Star Fox: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Chapter 1- Two Fox McClouds?
A/N: I'm so excited about this story. There's alot of things from the Star Fox series I want to add in this story, but I'm going to do my best to explain everything so no one gets lost. -I will explain this now : The dark brown Fox McCloud basically is the one you see in Super Smash Bro.s Brawl as Fox's alternate dark costume, but with a few minor color changes in his clothes. In SSBB he's generally called "Dark Fox", which could imply that he's evil. In this story though, whether he's evil or not, he isn't evil, but he's basically the opposite of the original Fox in many aspects, but since they are both "Fox McCloud", they do have similarities. And the story starts out with him and "his Lylat System." Now that my explanation is over, Enjoy the story!
I own nothing from the awesome series that is Star Fox.
Out in the vast reaches of space, a lone ship was flying among the stars. The ship's body was a shiny silver color with red linings. It was equipped with four G Diffusers and twin plasma lasers. The pilot of the familiar ship know as the Arwing was none other the the Hero of Lylat, Fox McCloud. The dark brown vulpine was sent by Beltino Toad to the asteroid belt know as Meteo in search for something that was giving off an electromagnetic interference. Of coarse, a mission like this didn't require a full team so Fox decided to go alone. In addition, the belt wasn't far from Corneria, where they all lived. Just as he entered the the asteroid belt, Fox received a transmissions from Beltino.
"Fox McCloud here. Yes commissioner?" Fox answered as he looked at the orange-skinned toad that appeared on one of his communication monitors.
"Fox. Thank you again for going out for me on such short notice." Beltino said. "By my calculations, you should be approaching the area where the source of interference is originating from. I will leave you to Fox. Good luck."
"Thank you sir." And with that, Fox ended the transmission with Beltino. For the next ten minutes, Fox was flying around the asteroids in search of anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Beltino had marked the area that Fox needed to search. Fox could have sworn he had flown around the entire area at least three times and he still hadn't found anything. He was starting to get frustrated and he even began to shoot a few asteroids. He continued to shoot asteroids until he shot one that didn't break. Confused, he shot it again, and it still didn't break. Fox noticed something about the asteroid was off and flew closer to it. Upon further inspection, he saw that the space rock seemed to have another layer, because his shots had broken through the first one. However, once he made this analysis he realized the rock was now reacting to his shots, and the next thing he knew, the rock exploded. The explosion gave off a bright light, which made Fox shield his eyes. Once the light faded, Fox looked out side his ship to see strange grey and yellow asteroids flying towards him. After quickly reacting and dodging the weird asteroids, Fox noticed that the space around him was a mixture of orange, red, and yellow. He attempted to hit his brakes and turn around, but something was preventing him from changing direction.
"Gah! What is this?" he asked himself. "This can't be a warp. Can it? No, its color isn't right." At this point, Fox saw an entire belt full of weird asteroids heading straight for him. There were too many rocks for him to avoids, so he decided to make a path himself by shooting through the strange rocks. To the brown vulpine's luck, the rocks broke with ease and he was able to successfully navigate through the all of them. Once the fox saw that there weren't anymore obstacles in his way, everything in space went white. He had to look away for a moment, but when the light faded, he found himself floating idly in space, looking at Corneria.
"Corneria? What was that thing? This doesn't make any sense." the brown fox said himself. "I'd better call Beltino. That thing was probably what was causing that disturbance." Fox typed in Beltino Toad's contact, but it seemed that something had messed up his visual monitor and only his audio was functional. "Commissioner. It's Fox. I was searching for that electromagnetic interference, and I think I might have found something."
"Fox?" the toad responded. "How have you been? What's wrong? I can't see you. What did you find?"
Fox was a little confused. Beltino seemed a little off. He knew the frog was getting old, but he didn't think he'd forget something like this all together. "That electromagnetic interference. The one you sent me to look for in the asteroid belt near Corneria. I think I found it."
"Interference?" Beltino replied in an unsure tone. The toad was silent for a minute as he went to his computers to investigate. "Ah yes. It does seem that there was something causing a small electromagnetic waves in your current area, it seems to have stopped. Why don't you stop by my office on Corneria, Fox? That way you can give a full report on your discovery." With that, Beltino ended the transmission, leaving the dark vulpine in a silent state of confusion.
