Author's Note: I don't anything here. All related to StarFox and StarFox
Adventures belong to Nintendo and Rare. Anything related to Japanese
mythology (Jigoku and the chains) belong to... well, Japanese mythology.
Otherwise the only thing I own here is the plot and Diva and Starr Jenson,
Kuro Youkai, and his pet Golden Bafomdad and all the other ones as well.
Sorry if the plot strays, the second part of the story is a bit chaotic,
I'm struggling to keep face. I've been writing this fic ever since
November, and it's near completion now, but that doesn't mean I'll update
my fic every day because of school. Please review after reading. Thank you.
~~Imagen~~
***
Part II
Chapter 5: "Fallen"
***
"We'll spend the night here," Fox said as he opened his pack and pulled out a sleeping bag.
Tricky grumbled, "But that Bafomdad's getting away-"
"We'll find it soon, don't worry, Tricky!" Falco growled impatiently. "That Bafomdad won't run around forever!"
"I know! So let's get that thing while it's asleep!"
"I'm getting tired myself," Fox complained as he unzipped his sleeping bag and began to slip in. "If you wanna keep looking for that Golden Bafomdad thief, then be my guest! Just make sure you don't get lost!"
"And speaking of getting lost," Krystal began. "Where's Starr?"
"HUH???" While being covered almost completely by his bag, Fox leaped up to his feet, making him look like a worm standing up. "Oh, my gawd, where IS Starr?!!!"
"Oh, that boy's gonna get busted!" Slippy moaned. "Starr? STARR!!!"
"I'll go look for him!" Falco said as he ran ahead. Of course, Fox and Tricky cannot see him, but they could hear Falco's panting as he ran off.
Fox struggled to get out of his sleeping bag and fell then crawled out. He scrambled on the snow, "Where did he go?"
"He went west," Krystal informed.
"Thanks, Krystal!" Fox thanked her. He began calling as soon as he began racing west, "Falco, wait up! I'm coming!"
***
'Damn, where are you, Starr?' Falco whispered to himself as he ran around through the forests, ghosting through the trees and rocks that stood in his way. He shouted out the boy's name over and over as he shot through the woods like a dart, diving through like a peregrine falcon shooting for its prey in top speed. Where did he run off to? All that ran through the tiercel's head was this: Once he finds that brat, he's gonna give the smacking of his life! What's IS he doing at a time like this?
*SNAP!*
"Do you always walk over twigs like that, Drip?" a voice asked at a distance. Falco recognized that voice. He hid behind a tree and waited for that shadowy hawk to walk out. He leaned his head out slightly so his falcon eye can see at an angle. When he looked he noticed a glisten through the thorny bushes. A Golden Bafomdad hopped around with a StarFox Badge pinned on his furry belly, a large bag floating high above him. To the eye of the living, the bag would be floating all by itself. To the eye of the dead and special ones of the living such as Starr, the bag was being held by Kuro.
Yet even though Falco was hiding behind a tree, Kuro could sense the fellow bird of prey's presence. He stopped dead in his tracks, Drip also stopping, then teleported. He reappeared beside the blue tiercel, surprising him and making him fall back. Falco glanced at the bag being held by Kuro, and he pointed at it, demanding, "What's in that bag, Youkai?"
"That's none of your business, Lombardi," Kuro answered, also referring Falco by his last name.
Falco thought he heard the whimpering of Happy, Hoppy, and Haughty in the bag as it squirmed. "The Golden Bafomdads?"
"That's right! I find them, I keep them!"
"We got them first, b@$t@rd!"
"Finders keepers!" Kuro taunted as he took off running. Falco reacted by kicking him down, but Kuro kept a firm grip on the bag and scrambled then continued racing. Somehow, instead of teleporting to escape, Kuro kept running. Drip followed him, then Falco. However, Falco didn't follow him all the way when Kuro did teleport after running several feet. The blue falcon wondered why he didn't do that in the first place.
"Falco!" the tiercel heard a child's voice call at a distance. Turning at a distance, he saw the little boy Starr running to his distance. Falco sighed in relief when he saw the sight of the boy, alive and well. His sighing turning into disbelieving gaping when he watched Starr ghost through a boulder that was in his pathway.
"Oh, gawd, no..." Falco choked as Starr ran into his arms, embracing him.
Starr sobbed as he looked up to the grown-up. "Falco... he killed me.... the same way he killed my mama, save the raping!"
"Starr...."
"He's taking Hoppy, Happy, and Haughty to the Krazoa Palace Ruins! We have to get them back!"
Falco shivered. Now that Starr is dead, what do they do? Instead of finding five Golden Bafomdads, now they have to find six! But completing the quest will not be possible if they don't retrieve the Golden Bafomdads. Falco couldn't think. All that raced through his mind was his disbelief of Starr's death. No. This can't be happening! He and the rest of the Team promised Starr's late mother Diva that they would take care of him. Now that promise is broken. The poor boy, only nine years old, is dead. Dead! What on Dinosaur Planet is happening here?
Starr choked as he cried in Falco's arms. "Papa... he took them......... We have to get them back..."
