SchmEthan here:

YES!!! I'm BACK!!!! It's Easter, and I've been kinda bored (and not wanting to study), so I've decided to start this one up again. Don't be counting on too many updates, this is just one I got finished. AND, as a SUPER SPECIAL TREAT, I've updated the rest of the chapters to make them less cringable! = D

Thanks to all you guys out there who wanted me to continue. It's not much, but HERE IT IS!! = D

As always, feel free to review. I may have got a little rusty in my hiatus, so a bit of criticism would be nice, for once...

SchmEthan

"So, you see, we're a bit stuck," confessed Dave.

"Yeah..." muttered Slippy, knowing full well why the researchers were achieving the results they were.

"Well, there must be some explanation!" Krystal pointed out.

"And that's why we're here!" the ape beamed. "So far, we've only been able to obtain readings from the surface. But our co-worker, Gary, should have a sample from fifty tags below Solar's surface."

The trio, as well as Ross, stood silently for a minute as each struggled to hear the thundering pawsteps (and footsteps) coming from the corridor. Before long, they were no longer struggling, as the source burst through the door in a flurry of panic and sweat.

Ross didn't seem too pleased by the intrusion. "What exactly do you hope to achieve, bursting through the door in that manner?"

The Doctor shot him a slightly exasperated look. "We hope to achieve a door between us and an unwelcome guest." He quickly swivelled around and sealed the door with the Sonic Screwdriver.

"And which unwelcome guest would this be?"

There was a colossal BANG as the 'unwelcome guest' attempted to join them, leaving a considerable dent in the door.

"That one. And I'm sorry, but it killed Gary."

A tide of shock crept over the party, with the exception of Fox and Falco, who were instead overcome by raw fear.

"Why the hell didn't we bring blasters?" asked Falco, somewhat afraid.

"Because," replied Fox, "we thought we were going to be 'looking at Solar'."

BANG

"Hold on..." Dave interrupted, "what's out there, exactly?"

The Doctor gave him the answer. This answer, for reasons unknown to him, made everyone who wasn't already aware gasp in disbelief. "An Aparoid."

"Aparoids?!" Ross half-screamed. "I thought Star Fox destroyed them!"

BANG

"I thought we destroyed them too..." admitted Fox.

It took Ross a moment to decode the vulpine's response, after which his jaw fell open. "You-you're Fox McCloud?"

"The very same. And that's Falco, that's Slippy and that's Krystal." He gestured to each of his teammates in turn.

"So, I have here, in my presence, the entire Star Fox squadron?"

"Wow," the Doctor remarked, "you guys are famous."

BANG

Ross' gape was now directed towards the Time Lord. "They've saved the Lylat system three times now! Three!"

"Yes, yes. And on one of those occasions, they saved it from that?"

The Doctor jerked his thumb towards the door and cued another BANG from the Aparoid.

"Ah, yes..." Ross realised. "The Aparoid."

"So, what do we do?" inquired Krystal.

"As far as I can tell, that's the only door out of here..." said Slippy.

"Well, on the plus side, it's not getting in for a while," the vixen observed. "There's a huge dent in the door!"

"Which also means we can't get out," sighed Fox.

The Doctor raised a finger. "But doors don't have to be doors!"

BANG

"...Sorry?" Falco asked, confused.

"Ways out aren't necessarily doors, are they? I mean, I've used doors, windows, collapsed buildings, fireplaces, mirrors, teleporters, blue boxes, floors, lift shafts, ladders and bananas before!"

"Isn't that just great for you?" came the sarcastic reply.

"Well, at least he's got a point," Fox mused. "Are there any other ways to get out of here?"

"If we had our blasters or any other crap we could use the emergency teleports," Falco half-spat. "But, of course, we don't. Not even the teleport boxes."

"What," the Doctor began, fumbling in his pockets to pull out several rectangular objects, "these?"

Everyone present couldn't help but stare at him with a mixture of relief, confusion and the wonder at how they could possibly fit inside his pockets.

"They'll do nicely," Slippy interjected, relieving the Time Lord of the teleport boxes. "They're only short range though; the Great Fox is too far away."

The Doctor hung his head to the side as he half-smiled, half-sighed at Slippy. "And what made you think we're going back there?"

Krystal picked up on this. "Sorry?"

"I, for one, am not going anywhere until I know exactly what that thing is, where it's come from, who's controlling it and why it was able to follow me here."

