The Lylat System, three years after the Lylat Wars: The Scorpion Class Attack Craft roared through space amidst a massive cluster of ships, some heading towards Corneria others leaving.

"What's going on?" Fox asked.

"We're now three years after the Lylat Wars.  The Star Fox team has been captured and now Star Wolf is preparing to lead a massive armada through the warp at Sector X to this planet.  What happens now is that the creatures are torn between leaving the planet or staying and hoping the CDF will protect them," said Andross as he rolled his fighter between a pair of freighters right before they smashed together.

"Should we be flying in on the daylight side?  Won't they detect us and search us?" Fox asked.

"No.  These idiots don't check incoming ships," said Andross.  Fox looked at him wide-eyed.

"You're joking!"

"Nope!" Andross said laughing.  Fox just shook his head.

"I could understand not checking in peacetime for these people, but not during wartime," said Fox.

"Now you know why they fell so easily.  Too trusting," said Andross.  The fighter roared through the atmosphere and approached Corneria City.

"You're not seriously going to fly over the city are you?" asked Fox concerned.

"No," said Andross shaking his head. "That would be too risky.  I'm just going to land near the outskirts and you can walk in on your own."

"Is there anybody here I can meet?" asked Fox.  Andross landed the craft amidst a thicket of trees and flicked on the comm.  He dialed it to a certain channel and several numbers were heard.  Andross then turned on the decoder and it.  A mechanical voice then said: "9:30, Room 217a at the Hyatt Hotel in Corneria City,"

"Well there you go.  Good luck I'll meet you here in a week," said Andross as he prepared to shut the canopy.  The fighter then lifted off and blasted off through a vortex.

"This is it, I'm finally alone in a hostile and unforgiving environment," Fox thought.  He shuddered briefly before heading down towards the city.  He emerged a few minutes later and walked towards the deserted outskirts of the city.  He stood at the threshold of a street that ended just at the beginning of the forest and looked around for any entry gate like back home but found none.  Fox just shook his head disgusted at the lack of security before stepping into Corneria City.  He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on so that his appearance would be slightly less discernable.  He continued walking down the deserted street that had pieces of paper blowing across it.  Fox looked at the broken down buildings with pity as slums didn't exist anywhere in the UVCAF; Andross wouldn't allow it.  Everyone was provided decent housing no matter where they lived so everyone was left happy.  Fox continued walking down the street where he saw faint flickers of movement.  Then just as he turned a corner he found himself surrounded by various members of a gang.  They all stood around him with various weapons at the ready.

"You picked the wrong time to be walking through our neighborhood buddy," said the gang leader.  Fox raised an eyebrow.

"Really?  Is there ever a good time?" he asked.  The gang leader scowled.

"Get him!" he shouted.  The five gang members all rushed at Fox who deftly side stepped all of them before pulling out a pair of blasters and shooting all of them except for the gang leader.  The gang leader angrily charged him with a metal bar, but this time Fox tripped him and pulled out a needle.  Fox stabbed the leader as he fell and immediately all the sensation in his body failed and he fell over paralyzed.  Fox sighed and took off his sunglasses and brushed some of the dirt off of them.

"You, you're Fox McCloud!" the leader stammered while Fox looked at him annoyed. "But, but you wouldn't do something like this!"

"No he wouldn't," Fox agreed, shooting the gang leader through the heart. "But then again I'm not Fox McCloud."

Fox then put his sunglasses on, put his blasters away, and set off towards the downtown area of the city.

Five years prior to the Lylat Wars: Andross's fighter roared out of the vortex into the middle of a battle above Corneria.

"What the hell?" Andross demanded.  He threw his fighter through a couple of twists and turns to avoid the massive battle.  Fighters roared everywhere around him as three primitive Arwings harassed a Dorisby with a hammerhead logo on it.

"Attention Cornerian battlefleet. This is Warlord Hammer and as you know I've come to conquer Corneria so you might as well surrender to my wrath," said the comm. system.  Andross just gave a weird look.  He was about to activate the comm. and ask Hammer what the hell he was doing when he suddenly remembered where he was.  Andross slapped himself in the forehead as a massive EMP wave smashed into one of the Arwings along with his fighter.

"Oh shit," said Andross cursing that he hadn't bothered to turn on his shields to protect him from such an attack.  His ship slowly began plummeting towards the surface as he tried desperately to cold start the engine.  The ship then plunged into the atmosphere as a massive explosion went off above him and the Dorisby chased after the three primitive Arwings towards Meteo.  The Scorpion soared through the daytime sky zooming towards the ground near a local highway.  Andross hit every switch he could in an attempt to delay the inevitable.  Finally just as the collision alarm began blaring, the repulsorlifts finally kicked on and pushed the fighter upward against the flow of gravity.  However, it was too little too late as the ship still slammed into the ground throwing dust everywhere.  A few moments passed before the canopy finally snapped open and Andross stumbled out onto the ground nearby.  The Emperor fell to the ground and winced in pain as he gingerly touched his ribs.

