"Hopefully by the time you are reading this, the first 3 chapters will already be up. And, if I'm lucky and have enough time, the forum should be started before I post chapter 4. Please visit and let me know what you think! I'm especially open to critiques. I'll be the first to admit my writing is flawed.

"If there are any outstanding questions about Chapter (n), let me know in the forum and I'll try to address them in the author's note for Chapter (n+1).

"Also, I'll be using the forum for SFRG to gauge how interested the community is in this story, so I'll know whether or not I should stick with it. That being said, enjoy!"

-B McC

Chapter 2 – Clash of the Titans

"Star Fox, eh?" quipped Leon Powalski, a manic chameleon rumored to have joined Star Wolf just so he could be paid to murder. "I think I'm going to enjoy this."

"The frog's mine!" yelled Andrew Oikonny, nephew of the infamous Andross – and living proof that intelligence is not genetic. "You know what Venom smells like?!"

"You know what YOU smell like?" retorted Falco Lombardi. He ran one hand over his head to smooth out some feathers, used the other hand to lock the accelerator locked at maximum, and kept his Arwing's control yoke steady with his right foot. "I'll take this one, Slip. Lizard boy's old news."

"I dunno about that…" croaked Slippy Toad. He let one hand off the controls just briefly enough to wipe some sweat off his forehead and readjust his cap – titling his Arwing 45 degrees in the process. "I don't know any of this guy's moves and - "

"I'll cover ya, Slippy," chuckled Peppy Hare. "And Falco, knock off the stupid stunts!" The oldest member of the team sent a very father-like glare toward Falco, who muttered something about an "old-timer" and took proper hold of the controls.

Just three of them… unless the fourth is hiding out somewhere. No, that's not his style… Despite his focused appearance, Fox McCloud was completely lost in thought. Was Pigma really…?

An all-too familiar voice came over Fox's radio and brought him back to the battle: "Long time, no see, pup. Hate to break it to ya, but since I'm still alive our last match was a draw."

Wolf could barely keep the excitement out of his voice. So that was Star Fox that clipped his wing? A match with a couple dozen Cornerian units was all right, but a match with the one man he could ever consider an equal – well, not equal, but good enough – was sure to get the adrenaline pumping. "Hey, Commander, you'll have to take care of the satellite yourselves. My team's heading to the surface." The compact Wolfen would have a much easier time breaking through the barrier than Andross's massive gunships.

"We had a deal you -!" Wolf cut off the transmission and steered his ship straight toward Titan.

"Leon! Andrew! We're going on ahead!"

The three Wolfen blasted through the Cornerian shield and disappeared into the atmosphere. All four Arwings followed closely behind.

"Fox, we won't be able to communicate with you once you enter Titan! For now, focus on stopping Star Wolf at all costs!" General Pepper's voice had grown noticeably hopeful.

"Yes sir!" Fox's Arwing began to rattle as it dove through the dense gases.

"And be on the lookout for any… ng that may… krchkx … dross…"

"Signal lost. The radar's a bit shaky, but Star Wolf is definitely straight ahead." Slippy's voice carried a noticeable amount of panic. His last visit to Titan had been… memorable.

"I can see the surface!" shouted Falco. Sure enough, the dense fog broke to reveal the wide canyons and vast stretches of blood-red sand that characterized the face of Titan. "Bogies at 12 o'clock!"

The Wolfen split up. One leveled off several hundred feet from the surface and shook clumsily in the rough winds; "I got 'im," said Falco, correctly identifying the pilot. The second Wolfen took cover inside of a sandstorm; Peppy and Slippy took chase.

Of course, thought Fox. Of course he would pick the canyon. He chased after the last Wolfen, which had decided to brave the rocky pillars and treacherous winds of a wide crack in the earth. Unable to lock onto his opponent from above, Fox flew in after him.

…

Fox yanked the yoke to the right, just barely dodging a pile of rocks Wolf had shot down from the canyon's lip. "You're almost getting good at this, pup," smirked Wolf. Fox ignored the comment and fired a charged laser; Wolf dodged with relative ease, but the laser obliterated a stone column. The "pup" cussed to himself and wove through the rocks he had just caused to fall.

That Wolfen is missing a wing… He shouldn't have this much control over his ship. The thoughts ran furiously through Fox's head. How was he this far behind? Didn't he win the last fight?

"Heh, looks like the fun is over." If Wolf hadn't spoken out, Fox would have crashed right into the end of the canyon. He pulled the Arwing up and just barely cleared the edge of the crack.

"The fun's just beginning, Wolf. How about we settle this?"

Wolf did not reply. He didn't even notice Fox had said anything. Because right in front of Wolf was a massive temple, just like the ones he had seen on Venom.

And all around him were hundreds of alien ships.