Fall of a Hero
-chapter five-
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by l77ercenary
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Fox, Falco, and Slippy walked into the entrance of a huge hangar bay. When they had arrived at the base where they usually met General Pepper, a man that had met them there told them that the general would be meeting them somewhere else this time. After being redirected, the remaining three members of Star Fox found themselves looking at the wide open space of a completely empty hangar bay.
General Pepper walked up behind them and cleared his throat to get their attention. They turned around and looked at him questioningly. Pepper turned around and pointed toward the sky. They looked that way. Four little black dots were visible on the horizon.
"What are they?" Fox asked, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun as he tried to see.
Falco watched them for a second. He could see farther than everyone else and soon could tell exactly what those dots looked like. "They're Arwings!"
"Correction." Pepper corrected him. "They are part of the Arwing II class."
"Huh?" Fox asked, curiosity and surprise in his voice. "Arwing II?"
The four jets flew over them, splitting out of formation. They went out a little ways before turning around and slowing, putting on their brakes as they landed nearby. The Arwing IIs landed easily. They were of the same style as the Arwing, even already painted in the Star Fox design, though they were obviously sleeker in style. The cockpit opened and four Cornerian pilots jumped out and walked away without saying a word, leaving Star Fox to admire the Arwing IIs. And Admire them they did.
Falco was the first to walk up to one and touch the jet.
"They're faster, more powerful, and more agile than the Arwing. Everything you need to beat the Wolfen IIIs." said the general.
"This is amazing!" Fox said as he looked up at it. He turned to the general. "Does this mean you want us to go up against Star Wolf?"
"Until now the Arwing II has yet to be tested. Now is the perfect time to make it the newest addition to the Star Fox team." General Pepper said. "Fox, I want to see Peppy safely back as much as you do, but I don't want you going off and getting killed in the process."
"Fox! You should see this thing!" Slippy called from where he was sitting in the cockpit of an Arwing II.
It had only been two days since the incident and Slippy had already turned back into his old self. Save for the scars, someone couldn't tell that Slippy had been in the clutches of Andross in the past 72 hours.
Fox smiled. The decision that had been plaguing him ever since he had heard the message that Slippy had given him. "Thank you, general. With these Arwing IIs, I'm sure we'll win."
Slippy looked down at them from where he was. Falco turned and looked at Fox and Pepper as well. They both had expectant looks on their faces, almost like children who wanted to play with their new toys.
"Go on. Try them out." urged the general. "That's why I brought you here."
Fox smiled and nodded to them.
Maybe a full second was all that it took for Falco to get inside his Arwing II. Fox and Pepper backed up to give Falco and Slippy room to take off. Slippy and Falco's Arwing IIs lifted off smoothly with barely even a single blast of their boost to get them moving. Before long, both Arwing IIs were in the air, with Falco trying the limits of his and Slippy just trying to get used to the controls.
General Pepper looked at Fox, who was looking at the two remaining Arwing IIs that were still on the ground in front of them. One just looked lonely, while the other looked so empty.
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That night:
"Andross," Fox said over the communications. "Star Fox accepts your challenge!"