Hello! Baeowulf again! The below is my awesome co-author Jaybird, who so far has been responsible for one chapter, the first aerial fight scene, and many other snippets in the beginning when we would get together and write by handing each other a notebook, back and forth, sometimes on a sentence by sentence basis. He is responsible for the first few sections in this chapter; I am responsible for the scene where Reaper tells Wolf about her past and Wolf's following internal struggle, and much of the later chapter, although Jaybird worked his magic with Psion's dialogue with Savant. I hope you are all enjoying our story, and I hope that our irregular updates haven't deterred any of you from reading or reviewing. Once again, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please, R&R!
And now, a mesage from my co-author...
Hi everyone! It's Baeowulf's co-author again. Great to be back. (Baeowulf writes really fast.) And notfromearth7, that's not very nice. Anyway, a few important things before I start writing, which you have my full permission to ignore if you just want to start reading the story again. Baeowulf has edited chapter 8: Progress. There are no new plotline developments, but you can re-read it if you feel like reading more details. So! The team is finally back together, and none of them are near-dead. Will the team prevail to eventually destroy the Shi'krii planet/Queen/base? Do you remember what the Shi'krii are? (The Doppelgangers, btw.) Will I ever stop asking stupid rhetorical questions? Probably. But for now… Let's rejoin the team. Let's see… where were we…
Falco heard Fox walking down the hall and quickly broke apart from Katt. They turned away from each other, blushing awkwardly until the rest of the team got there.
"Yes!" shouted Slippy triumphantly. "I never thought I'd see the day when we'd all be back together again, alive. And this ship is amazing! I've talked with – what's his name, Savant? – And he says the ship is alive! Really, guys! Alive! And the navigation system draws power from some external cosmic force that I've never head of before, and, I, well… Isn't this so cool?"
"Calm down, Slippy, before you start hyperventilating," said Falco, but he was grinning. He never thought he'd be able to say it with a straight face, but he had missed the little toad, and they hadn't really been able to catch up on the surface of the planet. The Ensthiasmus was on its way away from Sector X, hopefully for a long time.
"Falco, don't you start…"
"It's okay, Amanda," said Slippy comfortingly. "It's Falco."
"Hey, lay off of… him…" Katt started, but quickly fell silent, blushing again. Krystal took her arm and smiled.
"We're just here to make sure you're okay. You had quite an ordeal a while ago."
"Yeah, I'm fine… It'll be a while before I can really sort out what Darus said…"
"You'll need to tell us all about it eventually," said Fox, standing up, "But Savant wanted to talk with us about our next course of action."
"Great, I'm getting really tired of just lying here," said Katt, relieved that she didn't need to stay in the hospital any longer than she already had.
"Oh, and Falco, you've got a little something on your beak… right about here…" said Fox grinning, pointing at the side of his own mouth.
Falco reached up to feel the indicated area and stopped when he felt something definitely much softer than his beak. He brushed it off, and a few hairs the exact color of Katt's fur drifted to the floor. He stood up very quickly, and, mumbling something incomprehensible to the others, took off after Fox, snarling.
Reaper walked confidently down the hall to the room she had arranged to meet Psion, Wolf and his team following her. Normally Wolf would be in front, but the plasma turrets were designed to automatically decimate any signature not programmed in, so it was agreed that Reaper could lead the way. She placed her paw on the scanner by the door and strode in, casually ducking the laser that fired at her as she crossed the threshold. The security methods were a bit overboard, perhaps, but they were effective.
"Hello, Psion," she said, walking quickly up to the control panels in the corner and facing the once-more tall, thin doppelganger there.
"Reaper. As expected. And who are these… people… following you?" responded Psion, glancing back at Wolf, Panther, and Leon.
"This is team Star Wolf." Lowering her voice, she said to only him, "I've joined their team, but it's only for as long as I need them." Once more speaking to the room at large, she continued, "They, too, call Star Fox their enemies, and will help in the task you have given me. I am ready to attempt it again."
"Team Star Fox has left," said Psion coolly. "They invaded the Prenuntius, destroyed the hull, killed Darus, and almost ruined everything. You are too late."
"Sir… Sir, I – "
"But, it is not entirely your fault," reasoned Psion. "They received backup from that miserable wretch Elasmus, disgrace to us all that he is. Savant and his ilk will be very sorry if they dare to show their faces again. I personally piloted the core away from the wreckage of the Prenuntius, and no lasting damage was done. The Shi'krii that died that day are… replaceable." He paused, and Reaper held her breath. She did not try to run, or draw her blade; If Psion wished her removed, then she and the rest of Star Wolf would die. Simple as that. Hopefully he wouldn't.
