Chapter 2
Loud rock music was playing in the main room of the large dreadnought ship. So loud that hardly a word could be heard between the small crew that was in the main room of the ship.
"That should be it ROB, all fixed."
The robot stood back up after the panel on its back had been securely shut. ROB looked at his artificial arm and gave it a whirl to feel how well the improvements were performed, "Affirmative, I'll get back to work." ROB walked off as Slippy turned around to continue the work he previously started on his computer.
As ROB walked back over to his monitors to work on, Peppy had something to say. "Fox! Isn't this music getting on your nerves? I'm trying to work on my maps!"
As the guitar solo hit, Fox turned around in his chair and shut his laptop, tapping along to the beat of the music playing. "Okay old timer. Turn it down Slippy!" Slippy let out a groan as he tossed a wrench back at the jukebox to turn it down. And he certainly did turn it down, all the way down in fact.
"Hey!" Fox yelled in a somewhat sad and annoyed tone as the music faded away to quiet.
Before Fox could get up to turn the jukebox back on, they received a transmission on the projector in the center of the room. "Slippy! It's general Pepper!" Pepper's head looked over at Fox, it looked like he had something imperative to tell them.
"General Pepper here! I have a new mission for you Fox. You are approaching Dinosaur Planet, an ancient world on the edge of the Lylat system. As you see, chunks of the planet are being torn from its surface, it's your job to get them back! If dinosaur planet explodes, it could affect the entire Lylat system! The only lead we have is that you must locate the queen of the earthwalker dinosaur tribe, maybe she can help you further. By the way, your fee has been approved. If you're successful, the money will be forwarded to you immediately. Pepper out!" The dog's head disappeared from the projector in the center of the room as the transmission was ended and the light of the projector faded.
Fox sat there for a moment, eyeing his teammates. "You heard the general." He said as he stood up with a grin on his face.
"Let's do it!"
He held a celebratory fist up as it looked like his two teammates approved of the idea.
"I'm gonna go start packing some stuff, can you guys get me some research or information on the planet? Like, why it's called Dinosaur planet? If it really has dinosaurs on it." Fox left the main room of the Great Fox and headed for his own quarters.
'Great, now we finally have some work. I just wish it was a little more…straightforward. Parts of a planet are literally being torn from its surface and are orbiting the planet…that's new.'
He found a medium sized backpack in the foot of his closet and tossed it onto his bed. 'Dinosaur Planet…wonder if that means the technology and civilization is kinda dated? Guess it's safe to doubt there'll be some kinda pizza shop down there.' He won a small laugh from himself with his last joke, thinking of the differences between Corneria and whatever planet he was headed to.
Before stuffing his backpack with whatever he might need, he grabbed it and headed back to the main room of the ship. "I know it hasn't been long, but have you guys got anything for me?" Peppy spun around in his chair with a cheerful look on his elderly face.
"Not much, but I think it should be enough. As Pepper said, it's ancient. All the reports I've found are saying that most everything is prehistoric, like the name leads you to believe. Inhabited by real, living dinosaurs. Just like something out of that Jurassic movie. Looks like the civilizations are not even half the level of Corneria, just like a prehistoric stone age. These reports aren't terribly new, around a decade old, some more some less. So perhaps they've made some advancements? Guess you won't know till you get down there." Fox's intuition was mostly correct, something straight out of a prehistoric or stone age movie.
Slippy approached the two of them with something that looked like a new gadget he'd whipped up. "My sources are indicating that they may even have a different language type. Here, try this on. It syncs with your headset." Fox grabbed what looked like some kind of gadget that clamped onto his wrist, with a few buttons on it. He pulled his a chip out of his pocket and pushed a button on it, expanding into his headset that he wore whenever on a mission. After putting on both the visor and the wrist comm, he could see more options now.
"So you can use this wrist comm as a translator device and the scouter on your headset can translate writing or some kind of text. You'll hear the natives speak just like they're speaking common, no problem." The wrist comm fit snugly on Fox's left arm and the comfort was paramount.
"This is great Slip, thanks. So then, how long till we reach orbit?"
ROB spoke up from the monitors he was standing in front of, "ETA to reaching orbit; approximately one hour and seven minutes."
"Looks like the repairs are working already." Slippy laughed at Fox's comment as he turned and headed back for his room to pack up for his adventure. 'Guess I should start with food, plenty of calorie mates and rations should do it. Guess I'll need a setup too to make a fire and a small cooking station, sounds like this won't be a quick fix.' Fox made his way towards the kitchen to stuff his backpack with some nutritious and quick-energy food supplies.
