This story definitely takes place in an alternate universe from my timeline in my bio. I did this so I wouldn't be bound by continuity and because this story is getting darker and darker like a whirlpool sucking everything in. This is the final chapter for this story.
It took a moment for the realization of what Fox had said to sink in for both Leon and Caiman.
"What?!?" they both asked in unison.
"You heard me. I'm here to help you destroy Gorgon1," said Fox. Leon was contemplating what to do when Caiman fainted right away from seeing the object of his and everyone on the station's source of anger right in front of him. Fox and Leon both looked at his unconscious form and Fox just shook his head while Leon slapped himself in the forehead.
"You still work with this loser?" asked Fox. Leon shrugged.
"I'm not proud of it. So let me get this straight. You want to help us, the enemy to destroy a Venomian asset," he said taking a seat. Fox sat down as well.
"Yes," he responded. Leon gave a forced laugh.
"Why should I help you? You are number one on our hit list. I could…should have you killed right now," said Leon. Fox shrugged.
"That's true. But then you'd have the CDF on your back demanding blood," said Fox. Leon pulled out a dossier.
"I don't think so. According to Intel, you've been excommunicated from the service. No one knows you're here and they never will. You'll have to come up with something better than that," said Leon. As if to prove the point he pulled out a blaster and set it on the table between them. Fox sighed.
"Fine! Put simply, you know and I know that Gorgon1 would never willing return to the Venomian forces. You know and I know that you're preparing a fleet to find and attack that thing. You know and I know that since you're the last surviving member of the Star Wolf team and Caiman here is second best, you don't stand a chance in hell of beating that thing. Make your own choices," said Fox crossing his arms in front of him. Leon picked up the gun and waved it around.
"Still not good enough," said Leon. Fox leaned forward.
"Fine. I alone contain the access codes to shut that thing down. You possess the only way to locate it. I have the part of the way and the will and you have the other half. Now we either work together or I kill you now, take the inverter and do this myself. It's your choice but I don't think you'd want me to get my hands on it because my quarrel is with the AI and not the device itself. That means that I will destroy it's AI program and leave the Gorgon1's hulk in space. You get to it first and it's yours, the CDF does and you're royally screwed. It's your choice," said Fox. Leon laughed out loud. He then wiped the tears from his eyes. The lights on the gun shut off.
"Point conceded. Welcome to the VRF," said Leon. He tossed the gun to Fox who caught it. Fox looked the gun over.
"Impressive. It uses solid projectiles. This were outlawed over a hundred years ago," said Fox.
"Right around the time of laser weapons being mass produced. Welcome to the team," said Leon. Fox pointed the gun at Leon.
"Sorry I don't think so," he said. Fox activated the gun and pointed the gun at Leon and pulled the trigger, which clicked, the weapon empty. Fox smiled and stood up along with Leon.
"You knew it was empty along," said Leon accompanying Fox out into the hallway.
"Of course I did. You obviously wouldn't have loaded it not because you need me to help you but because you knew I could relieve you of it and kill you," said Fox. Leon nodded.
"True, true, but what about your public image? You've turned traitor against your own people. Clearly history will look on you with shame just like Benedict Armadillo oh so many years ago," said Leon.
"Yeah but my reasons are personal," said Fox.
"That being?" asked Leon. Fox waved him off.
"That's none of your damn business," he replied.
"I see. Well as long as they don't involve betraying us, your reasons are your own," said Leon. They walked down the corridor but behind them a creature stepped out of the shadow.
"Not good, not good at all," said Custer (He said he'd been there he awhile, 85 years and counting! LOL! Just joking, he's Custer's father from the Second Plague Cometh) running off.
President's Office, couple hours later: "Ohhhhh Shit!" yelled Pepper at his desk. He had just received Custer's message of Fox aiding and abetting the enemy. He then pressed a button on his desk.
"Get me Falco Lombardi now!" he yelled into the comm. A couple minutes later Falco Lombardi was thrown into Pepper's office. Falco collected himself from off the ground and faced Pepper.
"What!?!" he demanded. Pepper slid out a blaster and popped off a shot singing Falco in the arm who then held it in pain.
"The hell was that for!?!" he demanded. Pepper walked around his desk and held Falco up by his collar so that they were face to face.
"Fox has defected to the enemy! He was just spotted on board the Lizard's Pride! You convinced me to let him go and now look how it's turned out!" exclaimed Pepper.
