Chapter 11! THIS IS NOT A JOKE!

McCloud Residence – 9:00AM

Fox knocked briskly on Krystal's door. "Krystal? I was about to go for a run, did you want to tag along?" After a brief silence, Fox knocked again. "Krystal?" He checked his watch, it was just barely after nine in the morning, surely Krystal was awake by now. He pressed his hand against the scanner, openning the door. "Krys?" He saw her sitting cross legged in the middle of her room, her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly. He remembered that she meditated once a week and nearly smacked himself on the head. He turned to leave, not wanting to interrupt her concentration.

"Don't go." In an instant Fox poked his head back into her room.

"I hope I didn't disturb you."

Krystal didn't move but continued to speak. "Your presence is soothing." She opened her eyes and looked over at Fox with a smile. "I would love to come with you by the way. But don't I open today?"

Fox smiled and walked over to her, kneeling to be at eye level. "Today SFP is closed. It's a military holiday in honour of those who severed during the Lylat war."

Krystal giggled. "And you didn't opt to sleep in?"

"I'm just used to being up at this time. Besides I did sleep in for a half hour at least!" Fox stood up. "I'll grab us some water." Fox helped Krystal to her feet before giving her a quick kiss and leaving her room.

As he reached the landing he stopped. He had forgotten to check the weather before asking Krystal to come with him on his run. Not wanting to waste time, he opened the front door and looked outside. The site of the overhanging clouds caused him to curse under his breath. It looked like it could start raining at any second. "Good thing we have a few exercise bikes kicking around. I hope they still work." Just as he was beginning to close the door he saw a car park beside his SUV. He chanced a step outside to get a better look at the car. "Peppy?"

The long white ears gave him away as he got out of his car. "Top of the morning to you Fox. I figured the team should be together today, so I made arrangements to be here."

Fox laughed. "They would have to drag you to work today huh?" As Peppy walked passed him Fox patted him softly on the back and shut the door behind him. "Not too much on the agenda for today Pep."

"I've got something I'd quite like the team to see." Peppy smirked. "I'll wait until everyone is present, I'll be in the common room until then."

Fox gave Peppy a quizzical look as he walked away. "Hey Fox. What's up I thought you were grabbing water for us." Fox turned to see Krystal dressed for a run. Before he could speak she had read his thoughts and gasped. "Peppy's here? We're doing something as a team?"

Fox felt Krystal hug him and returned it. "It's more than likely Star Fox related. But Peppy wouldn't go into detail. Did you still want to go for a run? Or did you want to, for lack of a better term, rain check that?"

"We shouldn't you know, but since today is a holiday I think we can make an exception. Besides I want to know what Peppy has planned." Krystal grabbed Fox's hand and began to lead him to the common room. "From what I can sense Falco and Slippy are awake, just haven't left their rooms yet."

"Once they know Peppy is here they'll come running. Speaking of which." Fox pressed a few buttons on his wrist comm. "Slip, Falco this is Fox. Peppy's here for a team meeting, report to the common room asap."

Saragasso Space Station – 9:45 AM

Wolf drummed his fingers against the metal top to his desk. A few of his men stood at attention beside the only door to his office. Today was supposed to be the day that Andross took over Lylat and left the planets and sectors he promised to Star Wolf. But like most of that mad scientist's family, things didn't go to plan.

Did that stop Wolf from actually giving his men a day off? No. Today should have been the day he fought against Fox once more to prove that he was the better leader, and the better pilot. But with two huge failures under his command, Wolf wasn't feeling like fighting that much. Instead he sat at his desk, counting down the seconds until Oikonny contacted him again. He needed to see the ape, just to remind himself that at least he wasn't him.

"Wolf this is Andrew. Come in."

Wolf looked up at the hologram of Oikonny and grinned. "Ah good, someone in that's in a worse mood than I am."

"I'll ignore that comment." Oikonny said before clearing his throat. "Today marks the ninth anniversary of the Lylat Wars. It was on this day that my uncle, the Great Emperor Andross, was struck down by Fox McCloud."

"Yes, and let's no forget what he did a few months ago. Fox and his team killed him again. Is he dead for good this time or what?" Wolf chuckled, causing Oikonny to burn with rage.

"He employed your sorry hide when you had nothing but a name Wolf. Do you remember when saying O'Donnell didn't even scare a child? Or speaking about Star Wolf only got you laughed at? I can make that happen again Wolf, don't test me."

"Watch yourself ape." Wolf spat. "I am in no mood for your bullshit."

Oikonny growled. "Maybe I should make a pit stop there before I head to Corneria to deal with Fox McCloud! Would you want that?"

Wolf pulled a blaster out of his desk and pointed it at Oikonny. It happened quicker than the monkey could blink. "You would have been dead right then and there had you been here. Would you want that?"