"Get on my back, Starr. I'll take you to Krazoa Palace," Falco said as he released Starr and turned around, bending down so Starr can climb on his back. "I'll try to get there unseen by the rest of the Team. They must NOT know this!"
Starr nodded. He climbed on his friend's back and wrapped his arms around Falco's neck. Falco stood up as he took hold of Starr's legs, letting the child ride piggyback. If Falco just ran with Starr alongside, often times he'll have to wait for him, for the little boy was not as fast as the swift falcon. Riding piggyback may slow him a bit, but not as much; Falco is strong, and he can handle it. Plus, neither he nor Starr have bodies, so both didn't have to worry about getting tired. Falco started his race with a sprint, then ran long in the forests to the pathway to ThornTail Hollow then Krazoa Palace Ruins. Hopefully they'll get that bag before anyone else knows of Starr's death, the heist of the Golden Bafomdads, and the absence of Falco and Starr's ghosts. What Falco and Starr were going through was a race against time.
***
"That's right, @$$holes. Come here, to the Krazoa Palace," Kuro chuckled as he appeared by his woman's side. He dropped the bag then looked back. General Scales sat on a fallen pillar, his fists clenched and razor sharp teeth grinding. He's ready. And so is Kuro.
"While waiting," Kuro continued as he lay over Diva, his filthy hands feeling her leg then up her skirt to get him started. "I think I'll keep myself busy until they come."
"No..." Diva began to cry. "You're not-"
"My Lord!" Kuro called back to General Scales. "Are the gates ready?"
"They're ready to open," Scales grumbled.
Kuro heard the tone in his master's voice. "What's the matter?"
"It just so happens that of the two of us, you have been rewarded well when none of the jobs I've assigned you are complete! You promised me the death of Fox McCloud, yet he lives! HE LIVES!!!"
"Relax, my lord. I promise, I'll grant you Fox's death. And then I'll assist you in getting your revenge from the one who killed you. Just as I have my tastes of revenge, I shall give you the cup to you for a sip."
"Tell me... how does it taste?"
"Sweet..." Kuro chuckled as he opened Diva's skirt and began his business. General Scales turned away, not wanting to watch. Yet because of his unwanting, he could see why Kuro even did such a thing at a time like this.
***
"STARR!!! STARR!!! WHERE ARE YOU???!!!" Fox shouted, his voice echoing in the snowy forests. Yet sadly, only his echoes were heard, aside from the running river water, calling birds, skittering insects, and chirping crickets. Other than those, the forest was completely.
Thoughts ran into Fox's mind. As he dashed through the forests, his memories of one of his last conversations with Starr's mother, Serena "Diva", danced in his head.
~~~
"If something ever happens to me... will you take care of Starr and make sure he returns home to Lylat?" she asked.
"Huh? W-What?... What are you saying, Diva-" Fox remembered saying.
"Will you, Fox?"
"Um, sure, of course I will! Don't worry, Miss Diva, I'll take care of Starr."
~~~
'What if something happened to him,' Fox began thinking. 'What if something happened to Starr? I'll never forgive myself-'
*TRIP! SPLASH!*
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Fox screamed as he tripped over a strange object then fell into the river. He thrashed about in the icy waters, splashing about like he was a drowning maniac. He finally straightened up then swam back to the surface then back on land, shivering violently from the freezing water. He suddenly stopped shivering when he realized what he just tripped over was a rock. And beside the rock a hand of a nine-year-old falcon/hawk eyas laid dead. The rest of the body was not visible, since it was buried under the snow.
***
As Falco leaped off the laddered pillar, he began hearing the whimpering of the boy on his back. He grumbled and stopped running, then turned to look at Starr. Starr stopped his whining and looked at the grown falcon with moist eyes, "Why are you stopping?"
"You were crying."
"I was NOT!!!"
"Don't lie to me, Starr."
Starr was speechless.
Falco resumed his trekking, but instead of running he traveled by speed walking. "Look, Starr, don't worry. We'll get those Golden Bafomdads back, and you'll be revived. We might even find your mom, and we'll get her back too. It'll all work out."
"Do you really think Papa's holding Mama there at the Krazoa Ruins?"
"Why not? He so-called 'owns' her. And the Krazoa Palace Ruins are the most likely place he'll be keeping her. But she won't stay there for long, we'll get her back. You'll see your mom again, Starr. So stop crying."
Starr sighed, his sad face becoming a more joyful one. He leaned his head on Falco's back as the tiercel continued on to the WarpStone. He began daydreaming. Daydreaming about what would happen once they their journey is complete. General Scales would be at rest. Kuro will be sent back to Jigoku, where he belongs. His mother and the late StarFox Team will be revived. And Starr and his mother would return home to Zoness. All will be well. And Falco and Diva will probably...
Starr looked up back to Falco. "Falco?"
"What now?"
"When you and Mama are revived, will you marry her?"
"YOU ASKED ME THAT ALREADY! NO!!!"
Starr sighed. "Why not? You too seem to be in love."
"No, we're not! In fact, we hate each other, me and your mom! I hate her guts, and she hates mine!"
"But why are you so nice to me and my mama?"
