Chapter 2
The Cornerian sun poured through the large windows in Fox's bedroom. Fox slowly woke up, sitting up and stretching as he did. He looked to his left, only to notice Krystal had already woken up. "What time is it anyway?" Fox thought, as he turned to look at the clock. The clock read 10:06am. "Jeez, 10 already?" Fox slipped out of bed and made his way downstairs. He could smell the breakfast being made in the kitchen more and more as he made it farther down the stairs. Krystal heard him coming down the stairs, and smiled. "Morning sleepy head." She said as he made his way into the kitchen. Fox sighed and smiled. "Morning Krystal, sorry for sleeping in so late." He hugged her from behind as she was cooking some bacon on the stove. "It's alright Fox, it gave me more time to make breakfast anyways." Fox smiled and kissed her cheek. "Why don't you go sit down and rest your feet for a minute? I can finish this up." Fox said, letting go of her. Krystal smiled. "Sure, thanks." She walked away, and went into the living room to watch the morning news. Fox started to finish the bacon, whistling while he did.
The Cornerian News was something Fox and Krystal watched every morning. Most of the time, everything they heard would be happy things, such as new buildings being built or just the little things people do to make a difference. After Star Fox fought so hard to protect it, everyone else contributed by keeping it the nice, beautiful planet it had always been. Today, however, something was different about the news. Instead of the cheery Anchorman doing it, General Pepper was hosting it. General Pepper was Star Fox's general for as long as they worked. Usually, he wouldn't go on unless something big was happening, like a holiday. It was the middle of January, so no big holiday today. "Huh, strange." Krystal said, as she sat down. "What's going on?" Fox called out from the Kitchen. "General Pepper is doing the news today." Fox turned off the stove, and immediately made his way in there. Fox noticed right away that something was wrong, and he sat down to figure out what.
"Greetings citizens, and welcome to today's news report." General Pepper said, in a rather shaky tone. "What's wrong with him?" Krystal asked, concerned. "I'm not sure yet." Fox replied as he listened. "I have some unfortunate news to share with you all." Fox leaned in a bit closer. Pepper sighed. "A bomb was planted and set off at the Cornerian Training Academy at approximately 9:25 am this morning." Krystal covered her mouth. "Oh my god.." She said. Fox didn't say anything, as he was in pure shock. After killing Andorss, Pigma, and Andrew, nobody threatening should be left on Cornerian grounds. Why would someone do this? "Thankfully, nobody was close enough to the bomb to be killed, but many people were injured by the blast. Both adults, and children." Pepper said. "We don't know who was responsible for this yet, but investigation of the bomb site are already underway."
Fox turned off the TV. "This doesn't make any sense.." He said, looking at the ground. "Who would want to do such a horrible thing?" Krystal asked, although she new Fox wouldn't have an answer. The two sat in silence for a minute, but a few moments later, there was a knock on the door. Fox looked curiously at the front door, before standing up. Nobody really ever came to visit, especially not this early. Not to mention, Fox was hardly dressed, with only some Pajama pants on with no top. Nonetheless, not answering the door was rude, so he went and opened the door. To his surprise, it was one of his old teammates. Peppy Hare.
"Hello Fox, may I come in for a moment?" Peppy asked. Peppy was getting old, in his late 60's. Of all the old teammates to show up at his door, Peppy was the one he least expected. "O-Of course!" Fox let Peppy in, and closed the door. "What brings you here?" Peppy sighed. "I know you sometimes go and visit the Academy, so I was just making sure you were alright." He said, as he walked into the living room with Fox. Krystal stood up, and hugged Peppy as soon as she saw him. Because Krystal was an orphan, Peppy was the closest thing she ever had to a father. "Hey Peppy!" She said, smiling. "Hey Krystal, how have you been?" He asked. Krystal sat down, and Peppy and Fox did as well. "I've been alright, I'm just glad you're ok." She said. Fox sighed. "So do you have any idea who could've planted that bomb?" He asked. Peppy shook his head. "That's what I was coming to ask you." Fox stood up. "I need to go check it out, see if their was anybody there who could have seen anything." He turned to face Peppy. "You coming with?" Peppy nodded. "Just give me a minute to rest my feet. I've been on the run all day."