"Yep, definitely a broken rib.  This is going to make things difficult," Andross thought to himself.  Andross hoisted himself up and leaned against the craft breathing heavily.  He then managed to get the first aide kit out of the cockpit and taped up his ribs.  It still hurt him a little bit to walk but at least the pain was bearable.  Andross quickly did a diagnostic report on the fighter and realized that the engines were fried, the repulsors barely operational, structural integrity was down to 10%, and a variety of other things were wrong with the ship.  Luckily for Andross the dimensional shifter still worked, and as he barely managed to push the craft behind a nearby billboard, so did the cloaking device.  Andross flicked the device on and the craft immediately disappeared into its surroundings.  Andross pulled out a radio and tuned it to a specific channel.

"Please let there be spies here, please, please, please," thought the Emperor as static crackled from the radio.  After a few moments he was about to give up hope when finally a tiny voice squeaked over the radio.

"121 Lupinsky Lane, Coastal City, 12:00," said the voice.  Andross breathed a sigh of relief and put the radio away as he stumbled towards the highway.  As he finally did reach the road, he saw a repulsorcraft go zooming by carrying a familiar looking individual, himself.  Andross stumbled out into the highway as he watched the car vanish from site.

"Ah dammit!" he shouted towards the fleeing car.  Andross finally shook his head. "No!  I have other things to attend to, he can wait."

The Emperor then looked at a sign, which read COASTAL CITY, FIFTEEN MILES.  Andross then looked past the sign to see a sparkling metropolis.  Andross sighed as it reminded him of Venomia, but he couldn't dwell on the past so he kept moving.  In the far off distance to his right he saw small specks of light flash right above where Corneria City was supposed to be, but whether or not they were fireworks or laser fire he couldn't tell.  A couple miles later a repulsorcraft stopped right next to him.

"Hey there, need a ride?" a voice asked.  Andross turned to see a young vixen standing near her car.  Andross was about to tell her to go away, but he quickly consulted his watch and realized he probably wouldn't get to Coastal City on time in his weakened condition.

"That depends, where are you going?" asked Andross.

"Coastal City.  Course I'd assume you are too since this highway only goes straight there," said the vixen.  Andross sighed.

"Yes that is where I'm going.  Alright I'll take you up on your offer," said Andross.  Before he got in the car however, Andross quickly checked to make sure his blasters were at the ready if things got bad.  After all, in his reality it was common for people to pick up hitchhikers because since justice was swift, brutal, and harsh there were very few murders so people didn't have to be afraid but the same wasn't true here.  Andross got in the car and it sped off towards the city.

"So what brings you to Coastal City?" the vixen asked.

"Just visiting some friends," said Andross.  The vixen looked at him.

"Not on business?" she asked.  Andross looked at her slightly suspicious.

"What do you mean?" the Emperor asked.

"Well don't take this the wrong way, but you are Andross correct?" asked the vixen.  Andross was about to shoot her until she said. "The one individual who managed to revolutionize space travel correct?"

Andross breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Yeah that was me," he said. "What of it?"

"Well thanks to you we now have better propulsion units, more advanced robotics, and you just invented something called 'the g-diffuser' system I believe.  You're a legend in the scientific community," said the vixen.

"For now at least," Andross thought sighing.

"What?" the vixen asked.  Andross shook his head.

"Nothing.  What brings you to Coastal City?" asked the ape.

"I'm a reporter," said the vixen.

"Oh great," thought Andross.

"…For a tabloid," said the vixen as Andross breathed another sigh of relief.  In his reality the tabloids were used to send secret messages and information in code.

"And that has what to do with Coastal City?" asked Andross.

"Tell me," said the vixen. "Do you believe in the theory of alternate universes?"

"No,"

"Then why did you do research on it a few months ago?" asked the vixen.

"I was bored," said Andross. "And even so why should I discuss these matters with you, I don't even know your name."

"My name's Vicki Lane," said the vixen.

"So what's the importance of the alternate universes anyway?" asked Andross.  Vicki leaned closer as if to share a secret.

"I have reason to believe that there are extra-dimensional beings in Coastal City," she said with all seriousness.  Andross began slowly chuckling then flat out laughing.

"You must be joking!" he said wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"I'm serious!" said Vicki as the car slowed down and moved into the city proper.

"Right, right.  So if they're here, what are they doing…here?" asked the Emperor.

