Chapter 10: Enemies turned Allies
Fox, Krystal and Vivien spoke nary a word as they drove home. They were all too beaten up and tired to complain about what had just happened, that is, until they arrived at Fox's house.
"What the hell happened out there?" Fox exclaimed.
"The shit's preparin' to hit the fan." Vivien responded from behind Fox. "And if your girlfriend had come along when she was supposed to, we may not have had any casualties."
Krystal, who was walking ahead of Fox, stopped suddenly and turned to glare at Vivien. "You better not be blaming me for what just happened, you little slut!"
Sensing the building tension, Fox immediately thrust both arms to the side. "Whoa, hold up there, ladies! Cooler heads prevail, okay?"
"I won't be cool until that wolf is skewered on my staff!" Krystal shouted, pointing angrily at Vivien.
"I'd like to see you try." Vivien taunted, arms crossed.
Krystal unsheathed her staff and stepped toward Vivien with every intention of following through on her promise. Unfortunately for her, Fox was in her way and he scooped her up over his left shoulder, quickly removing the magical staff from her grasp before she could use it.
"Damn you, Fox, put me down!" Krystal shouted. She continued screaming at Vivien while she beat on Fox in a vain attempt to be released. Fox walked through his bedroom and into the bathroom. There, he unceremoniously dropped the screaming vixen on her rear into the shower stall and turned on the cold water. Krystal shrieked as the frigid water poured over her head before hastily turning the water off. Fox leaned into the shower and stared at his dripping wet girlfriend.
"Cool off and shut up!" Fox shouted. "I'm already tired of playing peacemaker between you two, now could you PLEASE try to get along?"
Krystal stared in shocked silence, breathing heavily. "I…I'm sorry." Krystal whispered. Fox then stood up and left the room. Upon entering the bedroom, Fox saw Vivien leaning against the doorway.
"Having girl trouble?" Vivien smirked. Fox scowled at the remark; he approached Vivien and firmly pushed her into the hallway.
"Good night." Fox said sternly as he closed the sliding door. Tired and exasperated, he sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. Krystal stood behind him, clad only in a red bath towel. Approaching Fox silently, Krystal climbed onto the bed and sat right behind Fox. She began to massage his shoulders and gently kiss his neck.
"I'm sorry, Fox. I really am." Krystal said as she removed Fox's shirt.
Fox sighed. "It's not you, Krystal. All this chaos is just causing a bunch of stress."
Krystal continued kissing Fox's neck and then began to stroke his back. She placed a hand on Fox's bare chest and gently pushed him into a supine position. Her lithe, svelte figure straddled Fox at his stomach as she removed her towel; a sensual glint in her sapphire eyes.
"Then let me help you relieve that stress."
A crimson streak zoomed along the deserted road next to the ocean. The gentle breeze swayed the tree branches that broke up the moonlight overhead. Meanwhile, Falco was racing as far away from Corneria City as he could; he just wanted everything to go back to normal so he could fight normal enemies and live a normal life again. The responsibility he now carried weighed on him heavily – he and he alone was the only one who could save the entire Lylat System from that diabolical monster Zolao. Falco's thoughts troubled him so much that he failed to react to a vehicle approaching the upcoming intersection. He slammed on the brakes, but at the worst possible time. Falco stopped so suddenly that he careened over the handlebars, across the hood of the car and onto the pavement on the other side.
"Oh, fuck" came out as a gasp right as Falco smacked his head on the road and blacked out.
A few hours later…
Falco found darkness surrounding him as he stared skyward with a stinging pain bombarding his head. Despite the pain, he struggled to a seated position on the bed. "What else can happen to me?" He thought as he massaged his scalp.
"You need to lie down." A female voice said. Falco spun around just as light filled the room and saw Celia, Katt's twin sister, standing in the doorway. Falco immediately hung his head.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Falco moaned.
"Well, I live here." Celia said as she walked toward the bed. "What about you?"
Falco looked around the room without peeking at Celia. The cream-colored walls boasted posters of metal bands and various cars while the rest of the room maintained a feminine atmosphere; the bedspread had pink hearts stitched on it and the dresser possessed a round, elegant mirror. "I don't know. I haven't the slightest idea of how I got here." Falco paused in thought for a moment, still refusing to look at Celia. "Where's my bike?"
