A/N: Hello, everyone, and welcome to a brand new Star Fox story, Out of the Shadows! I have decided to begin writing this story after recently getting hooked on the Star Fox Series, starting with the remake, Star Fox Zero. To clarify what time period we are in, this story takes place after the events of Star Fox Assault. And the beginning of the story is a memory, anything in italics will mean a memory or thoughts. Thank you, and enjoy reading.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Star Fox Series or Nintendo, and I respect their copyrights.
Out of the Shadows, Chapter 1: Memories(Prologue)
"I can't believe…after all this time. It's really true. He's…"
Rubbing his eyes, Fox McCloud stared vacantly up into the dark ceiling of his room on the Great Fox II. It had been so many years of wondering, so many what if's, so many questions, but now he'd finally be able to get the closure he'd been seeking, even if it did come with a great deal of pain.
With a deep sigh, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and gingerly found his feet. Walking over to a small closet in the corner of his room, he began to dress himself for the day to come. To the simple, unknowing eye, it may have just looked like a simple black sports coat, red tie, dark blue dress pants and black leather shoes, but to Fox, these simple articles of clothes meant something so much more.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he immediately felt himself welling up.
"Father…"
Suddenly, an abrupt voice from his doorway shook him from his morose feelings.
"Fox? Come on, we got five minutes before we land! ROB said we might even land earlier than expected!" His teammate Falco shouted as Fox opened the door. The avian was the best pilot he knew. Though arrogant and full of himself sometimes, Falco had always proven to be a great addition to the team and a life-long friend despite his attitude.
"I know, I'm sorry," Fox rushed as he fought the tears back in his eyes. "I just never thought this day would come…"
"…It's alright buddy, it's been tough for all of us. Your Father was a hero to all of us, you know?" he sighed. He never liked seeing Fox like this. Falco always felt a little unsure about how to handle these emotional situations, but it felt a little more natural in this case. His father was a huge impact on Fox's life, and they all thought this would never happen. But it did, and now they'd all have to face this moment together.
Suddenly, a jarring metallic voice blared from the speakers that lined the hallways of the Great Fox II.
"APPROACHING ATMOSPHERE INBOUND! LANDING IN 2 MINUTES!"
Fox and Falco shared a silent nod before starting to walked free of the vulpine's room.
"Fox, you got your testimony paper with you?" Falco asked after moments of uncomfortable silence.
Fox pulled out a piece of folded up paper from his suit pocket and flashed it at his teammate. "Yes, I do, when will I read it?"
Falco was holding his testimony paper, reading it a few times. After a few seconds, he put it down and responded. "After General Pepper makes his testimony, you will go up first," Fox sighed as they reached their destination, a large room full of bay doors that would soon serve as their exit to Corneria.
It was as they entered this room that they were both immediately met with the sad faces of the rest of the Star Fox crew. Krystal, Slippy and Peppy all hesitated momentarily as they watched Fox and Falco somberly approach. Krystal was the first the break the stalemate however, and she quickly closed the distance between herself and Fox to give him a warm, comforting hug. Slippy and Peppy slowly followed suit, offering kind words of their own.
The Great Fox II landed with a subtle thud moments later in a designated docking bay on the surface of Corneria. As they walked free from their spaceship, Cornerian guards quickly surrounded and escorted them towards a large auditorium that would serve as the venue for the coming ceremony.
As Fox and his team made his way to the auditoriums doors, he saw many looks of sadness and hurt upon the civilians. They too were sad to see James' son having to endure the loss of both his parents. Many of the animals tried to come up and offer support to Fox, offering comforting words and prayers as he passed by.
As they reached the auditorium, everyone walked inside the building towards their designated seats in the very front row of the throng of grieving animals.
Once everyone had settled, General Pepper, an old and dear from of the Star Fox team entered the stage and began to speak.
