Authors Note: Make way, for I have cometh back from the dead! I feel like I keep apologizing for all these moments of being missing, but hey, I cant sit and write all day now can I? Anyways, I'm here to bring forth the second to last chapter of this story! I wish you all a happy reading! please leave a review with your opinion of this story! I really do want to know what you guys think of the story as a whole!
"Alright everyone, let's show the enemy how it's done; just like the good old days!" Fox shouted over his headset in excitement as he launched his Arwing out into outer space.
"Roger that McCloud. Sure does feel good to be back at it again." Fara replied back as she and the other two former members of Star Fox began to get into formation around their ex-leader.
"Alright, hey McCloud, I bet I can knock out more enemy birds than you!" Miyu shouted with her own excitement.
"You probably will, Miyu. Just remember that you're not the only one wanting to down some planes." Fay said as she was trying her best to maintain her calm nature.
Fox could feel a new sense of adventure enveloping his soul as he and the rest of his squad mates began to arrive closer and closer to Alex's location in the planet. It didn't take them long before they had arrived upon a scene of utter chaos and destruction. All around them, Fox could see piles of twisted metal on fire scattered across a brownish ground. He could see human soldiers shooting towards a white building.
"State your status, your flying in American Airspace. If you don't answer you will be shot down on sight." Fox could hear a gruff voice speaking into his headset.
"Sir this is Fox McCloud, I am the captain of a mercenary team called Star Fox. We're here to help." Fox responded as he waited for the voice over the radio to give him clearance.
"Affirmative, McCloud. Welcome to earth. You may proceed with reinforcements, you should be getting a temporary HUD to show you who are friendly's." The voice responded after hearing a short period of silence.
"Thank you sir, I'm glad we can be of any service to you." Fox responded back as he took a quick moment to roll his shoulders before getting in to the heat of the battle.
"We've got the green light team! Let's bring them hell!" Fox said as he broke out of his delta formation and began to fly towards the nearest target.
"Is there anything you want me to attack specifically or, are we weapons free?" Fara asked as she too broke out of formation.
"Actually yeah, the enemy seems to be using some sort of Aircraft lock missiles coming from outskirts of the city. I'm sure our friends would appreciate it if we took those out for them. I'll send you a Temp-HUD so you can see what I'm talking about." Fox said as he put his Arwing to auto-pilot as he set to work on sending Fara and the rest of his team mates the Temp-HUD he had received moments ago.
"Got it, I'll make quick work of those missile launchers." Fara replied as she went off to go do her assigned task.
"As for everyone else, let's clear the skies a bit." Fox spoke as he instantly found an enemy ship on his sights and began to give chase to them.
"Roger!" Both Miyu and Fay replied as they too began to chase their targets in the air.
(Outer Space)
"Guy's I need a little help here! There's an enemy on my six!" Krystal could here Slippy's trademark panicking come over her headset as she quickly scanned her surroundings to spot the green toads Arwing.
It didn't take her too long to spot it, especially since it was the only Arwing flying madly across the vast emptiness of space with a rather skilled enemy pilot flying behind him.
"Relax Slippy; I'll get him off you. I need you to fly still while I set my sights on him." Krystal replied as she began to give chase to the unsuspecting bogey targeting her friend.
Slippy didn't hesitate to keep his Arwing straight enough for Krystal to gain a good shot of his attacker. Almost instantly, Krystal fired two swift shots at the enemy spacecraft, taking out Slippy's attacker with expert precision.
"Thanks Krystal, I owe you one." Slippy said as he continued on with the fighting.
'That poor frog isn't going to last long if we don't train him to fend for himself…' Krystal said as she placed a hand on her forehead and shook her head slightly.
It wasn't that she didn't believe in Slippy's abilities as a combat fighter, it's just that she had noticed that out of all four of the Star Fox members, Slippy was the one who mainly found himself in trouble. She really did worry about him whenever they would go missions; she worried that one day Slippy wouldn't be able to make it back because of his lack of skill in combat piloting.
