Star Fox: The Saga Part 1
Part 1 of a 5 part series. This one covers the origin of Star Fox, taking place during the Lylat Wars Fox x Krystal, Miyu x Fay, Falco x Katt
Prologue
A pig's backstabbing
James McCloud wiped the sweat from his brow as his Protowing approached Venom. Floating at a nervously slow pace, the ships of Pigma Dengar, and Peppy Hare took their places on either side of him , "Okay, you guys know what to do right?" James asked into his communicator
Pigma's face appeared on the HUD as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes one last time, "Yep, slingshot into Venom using its own gravity field so we don't get caught by the construction crew of that base." Pigma recited boredly, as if he'd heard it a billion times already.
Peppy linked to his own communicator, letting out a grunt, "It's a shame what this bastard Andross has done to the Lylat System."
"Most notably Zoness" Pigma quipped
James rolled his eyes, "Pigma, we all know you miss the senoritas, but now's not to have your head in the gutter."
Pigma gave an offended 'oink' before stuttering, "W-well, you'd know what I were talking about if you weren't married. Heh, there's a reason why all the boys at the Academy called ya 'No-Life Jimbo'
Peppy however, cut the conversation short, "Might I ask why we're arguing about our relationship preferences when we're right in front of the big time? Jimbo, Pigma, stop acting like a buncha schoolgirls. We've come too far now to start actin' juvenile and screw up"
James nodded. They had gone through Sectors Y and Z, Aquas and Zoness to make assure that they wouldn't end up in the path of the heavily guarded construction sight. ROB 64's metallic face appeared on the screen, "You are approaching Venom's field of gravity."
"Get yer boosters ready boys!" Pigma yelled, jetting off and whipping around the outside of the planet.
Peppy and James did the same. However, there was one problem
Peppy broke off into the atmosphere, James didn't.
James gave a small yelp as he zoomed through the Bolse construction, dodging beams left and right. He did a barrel roll past a crane. He nearly flew right into the barrells of several gun turrets. However, James reckoned that the swivels on them hadn't been oiled, because by the time the automated turrets started to turn around, he had avoided them. However, James would soon find that threats on the outside were the least of his problems His ship started to viabrate and whatever communication he was receiving reaked of garbled audio and a bad visual connection James banked off to his left skyrocketing through the polluted atmosphere of Venom. Another communication began as he floated down to Andross' bunker, this one as fuzzy as the first, and his log of Venom's 'points of interest kicked on all too late, as he could already see the entrance to the bunker Apparently, the gravity field had done its job, for it had gotten passed Andross' newly formed defense troop. As James counted himself extremely lucky, he noticed Peppy and Pigma were waiting for him, Peppy's ship rocking slightly, "Okay, this is the big one. All aircraft report." Lylat's most famous pilot commanded
"Peppy here, a few screws are loose but I'm okay."
"Pigma here, my G-Diffuser's acting funky and my thrusters are about to pop off."
"I'm cool you guys but I'm about to fall apart. Pigma, how are you still flyin' stable right now?"
"I just know 'bout the best parts. I AM the mechanic after all." Pigma boasted.
That was one thing that always un-nerved James about Pigma. Although the two were good friends, the fox was always suspicious of him. Perhaps it was his constant gambling in the seedier parts of Corneria that allowed Pigma access to the best ship parts, perhaps it was something else. All James knew was that his pig friend would probably do anything for the money. He had never confided in Peppy when it cames to these matters, but he knew his best friend couldn't possibly be as oblivious as he acted when it came to Pigma's inconsistancies
"Point taken. James, what do you want to do? Pack up and go home, or nail Andross here and now?" Peppy asked
"What kind of question is that? Win or lose, we're probably gonna be disavowed by Corneria for this. And that's IF we get off planet before they realize we killed Andross." Pigma oinked
" Guys, now's not the time for what ifs. I believe in us. We've proven ourselves to be the best tactical unit in the underworld. Icing that Macbethian corporate suit, the Anglar mission, I could go on. We've got the best ships in Lylat right now. This is also the most vulnerable Andross will ever be. Once that space station is complete, it would destroy any carriers before they could get any jets planet side. So, any objections to icing Andross Bowman Oinkonny tonight?"