As he checked stuffed his backpack with all sorts of compact foods, Slippy approached him again. "We found a little information on the climate, mostly mild but there are some icy mountains. If you have to travel up there, we can airdrop supplies for you. So that way you won't have to lug everything around in your backpack. But do take whatever you can in your backpack."
"Got it, thanks Slip." Fox had his backpack mostly full of different rations, canned foods, and calorie mates. 'Okay, now I guess I'll need to decide what my weapon will be, no telling what I'll find down there. Even if they're some kind of stone age, it pays to be prepared.' Fox walked into a small armory down the hall from his room to select what he would take with him on his adventure.
'Hm, this'll do.'
He grabbed his favorite handgun blaster, gave it a spin in his hand, then slid it into the holster on his leg. He placed the rest of his cooking items in his backpack, nearly filling it up. 'Okay, what else? I know that Slippy can airdrop me anything I forget, but I wanna avoid that as much as possible. Money is plenty tight and we don't have a ton of supplies to squander.'
He closed his eyes as he thought about what else he might need to survive on a prehistoric-type planet. 'Sure hope I'm not forgetting anything besides food and cooking supplies, for this backpack at least.' Fox grabbed a small sleeping mat and a few blankets out of his closet, who knows how cold it might get at night? 'I can store these in my Arwing, so that still frees up some space in my bag. Might as well leave it empty so it isn't quite so stiff.'
Fox threw on his normal getup for any other mission he would be on. His green flight suit, his silver combat boots and knee pads, a pair of gloves, a few torso straps to hold extra ammo and a few all-purpose knives on. And to top it all off, his flight jacket with the sleeves rolled up just above his elbows. He looked in his mirror and exhaled, remembering that it had been a while since he had to suit up so extravagantly.
'Not since we lost…Falco. Wish he were here so I wouldn't have to do this solo, but duty calls.'
He strapped on his backpack and headed for the center room. He sat his backpack down next to his chair and walked up to the control monitors. "Hey, ROB. How long till we reach orbit of Dinosaur Planet?" The robot turned towards Fox, then back at the screens, then back to Fox once more.
"Approximately sixteen minutes and twenty-three seconds." Fox sat down at his chair and closed his eyes, trying to prepare his mind for the journey ahead of him, it sure seemed like it wouldn't be an overnight job.
He opened his eyes again as ROB approached him. "We have reached orbit, sir, awaiting your next orders."
'What? I fell asleep and no one said anything? Someone around here is losing their touch, hope it isn't me.' Fox walked over to the window as he looked at the planet, or what resembled a planet. 'So it's true.' He saw it with his own eyes, there were parts of the planet orbiting around, the looked like oversized puzzle pieces that would fit right into gaping fissures in the planet.
"Wow, it's incredible but horrible at the same time." Peppy approached the window and looked out at the object that resembled a planet.
"We're lucky, those asteroids are following orbit, so we don't have to worry about them flying off and hitting us. Still, not as close to the planet as we'd like, but still close enough to provide support." Fox looked over at Slippy as he also approached the window and witnessed the terrible spectacle.
Fox put his hands on his hips as a determined look overcame his face, "Slippy get my Arwing ready. I'm headed down there." The frog nodded back as he headed for the control station. Fox tossed the sleeping mat and blankets into the cargo bay of his Arwing and hopped up into the seat.
"So, Fox, I know it's been a while since we were out on a mission, your Arwing should be fine. I mean, don't stress it out to much, but unless you make contact with a good sized asteroid or take a stray hit from something, it should be fine on its own. Once we finish this mission I'll even be able to upgrade the Arwings rather than just repair them. Just try to take it easy, okay?" Fox heard Slippy's small briefing on his headset as the canopy to his Arwing shut.
"You got it Slippy, I'll do my best. Am I ready for takeoff?"
"You sure are, good luck out there. Contact us when you touch down."
"You got it, it's go time!" As Fox spoke those last words did his Arwing shoot out of the Great Fox and head straight towards the planet at extreme speed.
Getting to the planet shouldn't be a problem, all that was between them was a small field of asteroids and debris. Fox was prepared for anything, after all an asteroid field was nature. It was nature and so it was unpredictable, a terrible enemy to those were naïve concerning their flying. He perceived anything in his sight as a threat, even if they were just asteroids floating around. Just like Slippy said, one of these could spell doom for his Arwing if it hits in a semi-vulnerable spot. Flying through all of these asteroids didn't make him careless, it made him more aware than ever, only a few years ago did they encounter quite an ambush in an asteroid field on their way to Venom.