"It's in the garage." Celia sighed as she sat down next to Falco. "Your jacket really cost me a pretty paint job on my car back there. You damn near killed yourself you were going so fast!" Falco simply sighed.
"Well, I'm just trying to straighten my life out. It's been shit ever since you and I…you know…"
Celia frowned. She too remembered all too well that one night her sister walked in on her and Falco. "Falco, I saw you on the news. I could get in tons of trouble for keeping you here."
"Then why did you bring me here?" Falco asked.
Celia placed a hand on Falco's arm. "I want to help you. I want to help you fight that monster…"
"That monster is your sister!" Falco snapped.
A look of confusion and shock crossed Celia's face. "What'd you say?"
Falco began breathing heavily with rage. "Y-Your sister, she…she…" Falco tried swallowing his anger, but he stood up clutching his head. "DAMN THAT SON OF A BITCH!"
The outburst caused Celia to retreat a step. She blinked a couple of times trying to comprehend what Falco said. "You mean Katt's the monster?"
Falco sat back down, having calmed down a bit. "I feel responsible for it, too. I feel like such a fucking idiot for letting this happen!" Falco buried his face in his hands. "I can't even stand to look at her now! I just know this mistake is going to haunt me for the rest of my life, and I don't even know how to fix it!"
After a brief moment in thought, Celia stood up from the bed and crouched in front of Falco, speaking very calmly. "Falco, I know you're stronger than this. I know that deep down, you're still the most fearless guy I know." Despite Celia's encouragement, Falco continued to keep his dreary expression fixed on the floor. Concerned, Celia leaned in closer. "Falco, you've hardly looked at me. What's wrong?"
Falco had to swallow hard again. "I know that if I look at you, I'll see Katt and I'll just lose it."
Celia grasped Falco's upper arms. "You sound scared. The Falco I know isn't scared of anything. Which one are you?"
Falco clenched both fists so tightly that he began to tremble. "I don't want to be scared anymore."
That morning…
Fox had a pleasant expression on his face as he slept; a far different expression than the one he had the previous night. If the bed sheets were any indication, Fox and the sultry vixen his arm wrapped around definitely had a night full of lascivious frivolity. Too bad he was waging a battle with sex-crazed aliens; otherwise he would've enjoyed it more (not that he didn't, obviously).
BLEEP BLEEEEP! The phone sitting on the nightstand awoke Fox none too gently. "Bummer", Fox mumbled as he blindly reached for the phone.
"What the hell do you want?" Fox uttered groggily.
"Fox, is that you?" It was General Pepper.
Pepper's voice immediately brought Fox to a sitting position. "Um, yeah, what's up?"
"Fox, I need you to tell Krystal to come down to the base. I have a favor to ask of her. Also, I need Vivien to go out and find Falco and bring him back to the base; I have something to discuss with him. I've tried calling him, but he won't answer, so I'm e-mailing his most likely locations to you now."
"And I suppose you have something for me to do as well?"
"I want you to go to the Cornerian Military Prison and see about finding us some assistance in this battle. There are some pilots in there that I believe can help pay some big dividends."
Fox looked puzzled. "What's wrong with the guys we have now, general? Who exactly will I be looking for?"
"We'll need all the help we can get, Fox. I've already sent the necessary paperwork over there. Just tell them I sent you and they'll know what to do." With that, Pepper hung up.
Fox set the phone back down and rubbed his tired eyes. "Oh well, back to work."
Next to him, Krystal stirred and arose as well, yawning. "Mm, who was that, honey?"
"That was Pepper." Fox replied. "It sounds like he has a plan."
Vivien yawned as she drove Bill's van toward downtown. The list of Falco's possible whereabouts was crumpled up in her hand, gripped around the steering wheel. Vivien drove by the gruesome murder scene they had witnessed the previous night. The location was still blocked off with police tape and metal barricades. Vivien sighed as she thought more and more about how futile her search was becoming, as well as about how close Corneria was to complete and utter destruction.
"What a fine time for me not to have a phone." Vivien muttered.