Nothing was said between the other two men. Although, Pigma seemed to be smirking, which causes Peppy's fur to stand on end.
" Let's go!" James ordered as all three shot into the underground room that was Andross' lair.
"It's quiet, too quiet." Peppy growled, his eyes narrow
"Andross is an egotistical prick, he wouldn't be satisfied with anyone else icing a team of Cornerian black ops soldiers."
About three fourths of the way down, the entire cave started to rumble and the genius monkey himself appeared proving Pigma's statement true, "You think you're smart do you? Not so smart to corner yourself is it you bottom feeders?" Andross roared/asked as he swatted at James' Protowing as he barrel-rolled away. Then, James noticed something un-nerving, his wings were flapping. James sighed to himself, the time was more borrowed than even he could have imagine, "Guys, this thing is a chasm, your Nova Bombs should cave it in."
"And then?" Pigma asked indignantly
"We try and make it out of here. Venom's armaments extend beyond Andross, this is a system-wide conspiracy." Peppy shouted
At that, the team unloaded their heavy weapons, approximately three Nova bombs between them. The bombs connected with Andross, who's metallic head was knocked back down the chasm by the impact of the explosions. However, contrary to what James believed, the metallic chasm held rather well, only a few metallic scraps falling into the deep.
As the entire team filled out of the room, Pigma in front, Peppy in the middle, and James bringing up the rear, something Peppy had said clicked within him. The fact that Andross was able to build a space station without any kind of official Lylatian resources made it clear that he had sympathizers within the most powerful echelons of the Lylat system. Pepper had initially assigned them to the mission, citing "strange activity", most specifically, black market shipments of military grade tech going to the planet's surfaces. While Pepper may have initially suspected some kind of resistance, resistance to the point of a space station being built meant Andross was deadly serious.
It was then that James McCloud had his worst suspicions confirmed
"Dengar, finish them. Now." Came the cold, emotionless voice of Andross
"WHAT? Dengar!" Peppy cried
"Andross, they can be turned." Pigma said, apparently to Andross himself,
"You son of a… I always was suspicious of you."
Pigma chuckled, "It's quite a thing, what a few million credits can do for yer political beliefs. Join us, be what we were meant to be. Loan wolves, fighting the oligarchy."
"No." James hissed, Peppy frozen in a state of shock as Pigma's ship swiveled menacingly towards them
"It's a shame James, I always liked you. I think I liked your wife and her cooking more though. Maybe I'll get myself some of that action when the war ends."
James steeled himself for what he was about to do, "Peppy, go, I'll keep the thugs here busy so you can make it out."
"But Jim...you….." a visibly shaken Peppy stammered
"You're the only person I can trust to break this to Pepper and take care of my family. Go, that's an order."
"J-james…..NO!" Peppy cried
Peppy's body stayed frozen in a mind-numbing shock. His brain couldn't quite process what was happening, despite the cold and calculating Pigma Dengar purposefully making this process insufferably long, even going as far as to recline leisurely in his seat.
"By the way, make sure you kick his ass on the way out. " James snarled, his voice sounding uncharacteristicly defeated
"Jim…."
"Peppy, go! I've got it covered down here!" "Pigma, let's dog fight, now!" he roared
As James flew forward, it allowed him a moment of regretful introspection.
How do I get myself into this shit? Didn't get to tell Vix that I loved her.
Pigma charged up a huge charge blast. James, zoomed right in front of it. The blast emitted in a blinding green light. When Peppy, who had been waiting for the moment to make his escape, visually recovered, all he saw was a trail of smoke going further and further down the chasm, no doubt what remained of James' fighter.