Falco paused for a moment. "Even though I really hate your mom... it's not right for the worst to happen to her. When she was raped, I helped her. When she laid the egg you were in, my friend and I took care of her. And even here I'm gonna help her out. And as for you, you're her son. You were unplanned yet not unwanted child, and she loves you. That's why I take care of you too."
"So it's like you love me and mama!"
"Gah! No! It's not like that all!"
"Then why do you still look after us?"
"Like I said, it's not right to just abandon you. I....... I......."
"Hmmm?" Starr hummed.
"I........ kinda know what you're going through, Starr. I really do. I know what it's like... to feel abandoned.... lost...... confused...... and yet there are still people who care for you, despite the fact you're a jerk and everyone hates you. And you wonder why. Why? Why do people care for you and you still throw rocks at them? I hate your mom... yet I still look after her and you... both of you."
Starr began thinking. 'What in the world did he mean by that? Does Falco really know what I'm going through? What are those people he's referring to?' The boy hugged Falco's neck a bit tighter. For some reason, he felt as if something really was happening between him, Falco, and Diva. It's not mutual, though. It's something else, but he just can't seem to pinpoint what it is exactly...
It didn't matter. Starr smiled again, "You know, Falco, you're much better than my real papa."
"Your real dad's a stupid @$$ jerk. Anyone's better than he is. Even Slippy."
Starr laughed as Falco boarded the WarpStone's hand. "Yeah... that's true... hey, Falco, why don't I call you 'Papa' instead, and I'll call my dad by his name!"
"STARR!!!!!!!!"
***
"No, no, no........... we've promised Diva we'd take of him!" Krystal sobbed as she fell on her knees, her hands covering her tear-filled eyes once she took sight of the child's body in Fox's arms.
Everyone was caught up in tears, even Fox. Fox, who held Starr's body like a baby, held him close and nuzzled the boy's face by his, lamenting over the child's cold corpse. Because Starr just died about half an hour ago, his body was still whole and not rotting. However, the stink was starting to kick in, and Fox had to place the body back down.
Slippy choked, "H-How did he die, Fox? Did he drown? Fall off a cliff?"
"I don't know," Fox said as he examined Starr's body. "I don't see any injuries or wounds or anything!"
Suddenly Peppy's ears twitched, and the ghost of the old rabbit quickly turned to the opposite direction he was originally facing. Directly behind him, a floating Krazoa Spirit hovered over the small party of Lylatian mortals, eyeing the icy body lying on the ice.
Tricky ran in front of Starr's body and shielded it with his. "Oh, no, you don't, Krazoa! You are NOT taking Starr with you! We've lost enough people to you, and we are NOT going to lose this one to YOU!!!"
"Do not be rash, young prince," the Krazoa said with a low, almost grieved tone of voice. "It is unfortunate enough for the lad to die of such a young age... that boy would have had a bright and beautiful future and grow up to be among the greatest men to have ever lived in Lylat. If I take the shell of the boy, I can revive it and take his ghost's place as the soul of the boy, and once I rejuvenate my being and rebuild the Krazoa Palace, then I can just return the shell to the original owner and let his life continue as if nothing has ever happened."
"Yeah, sure, like I'll let THAT happen!" Tricky barked. "I know what you're gonna do! Once you take the body, you'll stay in there, even AFTER the Krazoa Palace is rebuilt! You wanna satisfy your curiosity of what it is to live as an outsider of Dinosaur Planet, and you'll take Starr's place in life to only experience it yourself!"
The Krazoa Spirit just floated closer to Tricky. "That is true. All my brothers and I are curious of what is life like outside of Dinosaur Planet. But don't you think we also consider about the lives of the shells we have taken? That's why my first three brothers took only dead shells instead of killing live people then just take them. Falco Lombardi suffered from shock from the explosion of your ship, Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad were impaling by metal through their bodies, yet all three died from the actual crashing of the Great Fox. We know because my brothers took their shells and looked deep into their memories. They can even relive the moments of death and re- experience the pain, the torment, the anguish of their lives and even their times of joy and happiness and comfort. Isn't that enough to know what life is like outside of Dinosaur Planet? To just simply look into the memories of those already dead and re-experience life of those outside of this planet? Yes, we could have just looked into the memory of the living, such as when we enter the bodies of ones such as Fox, but at this moment the soul, the very spirit of the owner of the living body is still creating memory for us to look into." The Krazoa hesitated then continued, "The boy Starr is but a mere child with a future ahead of him. I can keep his body active and rejuvenate myself then rebuild the Krazoa Palace while you can search for the Golden Bafomdads so you can successfully revive a body that has been dead for over twenty-four hours, even if it was active with another ghost possessing the shell. Then you can solve your problems, we can solve ours, and everyone will be happy."
Tricky glanced at Fox. He turned back to the Krazoa, "You know... this IS Starr's body........ why don't you ask HIM???"
"I'm sure he won't mind," the Krazoa said. "But I cannot ask him right now."
"Why not?"
"He and your friend Falco are chasing that red-tailed hawk ghost with the bag full of kidnapped Golden Bafomdads to the Krazoa Palace Ruins. If you want, I can go for a while and ask the boy's permission-"
"What a minute, WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!!" Fox interrupted. "Repeat what you've just said!" While he was demanding for a reiteration, Peppy, Krystal, and Slippy made a head start back to the Krazoa Palace.
