"Let me out of here!" the blonde-haired boy cried as he stared out of the bars of his cell. Meanwhile, a Waddle Doo carrying a spear was standing guard. He tried to ignore the human's wails.

Lucas sat down in a corner of his cell and whimpered. How did he get into this situation? He and his friends were just on route, when all of a sudden, a huge hand had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed him and let him fall... directly on top of that fat penguin's head. And while the psychic boy didn't know how that could have happened, he wished it hadn't happened. The so-called King Dedede went into an angry fit and let his minions lock him into the dungeon. And all the while, that scary crystal he was holding had been glowing in an ominous light.

Lucas sighed. He wished his brother was here...

The door opened with a creak, and Lucas sighed. Every hour, that penguin had come to question him.

"Well, are you willing to talk?" Dedede grumbled as he bit into the turkey leg he was carrying.

"But I already told you," Lucas sniffled. "I don't know how I got here."

"You still refuse to listen to reason?" Dedede frowned. "Well, another hour in that cell will teach you to respect your king!" He turned to the guard. "Make sure that he stays inside. I don't want Kirby to learn that I have a prisoner."

The Waddle Doo saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Suddenly, an orange-colored Waddle Dee came running down the stairs. "Sir, Kirby and Meta Knight request an audience."

Dedede blinked in confusion. "Kirby REQUESTED? Since when does that puffball say anything else but 'HIIIIII'? And what does that grumpy swordsman want from me?"

"Sir, they are accompanied by a fairy and a human girl. What shall I tell them?"

"Tell them to go away!" Dedede shouted. "I am busy. I don't want them in my castle, either."

"But sir... I'm afraid I already let them in."

"You whaaaaaat?" The king opened his mouth so wide that his food almost fell out.

The Waddle Dee cringed. "I'm sorry, sir, but... Meta Knight insisted to let them in. And he can get very scary with that mask..."

"You idiot!" the penguin huffed. "Do I have to do everything by myself? Oh well, out of the way, I'll take care of them..."

Dedede walked up the stairs until he was outside on the inner wall of his castle. In front of him, Meta Knight, WD, Adeleine, a fairy he knew nothing about and that accursed pink marshmallow were waiting for him.

"Is that him?" Kirby just asked the masked swordsman. Dedede frowned. Now that was weird. Kirby really did talk.

"It's him, alright..." Meta Knight replied in a serious voice.

"Whaddya want?" Dedede asked harshly while biting into his turkey leg. "I'm a busy king, so make it quick!"

Ribbon fluttered forth and smiled politely. "We don't want to be a bother, but have you seen a glowing piece of crystal raining down on your castle? It would be pretty important."

Dedede rubbed his chin. So that's what they were after. He smirked. If they wanted it that badly, it had to be worth something. "You mean THIS crystal?" he asked and pulled it out of his pocket.

"That's it!" Ribbon gasped. "Please, give it to me! It's part of the royal Fairy Crystal!"

Dedede chuckled. "I don't think so. I think it's very pretty. Pretty enough that I will make it my lucky charm."

Shinji frowned. He didn't like that king one bit. "You can't just take what isn't yours!"

"Did I ask for your opinion, marshmallow?" Dedede barked. "Besides, since when do you talk?"

"That is not important now," Meta Knight glowered. "I warn you, Dedede, don't make any trouble! Hand over the crystal shard nice and easy, or else..."

"Are you talking to me?" Dedede shouted. "WADDLE DOO!"

The spearman with the huge eye came running. "Sir, yes, sir?"

Dedede pointed at the five intruders. "Those scoundrels have threatened your king! Throw them out of my castle!"

"Um, all by myself?" Waddle Doo sweatdropped.

"Right now!" Dedede showed his subject forwards.

"Um, all right..." Waddle Doo gulped. He nervously raised his spear. "Um, you heard the king... go away!"

"Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?" Meta Knight grumbled. One slice of his sword later, and Waddle Doo was only holding a tiny piece of wood.

The guard blinked. "Um, well... don't think you have won... I mean..."

Shinji chuckled. If Dedede's minions were all like that, it was no wonder that Kirby had no problems dealing with them. "Sorry, but we need that crystal," he said and started inhaling. One swallow later, he took on a yellow color and wore a colorful hat.

One second later, Waddle Doo came popping back out of his body. He was trembling. "Never... never again..." he whispered and crawled away.

"Beam Power!!" WD commented with a nod. "Very nice!"

Shinji experimentally let a short beam of energy whip through the air before turning to Dedede. "The crystal, if you would..."

Dedede grimaced. "Never! That's mine!"

"Don't be foolish!" Meta Knight said and came a step closer. "YOu are outnumbered!"

Dedede realized that as well and gulped. "W-well, how about we make a deal? I can keep the shiny stone and you, um, can keep that whiny brat in my dungeon."

"WHAT?" Adeleine gasped. "You have a prisoner?"

"How low can you get?" WD complained as he and Adeleine ran past the king and downstairs.

"Who... who are you?" the timid boy in the cell asked nervously.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there in no time," Waddle Dee said. "If I only knew where to find the key..."

"No need for a key!" Adeleine smirked and pulled out her paintbrush. A few strokes later, and there was an additional door in the cell, which she opened. "Come on out, we won't bite!" she giggled.

"Um, thanks!" the blonde youngster shyly said. "Uh, my name's Lucas."

The young painter smiled. "And I'm Adeleine. Nice to meet you!"

Meanwhile, Dedede had realized that he wasn't to get out of this. But he didn't want to let go of the shiny crystal... it was so nice and glittery... it was his!

He was surprised, when all of a sudden, a dark shadow fell upon him. He turned around and gasped when he saw a huge ball of shrouded shadows hovering above his head. A single eyeball was staring at him from out of these shadows.

"Wh-what?" he yelled. "Wh-what do you want from me? Leave me alone!"

But the Dark Matter never listened to those who weren't his master. Realizing that this creature was filled with greed, he decided that it could prove useful to get back the crystal shards his enemies had already gathered. So the dark sphere dove down into the body of the surprised king... and possessed him!

Ribbon let out a squeak of terror. "Th-that's the Dark Matter!" she shouted.

"It's possessing Dedede!" Meta Knight yelled. "Shinji! Be on guard!"

Shinji nervously watched how Dedede's body slowly turned around, like a marionette that was controlled by an invisible puppeteer. Dedede looked like he was sleeping, but he still moved like a zombie. And then... the possessed penguin grew, until he was twice as large as before.

And then the scariest thing happened: Dedede's belly opened up to reveal the same staring eye that they had seen in the dark sphere. "YOU WILL ALL... SURRENDER!" the being spoke in Dedede's emotionless voice. "ALL WILL VANISH... IN NOTHINGNESS! DO NOT RESIST! SURRENDER THE CRYSTAL SHARDS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"

"Never!" Ribbon shouted.

"THEN YOU, TOO, WILL VANISH IN SUBSPACE!" the Dark Matter spoke. Dedede's body moved on its own and raised the king's trusty mallet. Shinji gasped when he dodged the blunt weapon.

Meta Knight had taken flight. "You are nothing but a puppeteer, and now we will cut the strings!" he shouted. He brandished his sword and dashed at the possessed king. The tip of his sword hit the middle of the huge eye, but then a dark spark flared up and shoved the swordsman to the side.

Meta Knight groaned. "That thing... it's tougher than I thought."

"Shinji, watch out!" Ribbon cried.

"Gah!" Shinji gasped when the eye shot two smaller spheres of darkness at him. "Don't do that!" And then he fired a beam at his opponent. 'This is so different from fighting an Angel...' he thought.

