A/N: New chapter?

Sword: New chapter! Hit it!

Pen: Ow! Don't punch me, you twit!

As always, Marcus, Fox, and all related material belong to Nintendo. Sword, Pen, and the story belong to me. Please do not use without permission. And thank you to Troy Groomes and kristinalprime23 for their reviews on the previous chapter.

Sword: Enjoy it to the max!

Pen: Ow! You little- Come here!

Chapter 9- Winged Deathtrap

Falco whistled low as Bill pulled a large sheet off an aircraft hidden underneath. "She shor' is a beaut', Bill," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Could only scavenge so much in such short time." He had led them from the little area the soldiers had holed up in, down a maze of underground tunnels, and to a small hanger still intact, with the shuttered doors and windows. The only light in the area were lamps placed strategically on top of plane parts, boxes, and chairs to offer enough light to work with, but scant enough to avoid detection through any cracks in the closed windows.

"No, I'm serious," Falco said, walking around it, sticking his tongue in his cheek and on the verge of laughing at every angle of his examination. "She's a prize we don't deserve. Scrap the Arwings, this is what the Cornerian fleet needs."

As Bill punched his shoulder, Marcus was taking the cobbled together mess in less stride. If the bomb had been crude, this was downright dirty, with bits and pieces taken from the Anglar ships to construct a battered plane. The wings were uneven and mismatched, with one burned to a crisp at its end. The cockpit was wide open and had console boards dangling out of it, as if in the middle of being put together. And what little weaponry there was consisted of small arm blasters, a missile or two, and anything else that could be bolted to the underside.

He and Val leaned in close to Tad for his opinion. "What do you think?" he asked, hoping for better news.

Tad's face was more heavy with frown lines than his own as he did a walkaround with them. "Landing gear seems unstable. Probably fall apart if you come in too fast," he said, tapping the wheels and making the whole plane shudder. He carefully climbed one of the wings and checked the inside, rooting around in the cockpit. "It'll get you in the air, but you won't be dogfighting in this."

"What about the weapons?"

"Good for maybe taking out one ship, but the kickback of one of those missiles might tear this thing apart." Tad hopped out and checked the back, now joined by Falco and Bill. "Very little thrust. If, and I mean a big if, you can get off the ground, you won't be flying far. That's assuming the bomb will be strapped down inside?" he asked Bill, pointing to a steel carriage underneath the plane, waiting at the open mouth of the cargo hold.

"That's the idea," Bill said."We also added an extra engine that's been bellowing a lot of smoke. It can give you a bit of cover."

"Yeah, I guess you could fly it slow and use that, pretend to be injured," Tad said. "But it'll be dangerous, with slim chance to work."

"That's better than my usual odds," Falco said. "I can take it up, drop it off, then we detonate it from afar."

"Yes," Bill said, "except for the part where you hog the glory for yourself. This is a two-man job. While you'll be able to land in the hanger, the bomb needs to be taken further inside." He grabbed a blueprint off a nearby chair and drew a shape of the ship on the back of it. "From what we know of the Anglars, their engine room should be somewhere around here," he said, circling a spot near the bottom. "It's below the hanger. You'll need two people to carry the bomb down there."

"Alright," Falco sighed and looked at the three students. "I'll take Junior with me."

Bill seemed mildly surprised. "You sure? It won't be safe."

"Doubt there are any safe spots on this rock," Falco pointed out. "Besides, he could use the experience." He turned to Marcus. "You're good, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm good," Marcus said, putting on a brave face. Tad's analysis of the plane still circled in his mind and he wondered if it was too late to draft a last will and testimony.

"You can take the other two with you," Falco said to Bill. "Calamity Jane's a crackshot and Tex there, well, maybe he'll earn his hat riding along with you."

Tad steamed, but Val slipped an arm around his shoulder. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Come on," she said, taking his hand and leading him back down the tunnels. "We better get ready."

"As had we," Falco said, patting Marcus' back while Bill left to retrieve the bomb. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Marcus said.

Falco picked up on the wavering tone in his voice. "Think we might die?"

"Do you?"

The older bird gave it less than a moment of thought. "Probably."

"Great."

"No chance of survival. Fiery crash. Shot down, perhaps."

"I get it."