Oikonny stumbled over his words, causing Wolf to smirk. "You still have your role to play in all this O'Donnell. I will take into account that you served my uncle twice and give you another chance."

"Forget it. Fox is onto us. That bounty hunter of yours has only put him on edge even more. I know a leader thinks Oikonny, and I'm telling you that if you push this all of Corneria will be after you." Wolf knew by the look in the ape's face that it didn't change his mind, but allowed him to speak.

"We match Corneria one to one in military force. With Star Wolf we're an unstoppable force!" Oikonny cackled gleefully.

"Without us you're nothing." Wolf rested his hands on the desk. "You've been ignoring our scouts reports as normal. Corneria is being tipped off that you're mounting an attack. They've got the best minds in the system working on upgrades you wont discover until it's launched at the hull of your ship. And I've got the specs of your fleet versus their fleet and you are not going to survive. Without Star Wolf you literally are flying to your death. With Star Fox against you, what hope do you have?"

Oikonny scoffed. "We've been through some tough times together Wolf. But I never thought I'd see the day you admitted defeat before you've entered the battle ground."

"You always were a fool Andrew, I just didn't know you had a death wish. Send whatever message you want with your little plan. Star Wolf will no longer have any part in it." Wolf cut the link before Oikonny could speak. "You." He pointed at the nearest thug.

"Sir!"

"Tell Panther and Leon that we are no longer in contract with Oikonny. And you." Wolf pointed at the second thug. "Go do something useful. I couldn't honestly give a hell about what it is that you do."

"Yes sir!"

As they left Wolf began drumming his fingers against his desk once again.

McCloud Residence – 10:00AM

"And that about brings you guys up to speed on current military events. As always Falco and Fox are invited to be instructors at base. Slippy, well you do everything anyway so that's nothing new." Peppy chuckled before glancing over at Krystal. "Our newest member has yet to prove herself, but I know she will soon. Which brings me to why I'm here in the first place."

"This had better be good." Falco yawned. "Cause this isn't worth being woken up early yet."

"Well Falco, I'm sure what I'm about to say will change your mind. General Pepper has told me he want some friendly competition within his squadrons to encourage constant improvement. Much like you and Fox do already. So, I thought why not do something similar, but with everyone involved. Krystal, this is a chance to show us how far you've come along." Peppy stood. "If you'll follow me to the simulator room." Everyone else stood up and followed Peppy out of the room. "Now, General Pepper has given the Star Fox team a specifically designed test track. This track brings in a new style of what you guys have been running. For example, in your current track, if you hit a teammate's ship you will do no damage to them. But in this track, you hit them enough and game over for them. This will help sharpen your reflexes, among other things. Collision has also been turn on, so if your left wing is hit by another ship, or blasted off your controls will react. You will have to compensate for this until you find a way to fix your ship."

"No sweat, just like old times." Falco grinned. "So why have this game when we all know who is going to win."

"I'm not finished Falco." Peppy chuckled. "Scores are based off of how many ships you can hit versus last known skill level. Since yours is quite high Falco your test will be harder. This test is mainly used for self improvement, and will be available to the team until we see fit to remove it from the simulators memory."

"I remember working out the code for this test." Slippy said. "I think it has an active difficulty installed in case it's too hard or too easy. It'll still test our limits, but it's a fun test!"

Krystal sighed. Hearing that put her mind at ease a bit. She had seen what Fox and Falco tested for fun and she was certain they were insane for trying it. "So how is this a competition between us?"

"In the spirit of competition, the team member who posts the highest improvement score will win. As for what the prize is... how about winner chooses. Just be reasonable."

"How about this, winner gets to have the other three teammates do something for them." Falco folded his arms across his chest. "Seeing as how I'm going to win away, I'll starting working on the list now."

"Everyone agree?" Peppy looked around. A unanimous yes came from everyone. "Good. Remember this is meant as a self improvement track. You'll have five attempts to post the best score. I'll keep track of the results as they come up."

Fox squeezed Krystal's hand before moving towards the simulator with his name over it. Falco and Slippy had already turned on their machines and were loading the new track. Krystal sat down in her sim, buckling up before turning it on. "Hey Krystal." She looked over to see Peppy standing beside the machine. "I'm sorry to have put you on the spot downstairs. But I needed to make it sound like this test was mainly for you. It's actually going to be a lot harder for them to post and improvement over yours since you have a lower score than them right now. However you've improved so much over these months, one of the fastest learners I've seen in a while. You almost learned quicker than Fox could teach you."

Krystal blushed slightly. "Thanks Peppy. That means a lot coming from you."

"I mean it Krystal. Have fun today, but try and keep in mind what these three guys could do for you." Peppy winked at her before moving back to the center console. "Alright, everyone is ready. Remember the best improvement to your personal score will win. Good luck."