Peppy Hare fought tears at that moment, "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Peppy screamed, flying full speed at Pigma. The two Protowings collided, Peppy's left wing was snapped off by the small exit hole and his right snapped off after scraping the underside of Pigma's ship. Both ships tore out of the exit, Pigma's spiraling down to the surface in a cloud of smoke. Somehow, Peppy's Protowing was still able to fly, but was obviously every ounce of its power to do it considering it had lost both wings . Suddenly, his transmission system came to life. It was Pigma Dengar, looking as relaxed as ever.
"Unlike Jimmy, I didn't care much for you. Your wife was a three at best and you baggerin' on about right and wrong really got on my nerves. It's a shame that I couldn't down you and piss in the wreckage, but knowing your stubborn ass, you'll be gunning for me for the rest of yer life." said Pigma
"Trust me Dengar, if the Venomian Forces weren't on the way, I'd fucking kill you now. But yes, I'll be back, and won't stop trying" Peppy said, letting the hatred ooze from his words.
"Huh, who knew Peppy Hare had a spine on him? I'm looking forward to next time Pep, but until then. I've got a date with some money and some Zonessian ladies. Smell ya later hombre."
With an oink and a chuckle, Pigma Dengar cut the transmission, leaving Peppy to cringe at his former teammate's last words. That was Pigma's catchphrase, as it were, and it annoyed the hell out of him whenever the pig used it. The last glimpse Peppy would get of the planet before breaking into the atmosphere was Pigma casually walking away from his Protowing as if nothing had occured
I'll get you, you fat bastard, I'll get you
Sometime later, after hours of using all his know-how to pilot his now wingless craft, Peppy saw Macbeth floating in the distance and sighed. Macbeth, at the time, was neutral, despite the fact that several corporate sponsors of Macbeth's mining industry sold out to Andross. As James had insinuated earlier, there were many Andross sympathizers all over the Lylat system. People all over, Macbeth especially, were on edge, on the brink of rebellion even, and the Lylatian central government, or the Order was trying to stay as neutral towards Macbeth as it possibly could, giving the territory the benefit of the doubt. The reality was that war could break out there any day now. Had he done this mission even a day later, docking on Macbeth could have been a life or death situation. Now, Peppy knew the war was on, there was physical evidence of sympathizers from Lylat planets. Maybe, Peppy thought, the government could investigate, cut the head off of the rebellion before it began. Despite the small victory for himself, Peppy couldn't consider this a victory at all, as James wasn't by his side.
"Whelp, it looks like I've earned myself two Macbeth Ales, for you and me both Jimmy." Peppy said, wiping away a tear from his eye as thoughts of his fallen friend overwhelmed him.
, Peppy Hare docked on Macbeth soon afterwords. He had received several strange looks as he walked through the port, but despite this, he decided taking his time at the port-side bar would be best, to calm his nerves. As much as he wished he could down the bartender's entire stockpile of alcoholic beverages, he knew he couldn't bide his time for very long. A downed Cornerian fighter which had entered Macbeth from Venom was sure to catch the attention of unwanted eyes. So, with that in mind, he downed his two ales as quickly as he could, slapping down one credit for the bartender, and a small note apologizing for the lack of funds, took his ship (which had literally gotten zero attention from the port mechanic, and obviously so, as it was a prototype of a brand new ship) and headed on the nearly week long journey home.
Over that week, contact from Corneria's army was almost constant, but for the majority of that week, Peppy didn't bother to report. His mind was too numb to even verbalize all that had happened. Nevertheless,, he decided to keep his communication systems online, showing them that, in some form, he was alive. It was during a breif stop in the Meteo Asteroid Field that he put in a call to his office.
"General…..General…..come in, this is Peppy Hare….please, come in."
A transmission from The General came through almost immediately. For a while, the official sat there, stunned. Peppy didn't blame the man, after all, the pilot looked entirely homeless, having grown a full, greying beard, and looking to have lost about 20 pounds due to severe malnourishment.
"Hare….where are McCloud and Dengar?" Pepper asked
"McCloud's dead….sir." Peppy said in a raspy voice, choking back tears
"What of Dengar?" asked the General
"That bastard, Andross paid him off to kill us both, but I made it out."
