A black blur suddenly burst out from the foliage and tore across the clearing, crashing into Adek and knocking him away from Krystal before his blade could connect. The blur slid to a stop a few feet from where Adek landed, solidifying into the form of another humanoid, similar in appearance to Adek, but his skin was a shade of brown, not black, and his eyes underneath the visor were a piercing shade of green.
Crossing his arms across his chest, Taylor Daniels clucked his tongue at his foe. "Adek, Adek. You're building another base, and you didn't even invite me to the open-house! I'm offended! Looks like quite the party, too," he mused, surveying the battlefield. Now that the stalemate had broken, blaster shots fired across the clearing from both sides, with Sharpclaw and Adek's soldiers ducking behind pieces of the base, and Lylatian mercenaries using portable energy shields as cover.
"St-stay out of this, Lirren!" Adek spluttered.
"Sorry," Taylor replied, losing the snarky demeanor of before. "When you start causing trouble, especially this close to Altair, I stop you. It's as simple as that." Turning his gaze on the forcefield encasing Fox, Taylor threw out his hand and launched a sphere of energy at the field. When the energy blast connected, the forcefield was spiderwebbed with cracks, then shattered completely, freeing Fox. As soon as his feet hit the dirt, he was running towards Krystal. He knelt next to her, completely disregarding the intense battle going on only a few yards away. She was unconscious, but Fox felt a strong and stable pulse when he placed two fingers to her neck. He carefully lifted her in his arms, then carried her back to where the remaining squads and team Star Fox had set up a defensive perimeter. Falco had recovered and was having his wounds tended to by a battlefield medic.
"This is what Scales and Adek have done," Fox growled, gesturing to Falco and Krystal. "For this—they will pay!"
"I'll cover you, Fox!" Slippy said, cocking his blaster.
"I'm coming, too, Foxie!" Falco asserted, and tried to stand, but groaned with pain and collapsed back to the dirt, a hand on his side.
"No Falco," Fox said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You and Peppy stay here and protect Krystal. That's where I need you most right now." Falco groaned, obviously not happy with the decision, but he nodded.
"Look, Fox," Slippy began, "I'm not the best fighter, you know that, but I'll do whatever I can!"
"I know you will, Slippy," Fox said, and actually smiled a little. Then his eyes narrowed as he watched Scales, embroiled in fierce combat with Adek and the other humanoid, that Adek had called Lirren. Teams of Lylatian soldiers fought fiercely against the Sharpclaws and Adek's warriors, but they were still outnumbered. "We have to clear a path to Adek and Scales," Fox said. "'To kill a snake, cut off its head,'" he quoted. "Perhaps if we can capture, or kill them, the other soldiers won't keep fighting."
"Let's hope," Slippy replied. The two mercenaries sprinted across the battlefield, ducking from cover to cover as they tried to close the distance between them and Scales. However, they were cut off by a squad of Sharpclaw soldiers. Adek's minions, not to be outdone, flanked Fox and Slippy, closing in on the duo. "Oh boy, this isn't good," Slippy muttered as he and Fox backed up against each other.
Suddenly, three blurs similar in appearance to Taylor's first appearance dashed into the fray, knocking aside several Sharpclaw, as well as the other humanoids before solidifying. Jacen, Lirá, and K'siin quickly scoped out the situation. "There he is!" Jacen called, pointing to Taylor.
"He's fine," K'siin chuckled.
"But they aren't!" Lirá said as she pointed at Falco and Slippy.
"I'm on it!" Jacen said. Taking a running start, Jacen leaped high into the air, then slammed his palm against the ground, sending a shockwave of energy arcing out along the ground towards the soldiers encircling the mercenaries. There was a crackle of electricity, and many Sharpclaw and Adek's minions fell to the ground.
Fox and Slippy exchanged looks, then dashed out of the center of the circle they had been trapped in. Reaching into his pockets, Slippy pulled out a pair of grenades, tossing them over his shoulders. The shockwave from the twin explosions rocked the pair of mercenaries as they ran.
"Looks like your Reshetell are just as incompetent as ever, Adek!" K'siin taunted as he smoothly cut down three of the minions with his delta saber, and knocked another two flat with energy blasts.
"Reshetell—now where have I heard that before?" Peppy mused, a hand stroking his chin.
