It's been over a year since I started this glorious mess of a fic, hasn't it? My writing has grown and changed so much, and so has this fic. It has parts I love, parts I hate, and some confusing moments in between, but it's almost over. This is the second to last chapter. The epilogue will come next, and after that, who knows? Another Star Fox fic, perhaps.
On a different tangent for a moment, I have an AO3 account now, just so I can post my fics over there as well. It has a few so far, but none that aren't here. I wanted more people to read and critique my writing, that's why I made that account. And speaking of fics, I recently made and posted a Jungle Book fic if any if y'all are interested in reading that.
Thank you all so much for reading this story, and coming along with me on this ride. It's been fun, and it's been hard, but I'm glad I did it. Heat has been a good experience for me, and it's helped me grow. Thank you everyone, and especially DrBananaFace for sticking along and correcting all of my mistakes. I don't know what I'd do without you.
That's enough from me. Enjoy this chapter, and watch for the final one coming later.
-o0o-
Fox paced the floor of the bridge nervously, waiting for Bill to return. He'd told the vulpine over comm that the team took off from the hangar, and he was in his way back a moment ago.
He was afraid that something would go wrong, like it normally did. He had plenty of valid reasons to worry, honestly. He had personal experience with those things, and wanted to fight them, but Bill had refused, stating it wasn't his fight, which was true.
Fay was busy pulling up the feed from each individual fighter and putting them up on the monitors around her. James was seated next to her, putting a headset in so he could speak to the team if necessary.
"They're a lot more prepared than we were, huh?" Wolf asked, snapping Fox from his stupor. He looked up at his lover, and nodded halfheartedly.
"They've been fighting longer than us, Wolf. They didn't have a systemwide panic to deal with," the lupine replied, walking over to the white canine, who had just put Falco's feed on the monitor.
"That'll be over soon enough, provided this goes well," Fay murmured, handing both bigger canines headsets.
As Fox put his on, he looked over and saw Bill walking back in the bridge from the elevator. The dog grinned cockily as he ambled over to the group.
"Let's get ready to end this," Bill stated, Fay handing him a headset as well.
"Sit down at any of these five monitors, and be ready to help out. The group is nearing the entrance now, and they're going to need as much help as they can get," Fay stated, pointing to the three other vacant spots on the other side of the console.
The vulpine nodded, taking the middle seat of the three. He saw that he had Panther's point of view, judging by the name of the pilot in the top right corner of the screen. Wolf sat on one side of him, and Bill the other. Fox looked over and saw that Bill had Fara, and the lupine with the other Wolf. He chuckled slightly.
"This feels so weird," Wolf murmured from his side, shaking his head. Certainly an odd coincidence, that was.
Fox wordlessly shrugged, before turning back to his console. He couldn't see any other ships, but that was due to the camo on them. The opening in the planet was right in front of them.
"Alright, Panther. I know this will be rather complicated from your end, but is there a way to do Morse code from your end, or not?" The vulpine asked after he turned on his headset. He mentally facepalmed at stupid that question was to ask.
The vulpine caught tappingcoming from the other end. 'Yes, not much time for it,' Fox could discern.
"Got it. I suppose, just grunt or something in acknowledgment of my words?" The vulpine asked. He heard a grunt, and smiled.
"Listen up! Everybody on a public channel! We need to communicate with each other here!" Fay exclaimed from her seat. Fox nodded, and switched over accordingly.
"We got everyone here?" Bill asked after Fox switched, his voice both on the headset and next to him. It was an odd sound.
"Yeah, we do. Everyone is here," Falco stated, his voice sounding crackly from soem sort of slight interference.
"Dropping into the opening now, everyone on your guard. Also, drop your cloaking, as it won't be any use for us in these narrow passages. Don't want any unnecessary wrecks," Fara stated calmly. The vulpine watched as a few Wolfens came into view a moment later.
"You have company approaching," Fay said suddenly. Fox peered at his monitor, and sure enough, aparoids were starting to rush at the group of fighters.
"Alright Fox, Wolf, we're going to need your help to get to the core of this thing. Where should we be headed?" The other Wolf questioned.
"If a path leads straight down, be sure to follow it. The aparoids will try to bar the path, but whatever you do, don't take a side path unless you absolutely have to," Fox's Wolf relayed.
"Try to stick together, as well. Those paths are hard to map, so if you lose the team, you're probably not going to see them again until you reach the core of the place," Fox elaborated.
"I read you. We need to be careful, and stick together. No taking unnecessary risks," Miyu replied.
"Contact! They're on us!" Fara shouted suddenly, startling Fox.
