The Death of James McCloud
Corneria
The bomb had been found underground, just above a sewer pipe. The map they had received was extremely crude and vague, but thankfully, the engineers were able to dig through most of the street marked by the X and retrieve the bomb in time for Beltino to successfully defuse it, and it was now being analyzed by his team of specialists. The civilians, who had been trying all day to evacuate the city, were now backtracking their way home. Fox tried to make his way through the flood of people, some of whom were celebrating out in the streets. He was near his apartment when a soldier stopped him in his tracks.
"General Pepper has ordered me to take you to the base," said the soldier.
"What? What for?" asked Fox, looking confused.
"It's your father... he wants to speak to you..."
Flagship
"We have a connection," said Peppy, handing a PDA to James. "He should be there in a moment." James could barely get a grip of the PDA, so Peppy laid it next to him on his pillow.
"Thank you..." whispered James.
"Let's go."
"What?"
"Come on... we'll give him some privacy," Peppy said to the soldiers, who started to file out of the room. They were halted for a brief moment when ROB stumbled onto the floor; Daltrey picked the robot up and carried it out of the room.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" asked Plant from his bed.
"You're supposed to be sedated right now," said Page, wheeling Plant's bed out of the room.
"We'll be back in a bit, Jimmy..." said Peppy. James slowly nodded back to him, drool running down his mouth. Peppy winced and looked away, shutting the door; it pained him to see James like that.
Cornerian Army Naval Base
Fox could see a visibly shaken General Pepper standing at a console with a few others surrounding him. He was talking into a microphone, getting distorted signals back in response; it sounded like Colonel Banks, he wasn't sure. But whatever Banks was telling Pepper, it definitely wasn't good news. The soldier who escorted him to the base walked up to Pepper, alerting him of Fox's presence. Pepper looked back at him with sad eyes; Fox was startled at this. What was going on?
"What is it, sir?" he asked.
Pepper didn't respond at first. What was he supposed to say to him? That the Lylat System was about to be swarmed by Andross' army? That Andross was about to unleash dozens of experiments to terrorize other planets? That his father was on the verge of death? He sighed, then motioned Fox to come closer. Waving away the others around the console, he moved the microphone closer to him.
"Banks? Fox is here now."
"Alright... I'll get James on the line," Banks replied.
"Your father should be on any second." With that, Pepper patted his shoulder and left him alone at the console. Fox looked at the microphone, waiting for some sort of response from his dad. After waiting for about a minute, he tried speaking.
"...Hello?" No response. "Hello?" he said again.
James heard this and began to wheeze into the PDA. From the other end, Fox could only hear distorted sounds, which he didn't know what to make of. "Dad?"
"Hey... Fox..." James finally managed to say, his voice extremely raspy. He breathed heavily, feeling his lungs beginning to fail him.
"Dad? What's wrong?" asked Fox.
"Fox... before I left... that question..."
"What?"
"What were you... going to... ask me?"
Fox was beginning to worry. Even through the distortion of the weak signal, he could tell his dad was in bad shape. He's never heard him sound so feeble and weak. "I was going ask you... we've never really talked about this..."
"Wha... what was it?"
"I was going to ask... what was mom like?"
That question hit James like a hammer to the stomach. How could they have never talked about this? Eight years Vixy's been gone, and he's barely even mentioned her? What the hell's wrong with me? Did he just not have the time to have a simple conversation about what she was like?
"Your mother... oh..." Where should he start? There was a billion things that he could tell Fox about his mother. "She was... such a... kind woman. She... she rarely ever... got angry." Fox listened as James continued to describe what his mother was like: kind, beautiful, loving, caring, the adjectives went on and on and on. And Fox stayed completely silent, absorbing every word of it. "She... loved you so much..." said James, coughing. "I wish... I wish I could've... taken that bullet... God, I miss her..."
Fox couldn't respond. He was still echoing his dad's words in his head, trying to picture them with the image he has of his mother.
"Dad?"
James didn't answer. Tears started to well up in his eye as he thought about his wife. I'm going to see her again... I'm going to be with her forever... I wish Fox could come along with me... No... I wish we both could come back for him... He inched his hand towards the PDA, trying to bring it closer but instead knocking it off the bed. His heart sank as he heard it shatter onto the floor. No... I wasn't done... On the other line, Fox heard a loud thud, then static.
"Dad?!" he yelled into the microphone. On the console, the words Connection Lost flashed onto the screen. Pepper walked over to the console, seeing this. He sighed and sadly looked down at Fox, whose eyes were still locked on the screen.
James began to moan loudly. Almost on instinct, Peppy burst into the room, a look of alarm on his face. "What is it?" He looked down at the broken PDA on the floor. "I'll get another one..."