"Today, we are here to pay our respect and tribute to the former leader of the legendary Star Fox Team, James McCloud," General Pepper said, pausing for a brief breath of air. "We are here today to show our love and support for James McCloud's precious family. Not only have we sensed our own personal feelings of loss over James' passing, but our hearts have been drawn toward them, and will continue to be with them," he paused again, sliding a piece of paper underneath his podium before continuing. "Finally, we are here today to seek and to receive comfort. We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts have not ached over this situation. We are not too proud to acknowledge that we have come here today trusting that he would minister to our hearts, and give us strength as we continue in our walk with him." he finished, causing a light respectful clap to be heard filling up the auditorium.
As this went on, General Pepper gave Fox a subtle wave to take his place on stage. Taking a few deep breaths, Fox slowly got up onto the stage and to the stand, holding a pack of papers in his hands. He scanned the audience, most had sad, hurt faces while some were just silent and neutral. Before he began, he stood there with a concentrated look on the audience, sadness beginning to plague his emotions.
"…I have a small testimony about my father." He started, breaking the small silence in the room. "My Father was a great animal, and a great role model for my life," he started, shedding a tear before continuing on. "He was the greatest leader of the legendary Star Fox team, and maybe the greatest leader in Cornerian history. I am grateful to have been given the chance to lead the Star Fox team for all these years, to serve in my father's honor," he paused, flipping his papers to the other side as he continued. "I will go on…we'll all go on. I will always love him and will miss him forever. As we sit here today, I know one thing; that he died…saving my life, our lives, our city, and everything we live for. I promise you all…I'll do my absolute best to continue what he started."
As the sound of his words faded from the room, they were replaced with the noises of thunderous applause from around the building. All the animals in the room stood as they cheered Fox's words and courage. His team was the proudest among them, giving Fox glimpses of smiles he had not seen in several days.
The rest of the team got up to the stage and gave their testimonies about James McCloud as well. As the funeral service ended, the pallbearers, with Fox as one of them, came forth and lifted the coffin up, and carried it outside into a car where everyone then went to the cemetery. As they arrived, the coffin was then buried and a gravestone was placed with the message:
"In memory of James McCloud, the great leader of Star Fox. May he rest in peace." His name was highlighted in gold, and the tombstone was dotted with various combat medals.
As the service ended and everyone had paid their respect to their fallen hero, slowly they began to leave the cemetery, except for Fox and the team.
With everyone gone, Fox was finally free to let out the emotion that he'd be hiding over the course of the last few days leading up to the funeral. Kneeling over his Father's grave with his head in his chest, the tears began to flow freely.
One after another his teammates came to console him about the events of the days, offering what few comforting words they had left to offer before they too left the cemetery. First was Peppy, then Slippy, then Falco, and last was Krystal. She went over to him, kneeled down to his level, and looked him in the eyes.
"Hey, Fox, do you want me to stay here with you?" she asked as the vulpine nodded his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. Krystal wiped them off with her hands, and hugged him. Fox began to cry again.
"Why, why did he have to die now!?" he cried angrily, his voice muffled as he was crying into her shoulder. Krystal held him in her arms and stroked his fur.
"Fox, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. You did well though...standing up in front of all those animals, speaking from the heart the way you did...your Father would have been proud." She paused for a moment, placing a caring hand on his shoulder before she continued, "We'll all be here to support you, Fox. Remember that..."
Her hand lingered for a bit, hoping that her words had brought some comfort to the grieving vulpine. Moments passed however, and Fox only continued to focus on the grave of his Father. Sensing his desire to be alone in his feelings, Krystal slowly stood at Fox's side. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she could do more for him, but eventually abandoned the notion and turned to follow the rest of the crew away from the scene.
What would life be like without his Father? He didn't know, and he couldn't help but cry because he was angry and grief-stricken. Angry that Pigma killed his father, angry that Andross killed his father, and angry that Star Wolf killed his father. All of a sudden, his vision became blurred, reality approaching.
Fox woke up hastily, breathing heavily and looking around himself. He looked over at his alarm clock. It was only 2:14 AM. He sighed, tears forming once again because of what he just dreamed about.
"Why, why must it be like this!?" he yelled in his room, throwing a book at the wall in anger and grief. Fox then realized what he done, and continued to cry. However, he did not know Krystal stood at the doorway of his room, and she saw him bawling. She wondered if Fox had a nightmare or something, because she had never seen Fox this angry or sad before. Her telepathy gave off quite a strong signal of distress, but why?
