CHAPTER 03 - INCOMING TRANSMISSION
From the large hall leading into the training facility, one of the event coordinators entered the main room and looked around for several moments. It was a Shy Guy who wore an official black and blue uniform of the stadium's staff. He waddled onto the training mat, holding what looked like a round, layered disc object in his right hand. Meanwhile, his left hand adjusted a little ear-piece microphone that was mounted on the side of his hooded head.
"Ahum... Excuse me, everyone? If I could please have your attention for a minute." He cleared his throat and spoke up, getting the smashers' attention via the room's PA system.
"I know this is taking a bit longer than we thought. We're still getting everyone here and situated, but honestly you guys and gals... thanks so much for your patience. As y'all might also know, some contenders are still on their way, meaning they haven't arrived on the planet yet. So, on that note..."
All the smashers listened and observed as the event coordinator went over to press a small button on the wall. The lights in this corner of the main room dimmed halfway, and one of the tiles on the bare section of the floor started sliding off to the side. A narrow, rod-like stand then rose up in place of that tile, and he mounted the disc into a slot on the cup-like top. The object flipped sideways, letting out a little whizzing sound as it rotated, but soon after, a bright beam of light shot out from its concave center and illuminated upon the wall right in front of everyone. It was just like a powerful mini-projector.
Then the Shy Guy coordinator announced, "Fox McCloud sends a message. He wanted to chat a bit."
Interestingly, the response was a mixed rise of both thoughtful whispers and annoyed groans coming from the whole crowd behind him. After all, everyone here knew in one way or another that the Star Fox team, or moreover those who hailed from the Lylat System in general, had a powerful standing in the history of these tournaments. Whether or not all those same people were a fan, friend, or something otherwise regarding this celebrated space mercenary team, that was another story judging by the range of reactions.
"... It's a live video call of course, so if you'd like to be part of the chat, gather right 'round here." He pointed to the back side of the disc object facing them, revealing a dark glass covered area which was the lens.
A number of the smashers, including the others already there from the Lylat System interestingly enough, actually began to go back to what they were doing before this little announcement. Among the ones who stayed however were the Mario brothers, along with Kirby, Yoshi, Captain Falcon, Little Mac, Link, Ike, and after some thought, Lucina as well.
Marth and Roy were among those leaving, because it seemed they had better things to do than take part in a video chat. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that they'd both lost matches to Fox in the past, but who was to say?
Nevertheless, Mario definitely seemed eager so he nudged Luigi on the shoulder.
"C'mon, bro." He warmly started as his brother faced him a bit unsurely, "Let's-a-say hi to Fox."
The brothers found a nice spot right near the front of the group while they and the others waited patiently for the projected image to show something.
"Should be coming through aaaany second now..." Assured the coordinator. "He said he'd get on a few minutes or so after I talked with-... oh, never mind! There we go!"
Music: "Tunings"
Practically right as those words left his mouth, both the image and sound flickered briefly before cutting to a relatively smooth feed of what looked like the top of a desk, surrounded by a rather dimly-lit interior of a futuristic room. Then, hurrying into frame from the left side was the young and panache Fox McCloud himself. He took a seat in the chair in front of the webcam on his end, just so his upper profile was filling most of the view.
Quite surprisingly, he was wearing nothing but a white tank top and tight athletic shorts over his semi-wet and ruffled fur which bristled out from the sides. It actually looked a bit amusing upon first sight to Mario and the others.
"Hey there guys," he warmly opened, making himself comfortable in the process. "Sorry for the slight wait. Just hopped out from a shower when I got the call. You know how that can happen, am I right... or am I right?"
Some of the smashers chuckled casually in a thoughtful agreement, but not before the vulpine noticed the Mario brothers standing there at the front of the group. His ears perked up and his green eyes widened, beaming with happiness. His thick, bushy white-tipped tail even flicked a quick time or two behind his back.
"Mario!? Hey there, Pisano! How's it going? It's been a while, man!"
The plumber waved back, hailing in return, "Ciao, Fox!"
They truly seemed joyous so see each other, because Fox was right; it had been quite a while since they last talked.
"Say," Mario expanded on that very notion, "How long has it-a-been... almost two years?"
"Yeah, I think about that long..." Fox followed right up with a shake of his head. "Sheesh, time just flies so fast these days. There you are now, talking to me from the almighty training room, with all the usual suspects behind you... haha!"
