STARFOX: LEGIONS OF DARKNESS
PART THREE: ANYTHING GOES
*As part two ended, Wolf made a swift change of heart, and jumped ship to warn Fox of Andross' diabolical plan. The two made a treaty, and as it seems, the two are allies...meanwhile Andross is pumping more juice into his plan.
'Come to me son, come to me.' I look at him, and he takes me into his arms. I look at his face, and he smiles back. But, he's not my father. He's...it's fuzzy, but it's getting clearer...NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'
"Fox, are you ok?!" Peppy screamed as he ran into Fox's chambers. Fox was curled up in his bed, whimpering like he was a little cub. Peppy tapped him on his shoulder, and he jumped up. "Fox, get a grip! It's just another dream!" Peppy shouted as he slugged him on the back. Fox darted up out of bed, and finally realized where he was. By this time, Falco, Slippy, and even Wolf were in Fox's chambers. And all were genuinly concerned. Fox just looked at the little group and laughed hysterically.
"It's getting worse. Andross must be stepping up his resonance. We only have one choice," Wolf said. "We have to head for Venom," he stated.
"NO WAY! A: Fox is in no shape fo battle; B: Someone's gotta stay to keep him company; and C: We don't trust you enough to stay alone with him, or let you fly with us," Falco screamed. Both pilots began to charge at each other.
With Falco and Wolf at each other's throats, someone had to step up and take command. "Enough!!" Peppy finally shouted. "Now, because I'm second in command, I've gotta take over. Slippy, get me a line to Corneria Air Central. I have to get help from Pepper's forces so we can begin a siege of Venom. Second, I want Falco and Wolf both to keep an eye on Fox. You have my orders," Pepppy powerfully stated. He left the chambers and strode toward the comm room.
"Well. I guess he told you guys. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Fox crazily shouted.
"Oh, this is just GREAT!. The radiation is making him delirious. We have to move quickly. Get him into solitary confinement. Wolf and I will stand guard. Slippy, get that connection up," Falco said. Slippy nodded in agreement, and went to his workstation. Falco and Wolf grabbed the delirious Fox and began to leave.
"Huh?! Hey guys whatcha doing with me?" Fox apparantly snapped out of his delusion, and stood up.
"Hmmmmmm. The radiation has worn off. It seems to only affect him in his sleep. He seems fit now," Wolf stated. Fox carefull stood and knew what was going on. "It's Andross. He told me himself. We have to strike Venom quickly. All of us."
Wolf smirked. Everything was going perfectly to plan.
Andross strode outside his grand palace on Venom. His ground forces stood on either side of him, and gave him fair salute as he passed. Andrew, the emperor's nephew, awaited him somewhere near the end.
"Dear uncle, it does me well to see you well again. Are you feeling all right?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, i've been better. Although your loyal commander walked out on me yesterday morning," the emperor stated. "He seemed afraid of me."
"By no means uncle. He walked out to begin his own plan to help you with Fox. He is now aboard the Great Fox, and will soon deliver Fox into your own hands." Andrew stated. Andross' evil laughter filled the air as they continued down the great parade.
"Signal your fellow pilots, nephew. When StarFox arrives, we will wipe them out." StarFox would be his soon...very soon.
Four arwings and a strange spear-shaped fighter dispatched over Venom. Fox was in the lead of the diamond formation, and Wolf was situated in the middle.
"OK boys. We have a readout of the Imperial Fortress on screen. A weak spot has been located, and the transmission tower is located nearby. Move quickly, keep Andross alive. I want him," Fox ordered his strike team. As the ships met the atmosphere, they were met by the hum of a thousand fighters blocking their passage.
"All fighters pull back, it's a trap!" Fox screamed as bright red laser flashes scorched his hull.
"That's right Fox. It's time you finally met your destiny!"
"Wolf?!" Fox unbelievably screamed.
"That's right, Fox. I've had another of my sudden changes of heart."
Fifteen minutes after the battle began, it ended. The remaining StarFox were all aboard the Great Fox hightailing it back to Corneria for reinforcements, and Wolf had the victory he had so long desired. But the final victory wouldn't be his. It would be Andross'.