"I don't suppose you could drop us home then?" Falco joked.

"I'll need everyone for this. Even you two." He pointed at Dave and Ross.

"But," Ross started, pausing for a moment, "what can I do? I mean, I'm only a researcher! And that... that thing's killed Gary and is outside right now!"

"Come to think of it..." mused Dave. "Why's it stopped banging?"

"Ohhh..." mouthed the Doctor as he stared towards the dent in the door. "Good point. And if it's stopped, that could mean one of two things."

"Either it's given up and gone home..." suggested Falco.

Krystal suddenly looked up with a gasp. Everyone followed her gaze to find a small air vent in the ceiling. There was a faint rattling sound echoing through the system. Faint, but definite.

"Or it's finding another way in..." concluded Fox.

"But, Aparoids don't even have the intellectual capacity to open a door!" exclaimed Slippy.

"Aparoid or not, I think we'd better get out of here now!" the Doctor almost ordered. "Slippy, can you teleport us all out of here at once?"

The toad shook his head while biting his lower lip. "These are one-body teleporters only. We only have five, so we'll have to make two runs."

"It's getting closer!" Krystal warned the party. "I can hear it..." Her expression suddenly changed to one of wonder. "It's..."

"Right!" The Doctor shouted, making sure he was heard. "Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal and Dave; you five go first. Just out to the TARDIS, OK?" After this was confirmed and subsequently programmed into the teleporters by Slippy, the Doctor withdrew a long chain from his pocket. "Use this to get in." He handed it to Fox rather hurriedly as Slippy handed out the teleporters.

"I'll bring two more back for you guys," Falco offered.

"OK, get out-" the Time Lord was cut off by a dark coloured claw that had torn through the ceiling like paper and was starting to cut an entry to the bridge.

"Get out now!" The Doctor screamed while herding Ross, who seemed to be frozen with fear, into the corner.

"OK, team, Dave," Fox nodded at each person in turn. "NOW!"

The five disappeared in a bright blue light as The Doctor did his best to protect Ross from the pieces of torn metal that were careening across the room.

"You alright, Ross?" questioned the Time Lord.

The Doctor's face turned quizzical as he heard the orang-utan muttering "TAR... TARDIS... TAR..."

"Ross!" he shouted, shaking his shoulders slightly.

Ross shook his head before turning to face the Doctor. "Sorry, I... I think I... I don't know..."

"That's OK, just stay with us for a bit, alright?"

There was a colossal smash as an unnerving pink eye dropped from the ceiling, along with half the body of an Aparoid. Fortunately, it got stuck halfway down the hole.

At that point, Falco appeared again, carrying three boxes in his hand. "Hurry it up; these things won't last much longer!" he warned, throwing two of the boxes to the Doctor.

The Time Lord caught the two boxes at the other end and gave one to Ross. "OK, what now?"

"Green button, press and hold it!" Falco yelled as the Aparoid freed itself and hurtled towards the Doctor at a high speed.

"NOW!" Falco yelled, causing everyone to press the buttons and disappear.

The Aparoid seemed rather confused at this, before taking quite an interest in the floor where the Doctor had once been. After a considerable amount of time, almost as quickly as it had descended, it crawled back up the wall and through the hole in the ceiling.

Falco, Ross and the Doctor arrived beside the TARDIS with a jolt through their bodies. Both Falco and the Doctor were used to such transportation methods, but it took Ross a moment to come to his senses. During this time, the Doctor noticed that he could do nothing but stare at the TARDIS.

That's odd... he thought to himself. He snapped his fingers a few times in front of the orang-utan's face. "Ross! Ross!"

Ross took a huge gasp for air as he regained control of himself again. "Whoa..."

"Ross, are you alright?" asked the Doctor, remembering where he had seen this before.

"Y-yes..." was the weak reply, "I'm fine. This has never happened before... But please, don't let me slow you down."

The Doctor smiled at his apparent selflessness. "Thanks, Ross. It's probably just the teleport, don't worry about it." The door of the TARDIS opened behind him as Fox dragged Falco inside. The Time Lord took his cue and followed the avian, hauling a still-dazed Ross behind him.

When they were all safely inside the TARDIS, the Doctor slammed the door shut, relieved himself of his overcoat and immediately began bouncing around the control panel.

"Uhh... Doctor," Krystal chimed, "where are we going?"

The Doctor turned around, his face grave. "We're going into Solar."