Star Fox Redux: The Lylat Wars

Chapter 1: Mission 1- Siege of Corneria City, Enter Star Fox

The Star Fox Team splintered off across the open waters leading towards Corneria City. Venomian starfighters ambushed the group from behind rock pillars and hidden away in caves. The heroic pilots dived up, down and all-around to shake off their attackers. Ace pilot Falco was all too ready for the action, corkscrewing through arches and gliding over the ocean surface as the Venomian invaders chased after the avian ace.

"Don't get too full of yerself, Falco! Even the best of the best can make mistakes." Peppy warned over the communicator.

"Cool it, old timer! I can handle it." Falco cockily snapped, flipping his Arwing over and spraying the ocean's waters around him in a pretty fountain before doing a loop on himself and reversing roles with his chasers. Opening fire with his ship's Needler cannons, Falco effortlessly destroyed his two pursuers. "Scratch two bogeys!"

Slippy flew away from the group as they barrelled through the valleys and ruins. Long winding corridors of land to either side, Slippy took the safest routes on the approach up on the land, ousting him as an easy target. Maybe too easy for now, as he was largely ignored by their attackers.

"Be careful up there, Slippy. You're an easy target." The old rabbit chimed again.

"Don't worry, Peppy. I'll be-"

"Slippy, watch out! Bogey on your tail!"

The lone flyer had been ambushed from below, as a lone Venomian starfighter burst onto Slippy's flight path and began to tackle the frog's shields. His fellow pilots called out to him to evade or regroup, but Slippy's 'journeyman' skills as a pilot meant the chaser wasn't easily shaken off his trail. Slippy's sloppy evasive actions soon had his shields down at critical levels, and his ship was now taking direct hits.

"Ah! Can one of you guys lend a hand?" Slippy nervously chattered over the communicator.

Within seconds, Fox broke away from the main group and swung up the valley slope, rolling his Arwing along as he did. Swinging out across the lush green country, Fox targeted the attacker and open fired upon the ship with his Arwing's dual plasma turrets, quickly blasting through the fighter's weak shields and casting it off in a blaze of metal and fire.

"Thanks for the assist, Fox. I thought I was a goner for a moment there!" Slippy thankfully croaked over the communicator.

"No worries, Slippy. Stay with the group from here on out, though." Fox replied back in a cheerful tone.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Flying together, the Star Fox Team zoomed through the valley and battled more of Andross' forces in the surrounding ruins. The enemies used the desolate grounds to their advantage, hiding in the shadows of the fallen buildings and pouncing on their prey like ambushing predators. Not too shabby for a strike force of apes. However, the Star Fox Team knew these ruins like the back of their hands; Fox and Slippy often trained in piloting manoeuvres out here during their days at the Cornerian Flight Academy, Peppy was heavily experienced in these kinds of ambushes, and Falco's skills and training saw him through most hairy situations. All four pilots quickly outran their ambushers and pulled the same tricks on them, hitting back with hide 'n' strike tactics, turning the tide of the ambush. The ambush of 12 Venomian fighters was quickly whittled down to 4, who ran from the ensuring battle.

"You're not gettin away that easy, ya scrubs!" Falco barked over open communications, charging off after them.

"Stick with the team, Falco. We don't wanna lose you out there." Fox calmly asserted over the teams communicator.

"Ha! I can handle these cowards."

"Now listen up, Falco: you and Fox may go a-ways back, but that don't mean ya get to walk all over the boy! Fall back in line, Lombardi!" Peppy barked, frustration running through his words.

Falco let out a grudging cough. "Fine! You bozos get to live... for now!" The ace pilot bird returned to his friends and continued on their path towards Corneria City, which was now appearing on the horizon.

Throughout the rest of the ruins on the approach, the Star Fox Team was repeatedly ambushed and attacked from darkened shadows by enemy starfighters, ground teams and even hijacked anti-spacecraft assault cannons, which could shoot down almost any small starship in a single shot. Luckily for Star Fox, the cannon teams often targeted Falco, who zipped and zoomed around the field like a dragonfly, narrowly avoiding the plasma bolts of energy thundering towards his Arwing and spinning in style. Every so often, he would swoop down like a hawk and blast the ground teams, shouting "Death from above!" in a triumphant boast before zooming back into the sky. Peppy and Slippy teamed up to attack the fighters that chased after Star Fox, making short work of the fighters, exploding their ships into pretty balls of fire.