"Fox, my dear boy. Such a long time. And you look so rough. Not sleeping well?" Andross sarcastically asked Fox, who was chained to the ceiling in the throne room. Fox was hanging by his arms, and his feet just dangled above the floor. He wouldn't hold up his head, much less answer. Andross provided an answer with a punch straight to Fox's abdomen.
"You know, Fox. You should be honored. Dear old Dad hung right where you are before we killed him," Pigma Dengar sneered. No answer came from the wounded starpilot.
"Let him hang for awhile and make his peace with God. Then kill him."
Fox hung alone in the throne room. The StarWolf pilots had left, leaving him to hang. He thought about a lot of things: his days at the Academy, his campaigns with the Cornerian Air Guard, and his latest adventures with StarFox. Then, he thought of his father. Pigma himself said that he had hung right here before he died. He bowed his head in solemn rememberance, and realized that he had to get out of this place. By the time his father was killed, he was too weak to move. But Fox had regained some strength. He began to swing. Back and forth, back and forth. Wolf walked in with a taser in his hand, and laughed at Fox's attempt.
"Found a way to have a little fun before I send you to hell?? Well, it won't last long. Get ready, 'cause this is reeeeeaaaaaalllllly going to hurt."
The taser connected to Fox's fur, but he acted unphased. He just kept swinging. This angered Wolf, and he tagged him again. But Fox kept swinging.
Wolf stepped in front of him, which was a big mistake. Fox swung right into him, and wrapped his muscular legs around Wolf's neck.
"Time for a change of heart, Wolfie!" Fox made a swift kick, and sent Wolf right into a nearby control panel. The cuffs released, and Fox dropped to the floor.
"You are just making this so much easier for me, Fox. The final victory will be so much sweeter!" Wolf connected with a swift punch to Fox's jaw. Fox stepped back and jumped at his opponent. Fox sent a fast paw to Wolf's muzzle, and he drew blood. He jumped back while Wolf was nursing his broken nose. He had the best time to escape.
"You'll have to wait, Wolf. You'll have to wait."
"I'm telling you, General. Andross has Fox, and he'll have the rest of Lylat if we don't act soon!!" Falco screamed at the general who just calmly sat before him.
"And I'm telling you, Corporal. StarFox isn't a Cornerian Defense affiliate, and our own dictate states that we can't spark war! Anyways, if I did send help, the Senate would have my butt fried in seconds!" Pepper shot back to Falco, who was getting more and more and more heated.
"OK. But General, how many times has Fox saved your 'fried butt?' Our team has helped your forces time after time!" Peppy stated as Falco kept getting angrier and angrier. Slippy jumped up and held Falco down.
"All I can do is tell you who to talk to. His name is Bill. He's the new commander of my Search and Rescue Air Forces. Maybe he can help,"
Pepper gave in. The three remaining members smirked. They would have the help they so desperately needed..
Fox was in the Venomian Air Force hangar. But all the shuttles were locked down, and his own arwing was in pieces in the nearest incenerator. He headed for the nearest launch console, and began punching keys. Soon he stumbled on a pleasant surprise. The keys he had punched had been luckily accepted as Andross' own password.
"Welcome, emperor." The machine spoke in a monotonious voice. Fox looked on the monitor, and saw the proper key to press to open the hangar doors and give him access to the Venomian shuttles. But just as he began to leave, something caught his eye. There was a section called "Personal Files." Fox, intrigued at this attempt to try and decipher the emperor's personal plans, opened the folder.
"Project Lotus
Subject 10-4532
Gracious emperor,
The subject is ready, and is developing in the Development Chamber. He shall be ready in a number of weeks. You will be very pleased with this project, for he is an exact duplicate of you..."
Fox looked at the date of the document, and it was dated two weeks before Fox had killed Andross. It all of a sudden made too much sense. The new Andross is a clone. He could tell subtle differences than the original, but they were TOO subtle. So this was Andross' great victory plan. He had a clone manufactured, and he would use it as a rallying point for Venom's forces. He saw a small disk near the terminal, and saved the entire file. As he began to leave, something caught his eye.