"Your mistake has not caused a catastrophic problem… yet. Your task is to seek Fox McCloud and kill him and his team. Ask no questions, take no prisoners. Do not fail again. Wolf O'Donnel, know this: if you or any of your team are a hindrance to either Reaper or me, you will regret it."
"Y-yes, sir," stuttered Wolf, mentally berating himself. Stuttering? He never stuttered.
"Dismissed. Go."
Okay, yes he did. Mentally weighing the repercussions, he decided he also wasn't quite proud enough to stop him from practically sprinting down the hallway, his team close at his heels.
"How… how do you… stand up… to that guy?" he panted as Reaper calmly walked up to them.
"Despite his power, army, and prowess as a telepath, he needs me to go out on missions for him when he is otherwise occupied, and respects my success rate. Otherwise I'd be dead the moment I saw him, as would you all. How will we go about finding Kry – Fox, sir?"
Wolf recovered quickly. They had a job to do, and it would be better for everyone if they got it done quickly. "From what I understand, Fox was here. Now he's not. If he got off a hostile planet alive, the first thing he'd do would be get as far away as possible, to a safe place, so…" He groaned. "I think we're going to have to go back to Corneria again."
He started walking back to their ships, followed by the others. This was their third trip back to Corneria since they started looking for Fox and his team, and they were all hoping they wouldn't need to make another. But it seemed they had finally picked up his trail and were on their way again.
"Here's how I see it," said Savant, turning from the vast array of hologram boards before him to face Fox and his friends, "The Queen's forces were hurt by your attack, no doubt, but there are still a lot left, and the superweapon in the core of the Prenuntius survived. They will probably attack soon, and they will probably succeed: This attack has been planned for centuries. You are the only ones who know about this and have the power to stop them. I can help, but to maintain my guise of allegiance to the empire, I cannot overtly fight them. Their first target will almost certainly be Corneria, so does anyone have an argument against going there?"
"What about all my books?" asked Krystal, "and my other magical artifacts? It took a long time to get them all, I don't want them just left on Sauria. Can we make a quick stop there?"
"Okay, we'll go to Sauria, get Krystal's things, and go defend Corneria. Objections?"
Everyone was silent.
"No? Good, let's go."
As everyone started walking back, Fox realized how tired he still was. He had been on the planet or near death for a long time. He trudged back to his quarters and flopped down on the bed, waiting for sleep. Instead, however, he felt an odd presence in part of his mind that wouldn't go away. He tried to ignore it, but found it distracting. Finally he rolled over and sat up.
"Krystal, if that's you, that's really annoying," he thought, knowing she would hear it. The presence just grew stronger.
"I did tell you I would talk to you later," said a familiar voice.
"Ensthiasmus?"
"Very good. You are learning to recognize me."
"But this is insane! How can I be talking to you? Are all ships… alive? I mean, you're an inanimate object! How can… whoa!"
The walls and ceiling around him had compressed, confining him to a very small space. "Do you really believe that anymore?" said the Ensthiasmus, it's voice shaking with anger.
"Okay, okay, no! I just wondered how you can talk! I know you're alive, and it's obvious you can think. I'm just not used to meeting living technology. Can you forgive me if I'm a little uninformed?
The walls slowly withdrew. "Very well. No, your ships are not alive. Savant has been experimenting with new organic technologies. I am a result of that, as are his ship, Siren's ship, and Blade."
"Blade is Elasmus's ship, right? It's alive?"
"Yes. Ordinarily we do not commune with other life, particularly Lylatian life, but you must be warned. The Shi'krii empire is powerful, but some Shi'krii are even stronger. The Queen's death… may not bring what you think… be careful…"
The Ensthiasmus withdrew from his mind, and Fox finally collapsed onto his bed, with a lot to think about. What could that mean?"
Savant walked calmly into the communications room and pressed a button. Instantly Psion's face appeared on the holo-board in front of him, and he knew Psion could now see him.
"Savant."
"Psion."
"You are cooperating with these creatures. What value do you see in them at all? They are inferior. Nothing can match the greatness of the Shi'krii… not even false technology made of lesser life, not even the fake-bodied brood of those who would seek to withdraw from us."
