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 6: "The Worsening"
***
"Behold, milord, the one nemesis you have struggled so hard to meet and kill. Fox McCloud!" Kuro boomed as he watched Fox faint.
The other three ghosts knelt by Fox's side, frantic that their leader has lost his strength. Slippy grabbed the vulpine's shoulders and shook him violently, "Fox! Fox! Wake up! Don't do this to us!"
Kuro sprang behind Slippy and grabbed his neck, strangling his fellow ghost then throwing him over at the edge of the still closing fissure, the baseball capped frog rolling off and grabbing the ledge. Scales did the same as he took hold of Peppy and Krystal, throwing them like a couple of rag dolls and into the hanging frog. More chains spat and grabbed hold of the lingering trio, and Peppy, hanging onto the ledge with Krystal and Slippy holding onto his legs, tightened his grip on the edge as they were being pulled down slowly. But Peppy will not release his grip.
"Kuro! Finish them off! I'll take care of Fox!"
The hawk smirked as he nodded to his master's command then headed out to the old rabbit. He placed his booted foot on Peppy's hand, twisting then crushing it. "Sorry, old man. You're just not worth our time."
Before he would send the senior member of the StarFox into the fiery pits, a strong gush of wind suddenly blew into Kuro. The hawk quickly lost his balance and fell plat on his face, sliding and rolling several feet away. More chains spat out, reaching for Kuro rather than the StarFox ghosts, but he moved away and dodged every one of them and retreated, racing to his lord Scales. The same wind blew under Slippy and Krystal's feet, then lifted them with Peppy from the gates of Jigoku, the chains snapping off like a frail web of a spider. Peppy, Krystal, and Slippy heard both Kuro and Scales scream as if it was they who were falling into the pits, and they looked their way.
"T-T-T" they heard Scales stutter. "Tenshis!"
'Tenshis?' Krystal thought. 'As in angels?'
The rings that held Diva down also snapped apart. The young falcon looked up. Dressed in feathered hagoromo robes was a glowing Lylatian, seeming to be that of a two-tailed cat known as a Nekomata ((that's right, Inu-Yasha fans! Two-tailed cats like Kirara are known as Nekomata!)). The Nekomata tenshi held Diva in her arms, carrying her away as she floated, defying the laws of gravity, having the appearance of the heavenly maiden Tennyo rather than a tenshi. She and the falcon glanced at the rabbit, vixen, and frog. The other tenshi, a nine-tailed Kitsune, carried off with the StarFox ghosts, darting in the air like the wind itself. The Nekomata Tenshi quickly followed.
Scales, distracted from the sight of the angels, didn't notice Fox being carried away by a phantom. and a Golden Bafomdad quietly following.
***
"This is so cool!" Slippy shouted with glee as the two Tenshis carried the ghosts all the way in a dead forest in the SnowHorn Wastes. "I mean, look! We're being carried off by angels! Gorgeous, hot-looking women in feathered robes! Boy, will this be all over the-"
Krystal smacked Slippy on the head. "These tenshis will NOT be articles of a tabloid!"
"Hush now, ground dwellers," the Nekomata Tenshi said softly. "The Krazoa would like to speak to you soon."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?????"
"Are you messengers of the Krazoa?" Peppy asked.
"No, not the Krazoa. The Krazoa are fellow spirits who protect and keep together this planet. We are simply dwellers of heaven who are called down to by another ghost whose rest was taken away."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
***
"Well, well, the gang's all here," Krystal said sarcastically as four out of five of the shell-possessed Krazoa approached the ghosts, the Krazoa Diva being missing. Following closely behind was the now walking and breathing Starr, whom the sixth Krazoa possessed. Tricky walked behind him.
"What. happened?" Tricky asked.
Krystal shook her head. "We were too late. The chains of Jigoku pulled Starr down. and Falco with him."
Tricky shook then started to quietly sob. Slippy turned to the tenshis, "You CAN get them out. right?"
Both tenshis shook their heads.
"What? How can that be!" Peppy began to holler. "Izanami was able to escape Jigoku! How can Starr and Falco not?"
"Ah, so you know of the Creation myth," the Kitsune Tenshi began. "Well, here's a reminder of how it went: Izanami was the mother of all creation and burned to death giving birth to the God of Fire ((ironic, ain't it?)). Therefore, she and her husband Izanagi are considered also to be gods, so they CAN get out of Jigoku. Your friends are mortals. Plus, if you remember how the myth went correctly, Izanami never DID come out of Jigoku. First of all, she went to Yomi, the Land of Darkness, or the Land of the Dead, but she never escaped that either. She was close, but no, she never made it out. Your feathered friends went down to Jigoku, where the unrested dead are pulled down to and are devoured into demons and become evil spirits. That's different from Yomi."
"And." Tricky muttered.
"In other words, your friends will never escape Jigoku. If Izanami can never escape Yomi, then what chance do your friends have from the crueler, eviler Jigoku?"