Mario scoffed and smartly came back with, "Aha, don't you mean I'm-a-with the usual smashers who always win, Fox?"
"Heh! Yeah, maybe I do mean that... but whoa, hold the freakin' trigger...!" Fox realized just then who was actually standing right beside Mario.
"... Is that your bro Luigi I see? He's in this tournament?!"
Now becoming more excited, he scooted forward in his chair to see his computer screen more clearly. It was indeed who he thought it was, so he greeted, "Hey there, Luigi! Great to see you're a part of the gang now too!"
The younger green-shirted sibling offered a small, bashful wave of his own back to the live image of the pilot and uttered, "H-hello, F-Fox..."
Mario just chuckled and replied in place for him, "Yep indeed, my bro's here to smash-a-for real this time!"
Fox folded his furry arms and nodded as he listened, his maw slightly agape. "Well that's just awesome! I can't wait to see him in action! Who are you up against in the first round, Luigi?"
"Ehh, well..." He clarified after a brief moment of hesitation, "I'm-a-with Link."
Unbeknownst, Link was standing just a few people behind him, though he did nothing except cross his arms and retain a thoughtful smirk. He didn't want to intervene with anything here and just figured he'd let the conversation run its course, wherever it was going to go next.
"Oh man, I can already tell that'll be an intense smash! You might just have my money down on you, Luigi!" Fox was definitely energetic in his support, prompting Mario to gently nudge his brother on the arm and smile along. Of course he felt happy for Luigi, because it sure was nice to have someone like the leader of the one-and-only Star Fox team supporting him. Luigi ended up smiling too, since more of that inner confidence seemed to be returning at last.
Little Mac then began on somewhat of a tangent by commenting, "Hey, I kinda hate to lay it to ya like this... but it looks like you've got quite a rivalry and a distance between your fellow Lylatians here. They looked sorta ticked when they heard your name and didn't even wanna be part of the chat."
"Pfftt...! No sweat at all there, boxer. You know, I kinda figured they wouldn't." Fox scoffed, waving off the notion by being both somewhat amused and boastful at the same time. "I'll bet I know who all those wanna-be's are anyhow... and hey, they're probably just jealous 'cause we're Star Fox!"
Mac shifted his eyes sideways, interested to see what the others next to him might be thinking about this unrelenting swagger in Fox's words. Most of them either chuckled again, or were trying to keep thoughtful expressions on their faces. Luigi was unsure of what to say as per usual, but it was Mario who just kept on smiling. He knew it was only because Fox was as excited for this eventful week as the rest of them were.
"So, Fox... How are things with-a-Krystal back home?" The mustached man thought to ask in a friendly follow up, to which the vulpine relaxed his arms behind his head. He leaned back in the chair; one of his pointy ears twitched a quick time, but a mischievous smirk had grown across his maw.
"Whoa, whoa... not so fast there, ya little Cardinal. Only if you tell me how your princess is doing first!"
Mario lowered his eyebrows amid a grin of his own and refuted, "Hey, who are you-a-calling a little Cardinal?"
Playful banter like this going between Fox and Mario was the type that was definitive of any great friendship. It was even almost brotherly; the sound of joking voices, yet it held that underlying sense of honesty being both sent and received by one another.
"Anyways, Peach is-a-doing fine." Mario happily explained, "We had a sendoff party yesterday evening at-a-the castle. There was tea, cake, friends, family... then she and I stargazed-a-for a while late last night. We ended up forgetting just-a-how late it got, because it was-a-so romantic."
"Hehe," Chuckled Fox, "Sounds just like what you see in the movies... but, it is romantic too like you said, I guess..."
He may have been half-teasing, but his intentions were still sincerely cheerful since he followed with, "Well, Krystal's doing just fine too, buddy. I feel bad for her though, because she couldn't make it here this time to watch."
"Oh, she couldn't come?" Inquired the mustached man, quite surprised by this news.
"Mm, yeah, unfortunately not." Fox went on, "It's 'cause of her damn schedule back at base. The Brass is suddenly making her do double reconnaissance time for some reason, but she promised me she'll try to see it all on TV. Hmm, I just hope she'll have time to do it..."