Dark Matter didn't even flinch. If the attack had hurt it, it certainly didn't show it. Once again, it raised the mallet and this time, smashed it against Shinji's head/body.

Shinji got flung through the air like a golf ball and fell down as he hit the wall of the tower behind him. "Ouch..."

The Dark Dedede came closer and raised its hammer for another, devastating blow.

"No!" Meta Knight shouted and dashed at his enemy. But he realized he wouldn't make it in time.

"PK FIRE!" a high voice yelled. Then, a spark came flying out of nowhere, hit the possessed king with a sudden burst of fire which flung him to the side.

"That's it!" Meta Knight yelled. "Time for the finishing blow... MACH TORNADO!" And he spun his body and sword around like a living twister of destruction. He hit Dedede's body multiple times, until the dark eyeball grew wide and shattered into shards of darkness. A sphere of darkness came out of the king's body and flew away.

Dedede collapsed with a groan.

Shinji, Meta Knight and Ribbon looked over to the door that lead down to the dungeons, where a young boy with a striped shirt had appeared. He panted. "I... did it," he said to himself. "I really did it!"

"Nice work, Lucas!" Adeleine smiled.

Shinji sighed. These battles might be different from an Angel's fight, but they could still be pretty intense...


"This is the place?" Asuka asked as she looked around the high trees that surrounded them.

"You bet it is," Midna's voice came out of the mirror shard. "There's another shard deep in the forest. You now this place, right, Link? This is where we went to find the Master Sword..."

"How could I have forgotten that day...?" Link mumbled. "I was stuck in my wolf form back then..."

Asuka blinked. "That must have been terrible."

"Yeah, but we couldn't have learned about the Master Sword if you hadn't told us it could break the curse Zant planted on me that day," Link smiled.

"Um, you're welcome... I guess..." Asuka muttered.

"So, how do you plan on getting over that canyon?" Midna asked. "I mean, it's not like Zelda can turn into a wolf or anything..."

"Maybe we can ask Rusl if he has another golden cucco we can use," Link smirked.

"A... golden cucco?" Asuka asked in confusion. She then shook her head. "Forget it, I don't want to know... but maybe there's abridge somewhere..."

"Trust me, there isn't," Link told her. "Or else the ruins of the Temple of Time would have been discovered much, much earlier."

"Maybe I can be of help..." a gentle voice suddenly spoke up.

Asuka looked around in confusion... and gasped when she saw a small, chicken-like figure with the bald head of a woman. Something resembling a child's head with tiny hummingbird wings fluttered around the other creature's head.

"What in the world...?" Asuka gasped.

"Relax, Asuka, that's just Ooccoo and her son, Ooccoo Jr. Remember, I told you about them. The bird people that live in the City in the Sky, you know?"

"It's good to see you again, Link!" Ooccoo said as she nodded into the hero's direction. "And I think my little darling is glad to see you, too."

"S'up, Link?" her son greeted him.

"Oh great..." came Midna's muttered voice from the mirror. "The freak-birds again..."

Ooccoo didn't hear Midna's remark. "So you must be Princess Zelda, right? I am delighted to finally make your acquaintance!"

"So, what are you two doing here?" Link asked. "I thought you said you already found out everything about your people's past you needed to know..."

"Oh yes, but I was still wondering... The Dominion Rod you found in the Temple of Time... how did it get there? Did my people bring it there? And why was it powerless? These thoughts didn't let me sleep, so I came back here to do some additional research. And my little boy needed some fresh air, so I brought him along... Say, I couldn't help but listen to your conversation earlier... is it true that you are looking for a way to cross this canyon?"

"Yes, that's right!" Link nodded. "As you know, I can turn into a wolf, but the princess..."

"No problem at all, dear!" Ooccoo smiled. "Your Highness, you should know that we Oocca have very strong wings and can even carry big people like Hylians though the air for a short distance. It should be enough to take you to those ledges over there, allowing you to cross the chasm."

