Chapter 9: A New Beginning

Everyone was paralyzed for a moment about what had just happened. They had lost everything. They tried to attack the heart of the enemy, but they failed… Now that Steven had the Tritan King, he and Andross could create a new army of Tritans! Andross would try to dominate Lylat again. And this time, he had a better chance of succeeding… Fox's first command had been to fly to Titania, so that's what everyone did.

Titania was a harsh, desert planet, the surface completely covered in sand. Fox was ready to get some answers (how had Andross been revived, would they kill Peppy and Beltino, was Star Wolf with them, did they know about James?). Fox felt pretty uneasy about the whole situation. How could he have fallen for Steven's ploy?

Once they were on Titania, Fox instructed, "Krystal and I will check south. Slippy and Falco check north. The rest of you, split east and west."

Krystal went alongside Fox in their Arwings through a horrid sandstorm.

"I hope we'll be in time…" Krystal said with some worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, Krystal. We'll be fine," Fox assured her.

Krystal suddenly said, "I wonder if Tricky is all right…"

"I thought you and the rest went to Sauria. Didn't you see him?" Fox asked.

"No; we didn't have time," Krystal explained.

"We'll check on him when we're finished with this mess," Fox replied.

Krystal nodded and kept on driving next to Fox, in search of the base. They both kept moving forward, hoping to see something.

"Do you remember our night out?" Krystal suddenly asked Fox.

Fox sat in silence for a moment, then responded, "Yes, why?"

Krystal replied, "It was a beautiful night, Fox. You really love me, right?"

Fox smiled to himself.

"I love you, Krystal; I would die for you. I want you to know that I sincerely do have feelings for you, like I said that night," Fox answered from the bottom of his heart.

Krystal smiled and said, "That means a lot, Fox. I hope you know that I have feelings for you, too."

They kept on traveling in bliss, happy to know that they both cared for each other in the same way. It had been a big relief to both of them to find out the fortunate truth of their love.

After a few more minutes of travel, they saw a large building up ahead.

"That must be the base!" Krystal realized.

Fox nodded and called in over the intercom, "We've found it. South of us."

Moments later after Fox and Krystal parked their ships on a platform near the entrance, the military, Falco, and Slippy arrived. Perhaps Stephen had bluffed after all? Or maybe not?

Slippy said, "I don't see the Great Fox…"

Fox pulled out his blaster and instructed, "Everyone behind me."

Everyone kept behind him, and they went through the door of the base.

Inside, they saw a bunch of troops and a thin monkey ordering them. It was Andrew Oikonny, Andross's nephew! Oikonny turned and saw Fox and everyone else.

"You're too late, Star Fox. Andross has escaped! He left me in charge while he's creating a new base; you have lost!" He cried.

Fox stepped forward.

"Oikonny? You're still alive? I thought the Aparoid killed you," Fox said.

Oikonny laughed and replied, "Do you really think I'd go down that easily? I can't let you go anywhere else from here, Star Fox. Prepare to die!"

His troops lunged forward and started firing their weapons at everyone on Fox's side. Fox ran past them while the Cornerian troops battled with Andross's men.

"What should we do, Fox?" Falco asked.

Fox replied, "You, Slippy, and Krystal help take out Andross's troops. I'm after Oikonny."

Slippy, Krystal, and Falco helped the military beat down some of the enemy soldiers. Fox lunged at Oikonny, sending his body weight into Andrew; Oikonny tumbled backwards, while Fox ran at his opponent again. Oikonny slowly got up, giving Fox the chance for a punch. Oikonny fell backwards again, but recuperated quicker this time and sent a punch of his own at Fox. Fox was hit in the stomach, but ignored the pain and unleashed a powerful blow of a kick at Oikonny. After being hit, Oikonny started wildly throwing punches and kicks at Fox; Fox avoided everything with ease, returning a mean punch into Andrew's jaw. Oikonny held on to his hurting chin, while Fox took advantage of the time and threw Oikonny hard into the wall.

In the meantime, Krystal, Slippy, Falco, and the military were taking out Andrew's men with no problems. They used their blasters and eventually managed to kill off most of the guards. When the military had the remnants of Andross's men at gunpoint and Oikonny surrendered to Fox, it was clear the battle was won.

Fox pointed his blaster at Oikonny and declared, "When we get back to Corneria, you're going to tell us all about what Andross is planning and where he is."

Oikonny grumbled in complaint, but followed the rest out of the door, knowing he had lost. Fox took Oikonny in his Arwing while the military took the few enemies in their ships. The war was apparently far from over; at least Oikonny could give Star Fox a lead…

Fox decided once they put Oikonny and his soldiers behind bars, he'd go find his father on Katina before interrogating Oikonny. He decided he needed a small break before he would hunt down Andross; besides, Fox needed to see his father again. Of course, that hadn't been the plan initially, but things tend to change…

There was no one to greet the team when they got back to Corneria except for Bill Grey.

"What happened?" Grey asked Fox.

Fox responded, "We lost. Andross and Steven, who isn't really my uncle, have control over the Tritan King and plan on taking over Lylat again. Our only lead is Oikonny here who we captured on Titania. Right now, I have someone to visit."

Bill seemed confused and asked, "Who could that be?"

Fox replied, "My father, James. Maybe he knows something about this. I'm headed for Planet Katina; I'll come back to Corneria in a while to question Oikonny."

Bill saluted his old friend and took Oikonny and his men to jail. Despite the devastation of losing so much, Fox knew he had to push on, and perhaps reuniting with his father was the best way to begin. The rest of the team watched Fox fly off in his Arwing, hoping the best was yet to come…

A/N: Did you think I revamped it well enough? I realize it's a far from perfect story, but it was my first as well. Even though it isn't as good as my other works, I felt it needed to be revamped since the original quality was mistake-filled! Anyways, thank you for reading or rereading it :) have a great day!