At last, I'll be doing a real and serious fic that will be read. I had this idea for a few days, so I wrote it. The plot will unfold way later. For the next few chapters, it will be kinda slow. I hope to get the next chapter up. Sorry if it's not interesting at first, but bear with me, something will happen. Oh, and did I mention that this one will be with...well I can't say yet, but I'll give you a clue. It starts with "G" and has to do with Halloween. Once it starts unfolding, you'll know. Enjoy!

9/24/09: I took out the explicit part of the shower. I got a review from this one dude, (anonymous, and that makes me so fucking mad that I can't just tell him that I changed it or to read past it.) and he said it was too revealing. I've known that for months. I changed it so that it's not at all explicit. I'm sorry for that, if any of my veteran readers are reading this.

Malice and Desperation

Chapter 1

The Job Ahead

"I am so bored." Falco complained. The team hadn't had any missions for, what Fox and the others called it, an ass full of eternity. "When the hell is Pepper gonna get some jobs in?"

"You should be thankful." Peppy replied. "The calm is relaxing. Plus, the season's in" It was true. Falco team was playing around this time. Despite that, he wasn't occupied at all during this time, and desperately needed something of leisure to do.

"Still, you've got to admit, even taking down Andross twice is more fun than this." Fox stated. The serenity and relaxation was getting to him, too. It wasn't normal for so few jobs to come up. Even a simple escort assignment would be nice.

"I don't care." Slippy chimed.

"Of course you don't!" Falco yelled. "You could be having fun if you just had a cheese grater!"

"Don't yell at me! It's not my fault that Pepper doesn't call us up for anything!"

"Yeah, but it is your fault for hogging the shower every morning!" Fox and Peppy were getting a tad bit worried, so they vacated the room before things got ugly. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a warm shower?!"

"Shut up! If I don't have a shower at a set temperature…We've been through this, Falco! I'm cold blooded!"

"You must be light headed, too!" That was the last straw. Slippy jumped at Falco and started strangling him. Falco retaliated with a punch to the stomach, making Slippy double over. Fox shut the door before he could witness anything further.

"Didn't know Slippy had it in him." Peppy said. They walked down the hall to the control room. The Great Fox was currently in a hanger on Corneria's surface, so they only saw the inside of it. "Falco is right, though. Without missions, we're going to go bankrupt or something."

"Yeah, I know." Fox was really stumped on this one. "I'm going for a shower." The same path, the same destination, the same routine as before. The hall seemed to stretch on, like it usually did those days. Mainly because of the many times he walked down it. Fox would walk down this same hallway everyday for the past few weeks. From their last mission, the Arwings had been severely damaged. On the upside, they received Cornerian Fighters as replacements until repairs were complete. Sure, they weren't like the Arwings, but they were still efficient. On the negative, they had to mend the Arwings themselves. That brings up the reason why Fox was found down this path.

He entered the bathroom. Once inside, he set the lock function on the door; he had had enough of stress for one day. He stripped down and examined himself in the mirror. Why he did this every time, he had no idea. He spotted several patches of fur dirtied with oil. "Last time I work on the Arwings without my shirt on." He stepped into the shower and switched on the water. It sprayed over him, and he instantly relaxed immensely, as if his worries washed away with the oil. He reached over to the fur and body wash and squirted some into his hands. As he began washing, he really took the time to think of just how extreme this had gotten.

Peppy sat in the captain's chair, asleep from reading the paper. The screen flickered on suddenly, and General Pepper's face appeared.

"Peppy! Wake up!" his booming voice certainly did its job, with added results. The old hare fell out of the chair with a start, which scattered the papers everywhere. It even revealed what Peppy was really reading underneath, which happened to be a suggestible magazine. "Peppy, where is Fox?"

"He's in the shower. Why?"

"I've got a job for you." Peppy's mood brightened instantly. The very deal that had been argued over moments before was now to be resolved.

"You two are hopeless." Krystal's scolding found its way out. The sight of Slippy beating Falco with a ladle and Falco gnawing at Slippy's elbow really brought it out. "You two can argue over anything, can't you?"

"Yes." Falco replied bluntly.

"You're not helping." Slippy interjected.

"Thank you, Slippy. Just because the times look bleak does not mean we have to turn on each other."

"Since when did you become the captain?" Said Falco. Krystal began storming off.

"There's no reasoning with you!" She walks off into the other room. Falco, too, walks off. But he walks to the control room. Slippy follows, much against Falco's knowledge.

"Falco. Slippy. Good to see you again." They look up to see Pepper, grinning at them.

"Pepper…Thought I'd never hear you say that you actually enjoyed seeing us." Falco didn't seem to figure that Pepper was contacting them for a reason other than friendly greetings.

"Well…That really isn't the point is it?" He caught a small scoff from the avian. "I've got a job for you."

"Really?!" Came Krystal's voice. They turned to see that she walked in without any of them knowing. "I've got to tell Fox!" Before anyone can stop her, she bolts down the hallway Fox went.

Fox sighed, not liking the prospect of subsiding work, but thought it was necessary. Recently, he had felt his muscles start to ache. By now, he felt like he went through an intense workout recently before that. Of course, he hadn't. But it couldn't just be time off, not something as subtle as that. He now knew what was needed. A vacation of some sorts. "Screw work. I need some relaxation. We've got enough, we need to take time off." He turned off the water and walked out. He grabbed the towel and began drying off. He walked out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, and proceeded to his room. It was only a few doors down. But his plan was faltered when something called out to him.

"Fox! We got work, finally!" He turned around to see Krystal, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Ah! Next time, knock!" Fox blushed and rushed to his room. Krystal noticed this once she heard his door open and close.

"Fox!" She ran to his door to make sure he could hear her. "Did you even hear me?"

"Yeah. That's great. Just let me get something on."

"Oh…Ok." She walked back to the control room. Fox sighed.

"So much for a vacation."

Fox appeared in the doorway, wearing his traditional flight jacket along with a red t-shirt, jeans and black boots. "'Bout time you called us up Pepper."

"Yes, it has." His gruff voice had not changed.

"So." Fox began. "What's this about a job you have for us?"

There it is, the start. Okay...awkward. Well, I'll get the next chapter up maybe the end of this week, next week...around that area. I hope you can bear with me with this. I will get the point rolling at some point. Krystal will play a big role, I will tell you that. And i just came up with the name before I put this up. I had a hard time choosing, so I went with something that will happen later. Keep impressing me, everyone! Shadow out!