Silence.
"However. the birds, even though rough, brash, and hard-headed, they were not evil, and their hearts are purer, though not completely, than those who should be pulled down to Jigoku. When we were sent to rescue you, there were three of us, not two. Our third companion, a Tanuki (raccoon dog), flew down to Jigoku before the gates would close. Since she represents heaven, the flames and demons will not get near her, so she will see if she can get them out. However, she cannot open the gates on her own, so she might stay there forever unless Scales opens the gates again."
"There's hope!" Slippy leaped for joy. "All we have to do is get Scales to open the gates!"
The Nekomata Tenshi sighed. "We don't want to risk losing any more of you to Scales's trap. Believe us, he will open the gates again soon, just in a different way. However... when he does.. we might be too late."
***
While the ghosts were taken to SnowHorn Wastes, Fox was taken to the blossoming forests of CloudRunner Forests.
Jim softly laid Fox on a bed of flowers then placed a warm burlap cloak on him. The fifth Krazoa, the one who possessed Diva, was nearby, soaking a rag with water. She wringed the water out then folded it and handed it to Jim, who placed it gently on Fox's forehead.
"Fox. my son. you were strong. but now, look at you. At a time when your friend needed you fell ill. what kind of leader are you? I was proud of you before. but now. you were careless enough to let all your friends die. *Sigh* What am I going to do with you?"
***
"Disappointing... this truly is... we were so close..." Kuro sighed as he sat atop a boulder in the Krazoa Palace Ruins, watching the sun rise beautifully from its mountainous bed, his rays fingering in the sky for the new day.
General Scales wasn't as calm nor was he in the mood for gazing at the dawn. In a fiery rampage he stormed and grabbed the hawk on the neck, his stony grip clamping on his feathery throat. Kuro felt the scaly fingers of his master's only hand clench his neck, squeezing all the air out of his ghostly throat. Of course, a ghost doesn't need to breathe... they're already dead. But their ghostly beings were similar in shape as in their physical bodies, plus assault can only be done to a spirit if inflicted by another. Kuro simply vanished in the General's hand, reappearing in the spot where he once held his rape victim captive.
Scales snarled. "Now the next thing you're going to tell me is that you want your woman back!"
"Of course, my lord."
"We had a deal, Youkai! If I grant you your woman and the demise of your son and rival, then you will deliver me my revenge and the death of Fox McCloud! NONE of your side of the bargain is fulfilled, and I have done MY part!"
"Yes, you're right, my lord. Therefore, all the more I should keep my end of the bargain. Just because Fox McCloud escaped does not mean that I will stop in my mission."
"..."
Kuro kneeled then bowed low to the ground, his face and hands on the rocky earth. "I have failed you, my lord. All I ask is for another chance to help you."
Scales glared at the bowing hawk coldly. "What makes you think I can entrust you this time?"
"If I fail again," Kuro began. "You can send me to Jigoku. Just like you, I have escaped the chains just to have revenge. If you sent me back surely the gods and demons will not take their eyes off me again."
"Sounds fair," Scales murmured. As Kuro stood back up, the tall SharpClaw continued, "To be honest, of all the men I've hired, you're the only one who seems useful. Do me a favor, Kuro- don't fail me again. I don't want to send to Jigoku a valuable man such as yourself... valuable, yet twisted, bitter, and lethal. I like that. All my men before they're all stupid idiots. You're the only ones who seem to have a brain."
Kuro nodded.
"I have decided your next move. If you come across Fox McCloud, then kill him, but meanwhile-"
"What do I do, my lord?" Kuro said as he approached Scales to listen carefully.
The dinosaur turned to the hawk. "First, I want you to go the Moon Mountain Pass and enter the Volcano Force Point Temple..."
***
"Diva?" Slippy spoke, his voice echoing in the dead forest. If he could recall, not only he, Peppy, and Krystal were rescued from the Jigoku gates, but Diva was also, freed from her prison. But if she was freed, then where is she?
"She's over here!" Krystal called out as she kneeled and leaned over on a boulder at the side of a steep precipice, pointing down. Tricky was asleep by the boulder, exhausted from the lack of night's sleep.
Both Peppy and Slippy ran to her. "Don't tell me she fell off again!"
"Nope! Not this time! She climbed down there."
"WHAAAAAT???"
Both the rabbit and the frog ran alongside the boulder to have a peek for themselves. Kneeling while leaning forward on the snow, sobbing her heart out and crying out to the world, was the falcon woman Diva, hugging an object very close to her undead heart. All three of the StarFox ghosts climbed down the cliff and quietly and slowly walked to the lamenting falcon, then leaned over to have a look at what she was embracing. In her arms, cradled like a baby, was a very small, worn out the spear.
Krystal started. "That's... that's..."
"That's Starr's spear!" Peppy finished.
