sign. This was going to be a easy trip down. Pushing the thrust lever forward, I felt the Arwing rise off the deck plating and engaged the main engine.
I exited the Great Fox and I took the time to look at the outer hull, or at least what was left of it. The once bright white ship was black with space debris and wear, the top left wing was still missing after our mission in Sector Z. Now I was able to stare at the destroyed engine three. It was disturbing to look at it.
I turned my head back towards the planet as I now had entered the atmosphere. With a quick adjustments, the G-Diffusers adjusted themselves so they could cause little restriction as I traveled downward.
One minute into the flight through the atmosphere and everything was still going alright. The gages were normal, everything was still in the green. I don't know why I was worried. I soon found out.
Due to the fact that the planet was breaking apart, it was putting too much stress on the atmosphere. As you flew down, if you weren't lucky, you would encounter a sheer force of atmospheric disturbance and it was like being punched in the chest with a sledge hammer.
I bounced around in my cockpit, my head colliding with the console to my right. I could feel blood seeping through my chestnut fur and down the side of my face. I cursed to myself, but that was the least of my worries.
The alarm started blaring and I took a look at the ship's status. One part of the ship was flashing red and it was the one thing I did not need having problems. The G-Diffusers.
I turned around and looked at the right diffuser and saw that it was barely connected with the ship and a large crack forming on the wing and growing bigger. Another impact would tear the ship apart and I knew that, but if I tried to dodge it. The ship was break apart, and I be a falling missile.
I looked down and saw a warning light flashing and I looked up and saw an atmospheric disturbance approaching me. I had no choice and I turned away from the electrical discharge. As predicted, the diffuser snapped off and the crack on the wing grew even bigger. It was barely connected.
"Fuck me. Shouldn't have gotten out of bed today." I said with relief, as I made it past the atmosphere and was now within the planet. Everything would get better now, but I had a problem as I glanced at the speed indicator.
I was going way too fast and with only one diffuser, I'd never be able to stop quick enough and putting so much stress on one for a long period of time could break the other off as well and I really be a falling missile.
The altimeter was now reading seventy thousand feet and dropping fast and at my current rate of descent, I'd hit the ground in about three minutes. I carefully pulled on the joystick, doing everything I can to slow my rate of descent and everything seemed to be responding like they should.
Sixty thousand and the rate was now three thousand feet per minute. I did it. With gradual increase in airbrakes, I'd be able to land with no problems. Loud metal rip! "God damnit." I swore out loud.
I turned my head and saw that the right wing was completely ripped off the ship and my control over the ship was decaying. With a too fast an adjustment, the ship will fly out of control and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
"You know what? Fuck it. Everything else in my life is going wrong right now!" I yelled at no one in particular, as I turned the joystick to the right and immediately found myself going in three-axis tailspin. "Yay me!"
The ship tumbled at a great rate of descent and I was bouncing around in my cockpit, bashing my head in every console that was near me. I didn't care. Not anymore. If I died, so be it. I tried to look at the altimeter and it now was below thirty thousand feet and falling awfully fast. I only had seconds to hit the eject button.
The g-force was too intense and I don't think I would've been able to push the button if an unexpected force shifted the weight of the ship and allowed my hand to travel the short distance.
The canopy was launched from the ship and I was thrown out of the ship with only moments to spare. The first thing I noticed was that the air was beyond cold. It felt like the entire atmosphere was made of ice or something. I felt my chute crush a part of me that I really hold dear. That was the least of my worries.
I could feel myself slow down thanks to the chute, but it was as I looked down that I realized that I had jumped just a few hundred feet above a snow-covered mountain.
The force of impact was enough to shatter my ribs and I instantly cursed and yelled in pain as I began to tumble down the steep slope. The angle of the slope had to have been close to eighty degrees so my speed increased.
I kept telling myself I wasn't going to stop unless I hit the ground or landed on a spire that was specifically designed for me to land on. Both of my thoughts were wrong though.
The slope seemed to have just disappeared and I was falling through the air once again, only to land on a flat piece of land about twenty feet below me. I fell on the ribs I had broken earlier in my tumble and now as I landed on them again. I can only assume they just shattered even more. The force of impact sent me unconscious. There was no scream.
