Immortal Star Fox
Chapter XXI
It felt like the longest nine minutes of Fox's life.
Many different scenarios began to play out in his mind.
How were the able to break through with constant surveillance on Sauria? What did Wolf mean when he said someone was working with Oikonny? Was it someone right under their noses, or was it some obscure or disgruntled employee who wanted to get back, but not to this extent.
Either way, they had to stop whoever it was. That much was very clear.
"G-Diffusers running at 8%. Beginning slingshot around Fortuna." ROB's voice echoed in the loud ambience.
The Great Fox was straining under the speed that was propelled onto it as it began it began the slingshot. It was obvious it wasn't ready to handle two jettisons back to back. Fox feared the ship would break on them before they could reach Sauria. Fox felt himself being pushed to the right, holding on to his armrests as he tried to stay upright, and the other members were having a hard time trying the same thing.
The last time they rocketed off to Sauria, Fox did it without a moment's hesitation. Star Wolf was in the area, and he was going to take them down, no matter what it was they were doing. His other teammates somehow managed to stay alive during the first time. Fox felt himself slowly moving back upright as the Great Fox began to slow down.
Fox, once again, prepared for the inevitable whiplash as the Great Fox came to a stop. His head jolted back into the headrest and thankfully didn't receive any. The other four with him all groaned as they were also thrown back into their chairs. They all looked out to see the gleaming blue-green planet as the internal lights came back on.
Not much seemed to be happening from space, but Fox was sure all that was going to change was they saw the damage that was happening. Now was not the time to daydream but the what if. All Fox was focused on was stopping the entire event from proceeding as Oikonny intended. But now that he was dead, it was stopping whoever was leading the charge here and getting answers.
Fox stood up slowly, his legs were shaking from the experience, again. He probably thought he'd be used to it, but he was shaking not from this, but from the thought that his arch nemesis could possibly be back. He violently shook his head from that and took in his surroundings. The Great Fox still looked in perfect condition. Maybe all those sounds he was hearing was just in his head.
"ROB." Fox said through pants. "Get the Arwings ready."
ROB began to restart the Great Fox's database and powered up the Arwings. Fox ran out of the deck as the other four were barley getting out of their seats.
"Remind me to never fly with you guys again," Katt said as she grabbed her head.
"Put it in the complaint box when we get one." Falco got up and stretched his legs.
Katt let out a small chuckle, trying to hide it from Falco, but he noticed. He gave a good look at her before his mind told him they had more pressing matters to attend to. Peppy was having a hard time trying to hold himself up. Not that it was difficult the first time, it's just twice in the same day did cause some discomfort for the old hare. He didn't let this slow him down as he was the second one out the deck.
Slippy, Falco, and Katt followed. They raced down the emergency stairs, sometimes jumping down a couple of steps so they'd get to the hangar faster. Once there, they could see Fox on the Kattillac. He was removing the straps that were tied down on Katt's ship so she could get a head start, plus she was blocking the Arwing's launch path.
Falco and Katt rushed to Katt's ship and helped Fox in removing the straps. Slippy and Peppy manually went to their Arwings as well as Fox's and Falco's to ensure they'd be ready to fly.
"Katt, go out first to see what's happening." Fox said. "Falco, make sure her comms are synced with ours."
Fox jumped down when the remaining straps were pulled. Falco went into Katt's ship to make sure her line to Star Fox's didn't have any interruptions. Fox rushed up the second floor and jumped in his Arwing. He saw that Slippy already set everything up, but Fox did some minor adjustments to suit his needs. The Great Fox was slowly making its way down into Sauria's orbit.
The nose was accumulating heat as it broke into the atmosphere. Everyone inside was holding on as the Great Fox began shaking. Once it stopped, the Great Fox leveled itself and gave the team the all clear. Falco emerged from the Kattillac and gave Fox a thumbs up.
"Katt. You read me?" Fox said on the frequency.
"Loud and clear, captain," she replied in her usual seductive tone. "Send me the coordinates so I can see what's ahead."
Fox quickly sent her the location of the temple and Katt's ship slowly began powering up. The doors to the hangar opened and Katt rose in the hangar and flew before Star Fox. Falco quickly made his way up to the second floor and dropped into his Arwing.
"Guys. You better get down here." Katt radioed in.
Fox's eyes grew. "What's happening?"
"It's mostly ground troops on both sides, very little air support. How many are in the camp?"