She decided to keep her mind off of that subject by returning to the fight at hand. She, as well as all the other reinforcements Fox had requested for, was currently fighting outside of the surprisingly massive V.S.S Oikonny. Every once and a while, Krystal would catch a glimpse of a massive red laser that would fire aimlessly in the direction where there were the most resistance pilots. She was sure that not all of the spacecrafts would get hit, however she knew some would. She could tell because she would see a massive explosion go off.
"Falco, I think we need to do something about that laser." Krystal said as she picked off a few more of Andrews men from the air.
"I think you might be right. Wanna take it out together?" Falco replied back, taking two more enemies on his own as well.
"I'd like that actually. Shall we?" Krystal said as she happily began turning her Arwing over towards the direction of the laser.
"We shall. Let's see which one of us can take that laser out first." Falco smirked as he too began making his way over to the laser.
It didn't take the two skilled pilots to fly across the stray of laser beams and debris that was beginning to race in every direction around them. Once they passed all the laser fire and explosions, Falco and Krystal both took a moment to assess the situation with the giant red laser shooter before diving into any action. Krystal noticed that the shooter was actually very well guarded, having multiple mini laser turrets that would shoot any enemy aircraft that got within a 25 meter distance of it. Turrets aside, Krystal noticed that the laser also had a prominent weak spot. Right near the base of the massive laser, Krystal could see a small panel in which the lasers main power system derived its energy by, a target big enough for one laser shot from either Falco's or her Arwing.
"Hey Falco, feel like getting shot at for a minute, just long enough for me take care of a little problem?" Krystal asked as she maneuvered her Arwing beyond the five meter death zone, eyeing the laser with an eager smile.
"What? Why should I do that? Why don't you go and do it, I have things I have to take care of too." Falco said, as he too had a similar idea in his head for how he was going to down the massive death laser.
"Fine then, you can gladly go first. I would love to see what you had in mind for taking down this laser." Krystal said as she clearly knew the avian wasn't going just let chances to show off go without a fight.
"Watch and learn how it's done sweetheart. I'll have this laser down in an instant!" Falco began boasting as he started making his way towards the massive death laser on the side of the Venomian starship.
Krystal watched as Falco flew his Arwing with expert precision, dodging and weaving the multiple barrage of laser fire from the turrets, as he continued to push forward. She decided to help him out a little by taking out a few stray turrets every now and then, but still it seemed like there were more and more turrets scattered about on the side of the ship. She took a quick moment to look at Falco's position after knocking down a few more turrets. He was almost at his target; she could see that he already had his blasters at full charge, and ready to fire. Krystal was sure he would be able to make it, however there was a key issue she noticed with Falco's current condition. His ship was beginning to take some damage from the constant waves of laser fire. His maneuverability decreased as his blasters concentrated more fire power, making him more of an easy target to hit. She also noticed that his power shield wasn't holding up well either.
"Hey Falco, I know you're trying to impress everyone with your ace pilot skills, but I honestly think you should fall back. Your Arwing is taking some substantial laser damage there." Krystal said as she began to get concerned.
"Nah, she'll live. I just need to get a little further and then I can blast this hunk of junk out of its misery." Falco said, with his signature ignorance on full display.
"I don't think you understand, you need to fall back unless you plan on sitting the rest of this fight out inside the Great Fox with R.O.B." Krystal responded, her tone becoming a little more serious.
She didn't hear a response from Falco, as he continued to press on. She shook her head and let out a frustrated sigh. She banked her Arwing to a hard left and tried to provide Falco with supporting fire as he pushed his Arwing even closer to the massive laser. She managed to knock down five turrets more before she could see a small ball of fire coming from the back of Falco's Arwing.
'Goddamn it! I've lost half power on my engines!" Krystal heard Falco shout in pure frustration as his Arwing began to slow down drastically.
"I told you, bird brain! Get out of the area before your situation gets worse. I don't want to have to clean up scrap metal today!" Krystal said as she let out an 'I told you so' tone out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're always right. Just try to cover me while I fall back ok." Falco let out an annoyed sigh as he began to turn his Arwing away from the barrage of laser fire.
"You know what; maybe I will, maybe I won't." Krystal said as she too began to fall back to avoid ending up like her bird companion.
"You're such a dick, Krys…" Falco muttered his breath as he continued turning his Arwing away from the action.