When you are high above on a mountain, one would think that it was cold and you'd be completely retarded for being up this high. You are right. Most of us may have been lucky and have fur to help us adapt to the cold, but if your entire right side has been ripped open thanks to a few ribs. Your fur will never be able to help you.
I couldn't figure out why I felt strangely warm though. I couldn't figure out why I was strangely comfortable. Was I dead? Did I die and go to Heaven or was this Hell playing a cruel joke on me?
I could hear the cracking and popping of a burning fire that sounded awfully close to me. Maybe within five feet of me. I tried to turn, but it felt like every time I tried to move, a force would push me back onto my back. I tried to open my eyes, but that proved to be one of the hardest things ever.
I began to mumble something, but I couldn't even figure out what I was trying to say. It sounded like gibberish mixed with Pig-Latin. "Shhh. Relax." A voice filled my ears, but there was something about this voice. It didn't come from me.
This voice however was the most beautiful sounding thing ever. Almost like it was an angel talking to me. That's it. I must be dead, but why am I in pain? The pain on my right side was too unbearable to deal with, but there wasn't anything I could do.
"Just let me die." I finally found the strength to say, though it was nothing more above a whisper and I hoped it was loud enough because I wasn't about to repeat myself. Plus, with the sound of what sounded like a blizzard, I knew it was pointless.
"You're not going to die and I certainly won't let you either, but if you talk again. I just may."
I never took threats very kindly and I still wasn't going to take this one without making sure that the threat would never come again. I assessed the situation and discreetly found that my blaster was still attached to my leg.
I began to take in deep breaths, trying to find the energy to try and do what I was about to do without hesitation. I waited a good ten seconds, my breaths getting deeper and deeper as each of those seconds passed.
Finally after the tenth second, with extreme great haste; even with shattered ribs, I pulled out of blaster with one hand and grabbed a hold of the throat of the person above me and threw her to the ground. I held her down with my hand and pressed the barrel of the blaster to her temple.
That was when I saw her, a gorgeous blue vixen that looked like she was about to have a heart attack from being so scared. I wasn't even aware of the fact that I was baring my fangs in such a demonic manner.
"Who the fuck are you?" I yelled in her face, feeling strength surge through my arm and crushed her throat a little bit more. It was still tight enough that it was preventing her from talking. Breathing for that matter. "Answer!"
She couldn't and tried to gasp for breath, but my clinched hand was not allowing such a thing. It took me a few seconds later to realize that the strength in my hand was not allowing her to talk. I loosened my hand and she immediately took in a deep breath of cold air.
"Now answer!"
"Krystal." She said, almost in a shrill squeak, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
"Where am I?" "My cave on Ice Mountain."
"What planet?" "Dinosaur Planet!"
I began to think, Dinosaur Planet? Could that be Sauria? It was the only planet in the system that was just dinosaurs and no animals like myself. It must be. Wait, yes! Pepper said to me that Sauria was also known as Dinosaur Planet.
"Where's my ship?"
"About a quarter mile down the mountain. It was destroyed and the wreckage is what remains."
"You will take me there now."
"You are in no condition to be going out in this weather." "You are in no position to be giving me orders!"
"Fox! Be rational about this. You go outside with shattered ribs and with the bleeding you have right now. You won't make it five minutes." I listened to what she had to say, but something that was caused me to freeze. She knew my name, but how? I don't have any form on identification and I never carry it when I'm on a mission like this. This makes no sense. "I'm a telepath. I can read your thoughts and sense your feelings. Everyone on my home planet can." "What are your plans with me then?" I almost yelled at her again, pulling back the hammer of the blaster, getting it ready to fire.
"To nurse you back to health if you let me!" She said, more tears falling from her eyes. I could see it in her, through her cerulean eyes.
"You speak the truth. Why would you want to help a stranger like myself?"
"Because I don't want an extremely handsome vulpine like yourself to die. Such a wonderful gift shouldn't be wasted."
I began to blush from the compliment and I had to admit. As I stared at the vixen in front of me, I couldn't help, but take in her beauty. I lost my strength. I fell and landed on my back again and there I laid I was a moment ago. The blood loss was too much for me to handle now. "Do what you must to me. Just please. Makes the pain go away, Krystal."
She slowly got up and stared at the right side of my chest and how blood was flowing from the wounds caused by my ribs. She had an idea and planned to get to work quickly. "I will, Fox." She concluded, as she leaned forward and kissed my lips before disappearing from my sight.