Fox flipped some switches as his Arwing gave a green light. "About thirty to forty soldiers."
"It looks like their being outmatched three to one. They also have two tanks out there. They're mostly fighting near the temple."
Near the temple? Then they're going all-out for their assault. Fox knew they had to stop this, even if the temple was destroyed in the process. It would ensure that Lylat would never experience Andross' terror again.
"Everyone good?" Fox asked his team.
"We're all good, Fox!" Slippy screamed.
"Yeah, let's go!" Falco chimed in.
"We've got your back, Fox." Peppy said.
Fox closed his eyes and let out a shaky sigh. He opened them with one set goal.
"ROB, launch us!"
The Arwings took their turn being launched from left to right. Slippy was the first, then Falco, Fox, and Peppy. Once they were flying, they quickly turned around and made their way to the temple. Fox went to the apex as they flew in a finger-four formation. They flew blindly in the clouds for a few seconds before lowering.
Once they were clear, and wiped the accumulating water off the windshield, Fox was able to see the scenario unfolding below him. Walled City didn't seem to suffer from the attacks, but that wasn't their target. The temple was still standing, but most of the Cornerina soldiers were near the steps, barricading anyone who dared step closer.
Fox radioed down for someone to answer. "Cornerian Base, this is Star Fox coming in for assistance. Repeat, this is Fox McCloud."
Fox flipped his comm switch and waited for a response. He didn't wait long until he heard Bill on the other end. "Fox! Thank god, you came back!"
Bill was on the ground with all of Husky team. They had rifles in hand and were shooting at any hostile that came near the temple. His Bulldog squad was in the skies and Fox could see them taking down a couple of ships.
"Bill, what happened?" Fox asked as his team broke formation and went to find targets.
"We don't know. Fetcher and I were talking when we heard explosions in the distance. He ordered was to check it and we just found this!"
Fox looked out his window and saw Bill and Husky squad with all the soldiers from the Cornerian camp. He also saw a small blue figure in a white jacket running and taking aim with a gold rod.
Krystal was making sure none of the Venom forces moved a single inch from where they were standing. When one would get close, she made sure the incapacitate them, by any means. Her ears perked as she felt a familiar presence approaching fast. She looked up and saw the Arwings fly over them.
He heard me. Krystal wasn't sure if her abilities would stretch that far. But the camp was scrambling to leave and defend the temple, that she had to try and reach out. It hurt like hell afterwards, but if it meant reaching out and contacting him faster than their radios could, she had to do it. She was lucky it paid off, or maybe they heard it from someone else.
Either way, they were here to protect the temple. Krystal did her part in not letting anyone get past her while Fox and crew were taking care of the few ships flying around.
"Once we're done here, we need to get on the ground." Fox said. "We're still going to need some flyers up here. Peppy and Katt, you'll stay up here. Falco and Slippy, you'll go down with me when we clear the skies. Everyone copy?"
"Copy." All the pilots said in unison.
Fox broke off from the formation and started to go at the limited targets in the air. It didn't seem like they were putting up a fight. They were doing their best to dodge Fox's shots, but Fox would find it difficult to actually put them down. Fox was beginning to wonder if they were deliberately keeping him in the air. He looked around and saw that his team was having the same troubles. Even Bill's Bulldog squad was not having the same results.
"Fox!" Bill radioed. "We're getting a little overrun here. We've got some casualties, but no KIAs. My Husky team is doing the best on the ground."
"Hang tight there, Bill." Fox called back. "Once I'm done here, we'll go down." Fox looked out his window and saw the tanks beginning to fire at the temple.
A large explosion hit the left side and chunks of debris fell with loud thuds. Some soldiers fixed there had to jump from their station to avoid getting hit. A couple of them got caught with some bricks and one got his foot caught under some rubble.
"Bill, where's Fetcher?"
"He's still back at the camp." Bill said through the mayhem. "I've tried to radio him for another… damn it!" Another explosion from the tank blew near Bill's location.
Krystal took down about three Venom soldiers when she was nearly hit by a cannon blast. She flew back a few feet and hit the ground hard. Her face scrunched with the hit and rolled on the ground for a little. She picked herself up and could see everything happening in slow motion.
She could hear her breathing and the sounds of rifles firing sounded liked muzzled pops. She shook her head and placed a hand up to her forehead. She didn't feel anything strange, but she removed her hand and saw a little speck of blood on her fingers.