The vulpine watched as the aparoid fighters came into firing range, and the purple and black tunnel lit up in plasma fire.
"Don't stop pushing through, no matter what! If you stop, you'll die!" Fox exclaimed, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He wished he could do something to help them, but he could only watch the fighting.
The vulpine watched apprehensively as Panther began firing at the fighters. There were so many in that small corridor, which was about wide enough to fit seven Arwings side by side together. The machines seemed to pour out of cracks in the walls of the tunnel like blood cells through a vein. Fox bit his lip as the mute feline shot blast after blast into the swarm, narrowly dodging the enemy fire.
"Watch out, there's a barrier being put up in the tunnel ahead of you! You'll have to find another way around it!" James exclaimed from his seat.
Fox peered close at the feed. Sure enough, he could see a blue barrier beginning to appear across the area of the tunnel. The vulpine then glanced frantically around the tunnel as the fighters sped through it, looking for a good opening to fit through.
"Dudes, there's one below you, coming up right ahead. It's the only one I've got, so it'd be a good idea to take it," Bill pointed out after a moment.
"I see it," Falco stated calmly. Fox watched as Panther and the rest of the crew made a sharp descent, narrowly missing a group of aparoids that had started charging for them.
"So… how are we going to destroy that queen down there?" Miyu questioned as the group started down the side path, this one filled with moving barriers around the walls of the tunnel.
"I never mentioned that, did I, dudes?" Bill asked, sighing. "Each fighter is equipped with a missile containing a 'kill switch' for the aparoids. Just fire it at the queen when you see an opening, and it'll kill her, and by a chain reaction, all of the aparoids," the canine explained.
"That's awfully convenient. Where'd you get it from?" The other Wolf wondered. The vulpine watched from Panther's feed as he destroyed a group of machines blocking their path with a smart bomb.
"Pepper had a crew working on it. They'd just finished development of a few prototypes on Venom when we came to get them, dude," Bill answered.
The lupine grunted from the other side. A tense silence settled upon the group once more as the crew on the Lone Wolf watched the others fight through wave after wave of aparoids. Thankfully, none of them had taken much damage so far, but Fox knew they hadn't reached their destination yet.
"Behind us! There's a huge group of them back there!" Fara called out.
"Another group from the front, as well as a barrier! They're trying to cut us off!" Falco exclaimed, frustration laden in his voice.
"How are we supposed to make it out of this one? We can't fight the full brunt of the aparoids head on!" Miyu shouted.
Fox hummed, watching the feed. He could see a few branching paths, and suddenly, he had a sense of deja vu. This same situation had presented itself during his time, and the Star Wolf team had to split off so Fox could get through. The vulpine closed his eyes, knowing they'd have to do the same thing now.
"As much as I don't like this, you're going to have to split up if you want this to be easier," Fox murmured, clenching his teeth.
"Are there any other options on the table?" The other Wolf asked in frustration.
"Other than letting yourself get massacred by the aparoids? Unfortunately, no. You'll have to split up if you want to succeed in this," the vulpine replied with a sigh.
Falco grunted in understanding. "I don't think we have any other choice. Panther, Fara, split off with me. Wolf, Miyu, you go another way," he ordered.
"Understood. Stay in contact, and don't die, please," Miyu remarked, confidence laden in her voice. Fox admired that about her, but he was afraid it would get her killed one day.
Everyone murmured their understanding, and Fox watched as the group split off, Wolf and Miyu going one way, the others going another. The path Panther and the others had taken seemed to be less crowded with aparoids, but it was incredibly narrow. The vulpine watched as the purple tunnel changed colors around them, from purple to blue and red, and back again. It would've been beautiful, had their origin not been aparoid.
"Do you have any way of knowing how deep into the planet we are?" Fara questioned after a few moments of silence.
"No, unfortunately. What I do know is that you're still headed towards the center of the planet, since I haven't seen the same path twice. Just keep going," Fox replied.
"Got it," she stated briskly.
The vulpine leaned over and looked at Wolf's monitor, and saw that Wolf and Miyu had a few aparoids after them, but not nearly as many as he's originally thought. The creatures were being shot down with ease.
"Where are they all at? They just… disappeared," Fox muttered in confusion.
"Maybe they're retreating to their queen to protect her. You guys could be getting close to the center by now," James spoke up, scratching his undamaged ear in thought.
"Dude, you could be spot on with that theory," Bill murmured, seeming a little spaced out in thought.
Fox said nothing, turning back to the monitor. He watched Panther and the other two maneuvered through the thin tunnel, which seemed to be getting smaller the further they went along. Because of the lack of enemies, the three had sped up quite a bit, and had gained plenty of distance.