I just laid there, a smile on my face before my eyes slid closed. Maybe this mission wouldn't be so bad after all.
I waited impatiently for everyone to show up for my party. Today was the day I would be turning eight and I was very excited. I always loved seeing my relatives and with the addition to a few friends. I had a feeling this was going to be a fun party.
My dad sat next to me, reading the newspaper and had a glass of gin right next to him. "You seem awfully excited, JT."
"I am, dad. I turn eight today and I just like having birthdays."
"You won't when you're older, son. Soon, you'll start to regret having birthdays so enjoy them while you're still young."
"Way to put a dampener on my day, pop."
"Just telling you a fact of life, pup."
I turned to look out the window again and saw that the snow had picked up a little, but I know it wouldn't prevent my relatives from coming. We don't get to see each other much so when it came time to finally get together. They'd do their best to make sure they make it.
The first car to show up was a Volvo SUV and I could only assume it belonged to my Aunt Janet and Uncle Chris. Along with them were my cousin Mitchell. Behind the Volvo was a Ford Fusion and I knew that to be my Uncle Bill and Aunt Ellen, with my cousin Kyle.
They all walked up to the door and I greeted everyone and hugs and kisses, while they said happy birthday to me and every greeting to be said on these kinds of occasions.
I soon noticed a couple of other cars, but all they did was drop off their child and drove away. Erin was the first I noticed and she seemed awfully cute for this occasion. Alex and Bill were the next two I noticed and they seemed have just dressed causally for this event.
"Hey guys, good to see all of you. Come on in."
"Hey, Jeff. Happy birthday."
"Yeah yeah. Happy birthday."
"Thanks guys. Hey Erin."
"Hey Jeff. Happy birthday." She said, extending her hands with a gift in them.
"I said you didn't need to get me anything."
"I know, but I still found it to be a nice thing to do."
"Well, thanks. I appreciate it. Come on in, everyone." I said, as I grabbed everyone's coats and hung them in the hallway closet. "Come on. Let's go play a game. Kyle? Mitchell? You coming?" "What game you guys going to play?"
"I got my Game Cube set up downstairs. Let's play a little Super Smash Brothers."
"I'm going to rip you apart with Fox." Kyle said, sounding very eager to start playing.
"Well, you're going down because I am the man with Link." I countered with confidence, as I led the way to my family room down the stairs. A moderate size television was waiting for us, already with my Game Cube hooked up and ready to play. "Alright, everyone. Let's play." I said, as I turned on the game console.
After spending about at least an hour playing videogames, we went outside to start having fun in the snow. Some wanted to have a snowball fight, while others wanted to make igloos.
To me, it didn't matter what we did because right now. I was having the best birthday ever. Having friends and family over to help celebrate the day, it just made me extremely happy.
"Incoming!" My cousin Kyle yelled, as I threw a snowball in my direction. I ducked out of the way and began to form a snowball within my hands. I chucked it hard and missed quite a bit when I tried to aim for my cousin.
Soon after I threw the ball of snow, sides began to form and soon a full-brawl battle commenced. I hid in my poorly made igloo, Erin seemed to have found a way inside with me and we hid, while snowballs pelted the surface.
"How did you get in here? I thought I only made enough room for me."
"I'm small. I don't take up much room and I just followed you. I don't want to get hit by a snowball."
"Hello!" Mitchell yelled, as he chucked a snowball into my igloo. Hitting Erin on the head.
"Hey! You'll regret that!" She yelled, as she exited the igloo and packed a snowball together and threw it at my cousin, surprisingly hitting him in the back of the head and knocking him to the ground.
I just stared at her and was shocked. "You should play baseball. That was a great throw." I complimented her, as I exited my fort and joined in on the fight now.
"Thank you." She said, as she wrapped her arms around me for a big hug. I just stared at her confused, but hugged her nevertheless. She let go and went back to the war.
"Alright, kids. Time for you to come in and grab a bite to eat." My aunt yelled, getting a cheery yell from all of us. She smiled as she backed away from the door and watched all of us entered the house with great haste.
I entered the kitchen after ditching my outside clothes and saw a large plate of hamburgers, just waiting to be eating. I was really excited as I loaded two on there instantly, along with a large amount of french fries. Something caught my attention though as I looked at the food. This is the kind of food you eat from McDonald's.
