Chapter Two: War

Peppy Hare was the oldest and probably wisest of the Star Fox team. He flew with James Mcloud when he was captured by Andross. Peppy was the only to escape and was the one to inform Fox Mcloud of his fathers fate. Peppy then flew with Fox Mcloud during the Lylat Wars, and served as advice. Though he really served as Fox's morale support because of all the stress on his shoulders from the war. Though he's retired as a pilot, Peppy stuck with the Star Fox team and has been a lot of help to Star Fox, in instances like Dinosaur Planet.

Fox considered Peppy the closest friend of all the crew members. Which is why he has Peppy cradled in his arms as he follows this so called "Resistance Fighter" to where ever he's taking them. Fox had been on a search for Peppy ever since Grimclaw separated them a year ago. Fox was determined to let nothing happen to Peppy, and he doesn't care what this new ally had to say, Fox was going to get Peppy back to full health before he did anything for the Resistance.

The mysterious spy, who turned out to be a nimble mouse, was leading them through the shadows of the streets, staying out of sight as much as possible. He made sure they went where Fox could carry Peppy, showing he really cared about Fox's presence. Fox didn't question him once all the way to the Resistance HQ.

They arrived at a small brick building almost out of sight in a dark ally. No lights were on inside, and the rain poured out of the huge gutters on the roof. The small mouse led them down a dark staircase into the basement of the building. He stopped at a door at the bottom of the stairs. A small cheetah came out of the shadows, nearly startling Fox. Blaster in hand, he walked up to the mouse.

"Password?" The cheetah mumbled. The mouse straightened up, and cleared his throat.

"Friendly Fire." At these words, the cheetah stepped to the side and let the mouse, Fox, and Peppy through. They entered a pitch black room, Fox could only smell to try and figure out where he was. It had a damp smell, molding almost. He could hear the rain from outside beating at the walls of the old building.

The mouse lit a small light and an area with a diameter of 10 was lit up. The room was riddled with wide support beams, or at least 10 feet of it was.

"Hello, Fox." Fox's ears twitched, and his brain registered the familiar voice.

"Falco?!" Falco stepped into the light. He wore a long white trench coat, his face was tired, his eyes full of pride.

Falco was the hot headed pilot of the Star Fox team. He was very aggressive in the air, making him one of the best flyers on the team. He may have been a little insulting at times, but it was in good nature. Fox had been good friends with Falco, and they flew together during the Lylat Wars, but soon after they were over, Falco went lone-wolf and disappeared from the Star Fox team. He finally returned to defeat Andross the second time outside Dinosaur Planet. Seemed he just couldn't resist staying away from the team.

"Let's get Peppy some food and a nice place to sleep. We move out in the morning, but at least we can get some strength back into his body." At Falco's words, the mouse came back over and took Peppy from Fox's arms. He then disappeared into the darkness. Fox turned to Falco, he wished to shake his hand, but Falco was in a hurry, and didn't show any signs of wanting to get reacquainted.

"What's going on Falco? What are you doing here?"

"We've been tracking you ever since you hit Titania. I am the leader of the Resistance, Fox."

"How the-?"

"I formed a small group on Katina. I ran into Bill Grey there, he gave us information on Grimclaw's plans. It wasn't too much later when the Resistance had spread to almost every planet in the Lylat System. Many wish to overthrow Grimclaw. But it seems futile, for much of our forces have fallen in the battle for Corneria."

"What are you talking about? What has Grimclaw done?!"

"He's created a monster, Fox. I've seen the labs. He has thousands. Grimclaw has found a way to enhance the abilities of a normal man and turn them into a mindless machine, capable of most anything. I've come across one of his subjects more than once. They're fast, accurate, strong, and trained to kill, nothing more."

"How did he accomplish that?"

"Vyros. The bastard is mining the stuff constantly. Many have been enslaved and sent to the mines of Venom. Women, children, anything able to run a machine or lift a rock. It's turning into a nightmare. Of course this is not all. But since we've lost communications with our base, we're totally at a loss to what could be happening now."

"Dammit, how could I have missed all this? I was out searching for Peppy all this time, it must have been happening right before me, and I was too damn preoccupied to notice." Falco nodded.

"Corneria is our last stronghold. If we lose it, we've lost our grip on the entire Lylat System. Battles have raged on for more than three months now. The Resistance is strong, but Grimclaw is relentless. Which is why I come to you now. We need your help. We knew only the legendary Fox Mcloud could possibly give us the foothold we need. We thought we were lost, but we realized his foolish mistake. He fears you Fox. People are slaughtered for mentioning your name, it must have been all the stories his uncle told him, because he'd rather destroy all of Corneria than deal with you."

"What do we do?"

"We declare war on Grimclaw. Reunite Star Fox and head for Corneria to join the battle against his army."

"Then we do what we can from there."

"Exactly. Once we establish at Corneria, we can home in on Grimclaw's activities. His biggest database is in Cornerian City, we're sure to get some valuable information there."

"So, its war, Lylatians fighting Lylatians, millions will be lost."

"Millions will be saved, Grimclaw's reign of terror will be stopped, and Star Fox is the one to do it."

"Let's kick some ass."

"Excellent." Falco smiled, his face lit up, he didn't look so tired any more. "Fox Mcloud, I would be honored if you let me join the Star Fox team once again to fight for the liberation of Lylat, and all that stand in our way."