Twisted Shadows:
A New Star Fox Saga

By Wolf O'Donnell

Author's Note: Here goes! It's another one of my What-happens-next-after-Andross-dies' fic. Once again, it's set in a different dimension from the other of my fanfics. And once again, it features characters from the Dark World. The swearing has been censored, once again, with little asterisks that hides the second and third letters of the f**king swear word!

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Chapter 2: Escape
Free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

Head of the Lylat Alliance

Kofu's Hercules Team all stood in the same room, watching as a large gerfalcon stared wearily out of the porthole at the sandy desert of Titania. His name was Colonel Ipecac Gerfalcon, and he was one of the best soldiers within Lord Jingoist's Trade Guild. As he stood within the office, staring out and into the desert he couldn't help but wonder how the Titanians could survive out there. He turned round to look at the Hercules Team with a menacing glare.
"I trust it that you have the toad that Lord Jingoist wants, am I right?" exclaimed Ipecac, finally breaking the silence.

"That's right, sir," replied Kofu unblinkingly. "He's ready for interrogation."

"Jingoist doesn't want him for interrogation, Tarragon," snarled Ipecac angrily. "Lord Jingoist wants Toad to work for us. He's an invaluable mechanic who could be of good worth to us. If you have harmed him or intimidated him in any way, you could have cost us his service and loyalty."

"But I thought that" began Kofu, before he was suddenly interrupted by Gerfalcon.

"You ignorant fool, we have all the information we need," interrupted Ipecac. "We know where to search for what we want. There is nothing we don't have or don't know how to get. Interrogation is really something unnecessary, after all, we aren't at war with Lylat yet." He walked over the metallic floor, so that he was closer to the Kofu Team and they could see him better being blinded by the light. He was wearing the uniform of the Trade Guild, white gloves and boots with black vest armour and a blue jump suit underneath. Sewn on the left sleeve near the shoulder of the jump suit, was the Trade Guild insignia, a T superimposed on a letter G. "Go back to wherever you have him held and undo all restraints on him. Take him to the Living Quarters 12 and ensure that his stay here is pleasant until he is needed for a job interview' with Lord Jingoist."

Katt Monroe looked out across the dune and towards the mothership that stood within the sand, its base lifted up by crab-like metallic legs'. She wondered why the ship didn't sink into it, but soon dismissed that thought; it was unimportant. The feline knew, however, that what was important was to try and find a way of freeing Slippy Toad from the clutches of the aliens, who she knew had something to do with the Trade Guild that she had heard so much about. Yes, rumours of the Trade Guild have spread across the galaxy and had even reached Lylat. From what she knew, the Trade Guild was a horribly evil empire that did everything in its power to conquer nations, steal their technology and resources, and if there was a demand, sell them for profit. She had even heard the rumours that the Trade Guild even sold whole planets as well and destroyed those with nothing useful on them.
"All right, Katt, you know what you've got to do," she sighed. She got up quickly and slid down the dune to the bottom, running towards the mothership across a route that would hopefully leave her undetected.

As she darted across the sandy desert, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly the Trade Guild was up to. During the Lylat War, Venom had used up all of Titania's resources, so it couldn't be that that the Guild was after. Perhaps she had enough time to infiltrate their databases and steal some vital info. Without warning, a huge cloud of dust burst out from underneath the Trade Guild mothership and billowed out towards her. She covered her eyes, as the sand lashed towards her viciously.
"What the heck is going on?" wondered Katt, as she crouched down, facing away from the sand.

Slippy opened his eyes gradually, frightened of what he would see. The last thing he remembered before passing out mysteriously, was being steered towards the alien mothership, unaware of what dangers and evil would lurk within it. As he looked up, all he could see was grey. He craned his head and found himself within a bunk bed, and to the best of his knowledge, unchained and unrestrained. He sat up and then looked around him. He was on the top bunk, a thing which he had never experienced before. Where was he? His bed wasn't a bunk bed, and as far as he knew, no one else that he knew had a bunk bed. It suddenly became apparent that he was indeed on the mothership, but trapped in someone's bedroom.