Passing through the ruins after about four hours of fending off and counterattacking ambushers, Star Fox finally began their approach to Corneria City, the megalopolis monolith and pride of the Cornerian government. The city spanned an almost three-hundred and fifty mile diameter, with the Watchtower erected at its centre. Within the tall skyscrapers and low buildings, the Star Fox Team could see the Cornerian pilots chasing their invaders and blasting them to dust, whilst others gave their lives bravely to defend the innocents of Corneria City.

"Keep sharp, guys. We're entering the city now." Fox boomed over the communicator as the Star Fox Team began to sail over the south wall of the warzone. The sun beamed down on them from the north, briefly blinding them before they dispersed through the city skylines, which billowed with burning smoke and the screams of terror from civilians trapped in the high skyscrapers.

"This is horrible..." Falco mumbled glumly over the communicator. It wasn't like the often hot-blooded Falco Lombardi to show much emotion other than pure arrogance. Perhaps seeing this once-great city now in a battleground state hit him a little too close to home.

"I know, Falco. But that's why we're here: to send Andross' cronies back where they came from!" Fox boomed.

"Stay alert, boys! The ruins were small fry compared to the city!" Peppy shouted, diving through the streets as three fighters tried to catch up with him.

The old rabbit even zoomed across Fox's view, startling the leader and causing him to dive down to the streets before rocketing back into the skies again. As he looked around, Fox failed to trace his fellow pilots, even failing to spot them on radar. He was now cut off from his team, and soon was preyed upon by Venomian ambushers. With a squadron of five fighters hounding him, Fox whipped around the skyscrapers at blinding speed, looping up and over the spire and charging down on top of his chasers. Firing his twin-turrets, Fox took out three of his pursuers; two with a classic blast into oblivion, and the third one was clipped by laser fire and sent careening off into the streets, spiralling across the streets of Corneria City before slamming into one of the city's many rivers that ran throughout. Fox could only watch as he flew by, the carnage and chaos from the crashed Venomian ship. Wishing he were someone- and somewhere else- for a moment, Fox regretfully turned his attention back to the fighters, who had now became the chase, rather than the chasers. Fox tailed one and diverted the fighter down a path to the left, cutting the invader off from their last remaining comrade. The two weaved and bobbed between skyscrapers and spires, before diving under the various bridges lying throughout the city and skimming over the waters of the rivers below. After a racing chase, Fox finally focused his aim on the fighter and blasted him with the twin-turrets of his Arwing, detonating the Venomian attacker into a ball of fire as Fox blew through the hot cloud.

"Guys, I've been cut off in the city. Head for the Watchtower to regroup." Fox yapped over the team communicator as he weaved between skyscrapers, over and under bridges and barrelled around civilian cars as they tried to flee the city. Fox had bobbed and dove through construction sites, demolished scrapers and even by abandoned subways before he finally reached the Watchtower, the centrepiece of Andross' invasion.

Before he could search for his comrades, a giant mech appeared to rise from the slums, shadowed by the Watchtower. The horror-show almost eclipsed the sun, blocked the Watchtower from Fox's view entirely, and stood tall with a missile launcher strapped to one of its shoulders, and a bomb launcher on the other. Its arms were long and bulky, likely for swatting fighters as they got too close, which Fox witnessed as a Cornerian pilot swung passed the mech, which then swatted the ship into its fiery doom.

"This is the mighty Star Fox Team?" A voice bellowed from the mech's loud speaker. It was screechy and hurt Fox's ears. "Ha! You're nothing more than a mere footnote in the history of the glorious empire under Lord Andross!"

"And who are you supposed to be?" Fox quipped over open communications, circling the colossal mech, scanning for a weak point.

"I am Granga, a Lieutenant in the Venomian Army and sworn follower of Lord Andross. We will crush the Cornerian government and install a new era of order under the might of Andross. Long live Lord Andross!" the maddened mech pilot proudly boasted over his speakers. "And this marvel of engineering and construction is the Venomian Giant-Mech Prototype: DEATHMONGER!"

"Wow. That's... quite the name." Fox groaned, rolling his eyes as he continued to circle the "Deathmonger", coming round to the front again.