"Vacationing," responded Vicki.  Andross rolled his eyes.

"You mean to tell me that extra-dimensional beings developed this technology just to vacation?  Why would they do that?" he asked incredulously.

"Maybe they're tired of their own star system and want to visit ours for some rest and relaxation," said Vicki.

"Right," Andross huffed. "And I'm Emperor the Lylat System!"

"In another universe you could be!" Vicki exclaimed. "Why are you so much against this idea?"

"I'm just saying that if I were to travel to an alternate universe chances are I'd be regretting it right now," said Andross. "Like I am now."

"Well that's your choice.  Me, I think it'd be fun to go to an alternate dimension," Vicki said.  The car immediately slammed up and down after traveling over some rough terrain.  Andross immediately groaned in pain as he held his ribs.

"Are you okay?" Vicki asked.  Andross waved her off still in pain.

"My car wiped out on the highway thanks to pieces of debris reigning down from above from either the dropships or the battle up above.  Needless to say I'm not feeling 100%," said Andross.

"I should really get you to a hospital," Vicki said.  Andross immediately glared at her.

"No thank you that won't be necessary," said the Emperor.

"But really I should," began Vicki.

"I will be fine.  I'll visit my friends and if they think I should see a doctor I will," said Andross. "Keep driving."

"Alright," said Vicki unconvinced. "Where're you going?"

"Baker Street," said Andross looking at a map.

"That's an odd place to want to be let off.  That's part of the business district," said Vicki.

"I have friends in high places," responded the Emperor.  The hovercar slowed down and pulled to the side of the street.

"Well here we are," said Vicki.  Andross stepped outside and viewed the bustling metropolis around him.

"Thank you," said the Emperor.  Vicki nodded.

"Here's my card.  Call me if you want to talk about the multi-verse," she said.  Andross took the car and closed the door.  He then walked off as the car went off down the road.  After the car had vanished, Andross shook his head in disgust and immediately walked off in a completely different direction.  After a good ten minutes walking he finally reached 121 Lupinsky Lane.  He sighed, opened the door, and stepped in.

"So I was thinking we also set cameras up at intersections A-12 and A-15.  Then we set up mikes at junctions 198 and 199.  That should cover Grid J-25.  Then we put the holographic camera at City Hall and call it a day," said team leader Mike.  There was a large map of Corneria City on the wall with various tacks stuck in it.  The other members of the spy team were writing notes on their notepads.  Mike was just about to discuss evacuation orders when the door opened and Fox McCloud stepped into the room.  The team all looked at him wide-eyed and in shock.

"Hello," said Fox sitting down on an empty chair.  The team still looked at him in shock.

"I see we're planning a reconnaissance map.  Although it looks like you're a little thin in the D-17 area.  I'd suggest putting cameras at blocks 13 and 18 before putting a mike at section 19," said Fox.  The team still looked at him wide-eyed.

"Are you feeling okay Mr. McCloud?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Nothing.  It's just what did Star Wolf do to you?  I wouldn't have expected you to have found us much less help us," said Mike.  Fox looked at him confused before realization dawned on him and he began laughing making the team even more nervous.

"Relax I'm not that Fox McCloud," said Fox pointing proudly to the UVCAF logo emblazoned on the side of his black leather jacket.  The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God I thought I was going crazy for a moment," said second in command Evlyn.

"Relax you're not," said Fox. "At least not yet."

"You know, we all really want to thank you for saving us from Pepper's wrath.  You really received a lot of credit for fending him off," said Mike.  Fox laughed.

"Nice try.  You know all the credit for battles goes straight to the Emperor," said Fox crossing his arms.

"Surely that must make you mad for not receiving any credit," said Mike.  Fox shrugged.

"Not really.  The Emperor doesn't take all the credit; he in turn praises the UVCAF for their hard work and dedication.  Besides, there's no doubt that many of our battles wouldn't even be successes were it not for him," said Fox.

"And just who is this emperor?" asked Mike.  Fox turned to look him in the eye.

"Andross," he responded nonchalantly.  Mike nodded.

"Cool, looks like you are our Fox after all.  I mean I seriously doubt the Fox McCloud of this universe could ever admit to being ruled by Andross no matter what disguise he was in," said Mike.

"Yeah.  Anyway, what's with the observation monitors?" Fox asked pointing to the map.

"This place is about to go to hell in a hand basket.  During this week events will take place that will seal the doom of the Lylat System," said Mike.

"I guess Andross either failed in his mission or his counterpart simply wouldn't listen to him," thought Fox. "What events?"

"First Star Wolf and his army is going to attack Corneria severally damaging the CDF.  Then three days later Mantia is going to show up and cause even greater devastation before being caught in the destruction of Sector Z thus starting the spread of Neutrino and Verteron Particles and the Lylat System is doomed," said Mike.