He jumped off and on to the floor, looking around. The walls were bare and there was only one potted plant in the corner, located underneath a lamp that shone on it brightly. He could see a mirror hanging over a sink to one side of the room. It was then that he saw a photo in a gold frame, standing proudly on top of a four-drawer cabinet that stood near the bed. Slippy went over it and picked it up, examining the photo carefully. His eyes glanced over the four anthropomorphic animals that stood there, each of them wearing Trade Guild uniforms. In the centre was a grand, regal-looking lion and to his right was a female mouse. Standing behind them was a large, brown bear and to the lion's right was Andrew Oikonny. Several horrible thoughts of what might happen to him rushed through his head. He put the photo down and darted for the door.

Suddenly, it slid open, revealing the large lion that owned the picture, Kofu Tarragon.
"We're not trying to escape, now are we?" laughed Kofu, his deep voice, seeming very intimidating to the small frog. He stepped closer to Slippy, as he backed off. "I certainly hope not, 'cos it would be a shame for you to miss out on the opportunity you're going to be given." A large smile spread across his leonine muzzle, making Slippy's heart beat more faster. He would have been lying if he said he weren't afraid of the large lion, the Captain of the Hercules Team, who was now advancing menacingly towards him.

"Please don't hurt me!" whimpered Slippy timidly. "You'll be sorry if you do." Kofu laughed upon hearing what the frog had said.

"Sorry?" exclaimed Kofu in a mocking manner. "And why would that be, huh?" He waited for the reply, which didn't come. Slippy was so afraid that the words couldn't even come out. "Well, I guess you're right in a strange way. Lord Jingoist would kill me if you were harmed in anyway."

"Why is that?" stammered Slippy nervously, as he suddenly felt his back press up against the post of the bunk bed.

" 'Cos Lord Jingoist wants to have a little word with you," replied the lion. "Let's just say, he wants to make you an offer you can't refuse."

The pink-furred feline made her way through the corridors of the mothership as quickly as she could. Having just downloaded all the information she could on to several discs, Katt was on her way to find Slippy. As she sneaked down the corridor, she couldn't help but wonder exactly how the Trade Guild could have got away with such poor computer security. Even the Venomians didn't have such lousy encryption methods, and this was the best mothership in the entire Guild's fleet. It was called Darkstar, as far she could tell, and was the very one that Lord Jingoist used himself. Her acute sense of hearing heard a sharp, high-pitched voice squeak out in the distance; it was Slippy!

"I'll never see Jingoist, Tarragon!" exclaimed Slippy, as he tried to struggle free of the leonine's strong, vice-like grip. "Forget it! I'll never betray my friends like that. Tell him, he can take the new position and shove it up his complacent" Kofu tightened his grip on the frog's hand, almost crushing it. The pain shot through his nerves like wildfire, making him squeak in pain.

"We're giving you a new, privileged life!" cried Kofu angrily, as he jerked on Slippy's arm. "You won't have to take orders from anyone but Jingoist and his bodyguards! That's four people in the entire Trade Guild! You can boss the rest around yourself! Andross took Jingoist's offer, why can't you?"

"Like he said, big boy, he won't betray his friends," came a familiar-sounding, female voice. The lion and Slippy turned round to look in the direction of the source of the voice. Katt stood there, smiling, her tail flicking left and right sharply. "Now, let go of him, sugar, or you really will regret it." A toothy smile spread across the leonine's face.

"Ooh, what are you going to do, darling?" asked Kofu with a mocking tone in his voice. It was Katt's turn to smile, as the plan began to take shape. In the blink of an eye, she darted across over towards him and kneed him quickly in the groins, making him double over in pain, releasing Slippy.

"You okay, sugar?" she asked the amphibian, as Kofu sank to the metallic floor. He nodded silently in reply. "Okay, let's get out of here then." She then turned to face the lion. "Never underestimate your enemy, darling'." She watched, puzzled, as a smile slowly spread across the leonine's face.

"Exactly, my dear," hissed Kofu through clenched teeth, as he slowly reached for something in his back pocket. Before Katt could stop him, he brought out his knife and threw it. It flew past her ear, nearly cutting it and straight into a red button on the metallic wall to her left. Immediately, an alarm wailed through the entire mothership. "Never underestimate me." He know knew that the guards would be mobilised, and it would only be a matter of time before that atrociously pink feline was captured.

Katt quickly grabbed Slippy by the hand and pulled him along the corridor with her, as she ran away from Kofu and the sound of advancing troops. The pounding of boots against the metallic floor echoed in her ears, helping bad memories from the Lylat War bubble up to the surface of her conscious mind.
"We've got to get out of here, and quickly!" she exclaimed, as she quickly turned left, pulling the amphibian along with her.

