Chapter 5: Possession
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falco sat in the recreation room with a cold drink in his left hand while he tapped his
fingers on the table next to him. He sat there contemplating everything that was going on
in his life at the moment. A blur of scenarios, and situations, a blur of the future rested in
his mind.
"What happens now?" thought Falco as he took a sip from his drink, tasting the slight
biting hint alcohol gives to any beverage.
He continued to think, thinking about memories of Pepper, being rewarded for good
deeds, saving planets, colonies, lives and defeating Andross in the name of all that is
good.
"How can General Pepper take over Corneria?" Falco said out loud as he gave the floor a
disgruntled stare.
"Because he's a man drunk on power," came a voice from the doorway. It was Fox. He
slowly walked towards Falco carrying maps and schematics of Katina's battle units.
"Oh c'mon Fox we don't know anything yet, at least wait till we get to Fortuna. I'm
hoping that this is all just an example of getting the wrong information at the wrong time.
A misunderstanding y'know? Besides we've been in sporadic contact with him the past few weeks."
"That really doesn't make a difference; he could have been doing all his dirty work with
one arm behind his back while he smiled at us through the holocommunicator."
Falco displeased with the reply, looked down at the metal floor. "How long till we get
to Fortuna?"
"Eight hours."
Falco looked up putting his drink down to his side on a small metal table. "And what
exactly is going to happen when we get there?"
"Honestly...I don't know. We're going to get updated by Bill on the situation, I'm sure
he's got some sort of plan for everything; he was always fairly versatile at the academy.
Until we get there, I suggest you get some rest."
"Alright. Call me when something arises," said Falco as he began walking out the door.
"Will do, oh and Falco..."
Falco paused outside the door and turned around looking at Fox.
"Thanks for making up to Wolf. You might not know it, but he really needs us. He has no
one in the universe out there…"
Falco gazed past Fox, thinking of what he had just said. "I know..."
********************
"Fox this is Slippy! We're going to pass close to Katina, I think you should be in here,"
came a cry from over the communicator.
Fox got out of his bed, still in the same clothes. His white jacket, green combat pants,
heavy duty boots, and crimson scarf. He had only been napping for a few hours, and was
displeased at having been disturbed.
"Alright what is it Slippy?" said Fox as he stepped onto the bridge yawning.
"My, my someone's had a visit from the sleeping fairy," said Wolf as he pointed to Fox's
frizzy hair.
"Har...har..." muttered Fox groggily as he matted down his hair.
Slippy looked up at the main viewer pointing to it while he talked. "As you can see from
the map schematic, we are approaching within 2 million kilometers of Katina. There are
18 battle cruisers, 6 capital ships, 3 heavy transports, and at least two thousand squadron
fighters."
Fox's eyes widened as he looked at Slippy in disbelief. "Good God, is this one of the
blockades you were talking about Wolf?"
Wolf nodded his head slowly, "Yes."
"He could be planning an invasion of some sort...Zoness? Macbeth?" questioned Peppy.
"Ok, we want to avoid any conflict with any Cornerian ships at all costs. We don't want
to risk any more "misunderstandings," said Fox, glancing at Falco who was seated across
from him.
"I recommend shutting power to all vital systems, shields, weapons, etc.etc. It will help to
mask our sensor signature allowing us to pass closer to the ene...Cornerian ships I
mean," said Wolf correcting his obvious mistake in diction.
Fox looked up at Wolf while punching in some commands to his control panel. "That's a
good idea Wolf, and don't worry, right now we don't know who the enemy is."
"Alright Rob, prepare to cut power to our main systems."
"Fox, I think you should come here," came the robotic voice from Rob as he stared at
Fox without movement.
Fox began walking towards Rob looking at his console, "Um, ok what is it Rob?"
"You will fail in your mission Fox McCloud."
Fox looked up from the console till his eyes met Rob's. "What did you just say Rob?"
Suddenly Rob's arm flew up, his hand grabbing Fox's neck and shoving him violently
into the wall."
Everyone's attention shifted towards the two.
"Oh my God."
"What the hell!?"