"How the hell was I supposed to know what Fox was going to do after he left? Clearly he's more forgone than I thought and his actions are unpredictable. Anyway I offered my opinion and you took. This is your own shit you have to get out of and not mine!" Falco said. Pepper dropped him and straightened his jacket.
"Fox is too much of a risk to the CDF and I can't allow him to continue to aid and abet the enemy. I'm preparing a strike force to remove him from that station and have him arrested. You will either be on that strike force or you'll be removed from any and all CDF activities. It leaves in fifteen minutes so you'd better run," said Pepper. Falco collected himself off the ground and stood up facing Pepper.
"Fuck you!" he said.
"No. Fuck you!" exclaimed Pepper. Falco ran off out of Pepper's office and down the hallway as Pepper contemplated what to do about Fox McCloud. Falco meanwhile had just rushed into the bay where several commando transports lay. Falco hopped on board one of the transports just as they took off.
"Welcome aboard Mr. Lombardi, I was afraid I'd have to write you off to the MIA list. Please take your seat," said the officer who checked people off on his sheet (he's the counterpart of the same officer in The Dreamers).
"Yes well I'm just glad that I made it in time," said Falco. He sat down with the rest of the commandos who had all their stuff and weapons while Falco just had his jumpsuit and some shades. Falco looked like a fish out of water in the midst of the rest of the commandos.
"Where's your stuff?" asked one of them.
"I don't need any of it," said Falco lying.
"Yeah…right," responded the commando.
"Why've we got such a celebrity among us?" asked another commando.
"Pepper's orders, I don't know why," responded Falco. The commando snorted.
"Yeah right whatever. Look birdbrain I don't care if you're a celebrity or not, if you get in our way we will dispose of you. No offense," said the commando.
"None taken. Although I don't think I'm your worst threat at the moment," said Falco.
"What makes you say that?" asked the commando. Falco looked confused.
"Do you not know who are target is?" asked Falco. The commando shook his head.
"No. We don't know anything until an hour before deployment. Do you?" asked the commando. Falco gulped hard.
"No I have no clue," he responded. The commando shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. Friend or foe, we will take the target down," said the commando. The rest of the trip was held in silence as the various transports flew up out of Corneria's atmosphere and towards the massive fleet above.
"That's it?" asked Falco.
"Yep. The Katana Fleet," said yet another commando. Falco nodded and leaned back in his chair.
"With any luck, Bill and Greg should be aboard and at least I know that I can trust them unlike Pepper," thought Falco. The various commando ships docked with the cruisers and then the whole fleet leapt into hyperspace. Falco quickly headed up to the bridge of the main cruiser which he was situated on. When he emerged Bill and Greg greeted him.
"Falco! What're you doing here?" asked Bill. Falco paused and thought about his answer.
"I was…drafted," the avian said finally. Bill and Greg exchanged a look but kept it to themselves.
"So you ready to help us capture our target?" asked Greg.
"That being?" asked Falco.
"You don't know?" asked Bill.
"Do you?" asked Falco. Bill glumly shook his head.
"No. Neither does Greg. Pepper's not telling us until we near our destination," said Bill.
"That being?" asked Falco.
"My, my, aren't we full of riddles," said Bill.
"I don't have a choice. It's for my own sake," said Falco. Greg and Bill exchanged another glance still saying nothing to Falco.
"Well we know that at least. It's the Lizard's Pride," said Greg.
"I see. Well that's what I figured it was. So what do we do in the meantime?" asked Falco.
"Well I was wondering if you and the general here would join me for dinner in the Admiral's mess area," said Greg.
"Umm…okay. I haven't eaten anything for awhile so it works for me," said Falco.
"Until something else comes around, I'll join you," said Bill.
"Excellent. We'll meet at 2100," said Greg. Falco cocked his head and left.
"He's hiding something," said Bill.
"Yeah, but he's too afraid to reveal it to us. Hopefully he'll be more talkative during dinner," said Greg who turned back to his work.
Lizard's Pride: "You're may be more trouble than you're worth," said Leon at his desk with his feet propped up on it working on a computer screen.
"How so?" asked Fox on the other side of the desk. Leon spun the computer screen around so it showed Fox the CDF fleet leaving Corneria.
"Oh," said Fox finally understanding.
"How do you propose that we deal with this situation?" asked Leon.