Fox was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as something did manage to surprise him; a small squad of space crafts that emerged from an asteroid field and began firing at him. He quickly angled his ship so that the enemy fire missed him, and he quickly returned a volley at the ships. He intentionally missed, only aiming close as to scare away whatever makeshift ships these were. His intentions paid off and the three ships scattered in different directions until they left Fox's sight.
'That's strange, a great ambush spot but they folded as soon as enemy fire was returned. And is someone expecting me?' His thoughts were perplexed as he was reaching the planet's atmosphere. Plenty would be on his mind concerning this almost random attack as he was reaching the planet.
He looked down at this small abode, it was a green, fertile hollow. There was a small waterfall that became a stream, ending in a pond on the opposite end of the hollow. There were plenty of trees around that looked to bear some kind of fruit, Fox's curiosity was showing even on his face. The landing gear for the Arwing deployed as it came to a slow halt once touching down on the ground, the sun was shining and the weather out was a mild springtime. The canopy to the Arwing opened as Fox jumped out onto the ground, a small puff of dirt reaching his ankles.
He activated his wrist comm and shortly after did a projection of Peppy's face show up. "Good flying out there Fox, although it looked like it got a little a erratic for a moment, what happened?"
"Had a little welcoming party. Three ships came out of hiding in the asteroid field and attacked me. I scared them off but didn't shoot anyone down, weird don't you think? Maybe someone is expecting me?"
"Maybe, I'd stay sharp out there if I were you. Now then, onto the mission." Peppy cleared his throat, Fox looked around at his new surroundings.
"You should be in a place called Thorntail Hollow, home to the Thorntail tribe. Peaceful and delicate, the Queen Earthwalker should be somewhere around here. Not entirely sure where because the map scans aren't 100% but I think you can find something. Take a look around with your scouter, the visual data can help me download a new map that I can upload to your wrist comm and headset."
"That's great Peppy! Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure to take a look at everything. You said that this wrist comm has a map function on it?" Slippy's head appeared now, almost bumping Peppy's out of sight like it was some kind of cartoon.
"Yeah Fox! Just hit the button labeled 'M' and the wrist comm should morph into a visual display. You can see a rough map of the area based on scans we got from out here. Just hit the 'R' button when you wanna turn off the map display."
"Got it, thanks Slip." Now it was Peppy's turn for his holographic head to bump Slippy out of view of the display, returning himself to the focus.
"Just, try to take it easy out there. We don't know what kind of threats await you out there, don't know who is friend and who is enemy. So just try to keep some kind of low profile, alright Fox?" Fox nodded his head at the holographic projection of the rabbit. "You got it Peppy, Fox out." With that, he dismissed the holographic projections and silenced the communications.
Fox looked around at the dinosaurs with astonishment as well as a bit of caution. Peppy was right, they may be startled by his presence. Slowly, he walked around trying to get visual data for his future map, as well as try to understand the lay of the land with his incomplete map. After looking on the map and exploring for a bit, Fox decided it was time to approach a Thorntail.
"Hello? Can you understand me?" he stood in front of one that wasn't far from his Arwing, trying to speak at a moderate tone.
"Hello, stranger. I understand you well, why do you ask?" A look of relief came across Fox's face, the translator that Slippy had just put together worked like a charm.
"That's a relief. I'm sure you noticed, but I'm an outsider here. I was sent to help put the planet back together, you know that pieces of the planet are drifting away right?"
"Yes, unfortunately. The Queen's husband was on one of those pieces of the planet, she has not seen him in quite some time." Fox's eyes widened and his ears perked at the mention of that particular word.
"Queen? By any chance do you mean the queen Earthwalker?"
"Yes, of course."
"That's great too. Can you point me in the direction of her by any chance? I need to talk to her." The Thorntail moved its head around, as if to point Fox in a new direction.
"The queen is in her royal chamber over in that direction, past the flower bed. The door is shut, but perhaps there is a way you can find your way in?"
"Great, thanks for the help." Fox waved goodbye to the Thorntail as he walked off towards this area, with an excited spring in his step. He walked over to what looked like some kind of arena, stopping before he stepped inside it. As he was about to step inside it, he heard a peculiar noise.
Then he heard it again, and once more. He looked over in the center of the flower bed, a patch that had no flowers in it, but some object protruding from the ground.
'What in the world?'