"Oh... I'm going to show you, STAR FOX!" Granga then activated his missile launcher, casting five missiles after Fox. "ALL WHO OPPOSE LORD ANDROSS SHALL DIE!"

Fox then threw his controls down, diving his Arwing below before pulling up and sailing straight through the Deathmonger's legs. The missiles traced Fox's movements, and hounded him as he raced up the Deathmonger's back, slowly coming closer and closer to contact with his Arwing's engines. Fox then passed through the mech's shoulder, with all five rockets following him flawlessly, failing to careen with the mech. Dang. Fox thought. There's gotta be something on this bucket that looks weak.

"HA HA!" Granga cackled, a demented tone echoing through his voice. "The Deathmonger is unstoppable! So much for the mighty Star Fox! Taken down by the Venomian Giant-Mech Prototype like swatting a fly! How pathetic! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Just then, a smart bomb was launched at the Deathmonger, throwing it back in a slapstick state as if it were trying not to trip over a length of cord. From whereabouts unknown, a Star Fox Arwing soared into the centre. Another two emerged from the skies above, tackling splintered Venomian fighters and taking out three of the homing missiles chasing down Fox.

"Slippy! Analyse that mech for a weakness!" Peppy boomed over the communicator, splitting away from the other Arwing and chasing after Fox. "Fox! Those last two missiles are too close for comfort! Quick, boy! DO A DAMNED SPIN!"

Fox then rolled his Arwing perfectly, rotating on the spot as he blasted through the open space like a drill. The two remaining homing missiles slowly began to twist and turn into one another to match the Arwing's flightpath, causing them to collide and explode into a fiery ball of light. Spotting the lack of homing missiles on his radar, Fox righted his controls and turned back on himself towards the Deathmonger, which attempted to lock onto Slippy and Falco, who both flew around the mech over its head. For all of Granga's boasting about the Deathmonger's superiority and marvelling firepower, it lacked the one thing needed in combat: mobility.

"Sit still, you bugs, so I can CRUSH YOU!" the enraged ape screamed over the speakers, barely shifting the mech at all in his attempts to swat the massively speedier Arwings that zipped around him like fleas.

Falco swung in behind the missile launcher and fired his Needler cannons at the Deathmonger's neck joint, causing a small rupture of explosions on the mech. Granga screamed in horror as his prized mech took massive damage that disabled its missile cannon. "Not so tough now, are ya, ya dumb scrub!" the ace squawked over open communications.

"I've got its weakness, Fox!" Slippy proudly chirped. "First, we need to knock it down!"

"Peppy, on me! Slippy, help Falco keep that thing busy." Fox and Peppy then began a charge to the Deathmonger's legs, whilst Slippy and Falco continued to buzz around the mech's head, distracting the pilot. "Peppy, you take the left leg, I'll take the right. We're gonna tag 'em with our power cords and loop that mech until it falls."

"Not a bad idea, boy! Alright then, let's do it!" Peppy and Fox charged through the mech's legs and fired their power cords from the back of their Arwings, which latched onto the Deathmonger's legs. The two then swung away from each other back towards the mech, passed each other and looped around the mech about three times before the power cords began to tighten. The armour around the mech's legs slowly but surely began to crumple like paper and soon, the Deathmonger started to wobble. After another two loops of power cord, the inevitable happened; the giant mech fell flat on its front, causing quakes across the city and crushing buildings into scattered chunks of rubble. The waters from the rivers flooded the streets around the Watchtower, racing all over and flushing out lives; military, civilian and invader alike.

"Down goes the Dead-Chump!" Falco spat over open communications, mocking the downed Deathmonger and its pilot Granga.

"NO! How can this be!?" Granga bellowed from his mech. "This is the mighty Deathmonger! I cannot lose with this glorious mech!"

"Fox, the booster on its back! That's its power supply!" Slippy quickly chattered.

"Thanks, Slippy. Star Fox, distract the mech. I'm going in for the kill!" Fox boomed, charging down from above upon the downed mech.

"How can ants thwart a giant!? How!?"

"Old saying for ya, Granga: The bigger they are..." Fox selected his ship's smart bomb and readied the launcher. "... the harder they fall!" With his bomb locked onto the Deathmonger's booster pack, Fox clicked the trigger and sent the bomb careening for the mech. Within just a few seconds, the bomb connected and blasted the mech apart.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Granga screamed before slowly sobbing, "Lord Andross... I have failed you..." as the Deathmonger slowly erupted into a shockwave of explosions, which was capped off with the dormant missiles and grenades from the launchers exploding into a glorious mushroom cloud of hot fire and gas.