"Well you've got good pilots I'll give you that, but the superior numbers of the CDF give them the advantage. Plus you're army is stuck here because of the spacestation while the CDF can move freely. I don't think you'll be able to come out of this one on top," said Fox.
"Exactly. Which is why I'm abandoning it and setting it for self-destruction. That CDF fleet is gonna receive one hell of a surprise. A thermonuclear surprise," said Leon. He pressed a button and alarms went off all over the station. Fox looked away not sure what to do.
"Well. Time to go," said Leon leaving the room. Fox lingered behind.
"I don't care how bad things have become. I will not allow my friends to be slaughtered. But how?" thought Fox. Fox finally made up his mind and he walked out of the room.
CDF Fleet, 3 hours from Lizard's Pride: "Welcome Falco," said Greg. He was sitting at a long table with various foods prepared on it. Falco sat at the very far end away from Greg and Bill who were seated close together.
"So how's your stay been aboard the Katana fleet?" asked Greg.
"Fine," said Falco eating a carrot.
"Anything else you want to tell us?" asked Bill.
"No," said Falco.
"Falco I know you're letting on that you know more about this mission that meets the eye," said Greg.
"What're you talking about? Can I go now?" asked Falco. Greg looked like he was about to explode.
"Damnit Falco! I'm tired of this shit! Give up the charade! Tell us who the target is?" demanded Greg standing up.
"I can't," said Falco.
"Why not?" Greg demanded.
"Because otherwise Pepper will kill me," said Falco finally. Greg and Bill were both taken back by Falco's statement.
"You can't be serious," said Greg. Falco looked up at him.
"Oh I am. I really am," said Falco. He then got up to leave.
"Lock all doors," said Greg. Every door shut to the room. Falco whirled around and glared at him.
"You aren't leaving until you tell me who the target is," said Greg. Falco looked up in pain and growled.
"Fine! It's Fox McCloud. Now I'm dead. Thank you," said Falco. Greg and Bill both gasped as Falco revealed the target. Then the comm. system burst to life and showed Pepper.
"Be grateful I've decided not to kill you," was all he said before it shutoff.
"Fox! What could possess him to do that?" exclaimed Bill.
"Something to do with Gorgon1. I think it killed someone close to him, maybe James. Either way if it gets out, panic will arise. If Fox has fallen from glory, then so can everyone else. That's why when he's recaptured, the team that captures him will be executed before they have a chance to say what's happened. You both will also. We're all on borrowed time," said Falco.
"Pepper told you this?" asked Bill.
"No. I figured this out myself. Go ahead and try to send an outgoing message. You can't. Try to turn the fleet around, you can't. We're going, capturing Fox and then we all die," said Falco. He then left the room leaving Bill and Greg in a state of shock.
"That bastard! After everything we've done for Pepper, he's going to kill us," said Bill.
"It appears we have no choice but to do our duty…and prepare for our deaths," said Greg leaving Bill to contemplate this turn of events.
Lizard's Pride, CDF fleet contact, fifteen minutes: "I'll miss this place. I'll have to rebuild it someday, especially after the joy it's about to bring me," said Leon silently and maniacally laughing to himself. Fox just hung his head in disgust. Everywhere around them, creatures were still trying to make good on their escape while carrying loads of files with them.
"What about those who don't make it out in time?" Fox asked. Leon shrugged.
"They die," he said walking off. Fox just shook his head in disgust again. Fox followed Leon to the bridge as he made sure that he hadn't forgotten anything from his office. While he was occupied, Fox slipped a disk into the mainframe computer.
"What was that?" asked Leon. Fox shrugged.
"A message taunting the fleet before they explode," he said.
"Excellent. While the fleet is occupied, we'll take a small fleet and find Gorgon1. If your codes work than it should be easy pickings," said Leon leaving with Fox. The two of them boarded a Zeram class cruiser as it blasted free of the base and escaped into warp.
Fifteen minutes later: The last transport escaped into warp and a second later the CDF fleet exited warp.
"Launch all fighters and prepare to board the station," said Greg. The fighters were launched, but oddly enough, the Lizard's Pride showed no sign of acknowledging they were there.
"Umm. Now what?" Bill asked. The comm. officer waved them down.
"What?" asked Bill.
"We're receiving an automated message from the station. I think it's Fox McCloud," said the officer confused. Greg and Bill looked at each other nervously as Falco entered the bridge.