Fox gasped for air as he gripped tightly on Rob's arm whose hand was strengthening its
grip.
"He...help...me"
"Falco, Wolf, someone do something!" cried Peppy, but Falco, Wolf and Slippy just
stared in disbelief. With sudden movement, Falco leaped up and grabbed a gun from the
wall while Wolf continued sitting in place.
"NO, you'll kill him!" cried Slippy as he grabbed the gun from Falco.
"When I dispose of you Fox McCloud, I will rule all of Lylat and you won't be able to
stop me."
Rob's grip tightened even more, making Fox lose his ability to take in air. His mouth
hung open and his face tensed up as he struggled frantically against the titan mechanical
grip.
Wolf ran towards Rob leaping at him, but Rob's free arm swung up and hit Wolf in the
side which knocked him across the room and into the opposite facing wall. His body fell
limp as he collapsed to the floor.
"NOOO!" Falco ran up and tried to grab Fox, but Rob's hand grabbed Falco's arm.
Before he could even react, Rob made a swift movement with his hand snapping the bone
in Falco's arm. Falco let out a vicious screech as the robot tossed him over the consoles.
"You or your pathetic friends cannot stop me...General Pepper...from ever taking over
Lylat!"
Peppy and Slippy, who were the only ones not incapacitated, looked at each other with
widened eyes then back at the robotic figure. They stared in horror as they saw the life
slip away from Fox. His movements became weaker. His grip loosened on Rob's arm and
his eyes began to roll to the back of his head as his eyelids became heavier.
"Goodbye Fox McCloud, you were always a good pilot, just like your father. You
pleased me many times in the past, but I have no need for you anymore."
Fox's tail began twitching spasmodically as his arms went limp, his hands no longer
gripping Rob's arm.
"NO!" Slippy flew up leapfrogging through the air and landing behind Rob. He
frantically pulled out wires from Rob's back generating a multitude of sparks while
Slippy kept pulling, flinching away from the sparks.
"I...will...kill...yo..." Rob's body went limp and fell over sideways smashing into his
console with a crash.
Fox collapsed to the floor, his body cold.
"Oh my God, Peppy I need your help!"
Peppy frantically ran towards Fox whose lifeless body was lying on the floor.
Slippy put his hands on Fox's chest trying to pump the life back into him, "No Fox don't
die! Please don't die Fox!"
But there was no response.
Falco got up clenching at his arm as he limped over to Fox. "No..." he whispered as his
eyes laid upon the furry vulpine's limp body.
"Falco help Wolf! We'll take care of Fox!" cried Peppy as he watched Slippy continue to
pump at Fox's chest.
Falco swiftly turned around as he saw Wolf who was sprawled on the floor lying on his
stomach. Blood was dripping from the sides of his mouth, pooling on the metallic surface
of the bridge.
"No, Wolf, no!" said Falco as he turned the gray Wolf over. His eye patch was missing
exposing his scarred eye.
"Why has this happened to us...why?!" said Falco as he shook Wolf trying to wake him.
Slippy continued to pump at Fox's chest as tears filled Peppy's eyes. "I...I don't know!"
Suddenly Wolf's body convulsed as he opened his unscarred eye looking into Falco's.
"O...oh."
"Wolf? Wolf! Look at me Wolf!"
Wolf turned his head from side to side with a look of pain on his face.
"Oh…What happened Fal...
"We don't have time, Fox is hurt, can you stand up?"
"I...I think so..."
Wolf slowly got up while Falco tugged at his arm.
They both ran over to Fox's body as Slippy began tiring in his efforts at reviving Fox.
Without word, Wolf kneeled over Fox's cold body and took a small device out of a
leather case in his pocket. He placed the dime sized metallic object on Fox's chest.
Instantly Fox's body jerked alive as he gasped for air. His arm leapt up clenching Wolf's
with a tight grip.
"Fox! It's ok, it's me Wolf!"
Fox's grip loosened as he panted heavily while his eyes darted around.
"Oh thank God, he's alive!" cried Peppy with joy mixed with fatigue.
Wolf placed his hand on Fox's as he whispered into his ear. "I thought we had lost you."