"That was weird. Beltino didn't seem like he knew anything. But, how could that be?" The brown fox scratched his head in confusion, and decided to worry about the problem when he came to it. In the meantime, he made his way to Corneria and Beltino's office in the Cornerian Science Center. Because the science building was located in downtown Corneria City, Dark Fox had to land his ship in a hanger and make his way towards the building by foot. He didn't mind walking, it was just the fact that people always wanted his autograph or something. However, as the brown vulpine made his way through the city, not a single person spoke to him. Many people looked at him and then did a double-take, but none of them said anything.
"This day just keeps getting weirder." the fox muttered under his breath. Once he made it to the center and entered the lobby, Dark Fox was greeted by a snow white, female feline who was standing behind a counter.
"Hello. Welcome to the Cornerian Science Center." the feline said with a smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No thank you. I'm just here to see the commissioner. He is in his office. Right?"
"Yes sir." the cat responded. "His office is on the third floor, and his the last room down to the right."
"Thank you." Dark Fox then walked over to the elevator and entered it when the doors opened. He then pressed the button mark three and awaited for the elevator to reach the third floor. Wait a minute? Did Beltino get a new office? Last time I knew, his office was to the left. His thoughts were interrupted when the elevator 'dinged' and the doors opened. He stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway to the right. He made it to the final door which was labeled with the name "Beltino Toad". The door was slightly ajar and the brown fox could hear the sound of someone typing on a keyboard.
"Commissioner?" the vulpine said as he knocked on the door. He then opened the door, and took a step inside. Dark Fox could see a toad-like figure looking at the computer monitor on figure's desk. "Its me, Fox. You said I should stop by and..." He stopped his sentence when he walked close enough the see a green toad behind the desk. "Beltino!?"
The toad snapped out of his own world and looked up to see the brown-furred vulpine standing in his office. "Fox? Fox McCloud? Is that you?" Beltino asked as he looked over the fox standing in front of him. "I know I haven't seen you in awhile, but 'that's' a new look. When did you dye your fur, and what is with all the black?"
Dark Fox was stunned. His mind was going into overdrive. "What do you mean a new look? I've always worn dark colors like black, and my fur has always been brown." He tried to say his words as calmly as possible, but his racing mind wasn't allowing him to keep his composure. "Besides, when did you turn green?"
Beltino looked puzzled. He stood up from his chair and walked around his desk to approach the brown vulpine. "Fox? You seem hysterical." the toad said as he grabbed one of his office chairs. "Here. Why don't you sit down."
Dark Fox shook his head, and slowly walked backwards towards the door. "No, this isn't right. Something is wrong here. I...I have to go. Now." With that the brown fox bolted out of Beltino's office and down the hallway until he reached the elevator. He repeatedly pressed the button of the elevator until it finally opened.
Once inside, Dark Fox hit the button for the lobby and turned to lean against the back wall of the elevator as it descended. The brown fox looked up at the ceiling lights as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. It doesn't seem like anybody recognizes me as Fox. That would explain Beltino, and the people of Corneria. This doesn't make any sense, what exactly happened? Everything was fine until...THAT WARP! At that point the elevator had reached the lobby, the doors had opened with a 'ding', but the vulpine too distracted to really notice. He began to walk through the lobby towards the exit, but as his body moved by instinct, his mind was elsewhere. Every since that weird warp, strange things have been happening. Dark Fox stopped walking and looked up to see the blue Cornerian sky. He just now noticed that he had walked outside, and was about to walk into the street, but that didn't matter to him right now. "I have to get back in space and find that thing again." he said to himself as he began to make his way back to his ship. However, little did he know that there was an individual watching him, from one of Corneria City's many alleyways.
"That can't be him? But, who else could he be?" the large figure said to himself with his low gruff voice. "Hmph. If he really thinks that disguise is working, then he has another thing coming. This time, your mine." The figure walked back down the alley with a mischievous, fangly grin on his muzzle.
It wasn't long before Dark Fox had reclaimed his ship, and left the planet Corneria. He was once again in the asteroid belt known as Meteo searching for anything out of the ordinary. "...Rocks...rocks rocks and more rocks. UGH! How the heck am I going to find that thing? I don't even know what I'm looking for." He sat there in silence for a few moments, pondering on his next course of action. It wasn't until his radar started beeping did he start moving again. He looked at his radar to see a single ship heading his way. As the ship continued its approach, the radar identified it as the Wolfen. "Oh great. Just what I needed at a time like this." Dark Fox adjusted his ship's position so he would be ready for the lupine. In the next thirty seconds, the Wolfen had come within range to open a communication line, and the wolf didn't hesitate to do so.