"Play it," he said. The message sprung to life showing Fox McCloud.
"Listen CDF Fleet, I don't care who's in charge, but listen up anyway. I may have split with the CDF, but that doesn't mean they're my enemy, only Gorgon1 is. This station is set to self-destruct in five minutes. That'll mean one massive thermonuclear blast, which would be equivalent to what created the magnetic distortions at Sector Y from that failed Boise satellite. Leave now or you'll all die and leave me alone!" yelled Fox as the image shutoff.
"Get us out of here, prepare for warp," said Bill. The pilot spun around.
"Sir, warp engines are not responding. We've been locked out of warp controls," said the pilot. Greg growled.
"Curse you Pepper!" he yelled while Falco chuckled behind him.
"We won't survive this. Seek, capture, and be destroyed," he said. Greg whirled around to glare at him.
"You may've given up, but I haven't. We can't use warp, fine! Get us out of here best speed possible!" yelled Greg. The pilot slammed on the engines and the whole fleet zoomed away from the station. Five minutes later the station erupted into a thermonuclear blast and the walls of expanding energy slammed into the fleet. Throughout the Lylat System on every planet the blast was seen. It evoked memories from several creatures who had looked up into the sky one day and saw another massive explosion claim Sector Z and Mantia forever. Pepper meanwhile was furious at having lost the fleet before Fox was recaptured and having fallen for a deliberate trap. He merely drummed his fingers as he decided what exactly he should do now.
Leon's Fleet: "Ahahahaha! They got it this time!" laughed Leon maniacally. Fox just hoped that the fleet had gotten his message and escaped in time.
"Yeah, yeah. But what about Gorgon1?" Fox asked. Leon shrugged.
"No problem. Let's find our little friend and take him out," said Leon. He produced the phase inverter and walked over to a map.
"I don't know how this works, but Andross said turn it on near a map and it'll do the rest," said Leon unconvinced. He hit the button and the inverter leapt from his hands and hovered in front of the map. It scanned it for a minute and then fired a laser beam at the map, burning a small hole in it before it fell to the ground. Leon and Fox walked up to it.
"What a gyp. It missed Macbeth by a hair. What a piece of crap," said Leon just walking off in disgust. Fox observed the map more closely.
"What if it didn't miss?" he asked. Leon turned around.
"What then?" Leon asked. Fox pointed to the map.
"Macbeth has moons. What if this is pointing to a moon?" asked Fox. Leon put his hand up to his chin as he thought about it.
"You may be right. Okay, we'll go and check out Macbeth's moons, all nine of them. We'll split up into various groups once we get there and check out several VDF sites where that thing could be hiding," he said. The fleet leapt into warp heading for Macbeth.
Corneria, near midnight: Pepper exited his office as he prepared to go to his retreat when cameras and bright lights suddenly bombarded him.
"Sir, can you confirm as to what lit up the skies just a few hours ago," asked a reporter.
"Mr. President, was this a military operation gone awry? Where's the Katana Fleet?" asked another. Pepper held up his hands.
"I'm not commenting on anything at this time. Go bother someone else," he said. He pushed his way through the cameras and boarded his limo, which zoomed off leaving the reporters behind.
"Shit," said Pepper. The limo stopped to pick up General Powell (the one's son from TLOM2 and TSFTST).
"Not good, not good," said Powell. Pepper held his head in his hands.
"You think I don't know that?" he asked.
"Well no sir, but if word gets out about that fleet not surviving because of the codes you implanted in the circuitry of the fleet, you would be hung for heresy," said Powell.
"Which is why that fleet had better not survive. Prepare to activate Black Fleet, their orders are to find what's left of the Katana Fleet and destroy it," said Pepper. Powell looked at him wide eyed.
"Sir, they've never gone into action before. True they're supposed to be stealthy, but this and the fleet's destruction could really have you executed if the press finds out," said Powell.
"Yes I know! How many people know about both?" asked Pepper.
"Just me and you," said Powell. Pepper nodded his head.
"Good. Just see that it stays that way," said Pepper.
"Yes sir," said Powell. The limo stopped at a corner and dropped Powell off. Pepper shut the door and called Powell back to the limo.
"Yes?" he asked. Pepper glanced at him through the crack in the window.