"Are you certain?" Asuka asked nervously. That bird-woman's wings didn't exactly look very strong. "I mean, it is quite the distance..."

"I assure you that I won't drop you," Ooccoo promised.

"Yeah, you can relax, my Mom's has the strongest pair of chicken wings in our hometown," Junior chuckled.

"Dear, that was unasked for!" Ooccoo scolded her offspring.

He chuckled. "Sorry, Mom..."

Asuka sighed. "Oh well, I guess it can't get any worse than that..."


Asuka panted heavily. "Man, that... that was something else..." She hoped that never again in her life, she would have to do something like that again. Then she remembered that she would have to get back across the canyon after they had retrieved the mirror shard and groaned.

"Thanks for your help, Ooccoo!" Link smiled.

"It was my pleasure, dear!" the bird-woman nodded. "Well then, son, shall we go?"

"Sure thing, Mom!" her son nodded. "Bye, Link! Maybe we meet each other again in the temple..." And they vanished in the forest's thicket.

Link looked at the mirror shard. "Midna, do we have to go to the temple as well?"

Midna nodded. "Yes, one of the shards is in there. Sorry, but it seems that you have to crawl through yet another dungeon."

"I was expecting this..." Link sighed. "Oh well, at least I know have the princess to keep me company."

"Do you even know which way to take?" Asuka wondered as she looked around. "There are so many paths here... and it's so gloomy... what if we get lost?"

"Don't worry, I know these woods like the back of my hand by now," Link said. "As for finding the entrance to the temple, we just have to put the Master Sword into its pedestal and..."

He stopped himself in mid-sentence. He had heard something he had hoped never to hear again. A malicious giggle...

He looked up into the trees... and groaned when he recognized the tiny dwarf with the straw hat, the lantern and the horn he was carrying.

Asuka followed his gaze. "Who is that?" she wondered. "Do you know that guy?"

"Unfortunately..." Link sighed. "That's Horror-Kid... and he loves to play pranks on forest wanderers. He's the second most annoying imp I've ever met in my life..."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Midna snapped.

"Teeheeheehee..." the little imp giggled. "You again? Oooh, and you have lovely company... shall we play our little game again? It is always so exciting..."

"I have no time for your games this time, Horror-Kid!" Link grumbled. "So why don't you leave me the heck alone?"

"Aw, it seems like you need the proper motivation..." And with the speed of a lightning bolt, the imp came jumping down the trees, ran past the surprised duo and climbed up another tree.

Link looked down at his empty hand. "Hey, he took the mirror shard!"

"Are you looking for this?" Horror-Kid giggled from high above as he waved the shard around. "Come and get it!"

"You sneaky little dirtbag!" Asuka snapped as she took her bow. "Give that back, or else..."

"Nonono, that would be too easy," Horror-Kid snickered as he wagged his finger. "You have to catch me, while taking care that my little friends don't get you..."

"Friends?" Asuka wondered.

Her question was answered when Horror-Kid blew into his horn... and all around them, spindly figures looking like floating marionettes were falling out of the trees.

"Not these guys again..." Link groaned.

"Have fun with my puppets!" Horror-Kid laughed. "And try not to fall back okay?" And with a twirl of leaves, he was gone.

There was only one thing on Asuka's mind as the puppets with the emotionless faces surrounded them...

"Oh Scheisse..."

Link blinked in confusion. "Is that language ancient Hyrule?"


"Thank you so much for letting me in," the tiny spaceman said as he gave Yui a formal bow. He was standing on top of her ship's console while R.O.B. was carefully putting his ship in one corner of the room. "I was afraid I would be stuck there for all eternity."

"I'm glad I could be of help," Yui smiled. "But tell me, what were you doing out there?"

"Ah..." Olimar shook his head. "Just an unfortunate accident... I was on my way back home to Hocotate, when a small asteroid hit my ship and threw me off course. My engine was damaged, so I couldn't control it anymore. I already thought I was done for, when your ship appeared and I got caught. Thankfully, you were polite enough to send me your robot instead of just treating me like any piece of space waste..."