She picked herself up and was still feeling disoriented from the blast. It didn't stop her from doing her part in stopping the Venom soldiers. Although, she was moving slower than before.
The tanks were moving up the line in a threatening manner. Avery, Hutch, and Solomon were watching from behind the lines, far from the last tank that was creeping from the tree line.
"There's no way Corneria will come up this fast," Solomon said. "Even with Star Fox, I think we'll be able to push on through."
Avery, however, was looking around for any sign of their hooded friend. "Dude, where the hell is he? He was supposed to be here by now."
Solomon could see that Avery was looking a little anxious. "Do you think they captured him?"
"It could be. We also haven't heard from Oikonny, either. You don't think they got him?" Avery pointed to the Arwings flying above them.
"Possibly." Solomon said blankly.
"We should just rush with what we have." Hutch suggested. "Crush them with all we got!"
"We could." Solomon agreed. "It'd cripple them so much faster."
Avery thought about rushing with all that they had. It would be easy to squash the remaining soldiers that Corneria had. Though, Avery was hesitant. He didn't know if Conreia was actually going to bring new forces to the fight. If so, then they'd get crushed in a split second.
There was no sign of their friend for miles. Through the chaos, Avery was put in charge to lead the barrage o the old temple. The EarthWalkers would rotate their morning shifts so the window was very slim to go and attack the temple.
"Let's hold off on that." Avery said after thinking it over. "If we just attack, there's a small chance that Corneria will have an opportunity to surprise us."
"Man, you can't be serious." Hutch sounded peeved.
"I am. Hoodie said to just keep them occupied. Also, he needs McCloud on the ground. Which is why we don't have any aerial. Just keep the forces on the ground and we'll be fine."
Hutch and Solomon looked at each other and rolled their eyes. If the attack doesn't go as planned, then this would all be their new friend's fault.
"Keep up the firing guys," Fox said. "We don't have that much left."
Fox was taking down the last of the Venom forces. Falco and Katt were in their own little section taking down fighters one by one. Slippy and Peppy were also in their own area. Slippy was having a tough time trying to shoot down some of them, luckily Peppy was there to bail him out of his current situation.
Fox looked down and saw that the tanks were slowly moving, but not going full assault mode. Their run to Corneria and Sauria was so quick they weren't able to equip the right bombs to destroy the tanks. He looked down and could still see Krystal doing her part as well as the Cornerian camp.
Fox looked around for other targets, but couldn't find any. "Anyone seeing more targets?"
"I think we got them all." Peppy said.
"We ain't seeing anything over here." Falco shouted.
Fox saw that everything in the sky was gone. He didn't want everyone rushing down on the ground, so he went to his original plan. "Alright. Falco and Slippy, we'll go on the ground and help with the Cornerian camp. Peppy and Katt, stay up here with Bulldog to suppress any more bogies. Copy?"
"Copy!" Everyone screamed. Fox u-turned and flew in the direction of the temple with Falco and Slippy close behind.
"How we doing this, Fox?" Falco looked down and could see that there was no landing strip for them to use. The camp was a good three-minute run from the temple.
"We jump out." Fox blatantly said.
"I'm sorry. What?" Falco said in disbelief.
"Fox, you can't be serious." Slippy said.
"I'm serious." Fox lowered his altitude slowly. "Get a good running start and get low, make a break on the Arwings before putting in auto to the Great Fox. Shoot yourselves out and hope for the best."
"Fox, you're crazy." He heard Peppy call out.
"Gotta do whatever it takes." Fox wasn't going to go soft on this. He would go full guns blazing if it meant stopping Andross from coming back.
Fox went around and flew over Walled City. He could see the camp was nearly destroyed, only a few tents stood up and the city looked to be in good condition. The EarthWalkers inside the walls looked terrified and were hoping for the best. Fox would make sure it would be that way.
Once he flew over the palace, he got a straight shot on the path leading to the temple. He took a small nosedive and grazed the top of the palace spire. He descended quickly and was nearly kissing the ground. The Arwing's wings just fit inside the trees. He steadied the Arwing as he began punching the codes for autopilot.
The closer he got, the more sweat leaked out of his pores. He wasn't sure if he'd survive this. He though of it on the spot. There was no way they'd make it from the camp to the temple, so he had to improvise. He unbuckled his harness and hovered above his seat. His palms were getting damp by the second and his arms were shaking.