"No, wait!" exclaimed Slippy, as he saw shadows suddenly elongate and splatter across the wall in front of them.

"Shoot!" exclaimed Katt, as she suddenly realised that they were surrounded; troops were coming from in front and behind, and they were both trapped in the middle of the corridor. She looked around her quickly, hoping for something that would save them.

"They're over here, men!" cried Kofu, as he led the Guild Troops through the corridor and turned left, just as the troops arriving from the other side ran into it. The two groups skidded to a halt, both of them staring at the space in between them. "What the? Where'd they go? I don't understand! I saw them run into here!" He advanced closer towards the spot where Katt and Slippy had been standing a moment ago, looking around him carefully for any clues as to where they could have gone. Suddenly, he spotted the ventilation shaft above him; its grille wrenched wide open. "They're in the ventilation system!" he snarled angrily. "I want all possible exits covered. They must not escape!"

"Move out of the way!" cried a voice from behind the group of soldiers. They quickly parted to the sides, as Ipecac Gerfalcon made his way past them like Moses across the Red Sea. "What is the meaning of this, Tarragon?"

"The prisoner has escaped through the ventilation system, sir," replied Kofu, averting his gaze from the angry Colonel, "and with a spy." He looked toward the gerfalcon and saw an infuriated and stressed expression on his feathered face, one that did not look good. "Don't worry, they won't escape. I've got everything under control."

"No you haven't," replied Ipecac. "I'm taking full control of this situation." He quickly turned round to glare at the other soldiers angrily. "I want you all to spread out. Guard every single escape route you can. You, go to Climate Control and tell them to turn up the heat full blast, we'll flush them out of the vents. Now, go!"

"Yes, sir!" came the militaristic chorus, and the soldiers immediately scattered.

"As for you, Tarragon," said Ipecac, as he turned round to face the lion, "if Jingoist found out about this"

"Too late," came a rasping voice from behind them. The two turned round to see a figure standing there, glaring at them as if they were hunks of meat, ready to consume. The person was an anthropomorphic vulture with cold, soulless eyes that seemed to bore into the two of them, as if searching for their souls. Such eyes seemed to drain the very warmth out of them, as the vulture approached them. He was one of Jingoist's two bodyguards and his name was Morgue. "Lord Jingoist wants to see you, and let me say this, he ain't very pleased"

"Is it just me, or is it getting really hot in here?" whispered Slippy, as he crawled along the ventilation shaft behind Katt. He was sweating, making him glisten in what little light there was available.

"You're right," gasped Katt, as she continued on her way across the metal. She could feel it starting to warm and hoped that it wouldn't get any hotter. "I think they know we're here, and in that case, that means they're trying to flush us out, or kill us." The amphibian shivered at the thought, which made his blood run cold. They soon came to a crossroads', having three shafts to choose from. "Let's turn here." She took the right vent and crawled along it, before sliding down a little slope. Slippy followed straight after her, sliding a little more effortlessly than she did.

"Out of interest, where are you taking us?" asked Slippy.

"Out of here, what'd you expect?"

"No, I mean, how?" asked Slippy. "Surely, if they plan to flush us out, all possible exits from this system have been guarded."

"All but a few, Slip," replied Katt with a smile, as she wiped off some sweat from her dampened fur. "There's a few shafts that lead out straight into the open, which they open only when on the ground for obvious reasons. They can't possible guard these shafts, 'cos they lead out of the ship, and straight into the open. These shafts are midway up the side of the ship, wouldn't think of us getting out through those, 'cos fans are in the way."

"I suppose you're going to break through them?" asked Slippy.

"I sure am," replied Katt. "Nothing can keep us in here. You're with the best spy in Lylat. I can get out of any tricky spot you can put me in." She turned round to look where she was going. The metal they were crawling on was starting to get unbearably hot, as the hot air flowed through the mothership. The desert air that was filtered through the ventilation system didn't help either, as it hadn't lost any of its heat. The air in front of her started to blur and shimmer. Katt turned round to check that the amphibian was still behind her, and indeed he was, although he was losing a lot of water through sweating. "Hang on, Slip. We're nearly there!" She suddenly stopped, as she heard a strange metallic scraping sound. Both Slippy and Katt looked behind them in curiosity, to see a grille wrench away and a head pop out from the shaft's entrance.

"I've found them, sir!" cried the Guild soldier.