"McCloud!" the grey hound blurted into his ships com. "I don't know who the hell your trying to fool with that get up, but it sure ain't doing crap. This time, its just you and me, pup. "
The brown vulpine just rolled his lime green eyes. He looked down at his monitors to see that he could actually see the wolf on the screen. It seemed that whatever had effected his ship before was now gone. Dark Fox continued to look at the monitor, and silently take notes on the wolf he saw. ...This isn't the Wolf I know. For one his fur color is grey not light brown, and his words seem colder and harsher than the Wolf I know. ...Wait a minute, I think I know what happened here. I must have... The fox suddenly jerked his Arwing to the right to avoid a blast Wolf had shot.
"HEY!" Wolf yelled angrily. "What? You think your too good to say anything to me? Is that it?
"Wolf. I don't have time to deal with you right now." the brown fox returned in a just as, if not more irritated tone. "Plus, I don't think I'm the one your looking for. However, if you keep pestering me, and don't stay out of my way, I will make you regret it."
The wolf was none the less, shocked at the vulpine's threat. He had never heard the fox speak to him with so much venom in his words before. What ever got into him had made the pup more aggressive, I like it. he thought to himself, as he made a fangly grin. "I'm not going anywhere, pup. Your all bark, but lets see your bite." The wolf charged up his boost and rocketed his ship toward the vulpine's.
Dark Fox easily rolled out of the way of the wolf's insane charge, and boosted on ahead. He saw on his radar, that the lupine had made a U-turn, and was now in pursuit of his Arwing. "Fine, If that's how you want to be, so be it." The vulpine was able to stay out of the wolf's range for a charge shot, and deflect any of the ones that came close to hitting him. This greatly irritated the lupine, but what drove him insane was that the fox had not yet made a move to go on the offensive.
"Whats the matter, scared?" the wolf taunted as he missed another few shots. However, when the fox in front of him quickly descended because of an oncoming asteroid, Wolf was unprepared and turned right, losing the vulpine. The fox had led Wolf into an area with more asteroids in the area. Wolf tried to track Fox with his radar, but every time he seemed to have come close, Fox seemed to have changed directions completely. "Where are you? YOU COWARD!" Wolf screamed angrily.
"Try under you." Before the wolf had a chance to process the words, he felt his Wolfen shake tremendously. When wolf was able to stabilize his ship, he looked out to right to see that both the upper and lower wing were sliced completely off.
"Wh..HOW THE HELL?" Wolf said in a state of shock.
"Hmph. You may stronger than the wolf I know, but your obviously more dumb too. My ship's wings are made of a titanium alloy. Basically, if I fly fast enough, they can act as blades that can cut through anything as long as the things density and weight doesn't overcompensate my wings mass." Dark Fox looked down at the monitor to see the lupine bored expression. He could tell that Wolf barely understood what he just said, but he knew that Wolf didn't really care either. "If you were smarter, You'd understand."
"Blah Blah. This battle isn't over yet Star Fox." With the effort to keep his ship level, Wolf boosted into the asteroids just as the vulpine had done to him.
"That's where you wrong, O'Donnel." the fox quickly got behind the lupine and began blasting him with a barrage of lasers. 'I'm not going to let you get away." As the table turned, in the distance of the duo's dogfight, was a well-known ship heading in their direction. The ship was none other than The Great Fox.
The Star Fox team was returning home from a mission on Sauria. They had successfully protected the planet from a band of rouge pirates that were attempting to harvest Sauria's rare minerals for their own personal gain. In the bridge of the giant vessel, Fox McCloud was sitting in his chair, typing on his computer. He heard the door to the bridge open, and looked back to see the blue vixen, Krystal making her way towards him.
"Hey Fox." she greeted as she made it to the back of his chair. "What are you doing?"
"Hi Krystal. I'm just making sure we got paid. That mission was too simple. Falco's been complaining that there weren't enough targets to shoot down." Fox closed his laptop and stood up out of his chair. He turned around to look at the blue vixen, and became a little flustered at how close she was to him. "S..So is there anything I can do for you?"
Krystal thought about all the things she could say, but decided now probably wasn't the best time to joke around with Fox. Instead, she let out a small giggle that confused the vulpine slightly. "No, I'm okay. I was just wandering around, and seeing what you were up to."