"You've been a good friend, and I'll honor you forever, but this turn of events has made things difficult. I send you my regards," said Pepper. As Powell looked at him quizzically, Pepper stuck his blaster barrel out the window and shot Powell in the face. The limo then continued on into the night.
"Sorry old buddy, I had no choice," thought Pepper. He then tapped the driver's window. The window pulled back revealing a ROB unit.
"Spaceport," he said. The ROB unit nodded and the limo zoomed off leaving Powell's corpse behind. A few minutes later, the limo zoomed into the spaceport and stopped itself in front of an all black troop transport. He exited the limo and approached the puzzled commander who was making last minute checks.
"Sir?" asked the commander. Pepper held up his hands to quiet him down.
"I believe that our communiqués could potentially breach security. That's why I've decided to accompany the fleet so that way security is maintained and you won't have to waste time sending me commands for my approval," said Pepper. The commander shrugged.
"Very well sir. Please board and we'll head out," said the commander. Pepper nodded and entered the ship where he promptly sat down among the seasoned commandos who saluted him.
"What's our target sir?" asked one of them. Pepper turned to face him.
"We're to locate and destroy a rogue CDF fleet before they have a chance to attack any major installations," said Pepper. The soldier growled.
"I hate traitors," he said. Pepper nodded in approval.
"Don't we all. Don't we all," he said. The ship blasted off and headed out into space.
"Prepare for warp. We'll rendezvous with the Black Fleet inside of Sector Y," said the commander. Everyone braced as the ship entered into warp.
Macbeth: Leon's flight blasted out of warp and soared over the planet.
"Okay you all have your assignments, let's move out," said Leon. The fleet broke up as two fighters and one cruiser headed for every one of Macbeth's nine moons. Fox and Leon got assigned to the sixth moon with a Dorisby. The two fighters then proceeded towards Macbeth's sixth moon's surface. The zoomed over Macduff and headed for Siward. The two fighter then landed on top of an abandoned monastery.
"This seems oddly familiar. I was at a monastery over on Macduff before I was captured by you guys several years ago," said Fox as he and Leon headed into the inner workings of the place.
"Yeah and in a moment you'll find out why it was so easy to catch you that day," said Leon. The arrived in front of a large wall and Leon pounded his fist on the door in a complex rhythm. A creaking and groaning was heard and then the wall separated in front of Leon and Fox.
"Shall we?" asked Leon. He walked with Fox through a long corridor before emerging in a massive open area.
"This is one of several such facilities on several planets throughout the Lylat System. I'm guessing that Gorgon1 is in one of these facilities. Let's see," said Leon. He pulled out the inverter and flicked it on. Nothing happened.
"Nuts. Maybe it's broken," said Leon. At Macduff, Gorgon1 detected the inverter's presence.
"They're nearby. It's time I left once and for all," thought Gorgon1 powering up its systems. Back on Siward, Leon and Fox had exited the monastery and stood on its roof along with their fighters.
"Now what?" Fox asked. Leon shrugged.
"Now we check out Macduff," said Leon taking off in his fighter. Fox took off as well and Gorgon1 detected both of them.
"I'd leave now if I could, but not enough of my systems are activated," it thought angrily. The two fighters landed on top of the monastery that had several monks in it. A particular black puma walked up and greeted them.
"Greetings great Leon," said Amup. Fox leapt out of his fighter and seized a hold of Amup by his color.
"Give me reason not to kill you right now. You betrayed me," said Fox. He finally let go as Leon chuckled behind him. Amup dusted himself off before facing Fox.
"I did not betray you. You asked me if your father had been here and I said no," said Amup. Fox growled at him.
"But in the meantime you informed Wolf O'Donnell about where I was," said Fox through clenched teeth
"You have no proof," said Amup.
"He did," said Leon chuckling. Fox pulled out his blaster and aimed it Amup.
"And you trust him?" asked Amup calmly. Fox twirled his blaster around on his fingers and put it away.
"No. I don't. Be grateful," said Fox.
"Nuts," said Leon. Down in the bowels of the mountain Gorgon1 decided what to do.
"That's it I'm leaving now," thought Gorgon1. It powered up and prepared to exit. Up in the monastery, Leon and Fox where drinking some tea before they ventured into the base when suddenly the whole mountain began rumbling.
"W-w-w-w-h-h-h-h-a-a-a-a-t-t-t-t t-t-t-t-t-h-h-h-h-h-e-e-e-e h-h-h-h-h-e-e-e-e-e-l-l-l-l?" asked Fox as the ground rumbled around him. Then the rumblings stopped.