Mario smiled, assuring his Cornerian friend with what he figured was the right thing to say. "... Fox, she will do it. She'll-a-do it for you. Know that."
The vulpine pilot was not only delighted, but initially at a loss of words himself. A heartfelt smile quickly grew on his face though.
"Aw, gee Mario... thanks buddy." He answered in pure gratitude for Mario's kind words, "I just wish I was there to give ya a big hug right now...!"
As with the Heroes of the Emblem, but on more of a personal level, Fox and Mario had indeed been great buddies since they first met sixteen years ago. It was back when Fox had actually just become a teenager. During that big quadrennial tournament, he was one of the youngest first-time smashers there and was rightfully very nervous, but it was the good-willed Mario who decided to make an acquaintance with the young McCloud and took it upon himself to show him the way things were done, at least from what he knew since it'd been his first time smashing as well.
Over the more recent years when they weren't on any vital missions to save the Lylat System yet another time, the Star Fox team would occasionally travel over to the Nassazar System and meet up with the Mario crew just to hang out. They would share time, catch up on the latest news from their lives and worlds, or just do all those fun things together that great buddies do.
"If-a-you don't mind me asking, did you not have time-a-to come over or something this past year, Fox?" Mario then thought to ask, since he'd been thinking on that whole notion of being there with him. Fox, however, seemed to have some very different feelings on it.
"Yeah well, you know... it's weird, actually." He tried his best to explain after scratching behind his large, pointy ears. "This'll sound like it's coming outta left-field, but... tell me you guys have heard of Andross and the Venomians, right?"
Mario and most of the others fell quiet all of a sudden, for they knew exactly who he was talking about. Even some of the other people training nearby turned their heads briefly, because any news or information regarding war criminals like Andross spread very quickly around the entire sector.
"Well, okay, let's be honest..." Fox then admitted through a brief scoff, "Who wouldn't know about that prick and his so-called army? But anyhow, they've been strangely... quiet these past months which is something they've never done before, at least in my years serving. They always go cause a ruckus somewhere around Lylat, so this has kinda been like a wild goose chase for the Brass back home. Orders were for us to go out on... I don't know how many week-long recons that led to no fruit whatsoever. I guess they have a right to be nervous though... because I'll be honest, I kinda am too. I wasn't willing to take any chances either."
"Aha..." Mario let all that information percolate for a moment before seeking a final clarification, "So... that's-a-why you couldn't-a-have time?"
Fox sighed and nodded briefly. "In short, yep. Believe me, I feel pretty bad about it. I promise we'll visit soon. Heck, maybe even right after this tourney's done, how about? Well, unless duty calls again, like it always seems to these days..."
"Mm..." Agreed the plumber as that rather awkward silence in the conversation continued. Finally though, Fox figured he'd shift back to a positive mood. After all, today was the beginning of something truly special.
"... Agh, but come on... why are we talking about that stuff right now?! Let's get back to the good vibes, am I right!?"
Everyone there for the chat including Mario surely agreed, because they immediately lightened back up too.
"Well, the Great Fox actually just slowed out of warp speed a few minutes ago." He became more excited as he went on to share, "Man, you guys should see the star fields right now as we're entering the Nassazar. I know I've been with up here with them my whole life pretty much, but wow, just... something about it right now. Hang on a sec..."
He picked up the webcam on his end, causing some clattering hisses of static from the fumbling.
"Here, can you guys see out the window, sorta..?" He tried turning his camera so it faced out the large pane-glass window that ran along the far side of the room. "There are strands of nebulae... streaking across the whole view. It's beautiful."
Mario and the others squinted, trying to get a better look. Unfortunately though, all they could see was an image full of incoherent streaks and blurry spots amid that black void out the window.
"... How does it look on y'all's side?" Fox's muzzled face peered into frame from the side, checking to see if they could in fact witness what all he was describing.
"Ehh..." Mario seemed a bit doubtful as he admitted, "Sorry Fox, it's just-a-too... fuzzy."
With his face still taking up half of the frame, the vulpine's green eyes lowered and his expression morphed into a very sarcastic look. Then he began clapping, slowly.
"Aww, come on now... Is that really the best one you could think of?"
A blush quickly grew on each of the plumber's cheeks as he realized the punny way that Fox actually took it.