Savant's eyes drew to slits as he quickly inhaled. "Don't talk about Elasmus that way. He's more a Shi'krii than you ever were, even before you went mad."
"I? Mad? I have taken the Shi'krii to power! I will take them to glory! Lylat will be ours and I will dispose of you! And you think ME mad?"
"I do. You have conned the entire Shi'krii race into believing your way to be the way to success. You have even convinced the Queen you are working for her!"
Psion chuckled, a raspy screech that made Savant flinch. "You are certainly one to talk, you traitor. You are working as much against the Queen as I! I know far more of your plans than you would think. You are using team Star Fox to take out the Queen, and me in the process, if possible. With the leader and second-in-command gone, the Shi'krii will turn to you, in all your despicable experimentation, and find you to be a fit leader."
"Not so. I have never wished to lead. The Queen must die: even you believe that. And as for me working with the Lylatians: what is this I have heard about a certain jackal named… if memory serves… Reaper?"
"She is a tool, nothing more. I do not plan to keep her alive a second longer than is absolutely necessary. She is a very effective servant."
"Not last I checked. She was easily foiled by Elasmus, whom you find to be so weak."
"That was a fluke!" Psion screamed in rage. "If you hadn't stuck your son in where he didn't belong, Fox and Krystal McCloud would now be dead, and I triumphant! If I could only tell the Queen what I know of your treachery…"
"Unfortunately, you cannot, because that would require revealing your own. I am not afraid of you, Psion. I only agreed to this link because I wanted to show that. You cannot order me to cease my campaign. You cannot even stop me by force. I will continue, as you most certainly will, until one of us, along with the Queen, is dead. Then we will see who is indeed mad."
Savant pressed the "end link" button, smirking.
Meanwhile, Psion continued staring at the now-blank screen in front of him, thinking. Savant was right, he couldn't tell the Queen of what he knew, but the Queen, too, was but a pawn, and he could control her forces himself. Savant would not be a barrier. The superweapon was intact: Corneria would still fall. If Savant tried to step in again, he would be ready.
Reaper sat in a soft chair in her dorm, sighing as she leaned her head back against the top of the chair. She brought her head back up, and her body began to shake, her eyes wide in fear. She had worn a mask of calm when in Wolf and the others' presence, but her meetings with Psion were always unnerving, especially when he was angry. Breathing deeply, Reaper regained her composure, running her gauntleted paw through her long, jet-black hair. She winced as she did: her arm was acting up again. Rolling her eyes, she took her right paw and pressed a small button in the shoulder of her gauntlet. The metal armor expanded and dropped to the floor with a hiss, and Reaper grimaced as the air hit her arm. The limb was devoid of fur, and was mottled with an ugly mixture of pinks and dark, dull reds. Slowly, Reaper began to massage the arm, rubbing her fingers delicately in the reddened flesh, soothing the aches and pains. She grimaced: her left arm was completely covered in burns, yet another thing she had to thank Krystal for. Reaper's eyes drooped downwards; how could Krystal not have believed her? They were like sisters: could there be a greater trust? A single tear ran down Reaper's face, but her eyes quickly grew dark with hate. "Krystal's a monster; she deserves to die for what she had done to me!" thought Reaper, beginning to massage her arm more fiercely. In her anger, her claws flicked out from both hands… right into her burned arm. "Aagh!" yelled Reaper, jumping out of the chair in pain. She clamped her mouth on the wound, sucking hard on her pierced flesh. Suddenly, she heard the door open behind her. Reaper grabbed Fang and turned around, placing the tip of the blade against the neck of the intruder in less than a second. Wolf stood there on his tip-toes, eye showing a slight nervousness, his mouth in a slight grin. He chuckled a bit, his low, gravelly voice rumbling in his throat.
"Heh, remind me not to sneak up on you," he said quietly, slowly pushing the blade away from his neck. Reaper sheathed the sword, and turned around.
"Why are you here?" she asked coldly, paw on the hilt of her blade. Wolf settled onto his feet, a small sigh escaping from his mouth.
"You know very well why I'm here, Reaper," he said, staring at the back of her head. Wolf noticed his gaze wandering over Reaper's body, and he snapped himself back to attention, cursing himself inwardly. He supposed it couldn't be helped; it had been a long time since he had seen a female who hadn't wanted to kill him in one way or another. "You started to say Krystal's name back when we met with that freak Psion," Wolf said, his voice stern. "I want to know why." Reaper sighed, and turned around to face her "captain".