He approached the object that was protruding. It looked like some kind of weapon, a staff perhaps. He gripped it with both of his hands and heaved it out of the ground, it felt heavy. Before he was about to drop it did he feel something of a shock from the object as a blue light emitted from the whole staff. He heard a voice, a surprising but pleasant voice.
"If you are receiving this message, then I am in great danger." Fox looked around in caution, trying to identify where the voice came from.
"The staff you hold in your hands is a powerful weapon." Still Fox spun around looking for the person who the voice belonged to. He looked all around but found nothing, reaching for his blaster now.
'Oh, I get it. This must be some kind of alert system.' His heart rate lowered as he calmed himself, realizing now what was going on.
"You must learn to use it wisely." Fox laughed a little as he continued to listen to whatever this pretty voice was supposed to tell him. 'I only need one weapon, and it's right here strapped to my leg.'
"It will give you guidance when its powers can be used. My staff's main use is in combat and in time your skills may grow." Fox rolled his eyes a little bit as he sat down in the bald patch where there were no flowers to trample. He looked at the staff as he listened to the voice. The craftsmanship was paramount, the staff felt comfortable and was perfectly balanced concerning its weight distribution.
"Try different actions to unleash its powerful attacks. You can also use it to explore the world around you. I'm sure that you will find it very useful."
'Wow, whoever this person is must be really kind, really selfless. To build not only a kind of alert into this thing, but also to encourage someone to use it for themselves rather than immediately return it.' Fox's curiosity grew less about the staff, and more about the owner now that he continued to listen to the message that was recorded.
"Take care of my staff, and it will take care of you."
Fox felt a smiled creep across his face at that last line. 'Incredible, sure would like to meet this person, whoever she is. Sounds really kind-hearted.' Fox looked on the staff, running his hands across it until he felt some kind of peculiar groove. He touched this groove, that he identified to be more like a button. Pressing it, the staff quickly collapsed into a much smaller version that was just over a foot in length.
After regaining his composure from the sudden movement, Fox picked the staff back up and inspected it. 'Incredible. I have to find the owner of this thing.' He stowed it in his backpack, maybe it would come in use down the road. After stowing it away, now he stepped into the arena-like area. It looked like there was a large door on the other end, but unsure of how to open it.
He looked around and up above the door was some kind of symbol that looked rather new compared to the rest of the architecture. It looked like a sun, and much more peculiar than the rest of the structure. 'Why not? Worth a try.' Fox reached for his blaster as he took aim at this sun symbol. He fired one quick shot as the symbol changed colors and the large door slid open.
A small look of surprise came across the vulpine's face at this discovery, 'So, that thing must react to a burst of heat, good to know. Wonder if more of those are across the planet?' He stepped inside of the door and it looked like it led to a small cavern as the slope went downwards.
"Is anybody there?" He yelled as he walked down the corridor.
Fox turned the corner as he saw a new type of dinosaur, this one looked to be a bit more regal than the Thorntails. "Are you okay? My name is Fox McCloud, and you must be the queen Earthwalker." He knelt down as he spoke to this dinosaur, she looked a little rough around the edges.
"Oh, thank goodness a friendly face has shown. I need your assistance in saving my son. He has been taken to the ice mountain as the Sharpclaw's prisoner." Fox had a baffled and confused look on his face at this request from the dinosaur.
"Uh, I'm sorry. Wha-" Fox's sentence was cut off when he heard a noise. Something of a pebble coming down the corridor that he came down shortly before he found the queen. He saw a shadow, what it was he couldn't make out and didn't take a chance. Fox signaled the queen to stay quiet for a moment, he hid behind a pillar nearby and drew his blaster. Just like Peppy said, he doesn't know who is friend and who is enemy, so for now he had to assume everyone was an enemy if they didn't identify themselves.
'That's right, come on down.' He thought to himself as the gentle footsteps became louder and louder.
Soon, it felt as though the perpetrator was right upon them. As Fox saw something that resembled a body come into his field of view, that person entirely unaware of his presence, he jumped out from his hiding spot.
"Freeze."
He said calmly and just loud enough to where he knew they would hear him. He was ready to fire if this person posed a threat.
'A blue, bipedal dinosaur? No, this isn't a dinosaur this is-' He overlooked this figure that held its hands out before turning around.
"Turn around, slowly." He ordered this figure to do.
This figure slowly did so, without saying a word. As the person turned towards Fox and faced him, the grip on his gun became a bit weaker and his aim lowered just a bit,
'She's…'
"I'll leave you here now, I'll be back later. The queen should be over in that small sanctuary but…"
"But what? Is something wrong Kite?" The Cloudrunner shook his head as the vixen jumped off of his back.