"Oh...uhh..okay." Fox responded. The two stood there quietly, having yet another awkward moment. Krystal turned and was about to leave the room when Fox stopped her by grabbing her shoulder. "H..Hey Krystal. When we get back to Corneria, would you..uh..like to get a bite to eat?"
"Sure Fox. I'd love to." And with that, Krystal left for her room. Fox turned back toward his chair with a stupid, satisfied grin on his face. Just as he sat back down, the Great Fox's radar went off, and Fox pulled it up on his computer. He saw on the monitor that there were two ship flying around in the asteroid belt in front of the Great Fox. "R.O.B., identify those ships."
"Affirmative." the robot responded in his usual robotic voice. "Identifying...Ships Identified as the Wolfen and the Arwing."
"Wolf? What's he doing here? And more importantly, what is an Arwing doing out there?" Fox questioned to himself. "R.O.B., are you sure that's an Arwing? Check and see if all our ships are in the docking bay."
"Affirmative. ... All ships have been accounted for. ...Analyzing unknown ships. Ships have been successfully analyzed. Presence of a single Wolfen and Arwing is one hundred percent."
Fox let out a low growl, and stood up again. "Ready my Arwing, R.O.B.. I'm going to check it out." Fox left the bridge, and went down to the docking bay. He hoped inside his Arwing, and when all preparations were finished, he launched off into space.
Back at the battle, Dark Fox was still in pursuit of the heavily damaged Wolfen. Wolf''s shields had taken a serious beating and the ship a barely able to fly straight. However, the lupine's pride refused to let him retreat. Dark Fox continued assault until he noticed that another ship was heading their way. He identified the ship and noticed that the ship's signature matched his own. "Interesting.." he said to himself. He back off of Wolf allowing him to get out of reach of his lasers. "I think you've had enough, Wolf. Your ship's done and I advice you leave now before your head is next."
"Your really starting to piss me off McCloud!" Wolf said angrily as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead. "Enough with all you words already." At this point, Dark Fox saw that the other ship was now in earshot of both him and Wolf. Dark Fox stayed quiet and moved behind a big asteroid. He had a mischievous grin on his muzzle when the lupine's monitor changed from that of a brown fox, to that of a orange one.
"Wolf. What the heck are you doing here?" Fox asked over the monitor. "Why is your ship in such bad shape?"
Wolf was completely shocked and confused. He just saw the vulpine change his fur color and clothes in an instant. The lupine didn't think about looking at the radar to see two ship, but most of his ships functions were down. "What the hell! McCloud! Don't play dumb with me pup! Just what are you trying to pull!?"
This time Fox was confused. Wolf was always seemed to be angry about something when he was around, but not like this. "Honestly Wolf, I don't have a clue what your talking about."
Feeling that he had played the wolf long enough, Dark Fox flew out from behind the space rock and stopped next the Fox's Arwing. "What's that matter, Wolf? Confused?"
The lupine went white as he looked at his split monitor to see two identical foxes on the screen. The only difference between the two were their fur and clothes colors and their personalities. Wolf growled in frustration at the thought of being defeated again, but decided to cut his loses. His ship was in bad shape, and his mind was still confused at the fact of seeing two versions of his rival. "That's enough Fox. ...Foxes. But mark my words McClouds, I will be the one to take you down." With that, Wolf turned around and blasted off towards Corneria with the remaining energy left in his damaged Wolfen.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Dark Fox said in an arrogant tone.
"You." Fox turned his ship to face the red Arwing. "Just who are you, and how did you get an Arwing?"
Dark Fox just sweat dropped at the other vulpine's question. Is he really that oblivious? I would have assumed he could have taken a wild guess by now. ... Then again, I don't even have all the detail of why this is...
"Uhh..Hello? You can hear me, can't you?" Fox said as he tapped on his monitor that displayed the identical vulpine.
"Hmm? Oh! Sorry about that. I tend to get lost in thought sometimes." Dark Fox responded. "Anyway, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions, but not here. I've been cramped in this ship for a few hours, so I need to get out and stretch my legs."
"Yeah. I understand what you mean." Fox was starting to get a little curious about this mysterious fox. He could see that they both looked and sounded them same, and from the condition Wolf's ship was in, Fox could see that this guy was an expert pilot. "You know we're heading to Corneria. Would you like to come aboard the Great Fox in the meantime? It'll give a chance to get out of your ship, and to explain to me how you got an Arwing."
"Sure. I guess it couldn't hurt, but when I explain who I am to you, you might want to be sitting down." Dark Fox responded after thinking the situation over.