"You want to know why? Do you really? The truth isn't always better."
"Stop avoiding my question! How do you know Krystal McCloud?"
"So be it," said Reaper, her voice wavering a bit. "I am one of her people. They turned against me. That's why I know Krystal. That's why I have become what I am." Her head drooped, and she whispered, "I'm a Cerinian."
"Wait; isn't Krystal the last one?"
"Obviously not. I don't know how many are left, but I've tried to make sure that I am the only one left," Reaper said, balling her paws into fists. "And all that that implies." Wolf's eye widened, shocked at what he had heard.
"You killed your own people?" he said, shocked.
"They betrayed me!" Reaper screamed, flinging her arms out wide, leaning in forward. "And besides, it's not like you're any different!" Wolf found his eye wandering again, but once again he quickly corrected his vision. He chuckled a bit, smiling.
"True, but my people aren't on the verge of extinction." Reaper scoffed at his comment, turning around.
"You wouldn't understand," she said, a touch of sadness and confusion in her voice.
"That's not good enough, Reaper," snarled Wolf, growing impatient. "I want to know what it is you have against Krystal, and if this personal vendetta of yours is going to interfere with my mission!" Reaper stiffened.
"Fine. When I was just a pup, my parents were taken from me in a fire. Our house burned to the ground, and I was the only survivor. I ran as fast as I could through the jungle, and I was found by Krystal's parents. We were about five at the time; just young pups, carefree and happy. Krystal's family adopted me, and Krystal and I grew up like sisters. We did everything together: we played together, we went to school together, and finally, we graduated together, at the top of our class. Then… then the schoolmaster was murdered." Reaper paused, regaining her composure. "I was blamed. Krystal, the very person I trusted most, carried out my punishment. She took my telepathy, and banished me into the jungles to fend for myself, only letting me take my ancestral weapon." As she said this, Reaper patted her sword fondly, running her fingers over its glistening pommelstone. "There were dangerous things in those jungles, Wolf. Things that can do this," she said, pointing to her arm and the scar on her eye. "That's why I hate Krystal," Reaper said, her voice quavering. "That… that's why I have to kill her." Wolf's eye softened, and for the first time, he actually felt pity. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt immensely sorry for Reaper. Reaper turned around, and Wolf walked up to her, placing a paw on her shoulder.
"Uh, look, Reaper," he said, unsure how to proceed. "If there's anything you need to talk about, I'm, eh, I'm always here." Reaper jumped slightly at his words, unsure what to think. Slowly, Reaper gained her composure, and brushed Wolf's paw off her shoulder harshly.
"Leave me alone," she said softly, struggling to keep her cool. She heard Wolf sigh and walk out the door, the electronic doors sliding shut as he left the room. Reaper collapsed in her chair, crying softly. "Why?" she whispered, her paws at her eyes. "Why, Krystal?"
Wolf walked down the corridors of the Sargasso base, shoulders hunched, sulking. How could he have been so immature? Honestly, one woman on board, and he starts getting the "wandering eye" syndrome! Embarrassing! "Well…" Wolf mused to himself, grinning slightly, "she is one heck of a woman." Wolf chuckled, grinning, remembering what Reaper had done to his goons: it had taken quite a while to clean up the mess! He sighed to himself, frustrated, knowing that this wasn't all he liked about Reaper. "Why am I like this?" he thought to himself, frustrated. "Sure, she's pretty, but so was Krystal, and I never acted like this around her!" Wolf sighed; why did he feel like this? For some reason, he felt inexplicably compelled to help Reaper. He thought back to her story, and shuddered; he had never thought that Krystal could be capable of something like that! Sure, they were rivals, but he had never thought of Krystal or her team as actually evil! Wolf walked down the long passageway, muttering under his breath. He rounded the corner, heading to his room… and bumped into something. Leon materialized right in front of him, grinning sinisterly.
"Hey boss," he said in a mocking tone, "what's wrong?" Leon cackled, and Wolf rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Nothing Leon," wolf sighed, irritated at the chameleon, "I was just thinking about Reap—" Leon interrupted him with a long, raspy laugh.
"Oh, you were thinking about Reaper, were you?" Leon laughed long and loud as his captain's face went red under his dark fur. "Does Wolf have a crush?" Wolf's eyes widened.