"So you're putting up cameras to see the destruction first hand.  But why?" asked Fox.

"To see tactics, how people respond to different crises, etc.  It's all for Andross, we certainly don't analyze it," said Mike.

"So I take it you're just standard intel then?" Fox asked.

"Yeah," Mike said nodding.  Fox looked around the room.

"So when are all these events supposed to happen?" asked Fox.  Right when he finished, air raid sirens began blaring.

"Oh…now," said Mike nonchalantly as he looked at his watch.  Fox ran to the nearby window and looked outside as…

…Andross stumbled into the house on Baker Street.  Inside was a team of creatures clustered around a map with some red thumbtacks on it, but mostly with green ones.  The team members looked at him hesitantly.  After a long pause, the team leader snapped to attention.

"18, 75, 12," the team leader, Sheila, said.

"13, 18, 92," responded Andross.  The group looked at each other wide-eyed before running to Andross.

"Emperor are you all right?" said the chorus of voices as they helped Andross lay down on a couch.  The team medic removed Andross jacket and shirt and quickly began examining him.

"Is he going to die?" asked the youngest member of the team.  The medic and Andross looked at him in shock.

"He's not going to die!  He's got a cracked rib!" shouted the doctor.  The doctor lightly probed the area around the bandage.

"I can give you some anesthetics and patch you up as best we can.  But if you want to treat that properly you've got to go back home," said the doctor.

"You don't have a dermal regenerator?" asked Andross.  The doctor shook his head.

"No.  I wasn't planning on something like this happening.  We only just got here three days ago and we were to set up cameras and other recording devices for Mantia's rampage and then bug out.  Besides, dermal regenerators don't repair all the damage and you could be left with pain for the rest of your life.  No Emperor, I would never use one of those on you it could hinder you and I won't take that chance.  We've got to get you back to the jump point and send you home," said the doctor packing up his things.  Andross sat up and quickly laid back down in severe pain.

"I can't leave.  My fighter is still here and I won't leave it.  It's too dangerous not to be in my immediate sight," said Andross.

"No problem.  Just tell us where it is and we'll blow it up for you," said the team leader.

"No!  You can't do that the thing is too valuable," said Andross.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked another member of the team.

"We raid a CDF warehouse or a Space Dynamics Co. warehouse and get the parts to fix my ship," said Andross.  The team looked at each other nervously.

"No offense Emperor," said the team leader finally. "But we're not equipped to raid anything.  We're the only UVCAF personnel in this entire reality at the moment and there are only seven of us.  We're not saying we won't do the mission because we're willing to die for you, it's just that the possibilities for success are very low."

"You're right," said Andross acknowledging the truth. "Damn it!  Now what?  I'm not sacrificing that ship."

"No and that's certainly your right not to do so.  Now the question is how can we get those parts?  Emperor you're the only here with a counterpart in this universe, the only problem is that you work for Space Dynamic Co.'s archrival.  So I guess we'll have to go with a black market dealer," said the team leader.  Andross nodded.

"Yes and I know just who to contact for that.  Power up the comm. system I have a message to transmit to Dan Owen," said Andross.  The team leader moved out to perform his task as Andross put his shirt and jacket back on as he continued to settle back into the couch.

"My plans may be delayed, but soon my ship will be fixed and I will stop Andross from conquering the Lylat System," thought Andross with a smile.

Across town: Vicki was in her cubicle going through information she had gathered on alternate dimensions as the news was on.  She scribbled a few notes here and there and put spots on the map where she would try and search for these tourists.  She put everything into her bag and was about to shut off the news when she did a double take.  As the news reporter was talking, Andross was clearly seen in the background loading things into a hovercar.  Vicki looked at her watch and then at the reporter who was talking from Pacific Pharmaceuticals underground garage in Corneria City.  As she continued to watch, Andross loaded a tank of water with a small Manta Ray into the back seat and roared off out of the garage.

"That's odd.  There's no way he could've gotten back to Corneria City by now!  I really need to take a vacation," she thought.  Nevertheless, since she recorded the news at home, she decided to definitely check out her tape and see whether or not it was Andross.  If it was, she'd sure have some questions to ask him.

"Maybe I'll get my big break after all!" she thought with glee as she left to her car.

"Here' her card, track her for now.  If she suspects something, take her out and do it so it'll appear it was a mistake on her part," said Andross handing the team leader Vicki's card.  The team leader nodded.

"Got it.  And we've got Dan on the line," the leader said.  Andross nodded and walked over to the comm. system.

"Hello Dan, we need to talk," said Andross.