"Oh! Um, sorry... I didn't mean it quite like-a-that...! Hehe...!" His embarrassed attempt to save some face was met only with more casual laughs from the others just behind him. Even Fox couldn't help but chuckle a bit too while he returned to the table, setting the camera down before seating himself once more. He rested his elbows on the top and let the bottom of his maw sit upon his knuckles.
"Ah, it's all cool, Mario." He jokingly went on, "Puns... I mean, what can you do about 'em? I guess you just take 'em when you get 'em, but yeah. You'd think with all these improvements in trans-sectarian tech this past year alone, they'd get their asses on fixing the actual streaming quality of video calls too. Anyhow, I really wish you guys could see what it looks like up here."
"I can imagine what-a-you mean." Mario shared some of his own relatable thoughts, "When Peach and I were out-a-last night, the weather couldn't have-a-been more perfect. The sky, the stars, the moon, and even the other planets were-a-so visible too."
The vulpine kept resting his chin on his knuckles, smiling. "Oh yeah, I'll bet it was beautiful!"
After a few moments, Captain Falcon called from a bit further behind:
"... So, ya almost here then, Fox ol' buddy?"
Fox shifted slightly in the chair, silent at first. He brought up his bushy white-tipped tail and brushed his anthropomorphic hand through it while thinking for a moment. His eyes even squinted and he darted them away from the camera as though he felt ashamed of something.
"Agh... Yeah, about that, Cap..." He answered rather regretfully, "We're actually gonna be missing the opening ceremony..."
The F-zero racer's face lowered in disappointment. His gaze dropped to meet Mario's which were glancing back at him. In fact, everyone who remained here for the chat seemed to be a bit let down by Fox's surprising announcement.
Mario turned to hear what the Shy Guy coordinator, standing off to the side checking his phone, had to say about this. He confirmed it though with a brief nod.
"Yup, I'm aware. Everyone higher up on the coordination staff knows that they'll be arriving later too, along with the others."
The plumber turned back and was about to inquire why, when the vulpine freely filled them in himself.
"I know you're all gonna ask, so I'll say it. It's 'cause we departed a few hours late off of a sudden matter back home. It really sucks, I know, but hey..." He leaned in a bit closer to the webcam and said through a prompt, confident grin:
"... You can bet your Blue Falcon we're sure as hell gonna be watching it. Besides, we'll still get there in time for our first brackets 'cause we don't start 'til later. I'm pretty sure I'm in bracket twelve, or somewhere 'round there..."
Captain Falcon puckered his lips somewhat, nodding in acknowledgment of that idea. Mario then asked, eager to know, "Say... speaking of-a-blue and birds, where's your wingman, Falco? He's-a-with you too, right?"
"Psshhaw..." Was all Fox needed to utter before answering with an obvious hint of sarcasm, "Oh, hell yeah! Like he'd ever wanna miss this tourney! Right now though, well, I think he's up in the bridge helping Slippy with something. That, or he's just flat-out ignoring Slippy and practicing some kicks instead. Heh, I'd probably bet he's doing the second option..."
"Ah yes, the famed fighting pheasant! How fares he?" Now it was Lucina who finally spoke up, using her little play-on words to keep this lighthearted and happy mood going between them all.
Fox glanced around the room he was in, as if to make sure no one else could be listening to him.
"Well..." He followed with, "Just between y'all and me, Falco's really, really full of himself this time. He won't shut his beak about how he's gonna make everyone get down and suck his di- AHUM!"
He managed to stop himself just in time, pretending to cough and clear his throat, because he realized the royal status of who he was actually talking to and didn't want to be that crude. Lucina just lowered her face however, sarcastically unfazed at what the next word would've been anyways. It was hopeless; it appeared that she couldn't catch a break from this ongoing juvenile crudeness coming from the more energetic boys.
Fox tried hard to keep a straight face as he went on, gesturing with his claws, "Mm, excuse me there... I had something in my throat. But you get my drift... right, Princess of... Y-Ylissoo...? Yliss-ee, was it?"
"Perhaps I do..." She retorted, a bit nonchalant and under her breath.
The Star Fox team may have been known across all of Sector N for their own heroic deeds, but groups like them were often given a bad rap due to having a particularly crude brand of the coined-term mercenary humor. On rare occasions in public, it was unfortunate that many people overheard them at the wrong time and formed the very biased view that most Cornerians were in fact bad mannered like that, when in reality, it was certainly not the case.