***
"No... Mama..." Starr muttered as soon as he caught sight of his father violating his mother once more. He released his hold around Falco's neck and allowed himself to slide down, then dashed toward his father and leaped to give him a midair kick.
Falco was too late to call him back. "WAIT!!! Starr, not yet-"
Kuro saw Starr just moments before his son would kick his head he teleported just several feet away then used telekinesis to hold him in midair. Starr struggled to release himself from the hawk's grasp, but it was no use. Kuro smirked as he clothed his lower torso then grabbed his child's neck. "You know, my son, you are more of a nuisance than you really should be-"
"Let them go!" Falco shouted as he took his turn to give a midair kick. His strike connected, and Kuro fell and rolled several feet as he dropped Starr unto the ground. Falco caught him before the ghost child would touch the earth.
Kuro held his head. "My lord Scales, they've arrived! Now open the gates! Hurry!"
Falco and Starr felt the earth shake once more. A large fissure was reformed on the closed floors, fire and brimstone flaring with incinerating heat. Diva was very close to the opening, and she began screaming in fear that the ground beneath her may crumble then fall and descend her into eternal darkness and torment.
"Mama!" Starr called as he ran near the edge of the fissure, happy to see his mother again but frightful that she may fall.
Falco immediately took knowledge of the trap Kuro set up especially for him and the boy. "No, Starr, come back-"
Too late. The chains of Jigoku shot through the air then enwrapped themselves around Starr's small ghost. They began pulling him in, dragging the poor boy along the ground before actually taking him into the eternal abyss. Falco dived for the child and took hold of him, sliding with him for a few feet before standing up and pulling him back, playing tug-o-war with the chains. Still, more chains shot out and grabbed Falco, but the hotheaded bird resisted. Kuro gaped as he watched Falco pull Starr away farther and farther from the edge of the gate, fighting back the strong chains struggling to drag them in. More and more heavy chains glued themselves to Falco's ghost, and even though it slowed his pulling Falco still resisted the chains and continued to back away from the fissure.
"Impossible!" Falco heard Scales roar. "How can he alone resist the chains of Jigoku???!!!!!!!"
"Starr! Falco!" another voice was heard. Falco turned his head and looked. Standing at the grounds of the Palace a hundred feet away was Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal. At that very moment Falco let only a tiny bit of his guard down, and one more set of chains shot out and wrapped around Falco's ankles, binding them then pulling him. Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal watched in petrified horror as the chains lifted Falco and Starr high into the air, straight above the opening of the abyss for several seconds. Diva sobbed as she watched the last of her son and friend being pulled straight down, fast and suddenly, into the pits, Falco and Starr screaming bloody cries. She tried to move, but she couldn't. Only Krystal, Peppy, Slippy, Kuro, and Scales could see the two birds falling faster and deeper into the fiery hole, their screams echoing in the darkness then fading, their ghosts also fading as they descended into everlasting darkness before the gates closed, trapping them there forever.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! STARR!!! FALCO!!!" The other ghosts but Kuro and Scales shrieked. Fox only fell in his knees in shock.
Scales turned to see the falling Fox. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?... Finally! I can kill two birds with one stone!... well actually, those two birds are being pulled down to Jigoku, while with this Fox I can kill with a stone..."
***
Even though they're being pulled further and further into the fiery depths, Falco kept close hold to Starr. He even tightened his embrace around the boy, holding him like he was his own child. He won't let go. Not even in an entire afterlife in forever torment.
Both he and Starr felt the chains pull them further and faster. But how much longer will they go? Will they forever fall? This was not like some kind of free falling like one would do when sky diving. At least when one is sky diving he knows when it was time to release the parachute. Here, they don't have a parachute for themselves, nor do they have the knowledge when they will hit bottom. But once they do hit bottom, what will happen? Falco has heard many stories of what will happen to a soul once it reaches Jigoku. Some say that many Gaki, thin ghastly creatures of the undead, will come to attempt to end their everlasting suffering of endless hunger and thirst and gobble up their souls. Others say that the Kami of Jigoku will take them prisoner for a time then transform them into evil spirits, condemned to ruin and torment the living. All of these sound frightening, and Falco wanted not to know any of them, but they'll happen. At least one of them will.
Falco began to hear more of Starr's crying despite the clanging of the chains. He shouted out, "Starr, stop it!"
"You liar, Falco! You said everything will work out!"
"It will!"
"How do you know? We cannot be revived now! With us descending to Jigoku, we can no longer escape death and never revive!"
Falco hesitated as he let himself and Starr fall several feet. "I don't know, but................ at least your mom isn't here! Fox can revive your mom, and she can have a happy life! Even if none of us will be there for her!"
Starr saw the point. It was for the best, and even though they blew most of it, at least one thing will survive. Hopefully Fox will look after Diva now. Now it's up to Fox, and neither Starr nor Falco can help him now. They're trapped forever. At least Diva was free.
Starr began to embrace Falco closer. "I'm scared..."