While Slippy raced back to the main group of Lylatian soldiers, Fox saw that the path to Scales was clear, and veered off, unsheathing his staff. "Nowhere to run," he growled.
Suddenly, all eyes turned to the sky as the roar of jet engines were heard. A moment later, the scene on the ground dissolved into chaos as laser blasts pocketed the dirt with craters, and missile impacts rocked the clearing. "There are friendlies in this zone!" Taylor roared over the comm. "No missile strikes, unless it's on the base itself! Laser blasts only if your target is a Reshetell, Adek himself, or a 'morph that is saurian in appearance! All other targets are friendly, I say again, all other targets are friendly!" The pilots acknowledged Taylor's transmission just as they screamed overhead, and wheeled around for another pass at the battlefield. Taylor's eyes turned to the forest, and he saw the rest of the Guardians racing through the trees and diving into the frenzied battle.
'Whew...' Taylor breathed, rubbing his cheek. 'That was close. It looks like half of the Lylatian army came along with Fox on this trip,' he thought. 'Speaking of which—where is Fox?' His eyes locked on the mercenary, dueling with Scales. He saw Falco and Peppy behind a defensive wall of soldiers and shields, and Krystal lying motionless on the ground beside them. Slippy was with another group of soldiers, battling the Sharpclaw and Reshetell. The sight of so many wounded—and dead soldiers made Taylor grit his teeth angrily. 'If only we could've gotten here sooner...'
"Adek!" Taylor bellowed. Enraged, he hacked a path through Reshetell, trying to make his way to his target. 'This coward—hiding behind his minions...' Taylor thought.
Fox brandished his staff. "You will pay for what you've done to Krystal!" he shouted, and leapt for Scales, who barely had time to draw his blade and defend himself. Scales forced Fox back and attacked with a flurry of strikes, but Fox's staff was there each time to deflect the slashes. Twirling the staff rapidly, Fox unleashed a frenzied series of blows that sent Scales tumbling. He shakily climbed to his feet and raised his blade, only to be blasted by a series of Fire Blasts.
Taylor, meanwhile, had cornered Adek, and the two were dueling furiously. Taylor blasted the Tivernessian with a barrage of energy blasts, blocked Adek's counter-blasts with an energy shield, then whirled, striking Adek in the jaw with a roundhouse kick that sent him reeling. "What are you doing here, Adek? What significance do Scales and Star Fox have to you?" he asked.
"You'll never know, Terran!" Adek sneered, then swung his saber in a massive arc that sent a crackling wave of energy crashing into Taylor. He tumbled to the dirt, rolling into a crouch. Shaking his head to clear it, Taylor grimaced. 'He's faster than the last time we tangled,' he thought. He climbed to his feet, then sprinted towards Adek, channeling his psionic energy into his sabers. When the two warriors clashed, their sabers were nearly blurs as Taylor unleashed a furious attack, but Adek's saber was there each time to deflect Taylor's blades. Each warrior vied for the advantage, but it was Taylor who gained the upper hand; blocking a strike from Adek's saber, Taylor twisted and disarmed his opponent, then placed his blades against his neck. "It seems that the odds of this battle are no longer in my favor," he smirked. But don't worry, Terran. You haven't seen the last of me, not by a long shot!" Cackling, Adek faded from view, causing Taylor to stumble through the space where he had once stood.
"It appears this fight is over," Scales said. Mimicking Adek, he vanished, along with the Sharpclaws and Reshetell.
"It's not over until I have you, Scales," Fox muttered. He looked around the clearing where Adek and Scales' now-abandoned base stood, and a strange sense of—confusion washed over him. The battle ended so abruptly, and without any real sense of conclusion. 'I mean—I'm glad there are no more casualties than there are,' he said...but it all was just so abnormal for him, his brain had to adjust. He watched as the medics poured onto the now-silent battlefield, administering triage to the wounded before bringing them to the edge of the forest, where both Lylatian troops and soldiers from Lirren's group had started to gather. Rejoining the growing crowd, Fox made his way over to who he assumed were the leaders of the group that had assisted them. They wore uniforms similar to the rest of their group, but they were more brightly colored, and the gaps in between their armor glowed and pulsed, not unlike the energy attacks he had seen earlier. Fox cleared his throat, and the one that Adek had called Lirren turned, seeming a bit surprised at his presence. "My name is Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team of Corneria," Fox said, "And I want to thank you for your assistance. Your timing was—fortuitous."