"Keep your guard up. Anything could happen at the end of this tunnel," Fox murmured, his heart rate speeding up. A thick layer of tension had established itself upon the group in the Lone Wolf by this point.
"If the tunnel doesn't get any smaller, that is," Falco stated uneasily. The tunnel was so thin that the fighters had to fly in a line just to get through.
The complete lack of aparoids was very unnerving, however. James was probably correct about his theory, as he usually had good sense, at least from what the younger vulpine learned from Peppy during the Lylat Wars.
"The tunnel widens out up ahead. I think we're going into something really big," Fara murmured after a moment.
Fox squinted at the monitor, and sure enough, he saw that the tunnel was widening out. At least the crew wouldn't die by becoming squished in a pipe.
"Big enough to be the queen's chamber?" Falco wondered, his voice soft, as if he was going to awaken whatever lay ahead of them.
"Perhaps. Be very careful up ahead, please, dudes," Bill stated, his voice also soft.
The vulpine watched in tense silence as the three went through the tunnel. He noticed a very large opening up ahead, but he couldn't see anything due to a bright light emanating from the other side. He supposed they wouldn't see anything until they passed through.
"How are the other two doing?" Fox asked Wolf, glancing over at his lover.
"Fine, oddly enough. They've just been going through a maze of tunnels, but I'm thinking that they're close to the same area where your group is. All of these paths might just lead to the same spot," the lupine theorized.
"I guess we'll just have to see," Fox replied, grasping Wolf's hand tightly as he looked back at his monitor.
"We're heading through… now," Falco stated as the three fighters crossed over into the light. The vulpine started to hold his breath in apprehension as his eyes, as well as the feed adjusted to the bright light.
"Whoa," Fara breathed, her voice quiet.
Fox blinked as the feed adjusted. After a few seconds, he could see normally once more.
And what he saw terrified him, wrenching old memories back to the surface of his mind.
It was the same chamber as the one in his universe, down to every single detail. The aparoid queen was in the middle, as hauntingly beautiful as ever. The vulpine froze, watching as the three fighters edged closer to the queen.
Wolf cleared his throat, squeezing Fox's hand tighter. That snapped Fox from his stupor, and he blinked again.
"Guys… I need you to be very careful. It's going to try and screw with your mind. It'll copy people's voices, like people you care about. Don't under any circumstances listen to it, okay?" Fox asked, his eyes focused on the unnmoving queen.
"I copy. She's starting to move," Falco murmured.
"Listen, be on your guard, and look for an opening whenever you can. She's tough, and her guard will make it much, much worse," Wolf stated, his voice calm.
As if on cue, aparoids began rushing out from every corner of the big chamber, ready to kill the intruders. Fox bit his claws in tension as the three fighters began attacking the aparoids.
"The wings, dudes! Its wings look like a weak point to hit!" Bill exclaimed, referring to the green appendages on the queen's back.
"Got it. I suppose we'll have to damage her before we can shoot the virus in it?" Fara questioned as she shot through a cloud of machines.
"Yeah, You'll have to. As soon as you find a moment when you can fire a missile with the virus, do it. For now, smart bombs could damage the queen quite a bit," Fox explained.
Panther grunted, turning towards the queen and firing a smart bomb at one of the six wings on its back, destroying it. The queen let out a screech of pain, piercing through Fox's eardrums and causing him to grunt in pain.
A moment later, it screeched again, but this time the sound lasted longer, and the tone was lower. Fox cocked his head in confusion, looking around at the other members on the bridge to see if anyone knew what was going on. Fay just shrugged in dismissal, and Bill was too focused on his feed to say anything.
It was James that sparked Fox's concern, however.
The younger vulpine watched as his father cocked his head, eyes glazing over. A pang of primal fear stabbed Fox in the gut as he watched his father rise from the chair and turn to look directly at him.
"Dad? Are you okay?" The vulpine questioned, causing the other three to focus on the unfolding scene.
James still stood there, staring. Something about him suddenly didn't feel… organic. The older vulpine took a step back, but it looked too smooth. Like something was trying to mimic an organic being's steps.
"Something's not right with him, Fox," Wolf muttered, motioning for Fay to back away from James. She complied, moving to where the other three stood.
"That screech… it did something to him, didn't it, dudes?" Bill asked, his voice laden with fear.
"I… I'm not-" Fox was cut off when James vaulted straight over the console that acted as a buffer and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air eith inhuman strength.
"What… what the fuck?" Fox choked out, grasping at his father's arms. They felt too solid to be muscle.