"Quick!" exclaimed Katt, as she crawled into a narrow, confined space to her left, Slippy following close behind. They quickly shuffled along the shaft, aware that the soldiers were now prepared to go into the vents after them. "This way," she hissed, as she turned right round a corner. The pounding of metal could be heard from behind, getting louder, alerting them to advancing troops. As they rounded the next corner, her eyes picked up some light up ahead, and it didn't seem artificially bright. It was almost golden.

The room was completely silent, as the Hercules Team stood with Colonel Gerfalcon quietly, waiting. A large, almost domed porthole took up almost the entire wall in front of them. Through this porthole, the light of the setting sun shone through, silhouetting three figures that stood at the window. Two of them were glaring at them with strange, sinister smiles on their faces. All of them within the room, except for the middle of the figures at the porthole, wore the Trade Guild uniforms. Kofu looked at his team, all of which stood still, yet he knew they were hiding their fear of Lord Jingoist, and expertly at that. His gaze then trailed towards the monsters that stood at the porthole, and towards the two on either side of the middle person. These horrible creatures were Jingoist's two bodyguards, Actoi Curare and Morgue Strychnine.

Actoi was a short, tubby, red and black frog. It was said that he was poisonous, but no one knew for sure. Those who possibly did were dead and buried, possibly killed by him. The one to the right was Morgue Strychnine, a vulture with red eyes that glazed with fury and hatred. It has been said that eyes are the mirrors of the soul, yet these eyes as far as he could tell from looking into them, had none. These two were said to be very strong and very agile, able to kill the largest and strongest of opponents with only a few blows. The most terrifying person in the Trade Guild, however, was the person that stood in between them, the person who had hired them as his bodyguards.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It slid open, revealing a low-ranking soldier on the other side.
"Ah, Private, we've been expecting you," said Gerfalcon, almost stuttering because of the close proximity to Lord Jingoist. "Have you the information we asked for?"

"Yes, sir," replied the Private. "The spy who was with Slippy Toad was a feline from Zoness by the name of Katt Monroe."

"Have they been captured yet?" asked Gerfalcon.

"I'm afraid not, sir," replied the Private. "Last we saw of them, they were escaping across the desert." This news infuriated Ipecac, who reached for a gun in his holster, ready to blast a hole through the Private's head.

"Thank you for that enlightening piece of information. You may leave now, Private" hissed a rasping and hissing voice that seemed to come from the person standing in between Morgue and Actoi. The soldier bowed respectfully to Lord Jingoist, before leaving, as the doors closed behind him. "You hear that, Ipecac?" hissed Jingoist, as he turned round to face Ipecac and the Hercules Team. Soulless eyes glared at them from inside Jingoist's skull, a gaze that seemed to pierce them. Lord Jingoist was a sandy-coloured lizard, dressed in a black military uniform similar to that of German Imperial Guards during the days of the Second Reich, black boots, black military trousers with a red pinstripe down each side, and white gloves. "Mr. Toad is now gone and that spy has taken some valuable information with her. Now the Lylatians will know of my little scheme here on Titania." A smile formed on Jingoist's face, as he walked slowly over towards Ipecac.

"I'm sorry, sir," apologised Gerfalcon, as he bowed his head in respect. "I will make up for this, I swear!" He looked up, to see Jingoist standing right next to him, a cruel smile on his face. The lizard placed one gloved hand on Ipecac's face, and brushed it down.

"I'm sure you will," hissed Jingoist, as the hand brushed down to the throat and then grasped it tightly. He lifted the gerfalcon off the metallic floor with one arm effortlessly, as if the avian weighed nothing. "You will make up for your mistake in full." The lizard clenched his other hand and punched Ipecac in the stomach, sending tendrils of pain crashing over him. He let go of Ipecac, letting him crash down on to the floor. "Fail me again, and you will find out how painful death can really be." Lord Jingoist turned round to face the Hercules Team, as Actoi and Morgue watched on with pleasure. "I trust, Captain, that you and your team won't fail me?"

The lion nodded in reply.
"Yes, Lord Jingoist," replied Kofu. "We shall do everything in our power to fulfil your command." His fur stood on end, as he watched that cruel smile spread across Jingoist's face again.

"Excellent!" laughed Jingoist. "We shall find out where the Shadows of Abomination are, and then, finally, revenge shall be mine!"


Star Fox and all related characters and places are copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd.
Jingoist, Lucretia, Kofu, Miasma and Kappa are copyrighted by me.