"Jeff. You better leave enough for everyone else. Just because this is your birthday, doesn't mean that you can eat everything."
"Yes, mom." I said, as I took a seat in the living room and began to eat. A smile on my face after taking the bite. "Mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?" "Thank you for a good birthday." I said, as I got out of my chair and gave my mom a hug and a kiss.
"Oh. Thank you, sweetie." She returned the hug and kiss, a tear forming in her eye from having such a wonderful son.
I had woken up about two hours later and I could already tell that a good amount of pain was gone, but I could still feel a bit of bleeding. Or so I thought. It was just warm water being collected with all the blood. The bleeding had stopped and now all Krystal was doing was cleaning the wound.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been in a crash." I said to her, as I tried to sit up, but her hand kept me in place.
"Your ribs are still very tender right now. I managed to heal them with my staff, but you need to keep still for about another fifteen minutes to make sure that everything was set and healed properly. You do something too fast or too violent, you can break them again."
I groaned with extreme dislike, but I didn't need to be broken again. Though, like always. I don't take kindly to orders. I got up and moved closer to the fire to warm up. It was still awfully cold in this cave and I needed to warm up.
"You got anything to eat?"
"All I got are chunks of meat from Sharpclaws."
"What the fuck are Sharpclaws?"
"A dinosaur species with the intent of taking over this planet. That is why you see the planet the way it is now."
"How the fuck can they do that?"
"You say this word 'fuck' a lot. What does it mean?"
"Consider it like a sentence enhancer. Makes the sentence more interesting to listen to."
"Okay then. Anyway, they stole these things called Krazoa Spirits and these types of stones that keep the planet in order. Without them, the planet becomes unstable and will eventually break apart. These Sharpclaws are under the command of one, General Scales. Calling himself the Dictator of Dinosaur Planet. He thinks that if he has all the spirits and these stones, he will have the power and can never be stopped. He doesn't know the condition of the planet and I believe he wouldn't listen either. He's very power-hungry."
"And how did you manage to come up with all of this?"
"The minds of the Sharpclaws I've killed. The mind tells a lot when a person is dying. Now, are you willing to eat one? I like to think they taste a lot like venison. Only with a bit more kick. Quite tasty."
"I take it that's the fox instinct in you saying that, right?"
"Probably. I like to eat fruits and berries and things like that, but we are on a mountain at an altitude of about six in a half thousand meters. None of those things exist up here."
"What the fuck are Sharpclaws doing up this high? Something must be up here that they are looking for."
"You mean this?" She said, as she pulled out a decent size stone from a bag that was next to the cave wall. She handed it over to me as I gazed at it. "The natives here call these artifacts Spellstones. That is what they were after. My job was to return this stone back to where it lies, but I found you first."
"Well, I appreciate you stopping to save my life. You'll need to take me to my ship. There's a chest inside the cargo hold that I need."
"What's in it?"
"My inventory of weapons. I think they are going to be rather useful on this mission."
"Will they be more effective than what the Sharpclaws have?"
"What do they use?"
"Spears."
"Much more effective. They won't be able to get near us with the weapons I have."
"Well, I strongly recommend you stay here until you are healed. I say tomorrow morning."
"Will that blizzard clear up by then?" "I hope. I was lucky to find this cave. I was even luckier to find you. You crashed about eighty feet below my cave. I turned just in time to see you fall past."
"I fell eighty feet?"
"I think the number is higher. How you are still alive? I don't know, but someone must really like you."
"I think I may know who." I said, as I looked towards the sky and smiled. Krystal just looked at me and turned towards the cave entrance. Even as a telepath, she never expected a sudden kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for helping me."
She smiled and blushed quite a bit. This was actually the first I took in what she wore. All she had on was a bra and a loin cloth. "Aren't you cold?"
"Why you say that?"
"Because of what you are wearing and this kind of weather."
"It's all I have. This is what my people wore on my planet."
"Will I ever get to see this planet of yours?"
Her facial expression changed dramatically, "I think we better get some sleep. Hopefully the storm will clear by then." I took the hint and decided not to pursue the subject, but something did catch my attention. "So….where is this Sharpclaw meat you promised me? I'm starving."