"Why thank you. Now, why don't you head back over to the Great Fox and have R.O.B diagnose your ship and repair it while I take down this laser the right way." She responded as she escorted Falco out of the zone, before heading back to the fight.
"Whatever sweetheart, don't get ahead of yourself." Falco said as he flew his beaten Arwing back to home base.
Krystal was now alone. She knew exactly how she was going to knock down that laser and she knew her chances for success were high. Before she began her attempt, she checked her computer systems and the status of her energy shield. Everything was still working conditions, despite being hit a few times by minor lasers. Krystal began typing away on her Arwings computer and set her Arwing to stealth mode. She could feel the Arwings wing pull back, allowing it to fly faster as well as bounce back any radar waves that would be shot towards her, as well as activating her ships cloaking device.
"Ok then, let's knock this thing down." Krystal said to herself as she pulled on the throttle of her Arwing and began to fly straight toward the laser.
Just as she had planned, the laser turrets around the massive laser cannon did not detect her Arwing as she flew quickly and stealthily past them. She didn't charge any of her laser cannons; doing so would trigger the light sensors and blow her cover. Instead she primed a smart bomb and kept her sights on the weak point of the massive laser. She kept her hand over the firing button as she crept closer and closer to the cannon. Once she had a clear shot of her target, she pressed the firing button and released the smart bomb towards his target. She watched as the projectile made its mark and detonated on contact with the laser. What occurred next would make the world's craziest pyromaniac yell with glee like a school girl. That one smart bomb created a series of explosions across the massive Venomian warship and renders the ship useless.
"Alright, now that that's taken care of the odds should be in our favor. I hope everything is going just as well on Fox's side." Krystal said to herself as she left the wreckage of the once operational Venomian warship.
(Washington D.C)
"That's another one down! Keep up guys; don't let me do all the work!" Miyu shouted with pure glee as she boasted her latest enemy takedown.
"What do you mean; I've knocked down more enemy birds than you have ever managed. It should be you who should keep up, Miyu!" Fay responded as she too finished knocking another Russian fighter jet down.
Fox could only shake his head and laugh as he continued to provide assistance to the American forces. For a long time now, Fox had never felt this much excitement and entertainment on a mission. It has also been a while since he had flown with his three ex teammates. He was having such a rush on this mission that he had completely lost count of how many enemies he had downed during his time here on the new planet. It wasn't too long before the airspace around the Star Fox team was clear, and it was during this time that Fox decided to look around the surrounding grounds below him. For the most part, Earth really did look a lot like Corneria, the main difference being that Corneria was a much cleaner and healthier planet than Earth, as well as not being torn by an invasion at the moment. The landscape was mostly covered with uncovered dirt but there were still a few trees scattered here and there.
"Fox, there is a transmission trying to reach you. Shall I patch it through sir?" Fox suddenly heard R.O.B.'s voice chime into his headset.
"A transmission, who's it from?" Fox asked as he continued to fly across the battlefield, taking in the sight of soldiers and explosions scattered about the area.
"It's from Sgt. Nick Davis, of the Cornerian Defense Force." R.O.B responded back.
"Patch him through, R.O.B. Thank you for letting me know." Fox replied as he waited for Nick's voice to come through his headset.
"Fox McCloud, can you hear me?" Nick's voice busted through his headset.
"I can hear you loud and clear Sergeant. What can I do for you?" Fox asked as he continued to fly over the earth terrain.
"I need to inform you that we're glad that you're over here helping us out. I still have a few American Air units that need some assistance near the coastline. Could you send out some of your pilots out to assist them?" Nick asked over the headset.
"Sure thing sergeant, I'll send some reinforcements over to assist the Americans. Is there anything else you need from us, sir?" Fox asked Nick to make sure there was nothing else he needed to do.
"Yeah actually there is something else I need you to do. I need someone to recover Alex. His fighter jet was shot down a few moments ago but all forces are occupied at this moment. Can you go and recover him." Nick responded back.
"Roger that, I'll get on that right away." Fox suddenly replied with a concerned voice once he heard the news of Alex's condition.