-2 hours later-

"Falco... Give it up. You aren't going to beat her score." Fox stood beside the avian's machine. Watching as he teared through countless waves of enemies. "I'm serious man, she's still got like two hundred more hits than you."

"I got this." Falco waved Fox off just before his simulated Arwing took another hit and began to loose power. "How the hell did he hit my fucking power supply? No one is that precise."

"It's a program Falco." Slippy laughed. "A computer can make any shot at anytime. You're just at that level of skill I guess."

Falco fought against the controls until his screen went dark. He looked up at his final score, which was still a bit of from Krystal's posted improvement. "But how? We've been training her for months and she's improved that much? She's crazy!"

"Let's look at who's training her. We're the best pilots in the galaxy, and she's an amazingly quick study." Fox smiled at Krystal. "Still, that improvement is out of this world."

Slippy shrugged. "For how long she's been flying and the outcome of her test, it's just unthinkable. You must have had some hidden talent for this sort of thing or something. I'm just glad you're on our side."

Krystal looked over at Peppy and smiled before looking back at her other teammates. "So what shall I have you guys do?" She folded her arms across her chest, looking at each of them in turn. "Slippy, I don't think it would be too much to ask for you to make a compartment on my flight suit for my staff."

"I'll get to work on it as soon as we're done here." Slippy grinned. "And here I thought you'd get me to do something girly."

Krystal giggled. "I'd never do something like that. Now, Falco. I want you to cook all of us dinner tonight. Home cooked, take out, store bought whatever." Falco groaned and nodded, muttering something about the contest being stupid. "Now Fox. My dear Fox. What shall I do with you?" Fox smiled, knowing that whatever she asked of him he'd do it without a second thought. "Whatever I ask huh?" Fox normally would have blushed at a comment like that, but with Krystal he didn't, his smile only widened. "You'll have to come give my feet a massage later tonight."

"Oh great, I'm sure both of you will enjoy that." Falco mused. "Jeez, Fox might have well won too."

Peppy gathered up the results and joined the group. "I'll forward these results to General Pepper so he can sign off on them. You all have made improvements, and I know you will continue to do so. Like I said this course is installed into your simulators and can be loaded at anytime."

"You're staying for supper right? Krystal asked, causing the other Star Fox members to look at Peppy.

"There is no place I'd rather be, than with my team." Peppy nodded. "I'll be gone for an hour while I get these to Pepper." Peppy looked up at Fox with a concerned expression on his face. "Should be back soon after that."

Fox nodded. "We'll see you then." Peppy gave them a wave before leaving the room. The rest of the team followed suit, making their way to their respective rooms.

Slippy went to start working on his part of Krystal's prize. While Falco got ready to run into town to pick something out for supper. Krystal decided to take advantage of a day off and went back to meditating. Fox sat at his desk, checking his laptop. There was something about the way Peppy looked at him that made an ominous feeling run down his spine. He didn't want to show it in front of Krystal. She didn't need to know of the war basically beating on their doorstep. Panther had told them that Oikonny had intentions of attacking, but what the rest of the team minus Peppy and himself didn't know was that Oikonny would be attacking soon. And if he could protect her from that truth for a while longer than he would.

'She's a Cerinian princess. She's likely seen her fair share of combat. But is she ready for a real dogfight?' Fox sighed and shook his head. 'This kind of thinking is what Peppy warned me about. She'd be dead before I'd have a chance to ask.' He had to think positively. 'She's a great pilot, and she's getting better. I shouldn't worry too much about her.' He heard a knock at his door. "Come in." He turned to see Krystal walking into his room. "Hey beautiful."

"I sensed your thoughts Fox. You shouldn't worry about me. We've discussed what could happen already. I understand that you worry, and you always will. But I've had the best teachers." She moved to sit on her bed, patting a spot beside her. Fox quickly moved to the spot, wrapping his arms around her as she leaned into him.

"I know, I know. I just can't help myself. I got you into this, if anything happened..."

"Shhhh." Krystal put a finger to his lips before capturing them with her own. "You are protective Fox, it's in your nature. If anything does happen I know you'll be there to save the day. I love you Fox."

Fox squeezed her a bit tighter. "I love you too Krys."

The rest of the night had gone quite well. Falco managed to not burn the house down, Slippy had the beginnings of his part of Krystal's prize starting to take shape. Even Peppy had gone out of his way to get something for Krystal. He told her it was in the Great Fox waiting for her. Fox turned out to be quite the masseuse.

Today was a good day for Star Fox, and they all agreed that a day off was needed. Just before Peppy left they had a minute of silence for the soldiers that had fallen defending Lylat and her people.

"We will remember them." Peppy said.

"We will remember them."

Back from hiatus. It's been too long.

H-T