"No, nothing. The queen should be down there, just approach quietly and calmly. With all the animosity on the planet you should just try your best to make a good impression." Krystal nodded to the Cloudrunner as he flew off, likely to inform his kin.
'So this is Thorntail Hollow. It's a nice place.' Krystal looked around as she jumped down from the ledge that Kite left her on. 'But…what's that?'
She looked over at this large, metallic looking structure, it certainly looked like it didn't belong here in all of this flora and nature. 'Maybe that's what Kite was talking about? I hope it isn't hostile.' Whatever it was, it didn't move at all so perhaps it wasn't a threat. Krystal wandered around the Hollow, trying to familiarize herself with the layout of the area.
'I can work on that later, I need some direction with the queen first.' She headed over towards something that looked to be a type of sanctuary and began to walk down the corridor to the cavern-like area down the slope.
'This must be the queen. And I feel like there's one more person but-' Her thoughts were cut short as her suspicions were confirmed.
"Freeze."
That was all she heard as her back was turned to the voice, she was vulnerable and had no weapon. The demanding tone had no nervousness anywhere to be detected, Krystal thought it would be in her best interest to do exactly what it said.
She raised her arms to show that she had no weapon in her hands. "Turn around, slowly." The voice told her once more, she complied quickly. She turned around to face something that looked familiar in a way.
"…beautiful."
Fox's thought was finished as the vixen turned around and faced him. Turquoise eyes, blue fur, and an angelic looking face as a whole.
'She's no threat.'
He thought to himself as his aim lowered. Quickly he snapped out of his adolescent trance as he remembered both his and Peppy's words. "Identify yourself." He said as he returned his focus on the vixen in front of him, steadying his aim.
"I'm Krystal. I was sent…by the Cloudrunners. I'm here to ask the queen about Krazoa spirits." Fox's aim lowered just a bit again, this time not because of what was in front of him, but by what she was saying.
"You were…sent by the what? To find the spirits of what? Are you serious?"
The vixen had a look that resembled something of pouting as well as annoyance, Fox thought it looked kind of cute. "Yes, I am serious. They are a big deal for the reformation of this planet. Please, can you lower your weapon so I can speak to the queen?"
Fox was still unsure of this, 'Her voice…' He thought to himself. He looked down at the queen, silently asking her what she thought of the situation in front of them.
"If she seeks the spirits, she is a friend. Please, lower your weapon." Fox slid his blaster into the leg holster at the queen's request, allowing ease to fall upon the three new acquaintances.
"I am sorry, young lady, but please I need to know of my son's safety." Fox stepped up to the queen to finish the conversation that he previously had started before being interrupted by this vixen.
"Okay ma'am, I'll be glad to get your son back. Are there any directions you can give me?" She let out a loud call, loud enough to be heard anywhere in the hollow almost.
"Speak to the Warpstone. He will transport you to the ice mountain where I believe my son is being held."
'Hm, a little pushy. But I don't have a choice, guess I'll have to help her out real quick.' Fox was a bit hesitant but it sure did seem like the queen was unhappy. Maybe unhealthy, but he would do his best to help her, and it seemed getting her son back was the best he could do now.
"That's all I need to know. I'll be back soon, queen, don't you worry." It was as though he was entirely ignoring the vixen's presence as he turned and walked up towards the exit of the sanctuary. She was a bit offended, but at the same time couldn't help but respect his focus on his mission.
"Hey! Wait up!"
'That voice…' He heard that voice again, this time he turned towards the direction it came from and this time it came from a body. The body of a blue vixen, very scantily clad, as Fox tried not to notice that last part as much as possible.
"Oh, hi. Can I help you with something?" The vixen caught up to him, next to the flower bed, and stood up straight to speak to him.
"It just sounds like you have a small journey you're headed out on. I've been around this planet a little bit, so perhaps I can be your guide?" Fox wasn't too sure, this girl that he just met now wants to guide him around? It sounds like a bad idea. Although, it sounds like he's headed into even more uncharted territory, and if she's telling the truth, her guidance just might be needed.
"Yeah…sure you can come along. Just try to stay out of the way of any danger, don't need a guide getting hurt or anything." Again that somewhat pouty look showed up on her face, Fox couldn't figure out why that was.
"Oh and my name is Fox. What's your name?"
She spoke with a more calm tone, that didn't reflect the look on her face.
"Krystal, my name is Krystal."