"Sayonara, Granga!" Peppy shouted over the communicator.

"Not too shabby, Fox!" Falco chortled. "Hey guys, follow me!"

"What're you up to, Falco?" Fox questioned the bird.

"I've got a lock-on to the flagship. Try and keep up, pup!" Falco teased, blasting off into the skies and disappearing into the clouds above.

"Let's get after him, boys. Good Ole' Falco has a habit have bitin' off more than he can chew!" Peppy joked. "Use yer G-Diffusers to boost and pick up some speed."

With that, all three blasted through the skies, rocketing through the air and likely breaking the sound barrier with ease, chasing down their loose cannon of an ace pilot. Within seconds, they were above the clouds, where the Lylat star beamed down god-like rays of sunlight. The skies of Corneria were a tranquil blue; surprising considering the almost dull grey of an imminent thunderstorm below the clouds. As Fox, Slippy and Peppy sailed over the clouds, they soon joined back up with Falco, who was listing lazily along the horizon.

"Hey, Falco! What did ya find, pal?" Fox quizzed.

Suddenly, a sleek battleship began to ascend from within a thick cloud, cutting through the sky like a hot knife through butter. Before the regrouped Star Fox Team, laid the flagship of the invading Venomian armada: the Attack Carrier.

"Ah. Someone else wants to play with General Gecko, and my Attack Carrier!" a voice from the battleship boomed.

"I'll take this one. Cover me, guys!" Falco charged into the fray, tackling the Attack Carrier's cannons that dotted its hull.

"Falco, hold on!" Peppy's warning went unheeded. "Cocksure boy. He's gonna get himself killed if he keeps this up."

"Then let's make sure he doesn't end up that way and cover him. Star Fox, on me!" Fox raced ahead, with Peppy and Slippy closing in with him as they charged as a unit towards the Attack Carrier.

"All Attack Carrier units, deploy! Kill the fool!" Gecko yelled over open communications, as the deck of the Attack Carrier opened and a horde of a hundred fighters scattered from the opening like soldier bees emerging from their hive under attack.

"Slippy, keep by Peppy and take out as many of those fighters as you can. I'm gonna try to cover Falco." Fox directed, charging off down the port side of the Attack Carrier's hull in pursuit of Falco, who had managed to disable twenty of the Carrier's hull cannons, but failed to notice the fighters slowly pouncing on him.

"Got it, Fox!"

"Be careful, boy!"

Fox continued his charge down the port side of the Carrier, closing in on the fighters that chased Falco, who had now destroyed another ten Carrier cannons before realising he had been followed by a squad of ten fighters. Falco was able to shake a small handful of his pursuers by diving under the hull of the Attack Carrier, zipping through the clouds and reversing the roles on his hunters and shooting at least three fighters down in a flash of light, but the others were quicker to the draw and kept on the bird's trail.

"Damn buzzards! Get lost!" Falco squawked over open communications, jerking his Arwing back on itself and flying straight towards his remaining pursuers, who splintered away to avoid crashing. Before he could right his flightpath and retaliate, however, Falco was already swamped by the Carrier fighters.

"Falco! Pull up! NOW!" Fox shouted over the communicator, watching intently as Falco's nose began to rise. As the Arwing began to flip up at a 45 degree angle, Fox launched a smart bomb, which just barely missed Falco's engines as the pilot swung into the air and over the Attack Carrier's main deck. Meanwhile, Fox's smart bomb crashed in-between Falco's pursuers, exploding them into a series of hot flashes.

"Humph!" Falco scoffed. "Thanks for the save... I guess..."

"Let's take the flagship down as a team, Falco. It's why I asked you to join us." Fox scolded.

"Yeah, yeah! Let's just get into the thick of it!" Falco barked, rushing back along the Attack Carrier's hull and bombarding the cannons with his Needler cannons. Fox circled the flagship onto its deck before charging ahead, firing his twin-turrets at the bridge of the Attack Carrier, splattering the flaghsip's shields with laser fire.

"Ha ha, you fools! My Attack Carrier's shields are impenetrable, and the Androssian Empire unstoppable!" Gecko bellowed at Star Fox.