"In normal circumstances anyway." Falco smiled. "But there's something special that I think will help us. Something that runs in your family, that your father had an abundance of, and that I think he passed down to you."

Marcus was almost afraid to ask, because all the answers didn't seem likely. Skill? Not compared to the legends he had heard. A tactical mind? He was going through all this by the seat of his pants. "What's that?"

""Dumb luck," Falco said, chuckling. "The McClouds have it in spades. And there's no other force in the universe that can compete with that."

Marcus shoved him, shaking his head, and Falco pushed him back into the plane. The wheels rumbled, threatening to drop the nose to the ground. "Watch it," Falco said, pulling him away from the aircraft. "It'd be pretty unfair to this Frankstein deathtrap if we didn't let it kill us in the air."

Marcus laughed, holding his sides and feeling better than before. Not about their chances at all, but better.


"On my mark," Fox said, taking a knee and aiming steadily at the head of one of the soldiers outside.

"Ready," Krystal and Amanda said.

"Drop 'em." Three single shots and then all three of the soldiers fell, their heads sizzling from the blaster bolts that bore straight through their temples. After looting them, they came across a couple of plasma knives, still with energy left. Should make taking these things out without attracting attention a little easier.

"Okay, Slippy and Lucy, get going," Fox said, handing them a pistol and rifle. "We'll be there soon."

"Right." Slippy and Amanda gave one another a kiss for good luck, then he hurried with Lucy, carrying Peppy between them and out into the pouring rain.

"He'll be fine," Krystal whispered to Amanda, patting her back. Fox nodded in agreement, then led them in the opposite direction, toward the gymnasium.

By the time they reached the gym, they were soaked to the bone and Fox's clothes seemed like dead weights on his shoulders and legs. They took what little shelter there was of the short roof jutting out over the grass. Sliding along the wall, they paused as a soldier exited from the back doors. The soldier walked on, unaware of them, and into the storm, out and about on its patrol.

Once the soldier faded into the rain, Fox cracked the door, fighting against the roaring wind to not let it fling wide open and expose him. They were at the locker room again, with no enemy in sight. Doesn't mean someone isn't still watching, he thought.

He beckoned Krystal and Amanda over. Sense anything? he asked his wife.

She closed her eyes for a moment, stretching out with her ability. The hostages are still inside. Scared, confused, some hurt. I don't sense Dash anywhere nearby.

Doubt he still is here, Fox said as her eyes fluttered open. Anything else?

No, but we should stay alert.

That went without saying. He pulled open the door, watching their backs as they entered, then closed the door quietly as he stepped in. They paused, holding their breath, waiting to be discovered once more and called into the gym over the intercom. But nothing happened. It was dead silent.

Fox approached the door to the gym proper and peeked through the window slits in the door. As Krystal had said, all the hostages were still here, gathered in a splash of floodlight, with soldiers patrolling around them or standing guard atop bleachers and catwalks in the rafters

"Alright," Fox said softly, huddling with the other two. "I count at least a dozen of those robots, maybe more. We'll need to take them out before we can move the hostages." He scratched his chin. "The only question is how?"

"What about the skylights?" Amanda asked, pointing to the roof of the gym. Above, gray storm clouds shrouded any light from entering the glass panels. "I'm sure we could crack one open."

"But with the rain, the soldiers will notice when water starts coming in," Fox said. "We have to be quiet and quick about this, or one of the hostages could get hurt."

"We could sneak in and take out the ones on the rafters. Work our way down," Krystal said, pointing out the ladder right outside the door."

"Well, what about the ones on the ground?" Fox asked. "I'm sure you could sneak up the ladder to the rafters fast so the ones on the ground wouldn't notice, but the one on top of the bleacher to the left..." he trailed off, seeing a dark cavity behind the bleachers, complete with metal bars that he could easily climb up. "Actually, that may work."

Krystal picked up on his idea. "Yeah, you and Amanda could take out that one."

"Might be a tight fit, but maybe," Amanda said, once Fox explained his idea.

"Okay then," he said, passing Krystal one of the plasma knives. She pressed a button to test it, smiling as a thin, purple shaft of light shot out into the shape of a blade. "Be careful."

"You too," she said, pecking his lips.