"Hocotate?" Katt spoke up through the communicator. "I heard of that planet. It is very small... but I thought there was no intelligent life on it."

Olimar smiled. "We know that our race is smaller than most of the other races travelling through space, and that our planet isn't too big either... and since we couldn't possibly defend us against any hostile invaders, we kept our civilization a secret. But now, I humbly ask for your help. Could I please use your communication systems to contact my superiors on Hocotate?"

"Well, let's see..." Yui activated the intergalactic holo-map and searched for Olimar's home planet. She frowned. "I'm afraid Hocotate is too far away that I could reach it with normal transmissions. We would have to use a more efficient communication system..."

"The sattellites of Corneria," Katt spoke up. "They are used to contact planets that are even further away than Norion. I'm sure General Pepper lets us use them if we tell him what this is all about..."

"A-are you sure this is a good idea?" Olimar asked nervously. "I mean, if a general learns of our existence, everyone will know... and I don't know what we could do if Space Pirates or the like attack our peaceful planet..."

"Hey, I know the general," Katt said. "He won't do anything without thinking about it thoroughly. And I doubt he'd want to endanger your people."

Olimar sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. You have my thanks!" And he bowed once again. "Say, if there is anything I could do to help..."

"Well..." Yui looked around her ship. There wasn't much that came to her mind. She was piloting the ship by herself, while R.O.B. was taking care of the repairs. Besides, there wasn't much Olimar could do at his size.

Meanwhile, the little captain had looked around the cockpit. "Ah yes, I see... it is very dusty in here, isn't it?"

"Well, I don't think I have much time to clean everything..." Yui muttered. "But why..."

"Allow me..." Olimar said and took a small whistle out of his pocket. He blew into it, and to Yui's surprise, dozens of tiny creatures was coming out of Olimar's spaceship. They were even smaller than the captain himself, had strange leaves, buds or little flowers on their heads and were colored red, blue or yellow.

"These are the Pikmin," Olimar explained. "An intriguing species I discovered on the last planet I visited. And they accepted me as their de facto leader and would do anything for me. I usually help them to stay organized, so they can defend themselves against any dangers... in return, they help me with many tasks."

He looked across the assembled Pikmin. R.O.B. let his mechanical eye wander over the little plant-creatures. His processor didn't know what he should think of these little guys.

"Listen up," Olimar said. "I want this nice lady's cockpit cleaned up until there is no dirt or dust left. Is that clear? Good, then go to work!"

And the Pikmin obeyed without questioning him further. Yui was amazed at the teamwork and efficiency they were displaying.

Olimar smirked. "Pikmin... the only way to do your spring-cleaning!"


"Yo Lupe, our new HQ is just ahead."

Upon hearing Pardus' message, the female wolf smiled to herself. "Good. And, what's the situation? Any bothersome foxes around we need to shoot?"

"I can see two Arwings engaging the battle cruisers," Gecko reported. "Scans indicate that two additional Arwings are inside the station. There's definitely some sort of battle going on in there as well."

"Well then, I think we should interfere before they blast our lovely new home to pieces..." Lupina said. "But, oh where could dear Rei be?"

"Shall we contact them via communicator?" Pardus asked.

"Why not? It's just polite to announce yourself when you're about to shoot down your prey. But first... let me tell our boys that we're taking charge." She pressed a button and opened a new channel. "Wolfen to Sargasso Station! Do you read me?"

"Who is that?" came the voice from one of the countless criminals inside the station. "What are you doing with the boss' Wolfen?"

"I am sorry to tell you that Wolf won't come to help you against Star Fox..." Lupe smiled. "Too bad, isn't it?"

"Wh-what do you mean? What happened to the boss?"