"I—I do not!" Leon laughed, and turned down the corridor, walking away.
"Say whatever you want, Wolf! Say whatever you want…"
Wolf grumbled to himself about actions involving Leon and sharp objects, and walked into his room, still blushing slightly. He couldn't have a crush! He couldn't be experiencing any kind of love! He was the toughest mercenary in Lylat! … or was he? He sighed to himself, sinking into his soft chair and grabbing a drink from his mini fridge. Nothing was as easy as it was before. He had always acted on his instincts, and it had gotten him through his life alive. But now a whole new spectrum of grey had been added to his black-and-white world, and he had the feeling that a whole range of color was about to come in.
Fox woke up to a soft beep as Savant strode through the door into his chamber. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock beside his bed. It was already 9:00. He got up, turning to Savant.
"What's up?"
"We've reached Sauria. Your ships are ready to take you down."
"Great, you'll hardly know we're gone."
Fox pulled on his combat-suit and walked out of his room to find Krystal already waiting for him. The others had no particular reason to go down, and while Katt was itching for action, she still needed to rest. It wouldn't really classify as a "mission" either: go down, get their stuff, go back up.
He smiled at his wife as they walked to the hangar, and she grinned back. She seemed so much more at ease now that she would have her things back. They were all she had left of her planet, and Fox realized how much they really meant to her.
They got into two of the ships in the room, not particularly caring which, as their own were destroyed and on the Doppelganger homeworld. Fox took a moment to familiarize himself with the controls, set up a radio link with Krystal, and flew out, glad to be back on the familiar landscape. As the two flew over the site where their honeymoon cottage had been, their hearts nearly stopped. The grassy hillside had been reduced to a charred and barren wasteland, with no signs of life. The nearby forest had been decimated, and from the air it was clear that at least half the trees had been destroyed. The lake was an empty crater, and the bottom was covered in a thin layer of ash that was once a thriving aquatic ecosystem. At the center of everything, their little cottage sat, decimated, a macabre focal point for the ring of death. Its walls were smashed in, and most of the wood was reduced to cinders. Hardened slag was visible where the metal supports had melted, and drips of plastic ran down the walls. Fox and Krystal set their ships down, and stepped out onto the barren landscape, the hard, black soil crunching beneath their feet. How long had it been since they had last been here? A few weeks, at most. So much had changed.
Fox pushed the shatttered door open, watching as it fell into the house to rest in the dust, sending a small cloud of charcoal up from the floor. Tentatively, Fox and Krystal walked in, carefully testing the floorboards before taking a step. The floor creaked beneath their feet, and charcoal filtered down on them from the charred roof. Slowly, they made their way to what had been their bedroom. Incredibly, the door was still intact, although less could be said for its frame.
"You ready for this?" Fox asked Krystal nervously, knowing that given the amount of destruction they had witnessed, it was unlikely anything had survived. Krystal nodded, absentmindedly readying her staff. Fox pressed on the door, and the frame around it collapsed, the hard, wooden door falling to the floor with a resounding thud. The two of them walked into the room, marveling at the macabre display. Here, there was a relatively small amount of burning damage, but the entire room was warped and twisted. The bed caved in along the middle, and twisted over so that while the front was standing perfectly, the foot of the bed was upside down. Bookshelves lay tipped over, spilling their contents onto the floor, and the floor itself looked like a field of boulders. Krystal gasped, and ran over to the collapsed bookshelf, collapsing to her knees as she saw the ancient Cerinian tomes spilled and crushed like old newspapers. Fox propped his back against the bookshelf, and pressing against it with his legs, tipped it over, uncovering the books below. Krystal's eyes widened, and tears began to run from her eyes. The tomes were, for the most part, destroyed. Blackened pages littered the floor, and many books had holes in their middles. Fox walked over to her, tenderly hugging her to his chest as she sobbed.
"It's all gone," Krystal whimpered, her eyes closed. "All of my people's knowledge, all destroyed." Fox held her tight, gently hushing her, when suddenly, something caught his eye. A small bit of blue poked out from under a pile of withered pages, its color as brilliant as the ocean.