"No...I will never be lost..."
Wolf helped up Fox as everyone stood around with happiness in their eyes.
"Slippy...what the hell happened?" said Fox as he rubbed his neck in pain.
"I'm not sure yet...I think Pepper has access to Rob's control matrix codes, he could
have used those codes to take control of Rob's functions. He obviously used it to try and
kill you."
Wolf turned around to look at Slippy, "He could have also been trying to track us down,
is that possible Slippy?"
"Yes...but I don't think he was in control of Rob long enough to get a complete trace, but
I suggest that we get out of here as soon as possible. We don't want to risk getting
spotted since now we know with hard evidence that Pepper...and anyone else
related...are hostile."
Peppy's eyes looked down at the floor. "A great man...has just been lost to evil..."
"I never liked Pepper" said Falco looking at the same place on the floor that Peppy was
looking at with disdain in his voice
Fox, looking at the floor briefly, looked up at everyone. "We don't have time to discuss
what I already knew. Slippy can you check to see if Pepper did anything else to the
internal systems while he was in control of Rob?"
"All systems check out, but I'm re-plotting our course to take us farther away from
Katina.
"Good idea, alright everyone, let's relax," said Fox catching his breath still breathing
heavily.
"What are we going to do about Rob?" said Wolf pointing at the metal body that was still
smoking on the floor.
Fox stood next to Wolf staring at Rob, "I think we should keep him offline until we can
figure out a way to block Pepper or anyone else from accessing his control matrix."
"How much longer till we get to Fortuna? This trip seems to be taking forever" cried
Falco in pain.
Slippy looked over at Falco, "We'll arrive at Fortuna in 3 hours...until then I guess we
can recuperate."
"Falco I have something to help with that arm," said Wolf approaching Falco looking at
his broken feathered limb.
"I'll be in my quarters, if anything else happens Slippy let me know," said Fox as he
started walking towards the door to his adjacent room. He paused for a moment and
turned around to face Falco.
"I hope you can see now that this.........is no misunderstanding."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you liked that one, Chapter 6 is on its way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falco sat in the recreation room with a cold drink in his left hand while he tapped his
fingers on the table next to him. He sat there contemplating everything that was going on
in his life at the moment. A blur of scenarios, and situations, a blur of the future rested in
his mind.
"What happens now?" thought Falco as he took a sip from his drink, tasting the slight
biting hint alcohol gives to any beverage.
He continued to think, thinking about memories of Pepper, being rewarded for good
deeds, saving planets, colonies, lives and defeating Andross in the name of all that is
good.
"How can General Pepper take over Corneria?" Falco said out loud as he gave the floor a
disgruntled stare.
"Because he's a man drunk on power," came a voice from the doorway. It was Fox. He
slowly walked towards Falco carrying maps and schematics of Katina's battle units.
"Oh c'mon Fox we don't know anything yet, at least wait till we get to Fortuna. I'm
hoping that this is all just an example of getting the wrong information at the wrong time.
A misunderstanding y'know? Besides we've been in sporadic contact with him the past few weeks."
"That really doesn't make a difference; he could have been doing all his dirty work with
one arm behind his back while he smiled at us through the holocommunicator."
Falco displeased with the reply, looked down at the metal floor. "How long till we get
to Fortuna?"
"Eight hours."
Falco looked up putting his drink down to his side on a small metal table. "And what
exactly is going to happen when we get there?"
"Honestly...I don't know. We're going to get updated by Bill on the situation, I'm sure
he's got some sort of plan for everything; he was always fairly versatile at the academy.
Until we get there, I suggest you get some rest."
"Alright. Call me when something arises," said Falco as he began walking out the door.
"Will do, oh and Falco..."
Falco paused outside the door and turned around looking at Fox.
"Thanks for making up to Wolf. You might not know it, but he really needs us. He has no
one in the universe out there…"
Falco gazed past Fox, thinking of what he had just said. "I know..."
********************
"Fox this is Slippy! We're going to pass close to Katina, I think you should be in here,"
came a cry from over the communicator.