"It's okay. I'm here."
Those were the last words ever heard before sickening cracks silenced the chains, like the sound of eggs splattering on a stone floor. Then came the sound of growling demons.
((to be continued...))
***
((GASP!!! IS THAT IT???!!! Yup! That's the end of that chapter! ;_; Please review!))
~~Imagen~~
***
Part II
Chapter 5: "Fallen"
***
"We'll spend the night here," Fox said as he opened his pack and pulled out a sleeping bag.
Tricky grumbled, "But that Bafomdad's getting away-"
"We'll find it soon, don't worry, Tricky!" Falco growled impatiently. "That Bafomdad won't run around forever!"
"I know! So let's get that thing while it's asleep!"
"I'm getting tired myself," Fox complained as he unzipped his sleeping bag and began to slip in. "If you wanna keep looking for that Golden Bafomdad thief, then be my guest! Just make sure you don't get lost!"
"And speaking of getting lost," Krystal began. "Where's Starr?"
"HUH???" While being covered almost completely by his bag, Fox leaped up to his feet, making him look like a worm standing up. "Oh, my gawd, where IS Starr?!!!"
"Oh, that boy's gonna get busted!" Slippy moaned. "Starr? STARR!!!"
"I'll go look for him!" Falco said as he ran ahead. Of course, Fox and Tricky cannot see him, but they could hear Falco's panting as he ran off.
Fox struggled to get out of his sleeping bag and fell then crawled out. He scrambled on the snow, "Where did he go?"
"He went west," Krystal informed.
"Thanks, Krystal!" Fox thanked her. He began calling as soon as he began racing west, "Falco, wait up! I'm coming!"
***
'Damn, where are you, Starr?' Falco whispered to himself as he ran around through the forests, ghosting through the trees and rocks that stood in his way. He shouted out the boy's name over and over as he shot through the woods like a dart, diving through like a peregrine falcon shooting for its prey in top speed. Where did he run off to? All that ran through the tiercel's head was this: Once he finds that brat, he's gonna give the smacking of his life! What's IS he doing at a time like this?
*SNAP!*
"Do you always walk over twigs like that, Drip?" a voice asked at a distance. Falco recognized that voice. He hid behind a tree and waited for that shadowy hawk to walk out. He leaned his head out slightly so his falcon eye can see at an angle. When he looked he noticed a glisten through the thorny bushes. A Golden Bafomdad hopped around with a StarFox Badge pinned on his furry belly, a large bag floating high above him. To the eye of the living, the bag would be floating all by itself. To the eye of the dead and special ones of the living such as Starr, the bag was being held by Kuro.
Yet even though Falco was hiding behind a tree, Kuro could sense the fellow bird of prey's presence. He stopped dead in his tracks, Drip also stopping, then teleported. He reappeared beside the blue tiercel, surprising him and making him fall back. Falco glanced at the bag being held by Kuro, and he pointed at it, demanding, "What's in that bag, Youkai?"
"That's none of your business, Lombardi," Kuro answered, also referring Falco by his last name.
Falco thought he heard the whimpering of Happy, Hoppy, and Haughty in the bag as it squirmed. "The Golden Bafomdads?"
"That's right! I find them, I keep them!"
"We got them first, b@$t@rd!"
"Finders keepers!" Kuro taunted as he took off running. Falco reacted by kicking him down, but Kuro kept a firm grip on the bag and scrambled then continued racing. Somehow, instead of teleporting to escape, Kuro kept running. Drip followed him, then Falco. However, Falco didn't follow him all the way when Kuro did teleport after running several feet. The blue falcon wondered why he didn't do that in the first place.
"Falco!" the tiercel heard a child's voice call at a distance. Turning at a distance, he saw the little boy Starr running to his distance. Falco sighed in relief when he saw the sight of the boy, alive and well. His sighing turning into disbelieving gaping when he watched Starr ghost through a boulder that was in his pathway.
"Oh, gawd, no..." Falco choked as Starr ran into his arms, embracing him.
Starr sobbed as he looked up to the grown-up. "Falco... he killed me.... the same way he killed my mama, save the raping!"
"Starr...."
"He's taking Hoppy, Happy, and Haughty to the Krazoa Palace Ruins! We have to get them back!"
Falco shivered. Now that Starr is dead, what do they do? Instead of finding five Golden Bafomdads, now they have to find six! But completing the quest will not be possible if they don't retrieve the Golden Bafomdads. Falco couldn't think. All that raced through his mind was his disbelief of Starr's death. No. This can't be happening! He and the rest of the Team promised Starr's late mother Diva that they would take care of him. Now that promise is broken. The poor boy, only nine years old, is dead. Dead! What on Dinosaur Planet is happening here?
Starr choked as he cried in Falco's arms. "Papa... he took them......... We have to get them back..."
"Get on my back, Starr. I'll take you to Krazoa Palace," Falco said as he released Starr and turned around, bending down so Starr can climb on his back. "I'll try to get there unseen by the rest of the Team. They must NOT know this!"