Fox made his way up the stairs to get dressed. This was the last thing Fox expected to happen today. At least he got to see Peppy for the first time in a while. The last time they came across each other was when Fox visited the academy. Peppy was there with his daughter, and Fox and Peppy spent some time catching up. Now, they had to go check out a bomb. Not too much time to catch up this time. Fox made his way into his closet, threw on a shirt, and changed into some actual pants. On his way out, he came across his old Star Fox Jacket and red scarf. Fox felt like he needed to look like he was official, and not just some civilian with an itching curiosity on what the bomb looked like. He slipped on his scarf and jacket, and headed downstairs.
Fox entered the living room, seeing Peppy and Krystal talking about something. Krystal stopped when she noticed what Fox was wearing. "I haven't seen you in that in a while." She said, smiling. "It still looks as good as ever." Fox smiled a little, but wasn't really in a playful mood. "Thanks hon." He said, then looked at Peppy. "Ready?" Peppy got up, sighing. "Yep, who's driving?" Fox grabbed his keys. "I'll drive, we can come back at get your car after we're done looking." The truth was, Fox wanted to get over there as quick as he could. He knew if he let Peppy drive, this would take much longer than it needed to. "I'll see you later Krystal." Fox said, as he and Peppy walked out the door.
A few minutes later, Fox and Peppy pulled up at the academy. Of course, nobody was really there, due to the bomb. At least that meant they could go in and check it out without being stopped by someone. The two got out of the car and made their way inside. As they went in, and made their way over to the explosion site, only two people were there. A security guard, and General Pepper. "General." Fox called out as he approached him. Pepper turned to see who called him, surprised at who it was. "Fox Mccloud? It's so good to see you again! How's everything going?" He asked. "Sorry, I'm not here to catch up at the moment. Peppy and I came to check out the site." Fox replied. "Oh, uhh, go right ahead." Fox nodded and went closer.
He noticed the explosion was in a males shower corridor, and judging by where the damage was the worst. It was hidden in a utility closet. "Strange...the closet has a lock on it. The only way someone could've gotten in is if they knew the password." Fox turned to look at Peppy, only to notice he stayed back to talk with General Pepper. Those two had been best friends ever since before Fox was born. Realizing Peppy wasn't going to be much help, he went to the security guard. "Excuse me sir?" Fox called. The security guard knew who he was talking to, and seemed a little shy. It was clear he was new to the job. "Y-Yes Mr. Mccloud?" He asked. Fox sighed. "Please, just call me Fox. Do you happen to have a security footage salvaged of this corridor?" The security guard thought for a moment. "Umm..I think so. I t-think that the footage auto saves onto the computer up in the security room every 24 hours..I think." "Mind If I take a look?" Fox asked. "S-Sure, come with me."
Fox and The Security Guard made their way into the security room, which was mainly a small room with a desk and a computer. Fox sat in the chair, and started to search through the files. Thankfully, he already knew how to do this, so the new guard didn't have to teach him. When they were kids, Fox and Falco would often come up here and mess with the cameras. Sure, it got them into trouble, but at least the skill ended up being useful. Fox stopped on a certain time of day. The Academy didn't open for training until around 8:30 am. Planted bombs are usually on a time limit of two hours, meaning whoever planted the bomb managed to get inside before it opened, and plant it at around 7:25 am. As he watched the footage from that morning, he saw something. He noticed the person was dressed in black, but very large in size. They knew the pin to the door, meaning they were once part of this academy. As Fox zoomed in, he couldn't believe what he saw. "No, that's impossible!" Fox thought to himself. However, it was right in front of him. The person who planted the bomb, Fox thought had been killed in the explosion a few years ago.
The person who planted the bomb, was Pigma Dengar. Former Star Fox and Star Wolf member. It appears he was looking for revenge. Revenge for Fox almost killing him, and revenge for Wolf kicking him off Star Wolf. Fox paused the camera, and called Peppy, who was all the way on the other side of the Academy. "Yes Fox?" Peppy asked when he picked up. "Peppy..I need you upstairs. Now."