Fox got out of his bed, still in the same clothes. His white jacket, green combat pants,
heavy duty boots, and crimson scarf. He had only been napping for a few hours, and was
displeased at having been disturbed.
"Alright what is it Slippy?" said Fox as he stepped onto the bridge yawning.
"My, my someone's had a visit from the sleeping fairy," said Wolf as he pointed to Fox's
frizzy hair.
"Har...har..." muttered Fox groggily as he matted down his hair.
Slippy looked up at the main viewer pointing to it while he talked. "As you can see from
the map schematic, we are approaching within 2 million kilometers of Katina. There are
18 battle cruisers, 6 capital ships, 3 heavy transports, and at least two thousand squadron
fighters."
Fox's eyes widened as he looked at Slippy in disbelief. "Good God, is this one of the
blockades you were talking about Wolf?"
Wolf nodded his head slowly, "Yes."
"He could be planning an invasion of some sort...Zoness? Macbeth?" questioned Peppy.
"Ok, we want to avoid any conflict with any Cornerian ships at all costs. We don't want
to risk any more "misunderstandings," said Fox, glancing at Falco who was seated across
from him.
"I recommend shutting power to all vital systems, shields, weapons, etc.etc. It will help to
mask our sensor signature allowing us to pass closer to the ene...Cornerian ships I
mean," said Wolf correcting his obvious mistake in diction.
Fox looked up at Wolf while punching in some commands to his control panel. "That's a
good idea Wolf, and don't worry, right now we don't know who the enemy is."
"Alright Rob, prepare to cut power to our main systems."
"Fox, I think you should come here," came the robotic voice from Rob as he stared at
Fox without movement.
Fox began walking towards Rob looking at his console, "Um, ok what is it Rob?"
"You will fail in your mission Fox McCloud."
Fox looked up from the console till his eyes met Rob's. "What did you just say Rob?"
Suddenly Rob's arm flew up, his hand grabbing Fox's neck and shoving him violently
into the wall."
Everyone's attention shifted towards the two.
"Oh my God."
"What the hell!?"
Fox gasped for air as he gripped tightly on Rob's arm whose hand was strengthening its
grip.
"He...help...me"
"Falco, Wolf, someone do something!" cried Peppy, but Falco, Wolf and Slippy just
stared in disbelief. With sudden movement, Falco leaped up and grabbed a gun from the
wall while Wolf continued sitting in place.
"NO, you'll kill him!" cried Slippy as he grabbed the gun from Falco.
"When I dispose of you Fox McCloud, I will rule all of Lylat and you won't be able to
stop me."
Rob's grip tightened even more, making Fox lose his ability to take in air. His mouth
hung open and his face tensed up as he struggled frantically against the titan mechanical
grip.
Wolf ran towards Rob leaping at him, but Rob's free arm swung up and hit Wolf in the
side which knocked him across the room and into the opposite facing wall. His body fell
limp as he collapsed to the floor.
"NOOO!" Falco ran up and tried to grab Fox, but Rob's hand grabbed Falco's arm.
Before he could even react, Rob made a swift movement with his hand snapping the bone
in Falco's arm. Falco let out a vicious screech as the robot tossed him over the consoles.
"You or your pathetic friends cannot stop me...General Pepper...from ever taking over
Lylat!"
Peppy and Slippy, who were the only ones not incapacitated, looked at each other with
widened eyes then back at the robotic figure. They stared in horror as they saw the life
slip away from Fox. His movements became weaker. His grip loosened on Rob's arm and
his eyes began to roll to the back of his head as his eyelids became heavier.
"Goodbye Fox McCloud, you were always a good pilot, just like your father. You
pleased me many times in the past, but I have no need for you anymore."
Fox's tail began twitching spasmodically as his arms went limp, his hands no longer
gripping Rob's arm.
"NO!" Slippy flew up leapfrogging through the air and landing behind Rob. He
frantically pulled out wires from Rob's back generating a multitude of sparks while
Slippy kept pulling, flinching away from the sparks.
"I...will...kill...yo..." Rob's body went limp and fell over sideways smashing into his
console with a crash.
Fox collapsed to the floor, his body cold.