"Here goes nothing!" Fox shouted.
Once he was a good distance to the temple, he opened the canopy. He slammed on the brakes while simultaneously hitting the autopilot. Fox closed his eyes as he jumped out of his Arwing. He prepared for the broken bones and severe lacerations caused by sticks laying on the ground. It wasn't his best plan, but he was going to make it work.
He didn't feel any ground beneath him, so he may have been flung a few good feet. Fox decided to lessen any injuries to him by curling into a ball of some sort. He did his best curl he could and brought his legs all the way to his chest. He leaned forward so his back would hit first. Or should it be his behind?
It didn't matter as he hit the ground with a loud thud. He rolled for a bit and Fox felt his brain being rattled in his skull. Once he felt the ground under his feet after the fourth roll, he extended his legs and jumped up. He was able to start running and could see everything in front of him, although he was dizzy from the rolling.
He saw a blue dot coming closer as he was running, and he saw a brown dot getting extremely close to that blue dot. He recognized the blue dot, but not the brown dot. He didn't hold back and was ready to unleash a wallop of a punch. The brown dot looked to his right, but was a tad bit late. Fox did a wind up and didn't miss as his fist connected to the jaw of the Venom solider.
The blue dot heard the raw sound of flesh being violently slapped and quickly turned around with staff at the ready. She got in a stance but stopped herself as she was in shock at what she was seeing. Fox looked back and saw the blue dot more prominently.
Krystal got out of her stance and wanted to wrap her arms around Fox, but couldn't as they were in the middle of a battlefield. She could sense that Fox wanted to do the same thing. Another cannon blast blew off a chunk of the high right corner of the temple. The debris flew in the air and both Fox and Krystal had to jump to not get hit.
Fox saw two more Arwings trying to recreate what he just did a few seconds ago. Falco was the first to attempt, but looked down and saw the mayhem and opted to fly back for another run. Slippy did the same, waiting for the window to open wider.
"I think you came back in time," Krystal said.
Fox took out his blaster and Krystal readied herself with her staff. They stood back to back took their shots at the waning Venom soldiers.
"I heard your message. Of course I had to come back." Fox said as he lined up another shot.
Krystal had to hold herself up as Fox said he heard her. He… He did hear me.
Fox saw Falco and Slippy coming for another run. This time, they were able to jump out of their Arwings and their ships flew straight up to the Great Fox. Falco and Slippy began to roll on the ground in the same manner as Fox did.
Fox started to make his way to them, avoiding getting hit with lasers coming from both sides. Krystal decided to help him and followed Fox. Falco and Slippy were taking their time in standing, but Fox and Krystal were there to help them. Fox went to Falco and Krystal went to Slippy.
"I'm filing for worker's comp after we're done here," Falco strained.
"I'll wire it from Pepper's check." Fox was able to get Falco on his feet. "How you doing, Slip?"
Slippy stood on his back, Krystal was getting him back on his feet. "Same here," he said as he reached for his back.
Lasers began to fire at their position and Fox was quick on his blaster to suppress them until the were clear. Falco reached for his and got some shots in where the Venom soldiers were stacked. Slippy reached behind his back, where his holster was, and brought out his blaster. They all made a b-line for the front line at the temple's stairs.
Bill was commanding everything from where he was. He could see Fox and co. coming up and dealing some good damage to Venom's front line.
"Fox!" Bill said as Fox made it to him.
"What's happening?" Fox said as he ducked behind the barriers. "I thought Fetcher had the planet under surveillance."
Another shot flew over them and Bill and Fox were quick to shoot up and fire at whoever was shooting them.
"They must have found a weak spot. I don't know how they passed our security. Fetcher is back at base trying to call up Corneria, but we haven't received any commands from him since that time." Bill started to hound orders to his Husky squad on the ground.
The remaining Corneria soldiers were holding the best they could until another cannon was blasted at where they were. The cloud of smoke rose before revealing a scattered pile what remained of those soldiers. Fox took another shot at some Venom forces, but the tanks began firing at a abnormal pace.
"Keep firing at them, but don't kill McCloud." Avery commanded.
"His on the ground. Now what?" Hutch was wondering what Avery's next move was.
"Hold on, I'm thinking." Avery leaned on a tree.
He heard rustling approaching him fast. Avery turned around and could see the hooded coming up to them.
"About damn time. What the hell were you doing?" Avery was pissed off.