Fox just laughed at how ridiculous the brown fox was sounding and agreed. The two flew back to the Great Fox, and docked their Arwing in the docking bay. Fox was able to exit his ship before Dark Fox, and when the brown vulpine hoped out of his Arwing, Fox was completely stunned at how he looked very identical to him. Fox noted that they were both wearing the same clothing, just in different colors, and they were the same height. Excluding color, It was like looking in a mirror.
"Woah. This is getting somewhat freaky." Fox said with a tone of awe "Well, I'm guessing you know who I am. I'm Fox McCloud."
"Yes I know exactly who you are, and I know everything there is to know about Star Fox, from the beginning to where it is now."
"Okay? What, are you one of those people that stalk us?" Fox said jokingly.
"Pft...I bet you wish that don't you. You'd finally have someone who could actually give you a challenge on the field of aerial combat." Dark Fox said. He had tilted his head toward the direction of where he fought Wolf.
Fox just shook his head at the brown vulpine's comeback. He had to admit that this fox was something special. "C'mon. Why don't you meet the whole team. I have a feeling they'll like you."
More than you know it... Dark Fox followed the orange vulpine down the hallways of the Great Fox. He noted how almost every room, every corridor, and every turn was almost the same as 'his' Great Fox. The duo eventually came upon the lounge, where the team sometimes hangs out in their free time. Even though it was quite larger than the other rooms, it wasn't as full as them. Besides the kitchen area that was accommodated with the basic kitchen appliances, the only things really in the lounge were a table with chairs, a sofa, a couple single chairs, and a television. Sitting on the sofa, Falco and Slippy were playing a video game on the Tv, and of coarse Falco was winning. Krystal, on the other hand, seemed to be reading a book at the table. It wasn't until the foxes walked halfway into the room that Krystal noticed their presence.
"Oh Fox! There you are. I was wondering were you went. I had sensed that you left, but I didn't catch you in time to send a message to you." She said looking away from her book. "Who's this Fox?"
"Oh don't worry Krystal. I was just going to check out something, and I found this guy here. He took down Wolf in the asteroid belt."
"Impressive." Krystal said looking over the brown vulpine. She quickly detected something particular about the fox, but she decided to stay quiet for the moment. "Even though he's not the smartest creature out there, Wolf isn't a joke in his Wolfen."
"Hold on a minute!" Falco shouted as he paused his and Slippy's game. "I heard something about Wolf. Where is that mutt? I still have a score to settle with that grey fleabag!"
Slippy just rolled his eyes at Falco. "Geez Falco. Give it a rest for once."
"I don't know where Wolf ran off to Falco. He got beat by this fox right here" Fox said as he put his hand on Dark Fox's shoulder.
"Hmph. Guess the dog got lucky it wasn't me." Falco said under his breath. "So who is the new guy?"
Fox's ears went up and then drooped as his hit his forehead with his palm. He then turned to the brown furred fox next to him. "I'm sorry. Here I am introducing you to everyone, and I didn't even give you the chance to say your name."
"It's alright, trust me. If I were you though, I'd grab that chair." Dark Fox said as he pointed to one of the table's chairs. Fox just rolled his eyes and did as he was instructed.
"Its not like your like my long-lost brother, or a distant cousin or anything." Fox said jokingly. "Right?"
"No." Dark Fox quickly responded with a strange look on his face.
"Just trust him Fox." Krystal said leaning over the table to speak into his ear. "You'll be happy he made you grab that chair."
"UGGGGHH!" Falco moaned. "Get on with it. Just tell us your name. You do have one, don't you?" Falco asked in a smart tone.
"Yes I have a name stupid!" Dark Fox crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He had tensed up, but he let of a sigh of relief before opening his lime green eyes again.
"My name...is Fox McCloud."
A/N: And cliffhanger! Gotta love'm. Anyway I'd like to specify two things. Yes, I did make Dark Fox seem somewhat arrogant and cocky. I did this to show that Dark Fox and Fox clearly have their differences. Also arrogance and cockiness are two things you don't see from Fox, because that's were Falco come into play. Also I would like to make clear that yes, Dark Fox does have anger issues when provoked. Unlike Fox, Dark Fox is very strategic and book smart. However, this causes him to zone out at times in a normal conversation. In addition, it leaves him open in a fight if his plans were to fail or backfire. Unless he thought ahead and made a back-up. So he's not perfect. So tell me what you guys think in a review.