But before he could turn around, James grabbed onto his arm and tried to pull him closer. I don't want to be alone... Peppy knelt down beside the bed. James moved his shaking hand towards his face, trying to brush off his sunglasses. His finger managed to get under the bridge, then he pulled them off very awkwardly, causing them fly out of his hand. Before they could hit the floor, Peppy caught them. He looked at James, who looked back with his one eye. Peppy had never seen his fake eye up close before; he's only ever seen it through the dark sun glass lenses or from the side. He could see a small tear crawling down James' left cheek.
"Fox..." he whispered, pointing to Peppy's hand. He stared down at his hand, clutching the sunglasses. He didn't know what to say. He was going to say how everything was going to be alright and how James would be able to give Fox these sunglasses himself soon, but he knew that wasn't true. James knew that as well. Peppy could already see the life fading away from his bloodshot left eye. Even so, James gave him a look of reassurance, a look as if to say that this wasn't the last time they were going to see each other. Looking down at the sunglasses, he began to tear up. A few of the tears dropped onto the lenses; he wiped them off with his sleeve.
"Jimmy... I'll take care of him..." Peppy finally said. "I'll watch over him for you... I promise... He'll be in good hands."
Yes... I know he will... James looked up at him and gave him the best smile he could possibly muster up at that moment. He then mouthed something, which Peppy interpreted as "Good bye," and with one final exhale, his body went limp. So long... my brother...
Peppy looked at the body with disbelief. His stomach began to ache; he felt as if he was about to throw up. His eyes had never been so wet before in his life. More tears began to stream down his face as he embraced James' lifeless body, whimpering on his shoulder.
Cornerian Army Naval Base
General Pepper scanned the beaten, downtrodden soldiers of the 12th Infantry as they stood in formation behind Colonel Banks. The injured were being wheeled out of the flagship on stretchers. "Casualties: 1024," said Banks. "Deaths: 671." Pepper rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb, not knowing how to respond to this. "We couldn't retrieve all of the bodies," added Banks. "And four of the casualties on board died on our way back..."
"How should I tell him?"
"Excuse me, sir?"
"What am I going to say to him?"
Banks paused for a second before realizing who he was talking about. "Is he here, sir?" Pepper nodded, to which Banks sighed.
"I'll tell him, sir," said Peppy, stepping forward.
"You sure?" asked Pepper.
"Yes sir. I have something to give him," he said, holding up James' sunglasses, to which Pepper's heart sank.
After all of the injured and the dead were wheeled out, Pepper sent Peppy along to break the news, but he didn't have to walk far. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Fox standing outside of the runway, his eyes red and puffy. Peppy immediately flashed back to the day of the shootout when Vixy was killed. He shut his eyes and exhaled, then walked up to Fox, who stood completely motionless. Standing a foot away from each other, Peppy held out his hand and opened it up, showing the sunglasses. Fox stared at them for a few seconds, tears running down his face, then slowly reached out for them. Peppy gently placed them onto his palm.
"I'm sorry..."
Without warning, Fox ran towards Peppy and threw his arms around his waist, wailing into his stomach. Peppy had never seen him so broken before. Fox rarely ever cried, even when he was a baby. At the age of two, he stopped a ten-year-old from crying after a false firm alarm in the apartment building. At that same age, he was able to withstand some of the most gruesome images ever captured on film during James' classes without wincing. He took his own father, who was on the verge of breaking down after Vixy's death, into his arms, telling him, "It'll be alright, Dad."
He was always so calm and collected, never letting himself show too much emotion. But this moment right here was the moment where Peppy had seen Fox at his most vulnerable point. And it hurt him. His stomach ached just as much as it did before. Shutting his eyes tightly to stop the tears, he placed his hands on Fox's upper back and on the top of his head, bringing him closer. If he was going to be Fox's guardian, Pepper had to act as if he really were his father. But he knew, just as much as Fox did, that he wasn't here as a replacement for James. He was here because James was no longer here.
General Pepper's Office
Pepper sat at his desk, looking over all of the names of the injured and the dead. He read all 1024 of the names, feeling a surge of pain every time he read one. 1024 casualties... that was more than half the infantry. 671 dead... He repeated that number over and over in his head. 671 dead... He set the list down on his desk, rubbing his forehead. He then remembered what Banks had told him over the line. How could Andross have prepared all of that? How could Pepper have let him prepare all of that?
Why didn't he kill him when he had the chance? He was literally strapped in a chair, sitting right in front of him; he could've easily had him shot. Could that have possibly been the biggest mistake of his life? He was so sure the polluted atmosphere of Venom would kill him. But obviously he was horribly mistaken.
Was he really cut out for this job? Did he deserve to lead these people? Look at where they are and where they are about to be in the next few years because of his decisions! How could he possibly go on like this?
A knock on the door broke him out of his train of thought. "Yes?"