"Right then Fox, I'll let you go so you can get back to work. We're almost done here so don't falter now." Nick said as he ended the transmission with Fox; leaving him alone to decide who will be doing what task. Fox could feel a pit of despair begin to form in his gut as he began to wonder what Alex's condition was at this very moment. He hoped that Alex was doing ok and not injured at all.
"What do we do next boss? Are we just going to keep flying circles above the enemy like vultures?" Fox suddenly heard Miyu's voice call out to him.
"Do we have any new orders? Is everything ok Fox?" Fara asked as she could feel like there was something bothering Fox.
"I need Fara and Fay to come with me to assist some ally air units near the coastline. Miyu, I'm giving you the task of recovering a V.I.A that was recently shot down. I'll ask R.O.B. to send you his coordinates as soon as possible. Does everyone understand their orders?" Fox asked with the same shift in attitude he had earlier when he spoke with Nick.
"Roger, we're following your lead Fox." Fara said as she and Fay flew up next to Fox's Arwing.
"Ok Miyu, try and get to him as soon as you can." Miyu heard over her headset as she watched the rest of her team fly off to assist the rest of the American forces.
"Don't worry, I'll get this asset of yours taken well care of. Count on that." Miyu responded.
"I know, Let me know once you recover him. Thanks a lot Miyu." Fox said, before leaving Miyu alone to work on her new task.
She noticed that a blinking light started flashing on the computer screen of her Arwing. She quickly pressed on the blinking light to expose a small map of the surrounding airspace. To the left, Miyu could see a little blimp near a patch of building rubble and trees, and another one that was moving south from the location of the first blimp.
"Miss Miyu, have you received the coordinates Fox had asked me to hand you?" Miyu heard a familiar voice speak over her headset.
"Yes indeed R.O.B. I'm turning around to recover the asset now." Miyu responded, as she maneuvered her Arwing into a backwards loop and turned the Arwing into the right direction.
"Excellent then Miss Miyu, I wish you the best of luck on your task." R.O.B said as he signed off from her communications headset, leaving her alone to her concentration.
Miyu flew her Arwing with much haste as she zoomed past multiple explosions from other dogfights. Every once and a while, she would have to deploy a flare or shoot down an enemy targeting her while she made her way over to her objective. It wasn't very long before she finally had arrived over to the area where the map indicated the asset was. She looked down on the ground below and saw that there was a heap of burning metal and smoke rising into the air.
"Fox, I'm at the location of the asset. It looks like this guy had one hell of a plane crash, cuz there's nothing but a heap of burning metal and wood down on the ground." Miyu said as she circled over the area and kept an eye out for any person on the ground.
"Land your Arwing somewhere safe and see if the asset is still inside the plane. If not then scout the area." Miyu heard Fox respond.
"Ok, will do." Miyu responded as she found a well secluded spot to land her Arwing.
She maneuvered herself behind a large pile of rubble and brought her Arwing to a slow vertical descent. She felt the entire canopy of her spacecraft jolt as her Arwing made contact with the rubble covered ground. She made sure to set her cloaking device on to make sure no straggling enemy would stumble across her Arwing to try to steal it, before cracking open the hatch to her Arwing and jumping out to the new world.
She landed on the ground with a soft thump and kept her hand on her blaster incase she encountered any unwanted visitors. She took a quick breath in before setting out towards the downed allied craft. The air stung the inside of her nose as it was filled with ash and dust from all the rubble in the surrounding area. Aside from that, she could smell burning jet fuel coming from the plane crash she was about to approach. Off into the distance, Miyu could hear the sound of constant gunfire and explosions in the air. It truly sounded more menacing and far more dangerous than anything Miyu had heard in her years in service with the Cornerian army or with Star Fox. She kept her guard up as she approached the down aircraft.
It was bigger than her Arwing, as well as sported a bulkier build than any aircraft she had seen before. The nose of plane was dug deeply into the ground, while the rest of the plane rested like a wounded animal on its left side. The metal creaked and groaned as she approached the front of the metallic beast.
With careful and precise steps, Miyu climbed on top of the front of the plane and made her way to the cracked windshield of the pilot's cockpit. There was an eerie feeling that crept down her spine as she got closer and closer to the cockpit. Her footsteps rang quietly as they made contact with the metal panels that composed the aircrafts frame.