Pepper's eyes shrunk, his jaw hung agape. The three star General collected his composure to string together a verbal symphony of obscenities, some of them used in ways Peppy had never imagined possible.
"Fuck it all" the General snarled, "That swine may have just ended my military career, damn it all. Peppy, if you decide to flee the system to Kew, now would be an excellent time to do so, I can cover your tracks. I owe you so much, you saved our little pack from discharge back at the Academy, it's the least I can do."
Peppy thought on the matter, but remembered James' final words….
"No Jack, I literally have space station sized intel that suggests treason, at the very least from Macbeth Mining Company, there may be other planetary governments involved. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached the entire system."
Pepper's face turned stern, "No Peppy. Perhaps if the assassination of Andross had been successful, but once this reaches the council, the last thing they're going to do is believe me when I suggest treason is taking place. I fear they may come after you, James' family for answers. I'm saying….go." he snarled warningly
"I'd never thought I'd say this, but Jack….fuck you." he said assertively
"Peppy, I'm trying to make this easy for both of us, but I swear to the Creator, if you make this any harder for me I won't be able to stop them from branding you a…."
Peppy shut off his communications, jetting for Corneria.
He entered the atmosphere of Corneria. While the security ship patrolling the outer portion of Corneria's orbit offered him coordinates to the nearest hanger, he didn't take it. Instead, he flew directly to a Cornerian suburb. There were two people who had to know what went on tonight.
Peppy landed his ship in their driveway as neatly as he could. This caused the lights in the neighboring houses to flicker and drowsy-sounding curse words to be thrown in his direction, but the rabbit didn't care. He hoped down from the cockpit and marched up to the house with a purpose. He knocked on the door, trying to compose his wits as he did. He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as the door creaked open. The woman was a fox, who had to be in her late twenties. She wore a pink, form-fitting nightgown and pink fuzzy slippers. She gave a yawn before it finally dawned on her exactly who was at the door.
"Peppy?" she asked, like a child who was about to be scolded, "You look like crap, what happened?"
"Vix listen…"
"Where's James? A-and Pigma?"
Peppy bit his lip.
"Listen, I'm not sure how much you're even supposed to know, but you deserve the right to…."
"Know what?" Vixy demanded
Then, it finally set in. Her face twisted into something between shock and pain.
"No…"
Peppy felt the tears coming on.
Sorry I let ya down Jimbo
"Vixy, we were at Venom and….Pigma….he…"
"Please don't tell me he…"
"He shot him down."
A pained howl
While the howl of the now anguished Vixy R. McCloud shouldn't have come as a shock to the hare, it did, and he flinched. Tears started to flood down both their cheeks like leaking faucets. The two embraced.
"What am I going to do?"
"We'll get you straightened out with the Widows Fund department."
"What am I going to do?" she asked again, clearly in a sort of delirium
The fact that Peppy couldn't give Vixy a straight answer wretched his heart every time Peppy heard her ask that faithful question.
And then, her knees gave out.
This almost took the hare down with her, "Vix!" she asked
No answer
Shit, she's out
Picking her up as best he could, Pepper laid down the grieving, unconcious widow on the couch. Then, he made his way to the room of James and Vixy's only son, Fox. He opened the door, and there was Fox. His 12 year old body seemed frozen to that spot, in shock. His tear-matted cheek fur and the fire in his eyes were good indications that he had heard it all.
"So, Daddy isn't coming home?" Fox asked,
Peppy shook his head, "Fraid not my boy."
A single tear escaped from his eye as he looked at a picture of him and his dad smiling at the camera, Don't worry Dad, I'll make you proud. That was the last thought Fox had before tears began to cascade down his face at an uncontrolled rate.. Fox wouldn't confide to anyone about this until much later in life, but at the moment he swore death on Pigma Dengar and Doctor Andross. Both would pay for their crimes, he swore it.
(AN: I hope you enjoyed this fanfiction. For those of you who are new to my fics, know that this one is my one pet project, and I'm trying to make the most comprehensive