The door opened slightly, and a soldier peaked his head into the office. "The press are outside, sir. They want to hear an official statement from you..."
Good, he thought. He'll walk out there and tell the press exactly what's happening and what their situation will look like in the near future. Then after he apologizes for all of the damage he has done, he'll step down as leader. He'll retire and find another line of work. Surely they can find somebody better than him...
Runway
The sky was darkening and soldiers were hastily finishing up the stage when General Pepper walked outside, escorted by two soldiers. Accompanying him were a sea of photographers and interviewers who immediately started to swarm him with questions and flashes from their cameras. His escorts pointed their guns towards the crowd in order to clear a path and to make them shut up; they knew Pepper wasn't in the mood for this. As he walked up towards the stage, he saw the 12th Infantry soldiers still sitting outside. The press gathered in front of the stage, waiting for Pepper to speak.
Pepper adjusted his microphone, resulting in some slight feedback. He looked upon the crowd, all of whom stared back. Exhaling, he began:
"Five years ago, Andross Oikonny was captured by the late Maj. James McCloud..." The crowd murmured amongst themselves. The late? "...and was exiled to the planet Venom, assumed dead. This proved to be a huge mistake on my part. Yesterday, there was an attack on the Cornerian Defense Force outpost on Fortuna by a small, then-unidentifiable army. Maj. McCloud, Cpt. Pigma Dengar, and Cpt. Peppy Hare of A Company, 12th Infantry were sent to investigate. It was later found out that this army was sent by Oikonny and that a bomb had been planted in downtown Corneria. To find the bomb location, McCloud, Dengar, and Hare flew to Venom.
"I sent the 12th Infantry, led by Col. Howard Banks, as backup. After they had reached the planet, Cpt. Dengar was revealed to be a traitor, and Maj. McCloud and Cpt. Hare were captured and imprisoned. While in prison, the 2000-man 12th Infantry encountered Oikonny's 10,000-man army, resulting in 1024 casualites and 671 deaths. Maj. McCloud and Cpt. Hare escaped prison, and while Cpt. Hare was able to reach his own company, Maj. McCloud stayed behind. He managed to find the bomb location, but he happened upon something else as well...
"He found that Andross has built up an army of 40 million by manipulating the lizards inhabiting the planet and that Oikonny had been experimenting on ways to use pollution to his advantage... the results of which are horrific. The city would have immediately collapsed had the bomb not been found.
"After escaping Oikonny, Maj. McCloud willingly gave up his own oxygen tank to save one of his own soldiers. As a result, he suffered from radiation poisoning, but he still managed to fly his Arwing back to his company and take out the remaining forces..." He paused at this statement, looking over at Peppy, Fox standing next to him. "Without him... we would have all been affected by Oikonny's pollution bomb... and we wouldn't have been made aware of what's to come in the near future..."
Pepper looked down at the crowd, all of whom gaped, their mouths wide open. Many of them looked afraid; they all looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.
"It was my mistake to let Oikonny go like that. I should've known he would've found some way to survive. I take full responsibility, and..." This was it... these were going to be the last words he would say as general. "I..." He tried to say the words, but they wouldn't come out of his mouth. He looked at the 12th Infantry soldiers... the story he had just told suddenly came to him again. Everything those soldiers had gone through... everyone they had lost... they still didn't give up. They stood their ground the entire time. They held onto their honor as Cornerians. They did everything they could to prevent Andross' army from taking that away.
His eyes then shifted back to Fox, who looked back at him with the saddest eyes he's ever seen. His father had given up his life to save another. He was near death, and yet he still flew that Arwing back and took out those tanks. James McCloud deserved more Medal of Honors than anyone he's ever known. He didn't give up... his soldiers didn't give up... and he wasn't going to either.
"I'm going to rectify my mistakes. No matter what's coming our way, I'm going to tell you right now... Corneria will never crumble under the power of Andross Oikonny. He can send everything he's got... we'll retaliate with everything we've got. As James McCloud used to say, 'Never give up... Trust your instincts.' And Corneria will do just that..."
The crowd was completely silent as General Pepper walked off the stage, followed by his escorts. No flashes emitted from their cameras. Not a word was spoken amongst them. Pepper walked towards the 12th Infantry soldiers, all of whom immediately stood up and saluted him. He only shook his head.
"I should be the one saluting all of you right now..." He then turned to Fox, still close to Peppy. Kneeling down to the ground, eye-to-eye with him, Pepper placed his hand on his shoulder. "I just want you to know that your father is an inspiration to me... and to all of us. He'll never be forgotten..."
Fox looked up at him, a slight glimmer in his eye. Then, as Pepper walked away with the 12th Infantry soldiers trailing behind, his mouth formed a small smile. The first smile he's had all day.