Then out of nowhere, a crash from outside erupted just above Vivien, showering thousands of glass shards onto the streets and stopping the van and the surrounding traffic in its tracks. Vivien stepped out onto the sharp fragments and looked up; a jagged hole in the fifth floor of a nearby building spat out an unfortunate body from the hole, falling to its death with a gut-wrenching crack on the pavement. The large video screen that dominated the side of one the adjacent buildings crackled with static. Vivien's face twisted with hate when the static cleared, revealing none other than Zolao himself; his ugly smile dominating the screen.
"On the next full moon," Zolao's voice boomed, "you will all be mine." The citizens who had stopped to listen looked confused, but terrified. "Your fate is unavoidable." With that, the large screen went black, and everyone on the street stood around with confused and terrified expressions. Stern-faced, Vivien climbed back into the van and hurried off before panic ensued.
"Where the hell is she?" General Pepper paced anxiously in his office at the military base. Slippy was sitting quietly in one of the chairs, sucking on a lemon lollipop.
"You want a lollipop, general?" Slippy squeaked.
Pepper waved him off, and Krystal suddenly entered the office.
"It's about time you got here, Krystal. Come with me." The vixen followed Pepper and Slippy out of his office and down a short series of hallways until they reached a security-access elevator. The trio entered and descended below ground level to the underground hangar. Rows of fighters, including all the Starfox arwings, lined the massive interior; sunlight from the open ground-level hatch reflected off their metallic bodies. Numerous bodies surrounded each fighter, equipping them with upgraded laser guns, more powerful bombs and more durable shields.
"You're really pulling out all the stops, aren't you?" Krystal asked.
Pepper sighed. "You know as much as I do that Zolao will lead an army as large as I've ever seen. I regret that we'll be sending loyal troops to their death in this battle; that's almost for certain. So, naturally, I want to stack the odds as much in my favor as I can to minimize our losses. That's where you come in, Krystal."
"What do you need me for, general?"
"I remember you saying something about a Cerinian's touch being poison to those monsters. I wonder if your staff has that same capability."
"Just as much so," Krystal responded, "why?"
Pepper pressed his fingertips together. "Could it be possible to channel your staff's energy into these fighters?"
Krystal rubbed the back of her head, seeming a bit uncertain. "It's worked on our Cerinian fighters, but I've never tried it on Cornerian fighters. The technology is a bit different, so I don't know how long it would take."
"We've got five days before all hell breaks loose." Pepper stated. "Get it done before then. Slippy will be here to help you out." The general slowly turned around and walked away. "I'm counting on you."
Fox arrived at the military prison shortly after 11 a.m. His stomach growled from having skipped breakfast, but he ignored it as he entered the main building. The ursine guard at the security desk noticed him immediately.
"Ah, McCloud, there you are. The general told us to expect you." The guard handed Fox the folder with the paperwork Pepper had informed him about and asked him to follow. Fox skimmed the contents of the folder. He found three sheets of paper that looked like contracts, each one promising a complete acquittal pending the completion of some community service – namely, saving the Lylat System from total chaos. Each copy bore the general's seal and signature, plus signature lines for the convicts to sign.
Fox rubbed his tired eyes as he sat down at a small table. "These guys better be good. That's all I've got to say. As long as it's not…"
The ursine guard grabbed Fox's attention. "McCloud, they're here."
The convicts appeared from behind the door and Fox's face fell, seeing three faces he didn't want to see.
"Hello, Fox."
"Hello, Wolf."
Vivien was getting frustrated. All but two of the locations on Pepper's list of Falco's possible whereabouts had been searched, and not even a hint of a sign of him. She pulled up to one of the final locations on the list, scrunching her nose as she read the name to herself.
"Puppies Bar & Lounge? Oh my god, not another one…Geez, no wonder this guy's love life sucks."
As Vivien walked in, she saw the same thing she saw at some of her other searches: attractive young females of all species strutting around in outfits that left little to the imagination, serving some of the seediest scum in the city's red-light district. One of these servers approached Vivien, looking at her as if she was eye candy.
"Are you one of our new servers?" The feline hostess asked, smiling suggestively.