Meanwhile, during the moment which Lucina talked, Ike had been glancing over at her a few times and finally found the time appropriate to add something of his own to the chat.
"I think you and I can talk pretty straight as mercenary to mercenary," He proudly stated, "So I say... let's see that feathered fowl get past my blade first!"
Ike stepped forward and held up his great sword so it was pointed directly at the camera. The broad tip of his blade ended up being poised just a mere couple of centimeters away from the lens on their side, so much so that Fox widened his eyes and even had to lean back a bit from the effect.
Lucina eyed him from the side with an amused kind of disbelief, shaking her head at this cheesy act of his. She also couldn't help but emit the smallest and cutest giggle, thinking on how Ike had made fun of amateur theatrics only a few minutes prior.
"Oooohhhh, snap!" Fox then exclaimed, shaking his furry hands in front of his face in a don't-hurt-me kind of manner. He pretended to be scared at first as a joke before following with, "You know Ike, if Falco were here right now, he'd reach right through this screen and strangle ya!"
"Ha...!" Ike drove his confident point home with a sly wink, "Well tell him, I'd love to see him try."
Fox had his muzzle partially covered with his hands, but nodded his head in addition. "Mm, maybe I will... but now it sounds like it's not only Falco with this... cockiness."
He stated that rather amused, yet the Greil Mercenary leader remained firm on his stance.
"I guess then, it's just the way I'm feeling about it too. Why not?"
After glancing over at that time display on the large wall opposite of everyone, the Shy Guy coordinator stepped forward, though he gave them another few moments before speaking up.
"Alright all you social butterflies," he started, probably hating to break their conversation because he appeared somewhat apologetic. "It's getting to be about that time, so we'll have to let it end here. Finish up any last things you want to say."
He was right, so Mario and the other smashers here at the chat also agreed.
"Well, Fox..." the plumber began to bid his farewell in wake of an accompanying sigh. "It looks like-a-we have to go now, so I guess-a-we'll see you out on-a-the platform."
The pilot, still relaxed with his arms behind his head, flicked a small military-like salute back.
"Yeah, I heard the man... so likewise to you, Mario. Just look at me, I still gotta get dressed and everything! Oh, and hey, Luigi... well, all of you guys really... hope it's a great time out there during the opening ceremony. I heard the stadium is absolutely packed for this one."
"Packed...?! You bet your fur coat it's packed!" Captain Falcon energetically confirmed, "Heck, the crowd's gotta be at about two-hundred thousand by now! That's like full-capacity!"
He was almost twitchy throughout his body language just from thinking about it, but then, from behind the F-zero racer's attention, Link made an amusing gesture for Fox. He subtly pointed to the back of Captain Falcon before twirling his other finger around his ear and rolling his eyes, implying that he might in fact be a tiny bit on the unhinged side of things. Fox nevertheless caught sight of this and just about burst out laughing.
"Haha! You're sure a quiet but clever one, Link!" He clapped with delight at the Hero of Time, pointing a gun-style finger at him. It was lucky for Link though, because just as Captain Falcon suspiciously turned around to see what Fox meant, he stopped doing the motion in time and shrugged instead; pretending to be unsure of what the vulpine was trying to get at.
"... But-a-really though," Mario added his final thought, "Just-a-wait 'til you actually see the crowd-a-for yourself!"
With a last chuckle and friendly nod, Fox acknowledged, "Indeed I'll have to, and that's the thing... I can't wait! Alright then, take care all of you guys... and girls. I'll tell Falco and the others you said hi... and I might just tell him of your little challenge, Ike!"
"You do that. I'll be waiting for a reply from him!" The mercenary remained fully confident.
"... S-safe travels the rest of-a-the way, F-Fox." Surprisingly, it was Luigi of all people here at the chat who got to have the final say, but perhaps it was because he really wanted to. He'd mostly been holding back this whole time after all.
"Will do, little green. Smash brothers 'til the end, guys." With that, Fox held his fist up against his chest in a sort of symbolic, brotherhood-like gesture that his fellow smashers on the other side of his screen were very quick to grant the same.
"Smash brothers 'til the end." Most of them chimed back in unison.