"...and this duplicate can finish everything you have begun. Including the extermination of StarFox and the Cornerian Air Guard."
"Howdy boys! You all are looking sharp! Fox back up there?" the seasoned starpilot called Bill asked the three flyers for Starfox.
"No, I'm afraid that it's much worse than that. Andross sent a spy, and they got him. Pepper told us to find you because he said you could help us." Slippy told him.
"Well, you boys came to the right place. But recon isn't exactly my bag. We'll have to get everything cleared through the Senate. But that won't take too long. Fox will be safe in no time."
The shuttle was a rickety little VS-102 model, something older than his father would be. But it had a good transmitter. And he would need it. The path was pretty much clear, until he got to the Defense Lines just outside the atmosphere.
"State your business for leaving, please," the commander of the Defense Guard stated to Fox.
"Gabriel Ajer, Corporal of Venomian Land Infantry, is aboard, set course for Aquas." Fox slickly lied.
"You're clear."
The Great Fox led a massive division of fighters and cruisers headed for Venom. Falco and Peppy stood in the Comm Center, while Slippy made impressive alterations to the G-Diffuser units. Bill and his fleet were behind the Dreadnought cruiser, staying in tight formation.
"Do you think that he's alive, Peppy?" a worried Falco asked the seasoned fighter.
"Knowing Fox, he probally is." Peppy stated. "But the cruelty of Andross could have taken him long ago."
The flyer droid, ROB, came on the screen. "Venomian shuttle on radar, one passenger. Sending transmissions."
"Play them ROB." Peppy ordered.
"Fox McCloud, commander of StarFox, to any ships under alliance to the Cornerian Air Guard. I am safe, and I am carrying important top secret documents stolen from Andross."
"It's him! He's alive! He's alive!"
Author's note: Thanks to all the great reviews! This one's a bit longer, hope you enjoy. Look for the next (and maybe last I'm not for sure yet) installment in a few days!
OMEGAKNIGHT
PART THREE: ANYTHING GOES
*As part two ended, Wolf made a swift change of heart, and jumped ship to warn Fox of Andross' diabolical plan. The two made a treaty, and as it seems, the two are allies...meanwhile Andross is pumping more juice into his plan.
'Come to me son, come to me.' I look at him, and he takes me into his arms. I look at his face, and he smiles back. But, he's not my father. He's...it's fuzzy, but it's getting clearer...NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'
"Fox, are you ok?!" Peppy screamed as he ran into Fox's chambers. Fox was curled up in his bed, whimpering like he was a little cub. Peppy tapped him on his shoulder, and he jumped up. "Fox, get a grip! It's just another dream!" Peppy shouted as he slugged him on the back. Fox darted up out of bed, and finally realized where he was. By this time, Falco, Slippy, and even Wolf were in Fox's chambers. And all were genuinly concerned. Fox just looked at the little group and laughed hysterically.
"It's getting worse. Andross must be stepping up his resonance. We only have one choice," Wolf said. "We have to head for Venom," he stated.
"NO WAY! A: Fox is in no shape fo battle; B: Someone's gotta stay to keep him company; and C: We don't trust you enough to stay alone with him, or let you fly with us," Falco screamed. Both pilots began to charge at each other.
With Falco and Wolf at each other's throats, someone had to step up and take command. "Enough!!" Peppy finally shouted. "Now, because I'm second in command, I've gotta take over. Slippy, get me a line to Corneria Air Central. I have to get help from Pepper's forces so we can begin a siege of Venom. Second, I want Falco and Wolf both to keep an eye on Fox. You have my orders," Pepppy powerfully stated. He left the chambers and strode toward the comm room.
"Well. I guess he told you guys. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Fox crazily shouted.
"Oh, this is just GREAT!. The radiation is making him delirious. We have to move quickly. Get him into solitary confinement. Wolf and I will stand guard. Slippy, get that connection up," Falco said. Slippy nodded in agreement, and went to his workstation. Falco and Wolf grabbed the delirious Fox and began to leave.