Lupina frowned. "Okay, let me put this in a way even a dumb goon like yourself understands: We are the new Team Star Wolf, and we are taking charge! You have the choice: Serve us as you would serve the old Star Wolf, or risk getting captured by Star Fox... or worse!"

She didn't have to wait long before the answer came: "Okay, boss! What's your order!"

She grinned. "Good to hear that you have some common sense after all. First, tell me about the situation in the base. Who are you fighting?"

"The leader of Star Fox, together with that annoying toad," the henchman grumbled. "The frog's no problem, but Fox is tearing us up in here. There are barely transfer devices left we could use to call for additional backup." There was some noise in the background. "What? I just heard that he's already reached the top level of the hideout. What shall we do, boss?"

"Listen up, leave this to me! He won't resist a fight with us. I'll lure him into my trap, like a huntress would do with her prey..." She grinned wickedly.

The henchman scratched his head. "Uh, what?"

Lupe groaned. "We'll lure him outside so we can shoot him out of the skies! What do you think, idiot?" And she cut off the connection.

"So, those are Rei and the idiotic falcon out there?" Pardus asked. "Well, we'll make short work of them and..."

"NO!" Lupe barked. "Our orders are not to harm Rei in any way, don't forget that! But feel free to play with the birdie..."

Pardus smirked. "Got it!"


Falco was surprised when, out of nowhere, a laser shot grazed his Arwing. "What the heck? I just got shot!"

"No duh!" came the sarcastic comment of someone he did not recognize. "That was the idea behind it."

"The Wolfen? But you are not part of Wolf's team, aren't you?"

"Quiet, bird!" Lupe said. She switched channels and said: "Knock-knock, can Fox come out and play?"

"Who's this?" Fox replied. "Are you in league with Star Wolf?"

"We ARE Star Wolf!" Lupe smirked. "Wolf and his gang have kicked the bucket, so to speak. And now that I am in charge here, I'd love to get to know the famous Fox McCloud. Come out and fight me... to the death!"

"We're just looking for Pigma, nothing else!" Fox said. "We don't want any trouble."

Lupina sighed. "Pardus..."

The leopard just grinned and fired. This time, he hit Falco's left wing.

"Bah, I ate that!" Falco grumbled, but he sounded somewhat nervous.

"So what shall it be?" Lupe giggled. "The space duel I desire... or your friend's chicken wings on a platter of Arwing scrap?"

"I guess I have no choice..." Fox grumbled.

"Don't let them intimidate you, Fox!" Peppy said. "They can't be worse than Wolf himself!"

"Wrong, old-timer!" Gecko grinned. "We're worse!" And he shot off Falco's second wing.

"I could REALLY use some help here!" Falco winced.

Lupe laughed, but she stopped when she saw blue lasers flying past her Wolfen and towards Gecko's ship.

"Hey, who did that?" Gecko yelled angrily.

"Instead of wasting your time with holding a conversation during battle... you should actually fight!" said the blue-furred vixen with the cold eyes that had appeared on his communication screen.

Lupe smiled in a sinister way. "Oh, Rei, how nice of you to join us... so, you think you can play with us?"

She grimaced when the vixen's only answer was another volley of laser fire. "Be that way..." Lupe grumbled as she reflected them with a barrel roll. "But this isn't an Evangelion fight, you know?"

That made Rei hesitate for a short while. "How do you know that?" she wondered.

"You don't recognize us?" Lupe snickered. "I am not surprised. But I'm not planning on telling you who I am... yet!"

"I don't really care..." Rei grumbled and charged up her shot. She fired it at Lupe's Wolfen, but she quickly flew behind a tiny asteroid which blocked the shot.

"Hey, try to keep up!" Lupe laughed while flying around in front of Rei's ship.

Rei kept cool, though. She knew that she would leave Falco open to the others, and while she had faith in his piloting abilities, he would have a major disadvantage against the two Wolfens of Pardus and Gecko... especially because his two wings had broken off and the flight path of his Arwing was quite frantic.