They waited until a gap appeared in the patrolling soldiers and snuck into the gym, Krystal immediately turning right and scampering up the ladder. Meanwhile, Fox and Amanda crouched and hurried over to the bleachers, out of sight of everyone.

Fox climbed up the bleachers from the dark space behind them, having flashbacks of entangling himself on monkey bars and jungle gyms as a kid, and worked his way up to the top row. Below him, Amanda steadied herself on some lower rungs, ready to catch their prey.

The soldier's feet were at Fox's eye level. The robotic soldier itself was watching the hostages and gazing everywhere except at the vulpine crawling onto the top bleacher and raising the luminous knife above it. Fox plunged the knife into the robot's head to the hilt and caught the rifle it held before it clattered down the rows.

For a moment, the robot jittered, twitched, then powered down in his arms. Fox handed off the rifle to Amanda below, then lowered the body, careful not to let it clang against the metal bars. Amanda grunted and puffed out her breath as the thing's weight settled on her. Fox made a hold-on motion with his hand as he climbed down, while she jerked her head side to side, silently screaming for him to move faster and help share the load.

They laid the body beneath the bleachers, tucked away where it wouldn't be found. Then Fox checked on Krystal. She had already dispatched the first soldier on the rafters, its body slumped and dangling, and crept toward the next one. With utmost precision, she dug the knife into the back of its head, twisting and turning the blade, and then set it carefully on the rafters as well.

She is amazing, was all Fox could think as he and Amanda moved to the next guard on the bleachers, sticking to the shadows and maneuvering through the metal rungs. However, as Fox got into position, this next particular soldier looked up and noticed Krystal sneaking back to the ladder. It readied its rifle, its visor flaring up with red neon light, and Fox could practically hear it beginning to radio Krystal's position.

There was no time to waste. Hopping up as fast as he could, he jammed the plasma knife into the soldier's neck, tearing through the metal and twisting its helmet in the opposite direction until it was sufficiently dead. He stumbled back with it, banging its body against the wall and bleachers. Amanda was below him to cushion the body's fall, but the damage was done.

Around them on the ground, the other soldiers took notice of their comrades' absence from the bleachers and started to spread out, scanning the room. One went for the ladder. The same ladder that Krystal had started to climb down.

She noticed the enemy beneath her and scampered back up the rungs, dashing across the metal catwalk and to the opposite end. However, the shaking of the catwalk dislogded one of the bodies and it slipped over the side. Fox held his breath as Krystal screeched to a halt, pivoted, and snatched at the body's foot.

It was just out of her reach.

The body plummeted to the ground, making no sound until its heavy, earth-shattering thwomp! in the middle of the gym. All the soldiers turned toward it, curious about the dead weight dropped in the middle of their group, then looked skywards.

Fox pulled out his rifle. No sense in sneaking anymore. "Attack!" he yelled, shooting the nearest soldier. It went down before it could react and he fired at the next one.

By then, the soldiers were alert and sprinted for cover, already racing around to flank Fox and Amanda. Krystal shot off the soldier on the ladder and provided support from above. Laser bolts ripped through the air, scorching the walls and floor all around them. However, thanks to their initiative, Fox's group had the soldiers caught in a cross-fire and blew them apart easily, leaving only four still operating.

This small squad of soldiers quickly retaliated, standing in the middle of the hostages, a couple even wrapping them arms tight around a hostage's neck and using them as a shield. Fox and Amanda couldn't get a good sight on them and ducked back into cover behind the bleachers.

"Cowards!" Fox bellowed. He angled his rifle for a shot, but couldn't line up a bead with them without sticking his whole body out of cover. The moment the tip of his rifle came out, laser bolts sizzled past, striking the bleachers and wall behind them.

"What do we do?" Amanda asked.

"Surrender now or we will execute the prisoners," one of the soldiers said. "You have thirty seconds to comply."

Fox figured that this threat was real, unlike the idle ones made to his team. Dash wanted Fox's team alive to witness his triumph and execute them personally.. The other hostages were expendable to him. The soldiers had them at an impasse. Fox couldn't risk shooting the hostages. And Krystal was still exposed in the rafters. He looked down to the end of the bleachers, as if expecting a solution to present itself.

"Fox?" Amanda said.