"Huh?! Hey guys whatcha doing with me?" Fox apparantly snapped out of his delusion, and stood up.
"Hmmmmmm. The radiation has worn off. It seems to only affect him in his sleep. He seems fit now," Wolf stated. Fox carefull stood and knew what was going on. "It's Andross. He told me himself. We have to strike Venom quickly. All of us."
Wolf smirked. Everything was going perfectly to plan.
Andross strode outside his grand palace on Venom. His ground forces stood on either side of him, and gave him fair salute as he passed. Andrew, the emperor's nephew, awaited him somewhere near the end.
"Dear uncle, it does me well to see you well again. Are you feeling all right?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, i've been better. Although your loyal commander walked out on me yesterday morning," the emperor stated. "He seemed afraid of me."
"By no means uncle. He walked out to begin his own plan to help you with Fox. He is now aboard the Great Fox, and will soon deliver Fox into your own hands." Andrew stated. Andross' evil laughter filled the air as they continued down the great parade.
"Signal your fellow pilots, nephew. When StarFox arrives, we will wipe them out." StarFox would be his soon...very soon.
Four arwings and a strange spear-shaped fighter dispatched over Venom. Fox was in the lead of the diamond formation, and Wolf was situated in the middle.
"OK boys. We have a readout of the Imperial Fortress on screen. A weak spot has been located, and the transmission tower is located nearby. Move quickly, keep Andross alive. I want him," Fox ordered his strike team. As the ships met the atmosphere, they were met by the hum of a thousand fighters blocking their passage.
"All fighters pull back, it's a trap!" Fox screamed as bright red laser flashes scorched his hull.
"That's right Fox. It's time you finally met your destiny!"
"Wolf?!" Fox unbelievably screamed.
"That's right, Fox. I've had another of my sudden changes of heart."
Fifteen minutes after the battle began, it ended. The remaining StarFox were all aboard the Great Fox hightailing it back to Corneria for reinforcements, and Wolf had the victory he had so long desired. But the final victory wouldn't be his. It would be Andross'.
"Fox, my dear boy. Such a long time. And you look so rough. Not sleeping well?" Andross sarcastically asked Fox, who was chained to the ceiling in the throne room. Fox was hanging by his arms, and his feet just dangled above the floor. He wouldn't hold up his head, much less answer. Andross provided an answer with a punch straight to Fox's abdomen.
"You know, Fox. You should be honored. Dear old Dad hung right where you are before we killed him," Pigma Dengar sneered. No answer came from the wounded starpilot.
"Let him hang for awhile and make his peace with God. Then kill him."
Fox hung alone in the throne room. The StarWolf pilots had left, leaving him to hang. He thought about a lot of things: his days at the Academy, his campaigns with the Cornerian Air Guard, and his latest adventures with StarFox. Then, he thought of his father. Pigma himself said that he had hung right here before he died. He bowed his head in solemn rememberance, and realized that he had to get out of this place. By the time his father was killed, he was too weak to move. But Fox had regained some strength. He began to swing. Back and forth, back and forth. Wolf walked in with a taser in his hand, and laughed at Fox's attempt.
"Found a way to have a little fun before I send you to hell?? Well, it won't last long. Get ready, 'cause this is reeeeeaaaaaalllllly going to hurt."
The taser connected to Fox's fur, but he acted unphased. He just kept swinging. This angered Wolf, and he tagged him again. But Fox kept swinging.
Wolf stepped in front of him, which was a big mistake. Fox swung right into him, and wrapped his muscular legs around Wolf's neck.
"Time for a change of heart, Wolfie!" Fox made a swift kick, and sent Wolf right into a nearby control panel. The cuffs released, and Fox dropped to the floor.
"You are just making this so much easier for me, Fox. The final victory will be so much sweeter!" Wolf connected with a swift punch to Fox's jaw. Fox stepped back and jumped at his opponent. Fox sent a fast paw to Wolf's muzzle, and he drew blood. He jumped back while Wolf was nursing his broken nose. He had the best time to escape.