Starr nodded. He climbed on his friend's back and wrapped his arms around Falco's neck. Falco stood up as he took hold of Starr's legs, letting the child ride piggyback. If Falco just ran with Starr alongside, often times he'll have to wait for him, for the little boy was not as fast as the swift falcon. Riding piggyback may slow him a bit, but not as much; Falco is strong, and he can handle it. Plus, neither he nor Starr have bodies, so both didn't have to worry about getting tired. Falco started his race with a sprint, then ran long in the forests to the pathway to ThornTail Hollow then Krazoa Palace Ruins. Hopefully they'll get that bag before anyone else knows of Starr's death, the heist of the Golden Bafomdads, and the absence of Falco and Starr's ghosts. What Falco and Starr were going through was a race against time.
***
"That's right, @$$holes. Come here, to the Krazoa Palace," Kuro chuckled as he appeared by his woman's side. He dropped the bag then looked back. General Scales sat on a fallen pillar, his fists clenched and razor sharp teeth grinding. He's ready. And so is Kuro.
"While waiting," Kuro continued as he lay over Diva, his filthy hands feeling her leg then up her skirt to get him started. "I think I'll keep myself busy until they come."
"No..." Diva began to cry. "You're not-"
"My Lord!" Kuro called back to General Scales. "Are the gates ready?"
"They're ready to open," Scales grumbled.
Kuro heard the tone in his master's voice. "What's the matter?"
"It just so happens that of the two of us, you have been rewarded well when none of the jobs I've assigned you are complete! You promised me the death of Fox McCloud, yet he lives! HE LIVES!!!"
"Relax, my lord. I promise, I'll grant you Fox's death. And then I'll assist you in getting your revenge from the one who killed you. Just as I have my tastes of revenge, I shall give you the cup to you for a sip."
"Tell me... how does it taste?"
"Sweet..." Kuro chuckled as he opened Diva's skirt and began his business. General Scales turned away, not wanting to watch. Yet because of his unwanting, he could see why Kuro even did such a thing at a time like this.
***
"STARR!!! STARR!!! WHERE ARE YOU???!!!" Fox shouted, his voice echoing in the snowy forests. Yet sadly, only his echoes were heard, aside from the running river water, calling birds, skittering insects, and chirping crickets. Other than those, the forest was completely.
Thoughts ran into Fox's mind. As he dashed through the forests, his memories of one of his last conversations with Starr's mother, Serena "Diva", danced in his head.
~~~
"If something ever happens to me... will you take care of Starr and make sure he returns home to Lylat?" she asked.
"Huh? W-What?... What are you saying, Diva-" Fox remembered saying.
"Will you, Fox?"
"Um, sure, of course I will! Don't worry, Miss Diva, I'll take care of Starr."
~~~
'What if something happened to him,' Fox began thinking. 'What if something happened to Starr? I'll never forgive myself-'
*TRIP! SPLASH!*
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Fox screamed as he tripped over a strange object then fell into the river. He thrashed about in the icy waters, splashing about like he was a drowning maniac. He finally straightened up then swam back to the surface then back on land, shivering violently from the freezing water. He suddenly stopped shivering when he realized what he just tripped over was a rock. And beside the rock a hand of a nine-year-old falcon/hawk eyas laid dead. The rest of the body was not visible, since it was buried under the snow.
***
As Falco leaped off the laddered pillar, he began hearing the whimpering of the boy on his back. He grumbled and stopped running, then turned to look at Starr. Starr stopped his whining and looked at the grown falcon with moist eyes, "Why are you stopping?"
"You were crying."
"I was NOT!!!"
"Don't lie to me, Starr."
Starr was speechless.
Falco resumed his trekking, but instead of running he traveled by speed walking. "Look, Starr, don't worry. We'll get those Golden Bafomdads back, and you'll be revived. We might even find your mom, and we'll get her back too. It'll all work out."
"Do you really think Papa's holding Mama there at the Krazoa Ruins?"
"Why not? He so-called 'owns' her. And the Krazoa Palace Ruins are the most likely place he'll be keeping her. But she won't stay there for long, we'll get her back. You'll see your mom again, Starr. So stop crying."
Starr sighed, his sad face becoming a more joyful one. He leaned his head on Falco's back as the tiercel continued on to the WarpStone. He began daydreaming. Daydreaming about what would happen once they their journey is complete. General Scales would be at rest. Kuro will be sent back to Jigoku, where he belongs. His mother and the late StarFox Team will be revived. And Starr and his mother would return home to Zoness. All will be well. And Falco and Diva will probably...
Starr looked up back to Falco. "Falco?"
"What now?"
"When you and Mama are revived, will you marry her?"
"YOU ASKED ME THAT ALREADY! NO!!!"
Starr sighed. "Why not? You too seem to be in love."
"No, we're not! In fact, we hate each other, me and your mom! I hate her guts, and she hates mine!"
"But why are you so nice to me and my mama?"
Falco paused for a moment. "Even though I really hate your mom... it's not right for the worst to happen to her. When she was raped, I helped her. When she laid the egg you were in, my friend and I took care of her. And even here I'm gonna help her out. And as for you, you're her son. You were unplanned yet not unwanted child, and she loves you. That's why I take care of you too."
"So it's like you love me and mama!"
