*After sending Ryu, Fox, Silver, and Mega Man to help the Xiaolin Monks look for a Shen Gong Wu called the Paralyzing Prism, Knuckles, Yuya, and Leo come in my workshop and see talking on the phone*
Me: You really sure it fell in a river of lava? I see. Hey, I just had an idea. It's a little crazy, but it might work. *I notice Knuckles, Yuya, and Leo* Better go. Tell the other monks I said hi. *I hang up*
Yuya: That Kimiko again?
Me: Yeah. We were just talking about this Shen Gong Wu called the Hoduku Mouse.
Leo: Hoduku Mouse?
Me: Uh-huh. If I remember correctly, the Hoduku Mouse has the power to correct any mistake its user has caused.
Knuckles: Wait, any mistake?
Me: That's right. Unfortunately, Jack Spicer dropped it in a river of molten lava when an army of giant spiders attacked. It's a good thing the Shen Gong Wu are very durable, though.
Yuya: Dang.
Knuckles: Personally, that sounds like a blessing in disguise. Rigby could have a field day with a Wu like that.
Me: *chuckles* Yeah, I had that same thought. Thankfully, I came up with a plan to recover the Hoduku Mouse and bring it to the Monks, but since it's in a river of lava, we'll need to borrow the Black Beetle.
Knuckles: Count me in. I haven't used my Shovel Claws in a good while.
Me: Perfect. We'll need someone to dig their way to the Wu. You get ready for the trip to the Temple while I contact Smoke and tell him about my plan.
The Mercenary and the Princess
Chapter 4: Star Fox Meets Scarlet Army, Part 1
(Lylat System, Star Fox Headquarters, 2:07 PM)
Upon discovering that their leader, Fox, is located in a realm known as Enchancia, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy prepare their Arwings for the trip. As they finish preparations, Slippy's tracker went off.
"Huh?" Slippy wondered as he took out his tracker and noticed Fox's signal vanish and reappear in another place. "Guys, wait! Fox's signal has just moved!"
"That can never be good. Where is he now?" Falco asked in a complaining tone.
"Well, the coordinates say that he's now in a place called Cinnibar." Slippy reported, keeping track of the signal.
"Cinnibar, I've heard of that place." Krystal thought aloud.
"You have?" Falco asked, surprised of Krystal's knowledge of Cinnibar.
"More or less; I've been hearing legends of the kingdom's queen recruiting warriors from across many other realms for her army." Krystal explained to them.
"So she has an inter-realm army, huh? I'd like to see this army in person." Falco wondered.
"Well, you're in luck. I just asked my dad if he can open a portal to Cinnibar. I already gave him the coordinates, so he should open one real soon." Slippy told them. Once he did, they start hearing a whirring noise outside. The three Star Fox Mercenaries look out the window and see the open warp portal.
"Way to go, Slippy!" Falco complimented. "Now let's go get Fox." The three Star Fox pilots enter their respective Arwings and take off for Cinnibar, with the Great Fox following close behind. However, a certain rival group of mercenaries were listening in on their plan.
"Did you hear that, boss? They're headed to another realm to rescue their precious leader." Leon reported from his Wolfen.
"I know what I heard, Leon." Wolf retorted with a glare from his single eye.
"What's our course of action?" Panther asked.
"We follow them. What else?" Wolf told his teammate as their Wolfens followed the Arwings into the warp portal.
(Cinnibar, Scarlett's Castle, 9 minutes ago)
Once Scarlett has guided Fox on a tour of her castle, now was the time to introduce him to her troops. She leads him to a hidden training room where many of her best soldiers are gathered.
"Whoa!" Fox gasped at the sight of the many different soldiers present.
"Surprising, isn't it? Welcome to Scarlet Army Headquarters." Scarlett told him.
"I never expected a place like this in a castle." Fox noted.
"We're in a hidden army base. What do you expect?" Scarlett asked him.
"Touché." Fox simply said. Then, a gunshot was heard from behind Fox. Thankfully for him, his hearing stimulated his instincts and with a swift motion of his hand, he activated his Reflector and deflected the bullet. It flew right past the shooter's head. Fox turns to face the shooter. It was a man with pale skin and chalk white hair with his bangs brushed down. His signature attire is composed of a black shirt with several straps across the torso and black and red pants, complete with a red, two-tailed coat. Strapped to his back was a claymore sword. He smirks when he made eye contact with Fox.
"Sorry 'bout that. I thought you were one of those blasted demons." He apologized, lowering his gun. "Pretty nice reflexes, though."
"Thanks. My super sensitive hearing kicked in when you fired. I knew you were there." Fox noted.
"Typical. Name's Dante, by the way." The man, Dante, introduced himself and offers Fox a handshake, which he accepts.
"Fox McCloud. An honor to meet you, Dante." Fox greeted.
"Likewise." Dante nodded. "How about you take a look around and meet with some others?"
"Sounds good." Fox complied as he left the training room, leaving Scarlett and a seemingly unhappy Dante alone.
"What were you thinking bringing him here?" Dante asked her.
"What are you talking about, Dante?" Scarlett retorted.
"You brought in a mercenary. Mercenaries kill for money."
"Dante, you're overreacting. Yes, I brought in a mercenary, but Sofia already told me that he works with the Cornerian Government. He's a good man." Scarlett informed him.
"Is that so?" Dante asked her. "Well, how about we have him prove it?"
"How?"
"You'll see, Scarlett." Dante told her as he walked away with a smirk.
To be continued…
Smoke: *on-screen* Are you serious? You're trying to recover the Hoduku Mouse?!
Me: That's what I told you, man.
Smoke: You must be either really crazy or really smart to think of something like that.
Me: Smoke, when it comes to ideas like that, I have a unique habit of being both.
Smoke: Of course. Good luck on your search, Archer.
Me: Same to you on your stories. *hangs up*
Knuckles: *comes in wearing his Shovel Claws* Ready to go?
Me: Almost. I'll meet you at the hangar. Just need to upload this new chapter. You readers are welcome to RRF. Archer out.