"Fox!" she shouted out, causing his crying to slow. He gradually looked up to see the vixen standing before him, which took him a bit by surprise.
"Krystal…What are you doing up?" Fox asked, slowly getting up to pick up the book he threw at the wall and placing it back in its spot on a small shelf.
"My telepathy sensed something was up, so I went to your room and heard crying," she answered, closing the door of his bedroom.
Fox sighed. "It's nothing, Krystal." He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders to sell his indifference, but this attempt was shot down with Krystal giving him a stern look. She was not convinced he was OK. Something was wrong, and he could hear it in his voice.
"It doesn't sound like nothing," she said sternly as Fox looked down. "Fox, you can tell me anything, alright?" the vixen said, sitting down next to the vulpine. Fox tensed up a bit as the weight of the bed subtly shifted.
"You won't judge me because of it?" Fox asked, wiping some tears off of his face. Krystal looked surprised at his response.
"No, Fox, no! I won't judge you no matter what the problem is!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on his shoulder for a few seconds before letting go. Fox twitched at this, but continued.
"Alright, I'll tell you," he started, closing his eyes. "Ever since my father's funeral, I never really got over his death," the vulpine sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. Krystal's eyes widened.
"Fox..." she began in an unsure voice, "What do you mean by that?" she started again, her eyes with a look of worry. Fox's hands began to tremble.
"I rarely get a good night of sleep, sometimes I go without sleep at all, because I'm so terrified. I'm frozen awake in fear and worry, and my mind is plagued with sadness and flashbacks of my father," Fox let out, tears falling on his hands, staining his bed, his breathing becoming fast and irregular.
"How long has this been going on?" she asked, concern heavily evident in her voice. Fox's eyes looked red and sore from all his crying.
"Ever since the funeral!" he shouted, her words seeming to push him over the edge. He started bawling again, sobbing as he buried his head into his pillow. Krystal's eyes began to water a bit. She had never seen him this sad since the day of his Father's funeral. He'd been hiding such intense thoughts and feeling for so long, pent up until hitting this breaking point. It worried her to death.
She placed a gentle hand on the vulpine's head and tenderly rubbed the fur on it. "Fox, listen. I know your Father's death was such a sad and depressing moment in your life, but you must not be afraid to show how you feel," she stated, continuing to stroke his fur on top of his head.
Fox lifted his head out of his pillow. "What do you mean? It shows that I'm insecure and emotional! I should be in control of this!" he shouted, continuing to sob in his pillow.
"No, it doesn't, Fox. It just shows you have a different way of dealing with your grief," she answered, grabbing some tissues to help clean up his face. Fox breathed slowly before he sat back up. "And some like to talk to others about their grief, but you decided to hold all this inside and stay silent. Why?" she asked.
"I was thinking people would think I'm not a brave leader, that I let emotions destroy me. My Father never showed this type of weakness, he would…"
"Fox, stop."
The Star Fox captain was cut short by the suddenly resolute words of the vixen seated next to him.
"Fox, listen. I believe you are a brave leader, and you've done quite a remarkable job. You've led us to safety and victory through many missions and many wars. You've always protected us. Don't think you are alone here, Fox. Remember what I said two years ago on that day?" she asked as Fox closed his eyes.
"That you're all here to help me?" Fox stuttered. Krystal nodded her head in approval.
"Yes, I did. We are all here to help you Fox, we are all here to support you for as long as we live, just like we know you will be for us." the vixen smiled at him sweetly, as Fox also smiled back at her. The tears seemed to stop running from his eyes, and he hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Krystal," he said, holding her in his arms. Krystal continued to smile and held him tighter. "It's easy to forget it's not just me out here in space, it's all of us together…"
"You're welcome, Fox," she answered. After a few moments, they let go and she got up.
"Have a good night sleep, Fox," she stated, leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Fox smiled, and got back into his bed.
"You too, Krystal," he remarked, smiling as he slowly drifted off.
It was one of the best sleeps he'd had in years.
A/N: Thank you for reading, the next Chapter will be up as soon as I can! Feel free to leave reviews and send me ideas if you'd like!