"I'm glad we got here when we did," Taylor replied. "My name is Taylor Daniels, leader of the Iri Felessar," he said, and gestured behind him to the Guardians. "We discovered your ship crashed not too far from here, and when you engaged Adek, we picked up the energy readings on our scanners and came as soon as we could."
Another humanoid walked forward, bowing when he approached. "My name is Jacen, Taylor's second-in-command. Can we provide you with any assistance?"
Fox opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Peppy calling, "Fox! You'd better get over here!" Dashing off, Fox sprinted back to where the rest of his team was, coming to a sliding stop in front of them. Dropiping to his knees, he broke into a grin when he saw that Krystal had regained consciousness.
He pulled her up into his lap and cradled her in his arms. "Everything's going to be okay now, Krys," he murmured, stroking her hair. "I'm here."
Taylor and Jacen exchanged looks when Fox raced off. "Come on, let's see if we can help," Taylor said, then turned to the rest of the Guardians. "See if there's anything you can do to help out with Fox's team, guys. Thank you for everything you've done so far. When this is all over, drinks are on me tonight. And K'siin?" he asked.
"Yeah?" K'siin replied.
"Tell the Cat's Eye to get a demolition team down here; have them get rid of this—eyesore." Taylor grimaced, looking at the unfinished stronghold, now smoking from laser blasts and missile impacts.
"Roger, Taylor, I'm on it."
Taylor and Jacen made their way over to where the rest of Team Star Fox was, and Taylor had to stifle a gasp. It was unnatural, seeing them injured like this, and it made Taylor's stomach twist up in knots. As a kid, he had loved the Star Fox games, and the heroes were invincible in his mind. Even as an adult, when he knew that it was only a game and reality often played out very differently, it still jarred him. Thankfully, it looked like Falco had only been grazed by an energy blast—or blaster fire, perhaps. He would make a full recovery. But, Taylor could sense there was something very—wrong with Krystal. He didn't know what, but everything about her just seemed—off.
Perhaps however, Taylor's fears were misplaced. Krystal smiled up at Fox, reaching out and touching his cheek. "Fox, I—" she began, then suddenly her eyes closed, and she slumped in Fox's arms, unconscious.
"No! Krys!" Fox cried. "Wake up! Please..."
Peppy instantly bent over his communicator, a gesture borne out of years of reflex. "ROB! Four to trans..." He sighed, frowning. "Oh, right. No more Great Fox. Erm...disregard that order, ROB," he added awkwardly, turning to the robot standing beside him.
"We have a medicenter on-board our ship!" Taylor exclaimed.
"If there is anything you can do for her..." Fox began, his eyes glittering with shards of hope.
"All right," Jacen replied. "Stand close, everybody. I'm going to try to take as many of us as I can in one shot here. I can't teleport everyone at once, though. K'siin and Lirá over there will provide you with exit vectors to our ship, the Cat's Eye, and you will be cleared to land and stay there until such time when your commander deems it fit for you to depart. Taylor, I'm going to need your help on this one." The two Guardians stood close together, facing one another. They bowed their heads, steepling their fingers as they focused their energies for the task at hand. Lylatian mercenaries and Team Star Fox crowded around Jacen and Taylor in a tight circle. Green and amber energy began to encircle the group, and with a flash, they vanished from the planet's surface, to rematerialize in the hangar bay of the Cat's Eye.
Nearly instantly, Taylor sprinted off, calling, "This way! Follow me, Fox!" while Jacen stayed behind, beginning to focus for another teleportation.
"I'm going back planet-side to help out," he said. A brisk nod was all Taylor could give as he led Team Star Fox down the corridors of the ship to the medicenter.
"Move!" he shouted as he ran, shoving surprised crewmembers out of the way. "We have a medical emergency here!"
Fox allowed himself no emotions as he nearly flew through the halls of the craft. If he did, he couldn't go on. His guts would tie up, and his heart would ache. He couldn't even look down at her. If he did, he knew he would start going crazy. Seeing her hurt was the worst feeling in the world. 'Hold on, Krys,' he thought.