"I can handle those goons by myself," Falco grimaced. "Go on and take care of that bitch... Rei! But I expect the full story once we get rid of these pests, you got it?"

Rei hesitated, then she nodded. "Understood... Pilot Lombardi!" And she flew after Lupe's Wolfen.

"Hey, I thought I told you not to call me that anymore!" Falco complained. He winced when he had to dodge another one of Gecko's shots. "Damn, me and my big mouth... Fox, where are you?"

"I'm on my way!" Fox shouted as he climbed into his Arwing. "Slippy is taking care of everything within the hideout... but what was that all about? Why did you call Krystal...?"

"Save that for later, big leader!" Falco shouted as he fired his lasers at Pardus' Arwing. "I've got my hands full right now!"

"No worries, the cavalry's here!" Fox yelled as he flew out of the station's hangar and into outer space. In no time, he had reached Falco's Arwing.

"How about this, you dirtbags?" he yelled and fired his lasers.

Pardus smirked and Gecko cackled. They had him exactly where they wanted him to be... "NOW, BOSS!" they shouted as they flew away from Falco's battered Arwing.

Lupe's Wolfen came out of nowhere, her Wolfen firing at Fox's ship in rapid succession. Rei gasped when she saw the multiple hits she landed on the Arwing. She had followed her all around the space station, but Lupe had been flying so fast that she had barely been able to hit her at all. And all the time, she just misguided her so she had a free firing line on Fox.

Lupe laughed. "And that's the end of Star Fox!" she shouted. Rei fired at her, but she dodged yet again and flew away, but Pardus and Gecko started a second attack on Fox. Fox rolled his Arwing around to deflect the first volley of shots, but the others hit him at point-blank range.

"Fox!" Slippy shouted. "M-maybe I should come out and help..."

"No!" Fox commanded. "You are needed in the hideout. We can't allow Pigma to flee, should he still be there. Falco, what about your ship?"

"It can still fly, but not much longer!" Falco grumbled.

Pardus laughed. "You're right about that, birdie!" he grinned as he took aim on the ace pilot's Arwing.

"No, you don't!" Rei grumbled as she shot his Wolfen from behind.

Pardus growled. "You crazy bitch, I'm gonna show you..."

"NO!!" Lupe yelled. "I said DON'T shoot her!!"

"Why not?" Rei yelled. "What do you want from me?"

"Try to find an answer yourself, sunshine!" Lupe shot back. "We're just doing our job." And she attacked Fox once again.

Fox managed to avoid her fire by flying a loop, but he barely collided with her Wolfen during that maneuver. "Dangit..." he muttered. "I don't know how long we can keep this up... if only we had one more ship on our side..."

"TAKE THIS, SCUMBAGS!" a loud voice yelled through the communicators, on every single channel. Fox winced at the volume and then watched in surprise when another battleship showed up. It was twice as large as an Arwing, but still very maneuverable. It was colored blue, except for it's nose, which resembled a golden bird's beak.

Pardus cried out in surprise when the new ship's laser shots threw his Wolfen around. "All right, who was that?"

"Wherever space scum like you show up, the swift fist of justice will be there to take you down!" a cocky voice spoke up. "Now, c'mon! Show me your moves!"

"It c-can't be!" Fox gasped. "It's the famous bounty hunter, Captain Falcon!"

The captain grinned behind his helmet's visor and flew a wide curve. "Anytime, Foxy! Why didn't you call me if you're in trouble?"

"Maybe because you are an annoying show-off?" Falco grumbled.

"What?" Lupe yelled. "How could he show up here? The master never said anything about that!"

"Too bad, 'sunshine'..." Rei snarled as she started another attack on Lupe's Wolfen.

"C'mon!" Captain Falcon sneered. "Let's show them OUR moves!"

"Everything, just stop saying that!" Falco grimaced.

And they flew back into battle, this time much more confident.