Lylat: StarFox Chronicles
One thing not lacking on the planet of Corneria was its strong military forces. A highly skilled and very effective battalion of the Cornerian Air Guard patrolled the skies anticipating another attack by an elusive enemy. The Great Fox, named for it's commander, James "Fox" McCloud, rolled across the sky in direct sight of Corneria's inhabitants, reminding them of the fact that peace came at a significant cost and casual freedoms were not easily defended.
Lylat: Level Two
Peppy and Slippy listened attentively to the doctor's explanation of why Fox had fallen into such a deep coma without any apparent sign of trauma. Falco was also present but not really listening until hearing what he deemed necessary information.
"...It was drug induced," said the doc. "Hardly traceable, but there. I think that's what you can blame for his abrupt change of personality. You say he became obsessive, angered to the point of rage, violently out of control....well...if anything could cause it, the mixture of venom found in his blood samples would've done it..."
"Wait!" Falco came to attention. "Venom....what the hell? Why're you bringin' up Andross at a time like this?"
"Falco, he wasn't--" said Peppy. "The venom was in Fox's blood. But of course we have to assume it came straight from the evil emperor himself."
"Yeah, you bet. So, now that we've got that straight, anybody got any bright ideas on what to do now that Fox is about to get hanged for crimes he committed while under the influence of this stuff?"
Silence shrouded the small hospital room as one looked to the other and a red light began flashing on the equipment at Fox's bedside. The doc was first to see it and quickly got over to the system that monitored everything from brain waves to body temperature and at the moment it showed a flurry of sudden erratic activity and a surge of pressure through the spinal cord.
"I was going to say the mixture was a very potent derivative of jonquil...very poisonous to his species.... Great mother of--!" The doc squalled suddenly.
"What?" went Slippy.
Falco, sitting on the edge of a desk near the window, got up and rushed to the other side of the bed. "He's chokin'!"
"No, no he's not choking! Would you move out of the way! I'll handle this!"
"But he's gasping for air!" Slippy sided with Falco.
The doctor ignored them and leaned over with his fundoscope, carefully pulled up Fox's right eyelid to examine the pupil. "Fully dilated...." he mumbled clearly enough to be understood then checked the other eye. "...This is....I'm going to have to ask you all to leave..."
"I'm not leavin'!" shouted Falco just before Peppy pulled him away from the bed.
The doctor quickly punched the call button and grabbed a number of instruments from a cabinet beneath the monitor.
"You're killin' him!"
"Back off, Falco!" Peppy yelled.
"Out! All of you!" The doc commanded as the nurse entered and finally Peppy pulled Falco away and out of the room. Slippy followed swiftly. The door slammed shut. Less than a minute later, a female voice came over the hospital's intercom.
"Code Blue! Code Blue! Room three o five! Doctor Benzington, Room three o five! STAT! Doctor Benzington, Room three o five!"
Peppy stood back in an area several feet from the room where they had just left. Room 305, and he released Falco while Slippy went over in a corner looking on the verge of a mechanical breakdown. The light over the door flashed. Another doctor rushed into the room and for a moment everything seemed to drop dead silent again, same as on the night Fox had been brought in by the Cornerian special police escort.
"Stand back! This one's a prisoner and he's dangerous! Get 'im into the room....fast!"
They had not wasted any time making statements and just when it seemed that Fox would be cleared of any wrongdoing, a news bulletin flashed on the InterStarlite Television Network.
"...It's been confirmed that Fox McCloud, lead pilot of the Star Fox team has been captured and taken into custody after spending several nights on the run. The usually kind and gentle Fox reportedly became violent after a scuffle with another young pilot at a local bar, then proceeded to various locations where he roughed up a store clerk and then sped away from the scene on a motorcycle, hitting two pedestrians, then made some other stops where he caused more havoc until finally ending up at the home of his girlfriend, Fara Phoenix..."
That's where the police had captured him. Actually, it wasn't much of a challenge; Fox had passed out cold at Fara's house, and she was screaming when they arrived.
Peppy noticed the light over the door of Fox's room blinking steadily, then was a flash in the corner of his eye.
"Hey guys....I got here soon as I could..."
It was Bill Grey, joined by another close friend of the team, Rita LaShette.
"You're a little late," said Falco as he'd finally stopped his pacing. "Show's over folks."
Rita gasped.
"Don't pay him any attention." Peppy gave Rita a one-armed hug then cut his eyes at Falco.
"Man, what the hell happened to him anyway?" asked Bill.
No one looked able to handle an answer, except somehow, Slippy.
"Well, first, he got into a fight with Falco over there...."
Falco glared at Slippy for revealing what was supposed to remain confidential information. Not even the news was reporting the other pilot's identity. The incident took place in a civilian establishment where most military personnel went virtually unknown in the mix of patrons. But those people knew one of them, all right. ...Corneria's famous son, Fox McCloud.
"You guys at it again, Falco?" Bill chuckled. "So what else's new?"
"Zip it, pal." shot Falco.
"Okay, would you two stop already?" went Slippy. "As I was saying, Fox and Falco got into a brawl then apparently Fox stopped at a nearby convenience store and tossed a clerk over a counter--"
"You're kidding me, Fox did that?"
"Well, apparently he was trying to buy a six-pack of Granit, and when the clerk told him he wasn't old enough, he tossed the guy. Then he stole some guy's motorbike and went on a rampage all over the place, getting in more fights, throwing more clerks and spewing insults at people, then eventually, after leaving a trail of destruction behind him, he went over to Fara's--"
"That's enough, Slippy," said Peppy. "I think they've pretty much got it."
Slippy looked over at Peppy and knew he'd better not go any further than that.
"Well, how long has he been in there?" asked Bill.
"A couple hours." Peppy answered.
"For what?"
Peppy took time to gather his thoughts then inhaled deeply. "Bill, I'm afraid there's some bad news. Fox fell into a coma while they were bringing him in...."
Rita gasped a second time. Peppy continued.
"They're doing the best they can to at least keep him alive. It's up to us to do all we can to do the right thing if he doesn't.....doesn't make it."
Falco puffed out his chest and aggressively pointed his thumb in it. "Andross is mine! This is it, man....I mean it! If there's one thing I can do for Fox, it's blowin' the smitherines outta that monkey-eared piece of crap!"
Peppy then looked up the light over the door.
It had stopped flashing.
**
Ring-side seat
School was a place for learning, the first and foremost bastion of society—"The greatest strength of any species is its intelligence," his father once said.
Soon as the bell rang at the end of each school day there was a small group of boys who met in a field behind a tall metal fence surrounding the huge Cornerian Air Defense Home Base. The four of them had a spot where they could see the planes take off and perform multiple training maneuvers, sometimes flying above their heads, curling u-turns and barrel-rolling high above ground, and as usual, one of the boys went wild.
"Whoa! D'you see that?"
Another quivered at the thought of it.
"I...I don't know if I could fly one....b...but I betcha one day I could build one!"
The next one just smiled.
"I could do that. Just wait 'til my day comes. I show all of 'em how it's done."
At the end was the one who said nothing, just watched, and then he recalled his father's words along with the name of a man whose intelligence was matched only by his desire to rule the world.
....Andross.... ...he must be stopped...
Alas the young one came back to the present and focused his attention to the skies.
Four planes flew out in formation. That young red fox kept his eyes on the leader.
(Really strange so far, you agree? Well get ready for more!)