"No, I'm just looking for a Falco Lombardi. Does that name ring any sort of bell in that head of yours?" Vivien snapped.
The hostess giggled. "My, aren't we vicious today? That's just the way I like it!"
Vivien flinched toward her angrily. "Well…?" The hostess immediately quailed.
"Yes! Yes, he…he's actually a…uh, regular patron here on weekends. He's…um, actually on the news right now." The hostess nervously pointed behind Vivien to one of the large television screens displaying the news report.
"In addition to the recent monster attacks," the report began, "local police now have a lead in the assault case we reported last night. Falco Lombardi of the famed Starfox team is wanted for assaulting his landlord and eluding arrest by local authorities. He was last seen at the Cozy Couch Inn off Highway 612 heading east. A reward is offered for Lombardi's arrest and conviction."
Vivien sighed with relief. "As much as I'd like to degrade myself by staying here one more second, I'd really like to get going now…"
Before she could leave, some of the lounge's rougher-looking patrons stepped between Vivien and the exit.
"You threatened our Little Miss Patty-Cake, didn't you?" huffed one of the patrons.
Vivien simply smirked. "What are you going to do, give me a slap on the wrist?"
The patron responded with a fierce palm across her face, flooring her, drawing hoots and hollers from his friends. The celebration was short-lived, as Vivien thrust both her three-inch heels into her attacker's jewels, bringing him to his knees. Sitting up, she grabbed his two friends by their crotches and twisted as hard as possible, following with throwing both of them on top of their friend. Rubbing her face, she stepped over the fallen thugs, making sure to stomp her heels into their backs for good measure as she walked out.
"Have a nice day, assholes."
"So how are we going to do this?" Slippy asked.
Krystal took a long gaze at the seemingly countless number of fighters inside the hangar. "Well, like I told the general, the staff energy transfer will only work on Cerinian technology." She stated, gazing at the sapphire jewel on her staff. "However, if we can find one fighter with the closest matching schematics to a Cerinian fighter, we can modify it to accommodate the required technology and then copy it to the other fighters."
"That sounds great and all," said Slippy, "but we don't know what a Cerinian fighter looks like."
Krystal rolled her eyes and sighed. As she held the staff upright, the azure jewel glowed and the sections surrounding it snapped apart. The section holding the jewel opened downward to reveal a small microchip. Krystal delicately removed the chip and took it to a nearby computer terminal where she placed the chip in a small slot on the control panel. The schematics appeared as a three-dimensional holographic display in front of them. Krystal turned and smirked at the toad.
"I'm sorry, what'd you say?"
Slippy grumbled incoherently. "You're such a show-off. Anyway, now we just have to compare the Cerinian schematics to those here in the hangar." Slippy typed in a few commands and a lengthy list of past and present Cornerian fighters scrolled down rapidly.
"So how many fighters are being compared?" Krystal asked.
"About a thousand," Slippy answered, "most of them are still operable, so whatever matches come up won't be hard to find."
"Now what do we do while that's scanning?"
"We wait."
Krystal sighed. "Imagine that."
"Dammit, general, what are you thinking?" Fox whispered angrily into his phone making sure he was out of earshot of Wolf and his crew.
"Fox, I'm not taking any chances. Wolf O'Donnell is a skilled pilot and can be of great use to us."
"But…"
"Whatever personal vendetta you have with Wolf, Fox, I suggest you stow it away for the time being."
"He'll be a distraction!"
"Fox, I'm not changing my mind. I want you to bring Wolf and his crew down here immediately to be briefed. Do I make myself clear?"
Fox sighed. "Fine." He pocketed his phone and returned to the small office, stone-faced.
Wolf smirked as Fox walked in. "What happened, McCloud? You look like someone stole your favorite lollipop."
Fox snatched up the signed documents and glared a hole through his antagonist. "Under any other circumstances, I'd let you all rot in here. As it is, I'm under orders to escort you to Pepper's base."
Panther Caroso sighed amorously. "I hope your lady friend will be there."
Fox stepped towards Panther and pointed a finger at him. "Watch it. Now, let's stop wasting time and let's go."
I've introduced Wolf and I plan on introducing other characters from the SF universe. Stay tuned.