Finally, after what seemed like thirty minutes, she made it to the hatch that opened the pilot's cockpit. She could see that the inside of the cockpit was completely grey. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to break the glass open. Miyu used the butt of her blaster as she raised her arms high above her head and slammed them down upon the cracked glass. Her blaster bounced out of her hand as she was only able to leave a fist shaped dent on the glass window. She let out a frustrated sigh as she grabbed her blaster from the floor and raised her arms back into the air, before slamming them back down on the window. This time, she had achieved success as the glass shattered into bits and pieces, scattering everywhere around Miyu. Aside from the glass, there was a column of smoke now rising into the air, thick enough to black out any visibility at all. She waited for the smoke to clear out before entering the cockpit and retrieving "the asset".
"Fox, I've got eyes on the asset. They're currently trapped in their seat." Miyu said as she brought her wrist up to her mouth and spoke into her communicator.
"Great job, get him out of there and see if he's injured or not. Make sure that your area is clear first!" Fox replied as Miyu looked down into the cockpit of the downed plane.
"Roger that." Miyu replied back as she began entering the rather small cockpit.
She had a little trouble getting in at first. Miyu had expected the cockpit to be larger than what it really was. She looked down at the pilot's seat and looked at the slumped metallic being sitting silently on the pilot's chair. Miyu grabbed at his shoulders and tried to pull him up from his seat, but failed as she found that the being was being held down by his seatbelt. Letting out a deep sigh, she repositioned herself so that she could get a better angle on the seatbelt, pulling out a combat knife from her left leg to begin cutting the seatbelt to set him free. It took her a good few minutes until she was able to cut the asset free from his restraints, and once she finished she wiped her brow.
"Let's try this again." Miyu said to herself as she wrapped her arms around the metallic body and began to lift it out from the seat.
This time, Miyu was able to pull the metallic person out from their seat and away from the danger of the flaming jet. She carefully raised the rather heavy being up upon her shoulders and began to descend the beaten up wing of the jet. She struggle a little bit underneath the weight of the being on her shoulders, but she eventually made her back to her Arwing with the asset intact. She let out a tired sigh as she carefully plopped the man down so that his back was resting upon the side of her Arwing. She was startled when she suddenly saw the metallic being begin to stir; coughing as they began getting the proper amount of air they needed.
"Hey, are you ok, looks like you took quite a crash there?" Miyu said as she watched the metallic being bring a hand to its chest and continued its coughing fit.
"Who are you and who sent you?" The metallic being said between its coughing fit, as it began to make its way up on its feet.
"Names Miyu Lynx, I was sent by Fox McCloud to recover you. Are you ok? Do you need any medical attention?" Miyu replied as she held a hand out to help the being to its feet, only to have her hand rejected.
"I'm fine, Thank you for getting me out of my craft. You say Fox McCloud sent you? Like the Captain of the Star Fox Team?" The being said as they stood an astonishing foot taller than Miyu.
"Yup the one and only, you must be pretty close to him if he wanted someone to recover you." Miyu said as she looked at the metallic white being move its joints and limbs around, checking to see if everything was ok. It was at this moment that she noticed the name 'Maj. Simmons' on its chest.
"We've gotten a chance to meet each other in the past. I'm just glad he's here and bringing the cavalry with him. You wouldn't happen to have a weapon on you, Ms. Lynx?" Alex said as he looked at the smaller spotted Lynx in front of him.
"Yes I do, but not for you to use." Miyu said as she instinctively placed her right hand over her blaster.
"It's ok, I understand. If it doesn't bother you, could you please help me gain a weapon then? I sort of have a mission to get done." Alex responded, making sure to not look hostile in any way shape or form.
"I don't know, are you worth my time? For all I know, you might already have a weapon. You seem like a capable guy anyways." Miyu said as she gave the metallic being a questionable look. What she witnessed next was rather unexpected. She watched the being place a hand on its chest the metallic plates begin to move to expose a hairless ape like creature underneath it, giving her a sincere and honest look.
"Trust me; I'm going to need all the help I can get." Alex replied as he looked at Miyu.