"Biding my time. Seeing that he is here, we will move forward with the plan." The hooded held Andross' brain securely under his arm.
"We don't know where Oikonny is though." Solomon interjected. "Won't he be upset if we continue without him?"
The hooded rolled his eyes. "We don't have time to wait for him. The time to strike is now." He motioned for them to follow him behind the trees. All three followed close and he gave a stop sign to them. "I'll go in first. I need you three to go a few seconds after. Once McCloud is inside, take a group of men and flank on the left side."
The three looked and could see that the left side was left open. If they squeezed by, they could fire on the unsuspecting Cornerians.
"Our tanks will do the rest. Are you ready? There'll be no turning back from this point on." The hooded looked at the three to understand the position they were in.
Avery, Solomon, and Hutch gave each other a look and back to the hooded with a nod. The hooded grinned under his mask and turned his attention to the fight in front of him. He lowered the bushes to get a running start. He brought up his fingers and started to count down from three… two… one.
The hooded bolted to the left side of the Cornerian barrier. Avery, Solomon, and Hutch went back to the tank and called for three other soldiers to follow their lead. The Cornerian soldiers were to occupy with the fighting in front that the hooded was able to slip in without detection, or so he thought.
Krystal's ears perked as she felt something hostile approaching from behind her. She sensed an intense hate for all things around it and wished them to be destroyed. She turned around and could see a large black figure running, undetected, towards the entrance of the temple. Krystal also saw something in his arms, an orb with purple liquid, and a brain.
Krystal got her staff and shot at the hooded figure. The hooded looked her way and didn't take a second to run for the temple's opening. Krystal didn't want any taint to be within the sacred grounds, so she began to follow him.
Fox was ducked when he saw Krystal run into the temple. "Krystal!"
More debris was falling as another cannon blasted bits of the archway away, destroying the stain glass. Fox didn't waste a second and followed Krystal inside the temple, giving Avery the signal to follow the hooded's path. Fox was entering the temple as the archway began to cave. Bricks were falling as another cannon blast fired on the archway. The bricks were falling and Fox had to jump in.
Avery, Solomon, and Hutch, along with three other Venom soldiers followed the hooded's path and were almost ignored by the Cornerian soldier's until they were spotted by Falco.
"Breach!" He yelled as he, Bill, and Slippy turned their attention to them.
The fire show started as one of the Venom soldiers immediately went down. Avery, Solomon, and Hutch weren't slowing down. They continued to move in slowly as both they and the Venom line were firing all around them. One tank took another shot at the archway and it finally began collapsing.
"Go!" Avery yelled and ran to the opening.
Solomon and Hutch were able to squeeze in, along with another Venom soldier, but the fifth one was crushed by the falling debris.
"We gotta catch up!" Solomon said as they picked themselves up.
Falco ran to the debris. The bricks were heavy and the concrete slabs on either side blocked their path. Fox and Krystal were now trapped inside, possibly outnumbered. But Falco knowing Fox, he'd make sure the even or turn the odds in his favor.
Krystal was firing all that she had at the hooded figure. He was evasive and fast, she gave it some credit. Fox was doing his best to keep up, but Krystal was lighter and more agile than Fox, so she would probably outrun him, even if he was in his prime. Fox didn't know, but they were being tailed by four of the hooded's lackeys.
Finally, after it felt like they were all running for millenniums, the hooded reached the altar. He made his way behind as Krystal had her staff ready for the shot. Fox was soon behind her and stood next to her with blaster ready, as well. The hooded, with Andross under arm, was quick to pull his blaster.
"Don't even think about it, McCloud." The hooded said.
Fox and Krystal heard footsteps approaching them, hoping to be backup. Their hopes were crushed as they could see four troop surrounding them, rifles at the ready. Avery had his sights on Fox's head, but he kept a close eye on the vixen next to him.
Fox could see the item the hooded was holding more clearly. He knees buckled as he remembered that brain. Krystal took a quick glance at Fox and it looked like he was about to faint.
"Please," the hooded pulled his blaster up. Fox could see clearly that it was a CDF issued blaster. "Let's be civil about this."
The hooded placed his blaster on the altar and took off his mask; he had a wide smile across his face. Fox and Krystal stood there as they saw who it was who had Andross in his arms. Fox could only stand there in disbelief.
"Colonel Fetcher?"
A/N: *insert dramatic chipmunk meme here*
Things aren't as they seem.
Until then, Stabby out.