"Look over there," Fox whispered into his wife's ear, pointing. Slowly, the two stood, and Krystal brushed the pages away. Her eyes brightened, and a wide smile spread across her face. Four books remained intact: one blue, one red, one green, and one a brilliant white: the Elemental Compendiums. These four books contained the Cerinian knowledge of the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These four books were a guide to a telepath's powers over their environment, and each had been written by an Elemental Sage, an elder who had mastered their particular element. Krystal picked the ooks up as though they were made of glass, handling them with the same delicacy a mother would her new-born child. Fox smiled; he loved to see Krystal happy.
"Fox, do you know what these are?" Krystal said to him, exitedly. Fox shook his head, smiling, scratching absentmindedly at the base of his skull. "These are the Elemental Compendiums!" Fox stared at her blankly, and Krystal rolled her eyes. "They're guides to my magic!" At this, Fox's eyes widened. Krystal was already a powerful telepath and sorceress in her own right; with these books to hone her talents, Fox truly believed that she could become unstoppable.
"So, what now?" Fox asked, bewildered. Krystal walked up to him, clutching the ancient tomes to her chest.
"First, we head to Corneria," she said, her eyes flickering with adventure. "Then, I think it's time we showed Psion just what I can do with these!"
Psion stood on board the bridge of the Prenuntius core, softly drumming his long, clawed fingers on the steel control panel. He watched the small green and blue planet known as Corneria slowly grow larger in the window, watching as the battleships that circled it slowly came into focus. He had waited so long for this day, so long for the day that would bring the eradication of the lesser species. Corneria, the core Lylatian planet, would be the first to fall, and after that, the others would come all too easily. Yes, he had lost Darus to team StarFox, but in his death one of their ace pilots, Katt Monroe, had been destroyed. All of his planning lead up to this day, all going back to when he first laid eyes on this pitiful system, all those thousands of years ago. He had watched them through the years, he had seen those wretched creatures advance through the stone age and all the way to where they had come now. For many years, he had waited for the opportune moment to strike, waiting for when he could be sure that victory was secured. Before had been too early to strike; there was no point wasting resources to eradicate a race of cavemen or midieval numbskulls; no, even at the beginning of the nuclear age, there was still a chance they would wipe themselves out. But now... now he had the perfect resources, and the entire military at his personal disposal. He was startled out of his thoughts by an incoming transmission. A voice echoed over the intercom: Lylatian, but Psion didn't care what breed. For all he cared, the Lylatians were all the same: ugly, weak creatures, never able to rival the singular beauty of the Shi'Krii.
"Mothership vessel!" the voice shouted over the intercom, booming over the speakers. "Reveal name and security clearance!" Psion waited, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. Again, the voice spoke. "Vessel! Please reveal your name and security clearance! We will not hesitate to fire! You have one further warning! I ask you again, please reveal your name and security clearance!" This time, Psion had a response. He reached out with his mind to every Shi'Krii aboard the Prenuntius, sending a single order.
"Fire at will!" At once, the Prenuntius' ion cannons fired, sending beams on bright energy streaking through the darkness of space. Rail guns sent shudders through the ship as they launched enourmous balls of plasma through the void, green energy trailing behind them. The Lylatian vessels swerved to escape, but to no avail. In the first assault, dozens were reduced to smoldering shards of shrapnel drifting through space. Psion opened his mind to the Lylatian fleet: he could feel their terror, and could see tiny glowing dots, individual minds, scurrying in panic across the decks of each ship. He absorbed information about the troops and smiled as they were destroyed. Mitch McFarlain, age 30, father of 3, deceased. Laura Farris, age 23, deceased. Thousands of names flew into Psion's head as their owners died, carrying their screams with them. Psion smiled with every one. The Lylatians opened fire on the Prenuntius, but their puny shots had no effect: the bright beams of light bounced off of the ship's shields before they came within 100 feet of the vessel. As the Prenuntius drifted forward, the fire stopped: the entire Lylatian fleet had been destroyed. Tiny medical shuttles sped away from the field of wreckage, carrying survivors away. "Leave them," Psion ordered: they didn't matter. Psion smiled wickedly, his mind filling with a psychotic joy: the invasion of Corneria had begun.