"Someone opened the mountainside entrance!" exclaimed Leon. They ran to the side of the roof as Gorgon1 blasted out from under them.
"So long suckers!" yelled Gorgon1. Leon and Fox growled and ran back to their fighters. They then blasted off after it.
"Where're you going you piece of shit? Wait for us!" shouted Leon. Both the fighters opened fire on Gorgon1 who made several lazy attempts for evasive maneuvers.
"How dare you mock us! Eat this!" shouted Leon. He fired a plasma bomb at Gorgon1, which struck it leaving only a smudge on its shiny exterior.
"Hold on Leon. I don't think it's mocking us, I think it's still powering up its systems. We should strike now while it's still weak," said Fox. Leon growled.
"Fine. I'm transmitting our location to the other teams, they should be here in minutes," said Leon.
"Alright. Open fire," said Fox. The two fighters continued to open fire on the spinning disk as it moved away. Finally the thing righted itself and made a break for the upper atmosphere.
"It's coming! Spatial vector 9-7," said Leon over the radio. Gorgon1 blasted itself free of the moon and smack into the firing range of the Dorisby.
"Let 'im have it!" yelled Leon. The Dorisby used its turrets to begin blasting away at Gorgon1.
"I'm never going back to the Venomian side ever again. Goodbye!" said Gorgon1 vanishing from this dimension. Leon cracked an evil smile.
"Not this time!" yelled Leon. He activated the inverter and Gorgon1 was forcibly dragged back into this dimension.
"What?" it demanded angrily. Then the rest of Leon's forces arrived and began hammering away at Gorgon1 which began fleeing the scene.
"We can't let it escape. If that thing flees into warp than we've had it," said Fox. Leon laughed.
"Don't worry. I came prepared. Grazan1, unleash your heavy payload," said Leon. Fox watched in surprise as a Grazan maneuvered itself behind Gorgon1 and unleashed its secret payload through the openings in its dual hull, two Copperhead missiles. The streaked towards the rear of Gorgon1 and burrowed in, exploding, and destroying its means of propulsion.
"Bwahahahahaha! Now where're you gonna go asshole?" laughed Leon maniacally.
"If I can't run then I'll fight!" yelled Gorgon1. Fox smiled as he prepared to give the code that would shut Gorgon1 down. However right when he was about to say them, dozens of proximity alarms went off all over the fleet and Fox watched in surprise as dozens of heavily scarred CDF battlecruisers exited warp. The Katana Fleet had arrived.
Main cruiser in the Katana Fleet: Greg, Bill, and Falco all had heavy bandages from all the consoles that exploded on the entire fleet as the shockwave hit them. After recovering from the initial wake that took five cruisers, the Katana Fleet had been repairing themselves in silence and when they were repaired they had received notice of Leon's fleet in orbit of Macbeth and immediately headed there and arrived just in time to see the residual explosions from the copperheads dissipate.
"No! I'll never let you take me in!" yelled Fox.
"Fox, switch to a secure channel. Don't worry because we won't take you in because we've got a major bone to pick with Pepper. He betrayed us by rigging it so our fleet couldn't return to warp when we arrived at the station. We've been marked for death by Pepper however before we go we can destroy this thing once and for all. For Fara Fox, for Fara," said Falco.
"Oh. But that means allying yourself with Leon and co. Then they'd have a legitimate reason to kill you," said Fox.
"Don't worry, we have a plan. We're going to capture Leon and then hold him aboard as a hostage. Pepper's been waiting for years to get his hands on him. That way he won't be able to hurt us until we think of something. Is that okay?" asked Greg. Fox shrugged.
"Works for me. I could care less about Leon and co. I won't tell. However capture them after we've destroyed this thing," said Fox.
"Agreed," said Falco. Fox grinned.
"Then let's let him have it," said Fox. The CDF began launching fighters at Gorgon1.
"Fox! Why're they helping us? The Katana Fleet was sent to destroy us and capture you," said Leon. Fox shrugged.
"Their mission changed. Now they have to have been ordered to destroy Gorgon1," said Fox. Leon huffed.
"I don't believe you. But if that's the truth then you have nothing to fear, if it isn't, I will kill you first and then steal this pride of the CDF fleet for my own biddings," said Leon laughing. Fox just sighed. Gorgon1 had been using its tentacles, missiles, and hyperbeam to attack the various units of the CDF and VRF.