The vulpine coughed, trying to get air, but he couldn't. He tried kicking at James, but couldn't. Bill and Wolf had started to pry the older vulpine off of him, kicking and punching, and that seemed to distract him, causing him to drop Fox to the floor, sputtering and hacking.
"Come on, I've got you. It's okay," Wolf murmured, helping the coughing Fox up. He saw Bill trying to lead his father off away from them.
"He… he's a sleeper agent! That's what the scream from the queen was about!" Fay exclaimed. Fox's eyes widened, the realization dawning on him.
"That whole thing on Papetoon... It was a trick to fool me! My father never was alive..." The vulpine trailed off, the truth punching him in the gut.
"Dudes, freaking help me!" Bill exclaimed just before he was kicked in the knee. He fell to the ground with a yelp of pain, clutching at the injured appendage.
Wolf snapped into action, charging at James. He ran and kicked the older vulpine in the back of the knee, but it didn't buckle. James merely shifted his gaze to stare at the lupine, his eyes showing no emotion.
Without warning, James threw a punch at Wolf's face, but he ducked just in time for it to miss. The lupine then put a hand on the vulpine's chest, crouching and throwing him on to the ground.
Fox watched the event unfold, utterly terrified. He was frozen, and he didn't know what to do. His father was a sleeper agent for the aparoids, and was trying to murder everyone. How was he supposed to react in this kind of situation?
"Fox! Come on, you've got to help them!" Fay shouted, snapping the vulpine from his stupor. His reflexes kicked in, and he ran at James with intent to get him off of Wolf.
Fox acted purely on instinct, his hesitation put in the back of his head for the moment. He slugged James across the face just before he went to shove Wolf, and it connected, causing the older vulpine to grunt. So he could feel pain after all.
It seemed, however, that he only made James more angry. The older vulpine turned and aimed a roundhouse kick to Fox's chest, and it was such a strong kick that the younger vulpine was thrown back onto the floor a few feet away, the breath knocked out of him.
Fox groaned, his head spinning from the sudden movement and his eyesight blurry, looking about the place. He could vaguely make out Wolf and Bill trying to fight James, but he also saw that his pistol had loosed itself from it's holster on his leg and was laying on the floor.
Fox's vision cleared up shortly after, and he saw James starting to strangle his lover. That caused something in the vulpine to shatter apart.
The vulpine grabbed the gun, realizing that there was only one way to stop this. Whatever was trying to murder Wolf, whether it be his father, or something else, it didn't matter. It was a threat to his only anchor to reality; the only man he loved.
Fox stood up shakily, the force of the impact still affecting him. He aimed the pistol at James's head, thankful that Bill was keeping him in place with a chokehold for the moment. The vulpine took a breath, carefully adjusting his aim.
And then he fired.
James crumpled to the floor, a bullet wound going straight through the side of his head.
He was dead.
Fox dropped the gun, shock setting in as he realized what he'd just done. He set a hand on his head, his mind not sure how to process what he'd just done.
"I… He's… dead," the vulpine whispered, backing away from the body, going until he hit a wall. Fox slid down into a sitting position, his arms and legs feeling limp.
"I murdered my father," Fox murmured once more, staring at the body across the bridge. Tears started to well up in his intact eye.
Wolf ran over to the vulpine, falling on his knees in front of him and hugging Fox close. The lupine murmured sweet nothings in his ear as he stroked his head softly. The gravity of what the vulpine had done caused him to break down in a sobbing mess, clutching desperately at Wolf for physical contact.
"I… I killed him!" Fox choked out, crying into his lover's shoulder. Wolf clutched at him tightly, rocking him back and forth.
"We didn't know what he was, Fox. That wasn't your dad anymore, okay? You did the right thing. You did the right thing," the lupine murmured comfortingly, stroking Fox's head fur as he spoke.
"I thought he'd be back for good! He was in my life again! We could've taken him home with us!" The vulpine sobbed, leaning back to look at the lupine.
Wolf leaned in, touching their foreheads together. "Its over, Fox. Listen to me, you did what you had to so you could save us all. You did it yourself. It's done," he whispered, using a hand to wipe away Fox's tears.
The vulpine shakily grabbed Wolf's hand, his tears drying. "I- I couldn't let him kill you. I didn't want to lose you, like you almost lost me. I love you too much to imagine that happening," he murmured, trying to smile and failing miserably.
"I know, Fox. It's okay, it's over," the lupine whispered, kissing his lover for a moment, making sure they were both fine and alive.
"It's over," Fox repeated when they pulled apart, closing his eyes. He focused on Wolf's heartbeat, trying to stay calm.
It was over.
-o0o-
To be concluded.