"You'll have to wait, Wolf. You'll have to wait."
"I'm telling you, General. Andross has Fox, and he'll have the rest of Lylat if we don't act soon!!" Falco screamed at the general who just calmly sat before him.
"And I'm telling you, Corporal. StarFox isn't a Cornerian Defense affiliate, and our own dictate states that we can't spark war! Anyways, if I did send help, the Senate would have my butt fried in seconds!" Pepper shot back to Falco, who was getting more and more and more heated.
"OK. But General, how many times has Fox saved your 'fried butt?' Our team has helped your forces time after time!" Peppy stated as Falco kept getting angrier and angrier. Slippy jumped up and held Falco down.
"All I can do is tell you who to talk to. His name is Bill. He's the new commander of my Search and Rescue Air Forces. Maybe he can help,"
Pepper gave in. The three remaining members smirked. They would have the help they so desperately needed..
Fox was in the Venomian Air Force hangar. But all the shuttles were locked down, and his own arwing was in pieces in the nearest incenerator. He headed for the nearest launch console, and began punching keys. Soon he stumbled on a pleasant surprise. The keys he had punched had been luckily accepted as Andross' own password.
"Welcome, emperor." The machine spoke in a monotonious voice. Fox looked on the monitor, and saw the proper key to press to open the hangar doors and give him access to the Venomian shuttles. But just as he began to leave, something caught his eye. There was a section called "Personal Files." Fox, intrigued at this attempt to try and decipher the emperor's personal plans, opened the folder.
"Project Lotus
Subject 10-4532
Gracious emperor,
The subject is ready, and is developing in the Development Chamber. He shall be ready in a number of weeks. You will be very pleased with this project, for he is an exact duplicate of you..."
Fox looked at the date of the document, and it was dated two weeks before Fox had killed Andross. It all of a sudden made too much sense. The new Andross is a clone. He could tell subtle differences than the original, but they were TOO subtle. So this was Andross' great victory plan. He had a clone manufactured, and he would use it as a rallying point for Venom's forces. He saw a small disk near the terminal, and saved the entire file. As he began to leave, something caught his eye.
"...and this duplicate can finish everything you have begun. Including the extermination of StarFox and the Cornerian Air Guard."
"Howdy boys! You all are looking sharp! Fox back up there?" the seasoned starpilot called Bill asked the three flyers for Starfox.
"No, I'm afraid that it's much worse than that. Andross sent a spy, and they got him. Pepper told us to find you because he said you could help us." Slippy told him.
"Well, you boys came to the right place. But recon isn't exactly my bag. We'll have to get everything cleared through the Senate. But that won't take too long. Fox will be safe in no time."
The shuttle was a rickety little VS-102 model, something older than his father would be. But it had a good transmitter. And he would need it. The path was pretty much clear, until he got to the Defense Lines just outside the atmosphere.
"State your business for leaving, please," the commander of the Defense Guard stated to Fox.
"Gabriel Ajer, Corporal of Venomian Land Infantry, is aboard, set course for Aquas." Fox slickly lied.
"You're clear."
The Great Fox led a massive division of fighters and cruisers headed for Venom. Falco and Peppy stood in the Comm Center, while Slippy made impressive alterations to the G-Diffuser units. Bill and his fleet were behind the Dreadnought cruiser, staying in tight formation.
"Do you think that he's alive, Peppy?" a worried Falco asked the seasoned fighter.
"Knowing Fox, he probally is." Peppy stated. "But the cruelty of Andross could have taken him long ago."
The flyer droid, ROB, came on the screen. "Venomian shuttle on radar, one passenger. Sending transmissions."
"Play them ROB." Peppy ordered.
"Fox McCloud, commander of StarFox, to any ships under alliance to the Cornerian Air Guard. I am safe, and I am carrying important top secret documents stolen from Andross."
"It's him! He's alive! He's alive!"
Author's note: Thanks to all the great reviews! This one's a bit longer, hope you enjoy. Look for the next (and maybe last I'm not for sure yet) installment in a few days!
OMEGAKNIGHT