"Oh my God, Peppy I need your help!"
Peppy frantically ran towards Fox whose lifeless body was lying on the floor.
Slippy put his hands on Fox's chest trying to pump the life back into him, "No Fox don't
die! Please don't die Fox!"
But there was no response.
Falco got up clenching at his arm as he limped over to Fox. "No..." he whispered as his
eyes laid upon the furry vulpine's limp body.
"Falco help Wolf! We'll take care of Fox!" cried Peppy as he watched Slippy continue to
pump at Fox's chest.
Falco swiftly turned around as he saw Wolf who was sprawled on the floor lying on his
stomach. Blood was dripping from the sides of his mouth, pooling on the metallic surface
of the bridge.
"No, Wolf, no!" said Falco as he turned the gray Wolf over. His eye patch was missing
exposing his scarred eye.
"Why has this happened to us...why?!" said Falco as he shook Wolf trying to wake him.
Slippy continued to pump at Fox's chest as tears filled Peppy's eyes. "I...I don't know!"
Suddenly Wolf's body convulsed as he opened his unscarred eye looking into Falco's.
"O...oh."
"Wolf? Wolf! Look at me Wolf!"
Wolf turned his head from side to side with a look of pain on his face.
"Oh…What happened Fal...
"We don't have time, Fox is hurt, can you stand up?"
"I...I think so..."
Wolf slowly got up while Falco tugged at his arm.
They both ran over to Fox's body as Slippy began tiring in his efforts at reviving Fox.
Without word, Wolf kneeled over Fox's cold body and took a small device out of a
leather case in his pocket. He placed the dime sized metallic object on Fox's chest.
Instantly Fox's body jerked alive as he gasped for air. His arm leapt up clenching Wolf's
with a tight grip.
"Fox! It's ok, it's me Wolf!"
Fox's grip loosened as he panted heavily while his eyes darted around.
"Oh thank God, he's alive!" cried Peppy with joy mixed with fatigue.
Wolf placed his hand on Fox's as he whispered into his ear. "I thought we had lost you."
"No...I will never be lost..."
Wolf helped up Fox as everyone stood around with happiness in their eyes.
"Slippy...what the hell happened?" said Fox as he rubbed his neck in pain.
"I'm not sure yet...I think Pepper has access to Rob's control matrix codes, he could
have used those codes to take control of Rob's functions. He obviously used it to try and
kill you."
Wolf turned around to look at Slippy, "He could have also been trying to track us down,
is that possible Slippy?"
"Yes...but I don't think he was in control of Rob long enough to get a complete trace, but
I suggest that we get out of here as soon as possible. We don't want to risk getting
spotted since now we know with hard evidence that Pepper...and anyone else
related...are hostile."
Peppy's eyes looked down at the floor. "A great man...has just been lost to evil..."
"I never liked Pepper" said Falco looking at the same place on the floor that Peppy was
looking at with disdain in his voice
Fox, looking at the floor briefly, looked up at everyone. "We don't have time to discuss
what I already knew. Slippy can you check to see if Pepper did anything else to the
internal systems while he was in control of Rob?"
"All systems check out, but I'm re-plotting our course to take us farther away from
Katina.
"Good idea, alright everyone, let's relax," said Fox catching his breath still breathing
heavily.
"What are we going to do about Rob?" said Wolf pointing at the metal body that was still
smoking on the floor.
Fox stood next to Wolf staring at Rob, "I think we should keep him offline until we can
figure out a way to block Pepper or anyone else from accessing his control matrix."
"How much longer till we get to Fortuna? This trip seems to be taking forever" cried
Falco in pain.
Slippy looked over at Falco, "We'll arrive at Fortuna in 3 hours...until then I guess we
can recuperate."
"Falco I have something to help with that arm," said Wolf approaching Falco looking at
his broken feathered limb.
"I'll be in my quarters, if anything else happens Slippy let me know," said Fox as he
started walking towards the door to his adjacent room. He paused for a moment and
turned around to face Falco.
"I hope you can see now that this.........is no misunderstanding."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you liked that one, Chapter 6 is on its way.