"Gah! No! It's not like that all!"
"Then why do you still look after us?"
"Like I said, it's not right to just abandon you. I....... I......."
"Hmmm?" Starr hummed.
"I........ kinda know what you're going through, Starr. I really do. I know what it's like... to feel abandoned.... lost...... confused...... and yet there are still people who care for you, despite the fact you're a jerk and everyone hates you. And you wonder why. Why? Why do people care for you and you still throw rocks at them? I hate your mom... yet I still look after her and you... both of you."
Starr began thinking. 'What in the world did he mean by that? Does Falco really know what I'm going through? What are those people he's referring to?' The boy hugged Falco's neck a bit tighter. For some reason, he felt as if something really was happening between him, Falco, and Diva. It's not mutual, though. It's something else, but he just can't seem to pinpoint what it is exactly...
It didn't matter. Starr smiled again, "You know, Falco, you're much better than my real papa."
"Your real dad's a stupid @$$ jerk. Anyone's better than he is. Even Slippy."
Starr laughed as Falco boarded the WarpStone's hand. "Yeah... that's true... hey, Falco, why don't I call you 'Papa' instead, and I'll call my dad by his name!"
"STARR!!!!!!!!"
***
"No, no, no........... we've promised Diva we'd take of him!" Krystal sobbed as she fell on her knees, her hands covering her tear-filled eyes once she took sight of the child's body in Fox's arms.
Everyone was caught up in tears, even Fox. Fox, who held Starr's body like a baby, held him close and nuzzled the boy's face by his, lamenting over the child's cold corpse. Because Starr just died about half an hour ago, his body was still whole and not rotting. However, the stink was starting to kick in, and Fox had to place the body back down.
Slippy choked, "H-How did he die, Fox? Did he drown? Fall off a cliff?"
"I don't know," Fox said as he examined Starr's body. "I don't see any injuries or wounds or anything!"
Suddenly Peppy's ears twitched, and the ghost of the old rabbit quickly turned to the opposite direction he was originally facing. Directly behind him, a floating Krazoa Spirit hovered over the small party of Lylatian mortals, eyeing the icy body lying on the ice.
Tricky ran in front of Starr's body and shielded it with his. "Oh, no, you don't, Krazoa! You are NOT taking Starr with you! We've lost enough people to you, and we are NOT going to lose this one to YOU!!!"
"Do not be rash, young prince," the Krazoa said with a low, almost grieved tone of voice. "It is unfortunate enough for the lad to die of such a young age... that boy would have had a bright and beautiful future and grow up to be among the greatest men to have ever lived in Lylat. If I take the shell of the boy, I can revive it and take his ghost's place as the soul of the boy, and once I rejuvenate my being and rebuild the Krazoa Palace, then I can just return the shell to the original owner and let his life continue as if nothing has ever happened."
"Yeah, sure, like I'll let THAT happen!" Tricky barked. "I know what you're gonna do! Once you take the body, you'll stay in there, even AFTER the Krazoa Palace is rebuilt! You wanna satisfy your curiosity of what it is to live as an outsider of Dinosaur Planet, and you'll take Starr's place in life to only experience it yourself!"
The Krazoa Spirit just floated closer to Tricky. "That is true. All my brothers and I are curious of what is life like outside of Dinosaur Planet. But don't you think we also consider about the lives of the shells we have taken? That's why my first three brothers took only dead shells instead of killing live people then just take them. Falco Lombardi suffered from shock from the explosion of your ship, Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad were impaling by metal through their bodies, yet all three died from the actual crashing of the Great Fox. We know because my brothers took their shells and looked deep into their memories. They can even relive the moments of death and re- experience the pain, the torment, the anguish of their lives and even their times of joy and happiness and comfort. Isn't that enough to know what life is like outside of Dinosaur Planet? To just simply look into the memories of those already dead and re-experience life of those outside of this planet? Yes, we could have just looked into the memory of the living, such as when we enter the bodies of ones such as Fox, but at this moment the soul, the very spirit of the owner of the living body is still creating memory for us to look into." The Krazoa hesitated then continued, "The boy Starr is but a mere child with a future ahead of him. I can keep his body active and rejuvenate myself then rebuild the Krazoa Palace while you can search for the Golden Bafomdads so you can successfully revive a body that has been dead for over twenty-four hours, even if it was active with another ghost possessing the shell. Then you can solve your problems, we can solve ours, and everyone will be happy."
Tricky glanced at Fox. He turned back to the Krazoa, "You know... this IS Starr's body........ why don't you ask HIM???"
"I'm sure he won't mind," the Krazoa said. "But I cannot ask him right now."
"Why not?"
"He and your friend Falco are chasing that red-tailed hawk ghost with the bag full of kidnapped Golden Bafomdads to the Krazoa Palace Ruins. If you want, I can go for a while and ask the boy's permission-"
"What a minute, WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!!" Fox interrupted. "Repeat what you've just said!" While he was demanding for a reiteration, Peppy, Krystal, and Slippy made a head start back to the Krazoa Palace.
***
"No... Mama..." Starr muttered as soon as he caught sight of his father violating his mother once more. He released his hold around Falco's neck and allowed himself to slide down, then dashed toward his father and leaped to give him a midair kick.