"Right. One second." She said, as she dug into a pile of snow and pulled out what appeared to be the leg. "The snow keeps it fresh. In about fifteen minutes, you can eat. I'm going to bed. The blanket is big enough for two people. You can share it with me when you are ready for bed."
"You don't mind? You just met me."
"I think that if I had already kissed you. I'm comfortable with you."
"If you insist. I'll be along in a bit." She nodded as she lifted her blanket and covered herself under its warmth. "By the way, you ever been to England on Earth?"
"What is England?"
"I'll take that as a no. Night."
"Goodnight." She said very sweetly. I smiled at her as she began to close her eyes. She truly was the definition of beauty. Amazing, of all creatures on this planet, I came across this vixen. That blue fur though. It was rather strange. Just where did she come from? I wonder if she'll ever tell me?
I sighed and looked at the piece of meat in front of me, seeming to be burning rather nicely. Just by the look of it, it held a kick to it. I may be used to eating normal food, but in times like these. You got to 'trust your instincts' and my fox-like instincts were telling me to eat this meat.
By the time the meat was fully cooked, the sun had just about set and I could already tell that the blizzard outside was beginning to die down. The darkening sky began to reveal its nighttime lights and it was a marvelous sight.
From what I could see, the sky was just filled with stars and because it was a bit further away from Solar, but pretty close to the star Krazoa. It changed the entire perplexity of the sky. The sky itself was almost a dark blue, but with streaks of gold racing across the sky. The gold must be the rays coming from Krazoa. 'Marvelous' was the word that came to mind.
I quickly turned down and saw that my meat was burning a bit as a small chunk of meat caught fire, but I quickly managed to put it out before it was ruined. I lifted the meat and set it down on a plate that Krystal seemed to have had.
I stared at the foot long piece of meat and saw that the once green, scaly skin was now cooked to a dark red. Without the use of silverware, I sunk my teeth and ripped off a piece of meat and immediately agreed that it tasted like venison. "Delicious."
I continued to eat that piece of meat until every bit of it was in my stomach. Took me about fifteen minutes to tear every bit off, but once I was done. I couldn't have been more satisfied. A sigh exited my mouth, as I held a big grin with my muzzle.
I grabbed a few pieces of firewood and dropped them into the fire and watched the wood catch fire, before I turned my gaze to Krystal. She was sound asleep now, but the look on her face told a story. She had the look of one who was traumatized. She was in a lot of emotional pain, but from what? What could've happened to her that she was suffering this badly?
I felt bad for her. Here's a vixen that shown nothing, but kindness towards me except for one brief moment and I bet she didn't really mean it, but what do I do? I slam her head into the ground and hold my blaster to her head, threatening to blow her brains out.
As I got to know her, I could finally determine that there probably isn't a nicer animal in Lylat above this vixen sleeping next to me.
Satisfied that the fire would burn for hours, I pulled myself underneath the covers with a bit of difficulty. Thanks to my ribs. I stared at her face, still unchanged and I don't know if I be able to sleep if she continued to be like this.
I grabbed hold of her hand and kissed it softly and she immediately calmed. Her suffering seemed to have ended right then and there. The next thing I did may get me killed in the morning, but at least she wouldn't suffer from the night before. I pulled ourselves closer to each other and wrapped an arm around her waist. A smile grew on her face and I saw no more suffering. In its place, was tranquility. "You're safe now, Krystal."
Krystal was the first to wake up the next morning and found herself unusually comfy. She then noticed something that wasn't a part of her. A chest fur colored arm was wrapped around her waist. She knew that color fur somewhere. It was from the fox she met yesterday.
She carefully turned around and saw that I had fallen asleep with her in my arms. She began to remember the dreams she had last night. She wondered why they all of a sudden it had turned wonderful.
She gazed upon the destruction of her home planet and couldn't help, but feel sorrow for those she had lost. She cried, tears falling from her eyes as she gazed upon the planet that no longer existed.
A voice soon filled her mind, "You will be next. I must have every last one of you to survive. Live while you can because you can't hide forever."
The blue vixen cried in fear as the face revealed itself, but only as a silhouette. A deep bellowing filling the atmosphere around her and she couldn't escape from it. It followed her wherever she went and that laughter wasn't too far behind. She couldn't escape.