"I've had enough of this. Gorgon1, initiate projects Zeta Alpha Zeta and Pi Alpha Delta!" yelled Fox. All of a sudden, Gorgon1 stopped firing.
"What've you done?" it demanded. Fox laughed.
"Considerable yourself up the creek without a paddle. I've just disabled your weapon systems," said Fox as he brought his ship around to dock with Gorgon1.
"How? Only Andross knows those codes," said Gorgon1.
"Yeah, but you pissed him off so badly when you left his fleet that he entrusted them to me. Your day has ended Gorgon1," said Fox. However, just as he docked, more alarms blared as a dozen black battlecruisers emerged from warp. The Black Fleet had just arrived.
Main battlecruiser in the Black Fleet: "Oh this is just too much to hope for. The Katana Fleet, Leon Powalski, Fox McCloud, and Gorgon1. I can eliminate all of them and wipe this smudge from my record forever!" laughed Pepper. During the trip over, everyone including Warlord Hammer who was in charge of the fleet, had come to the conclusion that Pepper was insane. However he was their commander in chief and the command sheet didn't say anything about what to do if Pepper was insane, they continued to follow their orders despite their better judgments.
"Launch all fighters and open fire. Destroy everything!" yelled Pepper laughing maniacally. The Black Fleet opened fire on the vessels in front of them and a fierce three-way melee broke out between the Katana Fleet, Leon's fleet, and the Black Fleet. Cruisers and fighters exploded left and right as they all began hammering away at each other. Fox meanwhile had landed in the bay as fighters streaked by outside.
"Why do you continue to hunt me?" asked Gorgon1 as Fox proceeded down the hallway.
"You're affiliated with enemy, thus you are the enemy," said Fox.
"If you believe that than you're no better than Andross was," said Gorgon1. Fox growled.
"How dare you say that! I'm nothing like him!" yelled Fox.
"You're wrong. Andross said the exact same words to me when I questioned him when he ordered me to destroy those prisoners on Venom. Including Fara Phoenix," said Gorgon1. Fox growled.
"So you admit to killing her?" asked Fox. An equivalent of a sigh emerged over the speakers.
"I admit to being young and naïve when I took her life along with those others. But there's nothing I can do about it now. Their deaths convinced me to stop working for Andross and I've done that ever since," said Gorgon1. Fox walked into the main control center.
"Bah. A leopard never changes its spots and neither do you. You're an AI program and you can't think or learn, you just do," said Fox.
"Wrong. I'm more than just an ordinary AI program, I've achieved sentience and I've learned from my mistakes. To terminate me now would be to deny ever machine the chance to survive and grow in today's world," said Gorgon1. Fox just waved off his current plea with his hand.
"Save it for someone who cares," said Fox. He hit a button and the AI chip slid out. Just as he was about to take it and terminate Gorgon1 forever, it made one final plead.
"Fox, I don't want to die. I'm afraid," said Gorgon1. Fox took the chip and Gorgon1 shut off once and for all. Fox held the chip in his hand and looked out at the ensuing battle on the viewscreen and wondered what it would be like if Gorgon1 hadn't fled Andross. He also wondered about how things would turn out if Gorgon1's technology was obtained by the CDF. He looked out at the Black Fleet and instinctively knew that he was there to eliminate the Katana Fleet because they knew about his attempt to kill them after they got Fox, and he saw Leon just attempting to survive. If Gorgon1's technology got in the hands of anyone in that group, it would tip the balance in their favor and Fox wasn't sure that was a good thing. He finally made his decision and closed his hand around the chip. He then placed in its holder and Gorgon1 reactivated.
"I never want to see you in this system again," said Fox leaving.
"Thank you. But why don't you come with me? I could take you to a universe where Fara survived and you didn't," offered Gorgon1. Fox sighed and turned around.
"As tempting as that is, I can't. I must correct the evils in this universe before I even think about another's," said Fox. If Gorgon1 could've nodded, it would have.
"Goodbye Fox and thank you," said Gorgon1.
"Yeah, whatever. Computer, rescind all projects on this system," said Fox. Gorgon1 powered up and as Fox blasted away from the station, it vanished from this dimension forever.
"Vaya con dios Gorgon1," said Fox. He then flew off into the fray and whatever the future held.