Falco was too late to call him back. "WAIT!!! Starr, not yet-"
Kuro saw Starr just moments before his son would kick his head he teleported just several feet away then used telekinesis to hold him in midair. Starr struggled to release himself from the hawk's grasp, but it was no use. Kuro smirked as he clothed his lower torso then grabbed his child's neck. "You know, my son, you are more of a nuisance than you really should be-"
"Let them go!" Falco shouted as he took his turn to give a midair kick. His strike connected, and Kuro fell and rolled several feet as he dropped Starr unto the ground. Falco caught him before the ghost child would touch the earth.
Kuro held his head. "My lord Scales, they've arrived! Now open the gates! Hurry!"
Falco and Starr felt the earth shake once more. A large fissure was reformed on the closed floors, fire and brimstone flaring with incinerating heat. Diva was very close to the opening, and she began screaming in fear that the ground beneath her may crumble then fall and descend her into eternal darkness and torment.
"Mama!" Starr called as he ran near the edge of the fissure, happy to see his mother again but frightful that she may fall.
Falco immediately took knowledge of the trap Kuro set up especially for him and the boy. "No, Starr, come back-"
Too late. The chains of Jigoku shot through the air then enwrapped themselves around Starr's small ghost. They began pulling him in, dragging the poor boy along the ground before actually taking him into the eternal abyss. Falco dived for the child and took hold of him, sliding with him for a few feet before standing up and pulling him back, playing tug-o-war with the chains. Still, more chains shot out and grabbed Falco, but the hotheaded bird resisted. Kuro gaped as he watched Falco pull Starr away farther and farther from the edge of the gate, fighting back the strong chains struggling to drag them in. More and more heavy chains glued themselves to Falco's ghost, and even though it slowed his pulling Falco still resisted the chains and continued to back away from the fissure.
"Impossible!" Falco heard Scales roar. "How can he alone resist the chains of Jigoku???!!!!!!!"
"Starr! Falco!" another voice was heard. Falco turned his head and looked. Standing at the grounds of the Palace a hundred feet away was Fox, Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal. At that very moment Falco let only a tiny bit of his guard down, and one more set of chains shot out and wrapped around Falco's ankles, binding them then pulling him. Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal watched in petrified horror as the chains lifted Falco and Starr high into the air, straight above the opening of the abyss for several seconds. Diva sobbed as she watched the last of her son and friend being pulled straight down, fast and suddenly, into the pits, Falco and Starr screaming bloody cries. She tried to move, but she couldn't. Only Krystal, Peppy, Slippy, Kuro, and Scales could see the two birds falling faster and deeper into the fiery hole, their screams echoing in the darkness then fading, their ghosts also fading as they descended into everlasting darkness before the gates closed, trapping them there forever.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! STARR!!! FALCO!!!" The other ghosts but Kuro and Scales shrieked. Fox only fell in his knees in shock.
Scales turned to see the falling Fox. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?... Finally! I can kill two birds with one stone!... well actually, those two birds are being pulled down to Jigoku, while with this Fox I can kill with a stone..."
***
Even though they're being pulled further and further into the fiery depths, Falco kept close hold to Starr. He even tightened his embrace around the boy, holding him like he was his own child. He won't let go. Not even in an entire afterlife in forever torment.
Both he and Starr felt the chains pull them further and faster. But how much longer will they go? Will they forever fall? This was not like some kind of free falling like one would do when sky diving. At least when one is sky diving he knows when it was time to release the parachute. Here, they don't have a parachute for themselves, nor do they have the knowledge when they will hit bottom. But once they do hit bottom, what will happen? Falco has heard many stories of what will happen to a soul once it reaches Jigoku. Some say that many Gaki, thin ghastly creatures of the undead, will come to attempt to end their everlasting suffering of endless hunger and thirst and gobble up their souls. Others say that the Kami of Jigoku will take them prisoner for a time then transform them into evil spirits, condemned to ruin and torment the living. All of these sound frightening, and Falco wanted not to know any of them, but they'll happen. At least one of them will.
Falco began to hear more of Starr's crying despite the clanging of the chains. He shouted out, "Starr, stop it!"
"You liar, Falco! You said everything will work out!"
"It will!"
"How do you know? We cannot be revived now! With us descending to Jigoku, we can no longer escape death and never revive!"
Falco hesitated as he let himself and Starr fall several feet. "I don't know, but................ at least your mom isn't here! Fox can revive your mom, and she can have a happy life! Even if none of us will be there for her!"
Starr saw the point. It was for the best, and even though they blew most of it, at least one thing will survive. Hopefully Fox will look after Diva now. Now it's up to Fox, and neither Starr nor Falco can help him now. They're trapped forever. At least Diva was free.
Starr began to embrace Falco closer. "I'm scared..."
"It's okay. I'm here."
Those were the last words ever heard before sickening cracks silenced the chains, like the sound of eggs splattering on a stone floor. Then came the sound of growling demons.
((to be continued...))
***
((GASP!!! IS THAT IT???!!! Yup! That's the end of that chapter! ;_; Please review!))