A period of silence followed closely in the wake of those last, unifying words for everyone there. They watched as the projection of Fox's profile flickered off, back to the blank wall. The event coordinator then came forward to disconnect that disc object from the stand, pressing that button on the wall again which caused the stand to retract back into the floor and cover up with the automated tile. Over the room's PA, he gave a new announcement to all the smashers:
"Okay everyone, it's getting to be that time. If you could please find your designated opponents for the first round and begin pairing up. Go ahead and form a line here in front of the big glass doors..."
The Shy Guy started walking off toward the crowds of others whilst talking indistinctly, leaving the trio of Mario, Luigi, and Kirby alone with one another.
"Now, wasn't it nice-a-to see Fox again, Luigi?" At last, Mario asked his brother for an opinion, to which he gave a thoughtful shrug in return.
"Ehh, I suppose it was, bro. At least he seemed to support me..." The more Luigi thought about it though, the more that idea of Fox's enthusiastic support grew on him.
"Hmm, the leader of-a-Star Fox, supporting me... ME. Oh yeah...!" He formed a large grin since he could really feel that inner confidence of his returning more and more.
"Of course he believes in you! Both Fox and-a-probably Falco, too. They're almost like-a-relatives to us, you know..." Mario stopped and thought a moment before going on, "And speaking of which, where are Wario and-a-Waluigi anyway?"
Luigi took off his cap and scratched his forehead.
"Remember at-a-the party last night, they said they had-a-to leave early for some business?" He tried to explain, "They said they didn't have-a-time for this tournament! Can you believe that, Mario? They're probably in-a-the shop again, making-a-more micro-games or something for-a-money. You know how they are whenever they're over in-a-Diamond City."
"Well, they do have-a-some strange friends over there, I'll say that..." The older sibling agreed while Kirby occasionally gazed between the both of them, intrigued in this conversation the two were having.
"Poyo?" He wondered as Luigi took another look around the facility, seeing how all the other smashers were beginning to pair up with their first-round opponents.
"So, ehh..." He was thinking of what else to ask that would help pass the remaining time. "Wh-who else was arriving late again? Not everyone is-a-here yet."
Mario counted on his fingers as he listed, "Well, Fox and-a-Falco of course, the burlies as you put them, Bowser, Ganondorf, King Dedede, some fighters from-a-the Planet of Nations, and... hmm. There's someone I know I'm-a-forgetting..."
From below, Kirby's pink appendage reached up and tugged on the side of the plumber's red shirt.
"Poyo!" He happily informed.
Mario's face brightened. Thanks to Kirby, he'd recalled the last major smasher of those late-arrivers.
"Ah yes! Grazie, Kirby!" He chuckled, "Gracious, how could I-a-forget? It's-a-your fellow star warrior and mentor, Meta Knight of course."
Luigi nodded thoughtfully and seemed to silently repeat those words he'd just heard in trying to keep at ease with himself.
"Hmm, both fast and-a-burly smashers...? Well, maybe it's not... ehh, too bad, I suppose."
Mario then leaned in close and said, "If anyone, I'm-a-worried about you if-a-we do get to face each other later on!"
His brother shook his head, not really wanting to ponder such a scenario. "G-grazie bro, but... face you...?! I... I'm-a-not better than you, Mario. You've been here, smashing-a-many more times than me."
To this, Mario simply raised an eyebrow amid a smile. In a very supportive and brotherly manner, he asked, "Ah, come on Luigi, haven't you ever heard of-a-beginner's luck?"
Luigi didn't quite know what to respond with, because it was a very good point. Anything indeed could happen on someone's first time smashing in a big quadrennial tournament; especially with such a milestone occasion like this one.
For some moments he gazed with his mouth slightly agape from being at a loss of words, until another wave of energetic guitar riffs and massive-sounding rock n' roll music blasted in from the arena outside. It all came channeling through the exit hall with such force, straight past the gaps around those glass doors and quickly flooded everyone's ears throughout the whole training facility.
This was the sign. It sounded like Sector N was now ready for them.
The celebrations were about to begin.
"... Oh!" A last realization quickly came over Mario as he stood back up, catching sight of some angelic warriors across the room. "Mama-mia, it just-a-hit me... You know who else-a-couldn't make it-a-here this time either?"
His brother shrugged. "Wh-who?"
"Our angel friend, Pit."