"Just give a minute," he said, reaching out to Krystal. Do you have a lock on them?

No, she said. I have two on me. One with a hostage.

Fox cursed and peered out again. There was no way around this. Not unless Slippy and Lucy had the sudden inclination to join them at this exact moment.

"Ten seconds left," the soldier said. "Come out now or we will kill them."

"Alright, alright," Fox said. "We're coming out. Just," he sighed, "just don't hurt them."

"Throw out your weapons." Fox slid his rifle across the floor, as did Amanda. "Now come out with your hands up."

Fox raised his hands high and together with Amanda, they slowly crawled out of cover.


Bill and his people had the bomb strapped to the Anglar ship within the hour, leaving Marcus little time to prepare himself. A couple of soldiers stood by the hangar doors, ready to throw them open.

Meanwhile, Bill passed out weapons, grenades, and any other supplies to his group, Val, and Tad while going over the details of their mission again. "As soon as they set off the bomb, it's going to be a real hornet's nest. So we need to have both squads in position, ready to storm the command center as soon as possible. Squad A is with me and we'll be radioing for help." He nodded to Tad. "Squad B's job is to get the data for the Orbital Gate Station and any other sensitive material out of there." Valerie stood ready with her squad. "Any questions?"

"No, sir!" they said.

"Good. Your signal is the explosion. Once it goes off, hit the command center hard. Dismissed."

Tad and Val broke off from their respective squads and joined Marcus. "Guess this is it," he said, failing to hide the goosebumps chilling his bones. "Don't you two go dying on me."

"We should be saying that to you," Tad said, clasping his hand and giving him a one-armed embrace.

Valerie hugged Marcus. "Watch yourself up there."

"Tad!" Bill called. "Ready up! I need you over here."

"Yes, sir," he said and turned back. "I better go." He looked up at Valerie and took a shuddering breath. "Be careful." His voice was soft and quiet.

She smiled and bent down to his level, cradling his cheek. "Same goes for you." She pecked his nose and ran off for her squad. Tad was momentarily cross-eyed until he noticed Marcus giving him a strange look. "What?"

"Me, what? You, what? What was that?"

"Nothing. Just, you know, care between friends. That's all, nothing more." He sounded both wistful and disheartened. "Uh, I think Bill is calling again. Got to go." He jogged off to the hound and his own squad

Marcus was sure that there had been something more to the moment just now, but Falco's slap on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts. "Enough high school drama, Junior. Let's get going."

Marcus started up the ladder for the pilot's seat until Falco pointed him to the rear gunner's chair. "This will take a deft hand to fly it."

"I have that," Marcus said.

"And experience." Falco shoved him up and over into the rear seat. "You can fly on the way back. I need you in the gunner's seat." Marcus opened his mouth to protest. "Remember what I said about trust?"

He sat back in the seat and groaned to himself. Bill climbed up, ensuring they were strapped down tight and checking the seatbelts. "I don't suppose this has any eject buttons?"

"Oh, they do," Bill said. "But we were only able to repair yours and attach a parachute to it. The front one's shot."

"Then, if something happens..."

"The captain goes down with his ship," Falco said from the front seat. "Or in this case, the pilot."

Bill gave Marcus a worried frown and hopped off as Falco lowered the cockpit's cover. Had Falco known about his seat's malfunction already? As Marcus pondered this, the soldiers opened the hangar doors and Falco interrupted his musings once more. "Ready back there?"

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Ready."

"Try to relax. We'll have you back to your dad in no time." He flipped several switches on the console ahead of him and the plane rumbled to life, lifting off the ground. As it did, the cockpit shook so much that Marcus couldn't see straight. "No hurling. Just cleaned this baby," Falco joked. "Hands on the triggers. We may have company."

Marcus grabbed hold of his chair and focused on the gunner sticks before him, his fingers trembling over the triggers. He said silent prayers to himself as they took off toward the flagship.

A/N: Okay, and in the next chapter-

Sword: Action! Explosions!

Pen: How about you write at least one story without those?

Sword: You're not familiar with my work or my instrumental figure.

Pen: Wow, four syllables. Impressive.

Sword: Jerk.

So, let's wrap up. Thank you all for reading and please let us know what you think so far. We love hearing from all of you.