"No one tell this zealot about Granga and his 'mite-eh Deathmonger' yet?" Peppy groaned over the communicator, tackling a large company of Attack Carrier fighters that flung around the clear skies.

"I've almost finished analysing the flagship. I should have its weakness soon!" Slippy croaked, barely managing to avoid being shot down.

"Just stay safe, Slip. Keep close to Peppy. Falco, we should fall back and regroup with the others." Fox commanded.

"Alright, shootin' at cannons was gettin' boring, anyway." Falco and Fox pulled back on their controls, slowing their engines and pulling back to the bow of the Attack Carrier and regrouping with Peppy and Slippy.

Defending their position and fending off flight squads of Attack Carrier ships that came their way, Star Fox swung around the massive flagship and blasting its hull cannons with all their firepower, but still the Attack Carrier flew, undamaged and unbroken from the near-endless torrent of laser fire. The sun blared over the skies, lighting the clouds beneath the battleground.

"All remaining Attack Carrier units, immediate launch! GO! Get those bugs!" Gecko cackled again, opening up the Carrier's deck to allow his fighters to attack Star Fox.

"I've got it, guys! The opening! Blast it with smart bombs!" Slippy cried in eureka.

"Star Fox, on me!" Fox charged ahead with Falco, Peppy and Slippy following close behind. "V Formation!" Fox and Falco swung by like knives, almost touching cockpits, whilst Peppy and Slippy followed behind in normal flight. As they blazed up the deck of the Attack Carrier, the Carrier's remaining fighter ships swarmed out over the top, charging down with a hailstorm of laser fire.

"That's too much firepower for our ships to handle! Fox, we need to pull out!" Peppy warned.

"We might not get another shot at this, Peppy! You and Slippy fall out and take them on. Me and Falco will finish off the Carrier." Fox barked, continuing to trace the deck up to the opening with Falco, whilst Peppy and Slippy spun off and charged the oncoming horde alone.

"Ha! You guys are bold! Stupid, but bold!" Gecko coughed.

As the duo passed over the closing deck, Fox barked out "Now, Falco!" and dropped his last smart bomb into the deck, with Falco dropping a bomb along with it. As the deck closed, the Attack Carrier ruptured with a mass of fiery blasts, tearing most of its infrastructure apart and casting off some of its beefier armour platings.

"Holy cow, it worked!" Slippy exclaimed in zeal.

"That's it, boys!" Peppy boomed in praise.

"YEAH! It's worken'! Take that, ya scrubs!" Falco squawked.

"What the hell!? You just dropped two bombs into MY Attack Carrier! Who are you jokers?" Gecko screamed as the deck imploded and blasted the shutter door open from the inside.

"We're the Star Fox Team, bub. And you're finished! ROB, fire the H9 Cannons!" Fox radioed over to the Great Fox.

"Affirmative, Captain Fox! Firing H9 Cannons! Target?"

"The Venomian flagship Attack Carrier! FIRE!"

"FIRE!"

And with that, a hyperspeed bolt of laser energy shot through the skies of Corneria and slammed through the opened deck of the Attack Carrier, puncturing straight through the dreadnought and rupturing another explosion across the ship. Even more of its armour fell from its chassis, and blasts of explosive force triggered across the hull, detonating the Carrier into smaller chunks before exploding into a glorious fireworks display.

From the burning bridge, a coughing Gecko gagged, "You will never defeat Lord Andross! Even if you are Star F-" But before he could finish, the bridge cracked and boomed, causing a shockwave of force to ricochet across the horizon, slamming into the remaining Attack Carrier forces and knocking out at least 40% of the fighters, causing them to fall to their doom through the clouds, as Cornerian defenders blew up to assault the remaining fighters.

"Shepherd Squadron will take it from here, Star Fox!" the captain of the force bellowed over open communications.

"Well done, Star Fox! A victory fought is a victory earned!" Peppy proudly howled.

"We did it, guys! Almost thought we wouldn't!" Slippy nervously croaked.

"Heh! With Falco Lombardi on yer team, Star Fox will win no matter what!" Falco cockily squawked.

"We're heading out, Shepherd Squadron! Good luck!" Fox chimed over to the captain.

"Likewise, Star Fox!"

And with that, the Star Fox Team chased each other into the stars of the Lylat system, with the Great Fox in tow, and set a course for their next objective...