Fox ran frantically to the hanger of the Ensthiasmus, his feet barely touching the floor before lifting off the ground once more. While he and Krystal had been on Sauria, Corneria had been attacked. Already, the entire defense fleet had been destroyed. As the Ensthiasmus approached the planet, Fox's eyes widened: Shrapnel surrounded the planet like a grisly second atmosphere, and he could just make out some vaguely lylatian shapes drifting among the rubble. He stopped in his tracks, staring out the window in horror at the wreckage. The Ensthiasmus slowed down so as not to impact the drifting rubble, moving at a snail's pace through the ship graveyard. Fox's eyes widened as a body bounced off the window he was staring through: it was a young, female wolf, her eyes wide in death, tear streaks on her fur. Her hands clutched futilely at her throat, and her body was frozen in a jerked position. Fox shuddered as the body drifted past the window: he had been in many wars, but never had he seen something so horrific. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and saw Krystal standing behind him, her eyes wide in shock, tears rolling down her face.
"Fox," she whispered softly, her voice quavering. "There's nothing. I opened my mind... there's nothing..." she collapsed into Fox, shuddering, panting heavily. When she had seen the wreckage, she had opened her mind to detect any survivors in the area. There were none.
"Shhh, it's alright," Fox whispered soothingly into Krystal's ear, gently rocking her back and forth, comforting her. Just then, Falco and Katt came running down the hall, breaking the moment of silence.
"Hey! You two!" Falco shouted in his loud, obnoxious voice, "C'mon! Slippy and Amanda beat you guys to the hangar! Hurry up or you two lovebirds are gonna miss all the fun!" Fox and Krystal pulled out of their embrace, and Fox had a wide smirk on his face.
"Really now? You know, Falco, it seems Slippy and Amanda beat you to the hangar as well!" Fox grinned as Falco's eyes widened, realizing he had been caught. "Tell me... what exactly were you and Katt doing?" Falco stuttered, and his face flushed deeply. Katt rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, Fox, let's get to the hangar before you melt all of Falco's pride, shall we?" she said, enjoying Falco's predicament as much as Fox and Krystal were. Krystal nodded, and the four took off down the halls of the Ensthiasmus, their feet flying across the smooth floors, a trail of lights appearing in front of them as they ran. Finally they reached the hangar. As they entered, they saw Slippy and Amanda leaning on their ships, Slippy tapping his foot expectantly.
"What took you guys so long?" he said, smirking as Falco blushed. The moment was interrupted when the loudspeakers began to blare.
"Attention Star Fox team! We have entered fighter-craft range of the planet,, but have not yet cleared the wreckage field! Prepare to launch!" The team snapped to their senses, going from loose, young Lylatians to strict military personnel in a split second. Without word, they each jumped gracefully into their cockpits, except for slippy, who climbed in while grumbling a few curses. One by one, they each readied their spacecraft, and the six silvery ships jolted as the launching arms lifted them from the hangar floor. Without further warning, the arms shot forward and launched the ships into space. Almost immediately, they began to dodge and swerve, zipping gracefully around the pieces of wreckage.
"This reminds me of Pigma's base!" shouted Krystal over the intercom as she wrestled with the controls to swerve around the gigantic hull fragments that drifted through space. The team dodged and swerved for what seemed like hours, but finally, they cleared the wreckage field.
"All ships, report!" called Fox, waiting for a response.
"I'm good!" Krystal shouted.
"Clear!" shouted Slippy and Amanda in unison.
"I'm still here!" yelled Katt.
"Come ON! When are we gonna kick some Doppleganger butt?!" shouted Falco impatiently. Fox smirked, and the six ships entered the atmosphere.
"Adjusting G-Diffusers!" Fox yelled thhrough the comm. The wings on his ship expanded before he could even touch the control panel, and Fox marveled at how advanced this enemy was. Suddenly, he saw Corneria. Nothing could have prepared him. Buildings were collapsed in upon themselves, skyscrapers had been leveled to the ground. Plumes of smoke erupted from the wreckage, and huge gashes were torn in the landscape. Holes were drilled straight through skycrapers strong enough to survive an impact with an arwing, and battallions of grey soldiers lined the streets, cutting down everyone in their path. Citizens fled before them: the grey soldiers shot them with no mercy. Fox looked up, and saw one, enormous ship hovering above the city, fighters spewing from it's belly, it's cannons raking the landscape. Almost instinctively, Fox knew that Psion was on board that ship. His eyes narrowed, and his hands tightened on the control stick. The battle for Corneria had begun.
So! It seems that Psion has launched an assault against corneria! The singular power of the Prenuntius is destroying everything in it's path, and hordes of Shi'Krii soldiers march the streets. How will Fox win? Or will he die in a storm of fire and lighting? Only time may tell...
The winds of time blow on, shifting the sands of reality into ever-changing patterns.
- Baeowulf