"Quit running, you foolish fox. Your time will come no matter what you do."
"Stay the fuck away from her! You will never lay a hand on her! Not while I am around!" A new voice filled the atmosphere, catching Krystal's attention.
She turned to watch the silhouette still facing her, but another creature jumped into the air and impaled what to be her staff, right through the top of his head. A loud cry of agony filled her ears and soon disappeared in a matter of seconds. All that remained…..was Fox?
I began to walk towards her, the staff still in my hands as a bright began to shine behind. Revealing my face.
Krystal was still in a state of shock and looked like she had seen a ghost. It was a soft kiss on her hand that brought her traumatizing pain to an end. She looked up at me, as I held open my arms as the blue vixen ran towards me. Embracing me in a hug as she shed tears of happiness and relief. "You're safe now, Krystal."
Krystal smiled at the dream and then turned to smile at the fox that laid so closely behind her. "I feel safe when I'm with you."
Her words caused me to stir and slowly wake up. I didn't feel any regrets of waking up, as I was feeling rather recharged. I woke and realized that the pain was gone. It was all thanks to this vixen who was looking right at me.
"Good morning."
"Good morning to you. You seem like you are much better."
"It's all thanks to you. I can't feel any pain at all. Thank you so much." I said, as I pressed my lips against hers, which she found a bit of a shock, but she still returned the kiss.
I pulled away and looked at her beautiful face, before I looked up and saw the bright, morning sky. "We better get going soon. I'll follow you to my ship and then we will find where that stone of yours goes."
"Sounds good to me. Probably best we grab a quick bite. I can cook the meat quickly."
"I always carry a small supplies of food in that chest. We can eat then. Let's get ready and move out."
"Okay. Sounds good to me." Krystal said, as she pushed the blanket off of her and began to fold it neatly into her bag.
I lifted my shirt and found that there was no scar or anything. Not even a disturbance in my fur. It was like I had nothing wrong with me in the first place. I don't know who this vixen was, but she was amazing.
I checked the condition of my blaster and primed it in case we were ambushed. I helped Krystal to her feet and we made our way out of the cave and into the morning air.
The view was spectacular. Amazing we were able to breath rather easily at this altitude. Didn't seem possible, but maybe the atmosphere was so enriched with oxygen, it allowed us to breath easier.
"Down there. About a quarter mile to our right. That's where I found your ship."
I squinted and tried to find anything that could've resembled it. All I saw was a black dot amongst nothing, but white. "That's it. Has to be. Come on let's go."
We began to head down the steep mountain side and told ourselves that we need to be awfully careful. One slip and we be experiencing what I experienced yesterday. No way I wanted to go through that pain again. Not ever.
"Star Fox?"
"That's what we called my team. We are called mercenaries. A group of people being paid to do dirty work that no one else can do."
"We had something like that. We called them, Seekers. They would be able to seek anything a normal hunter wouldn't. I was considered a seeker. One of the top seekers in my village."
"That's very impressive. Can't wait to see you in action." I said, as I began to break into the cargo bay door, trying my best to pry it away from the hull. Took several attempts, but I finally managed to do so. Inside, with many burn marks and dents was the chest I was looking for.
"That's it?"
"That's it. One sec." I said, as I pressed a series of numbers and the locking mechanism turned off. I lifted the chest and found several weapons.
"What is all of this?"
"Couple machineguns. A Gatling Gun. A H. Launcher. Several mines and a sniper rifle." Krystal just looked at me with a confused look. I smiled to myself, "these are the weapons I said that will keep us alive. Sharpclaws don't stand a chance. This thing right here is the trigger. Squeeze, don't pull. Aim using these indicators here. Line up your good eye with the indicator and aim straight down the aim barrel. You fire from the hip, you'll likely be less accurate and your shots will be all over the place. Only exception is the Gatling Gun because there is no other way of holding it. Plus it fires so fast, you don't have to worry. Each of these cells are full. When you need to reload, push this button here and toss it aside and put in a new one. It arms automatically. Got it?" Fox asked, as he began to laugh from looking at Krystal's bewildered face.
"I think so. Can I just use my staff? It'll be much easier for me."
"I suppose, but you'll learn as you go along. In the mean time, let's go hunting." And with that, we began to make our way back up the mountain in our search of where this stone lies.