When she heard her fellow ghosts speak, the grieving woman turned her head. Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal gasped and stepped back when they saw her face. Diva's tear-brimmed eyes were not only crying with grief but also glaring coldly and hatefully, her beak trembling as if finding the words to shout out.
'Oh, gawd,' Slippy thought. 'Boy, is she PISSED!!!'
"You... let... him... die..."
"Diva-" Peppy began, holding his palms up.
Diva stood up, still holding her spear. "You... let... him... die..."
"It wasn't our fault-" Slippy stuttered.
"YOU LET MY SON DIE!!!!!!!!!!"
All three of the other ghosts fell back in fright of the falcon's bellowing. They even scooted several feet backwards, but Diva, still sobbing and infuriated, stormed after them, clenching the spear as if it was her own weapon.
All three were in terrified as if what they were facing was a voracious RedEye. "Please, Diva!"
"You..."
"Diva! Please!" They all screamed in fear, cowering as they curdled up, forgetting that all of them are ghosts and aren't suppose to be afraid of dying. "We're sorry! We should have watched Starr more closely! We tried, Diva, and we failed! Forgive us, please!"
Peppy and Krystal's ears twitched when they heard the spear drop on the snow. All three of them looked up to see Diva's anger disappear. She fell on her knees and continued her sobbing, her shoulders heaving and a river forming from her eyes. She struggled to speak and managed to choke a few words. "You've... tried..."
"Diva..."
The mother dried her eyes. "Starr wasn't the only one. Falco went down too."
"Yeah... we know..."
She looked up to Peppy and Slippy as she wiped her eyes dry. "If Falco was there with him, then all of you should have been also." She heaved a sigh and picked up the spear.
"Come to think of it," Krystal began. She faced her comrades, "Now that Falco's also down there, do you-"
"NO!!!" Diva shouted. "Falco and I may have been adversaries and we hated each other, it doesn't mean I'm happy that he went down! He... helped me when I came to a time needed a friend the most... and he even took care of Starr like he was the father..."
'More like an older brother if you ask me...' Slippy muttered under his breath. Peppy nudged him lightly.
Krystal ignored the two and continued, "The Tenshis told us that they're going to try to free Starr and Falco."
"I've heard. I was there," Diva explained. "However, what I am afraid is that they might be too late," she continued as she gently stroked the spearhead as if she was stroking the head of her child.
***
While the real Diva was accompanying the other ghosts, the false one, Krazoa Diva, was accompanying Fox.
What she was surprised was that Jim was angry that Fox was ill rather than concerned. She asked, "What is it, James McCloud? Why are you forsaking your son at a time like this? It seems to me that he has fainted from lack of food, rest, and warmth when he spent all this time trying to find the Golden Bafomdads for his Team's revival. And because of this he has succumbed to illness. Should it not be you rather than me to look after him?"
Jim, who was facing to the east where the sun rose, only sighed. "I AM concerned, Mistress Krazoa. In fact, I blame myself for my son to fall ill."
"Why is it?"
Jim turned around and faced the false falcon. "Fox wanted to be so much like me. But when I died while being captive in Venom by the hands of Andross, he tried so hard to never fall into such traps. So far, he escaped Scales and that one hawk's clutches. But now, because of his hard struggle to revive his friends, he has never thought about stopping to rest... now... he..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, James," Krazoa Diva comforted. "Because you have left your son so early in his life, he just wanted to prevent anyone else he loves and cares for to die. But when he mistakenly fell into a trap while flying near Dinosaur Planet, he tragically lost his closest friends in Lylat, and as time passed by he lost even more. When he heard that he could revive them he will stop at nothing and even risk his life to ensure their resurrection. That's why he fell ill. That's why he still needs company to nurture him back to health. That's why you have to be here with him."
James nodded. He got up and knelt by Fox's side and gently stroked the fur on his son's head. As he did, memories of the day he and his pup were together ran through his own head. Those days... they were over. He remembered the frustration whenever Fox would rebel, disobey, talk back, and storm away. He recalled the grief whenever Fox would run to him whenever he was beaten up, confused, broken, mourned, and apprehensive of life's realities. And best of all, he could even reminisce the days they laugh, had fun, play games, and expressed their love as a father and son pair. Yes. Those days were over. When he left home that day it marked the end of their bond. James McCloud left his son Fox to investigate the strange activities in Venom. There, he was captured and killed. That day James thought he could never see his son ever again. But when he came, destroyed the maniacal ape, then became wounded from the scientist's self- destruction, James could be seen his ghostly Arwing to guide him out alive. Now they're together again, but this time, James must not let Fox know he is still roaming about as an undead creature. He does not want to let his grown pup know that he is no longer at rest and that he should pour his heart out in saving his Team rather then mope around that his father is still a ghost.
"By the way," Krazoa Diva began. "I was reported by your Tenshis of how you comforted my shell's original owner."
The fox father nodded. "I couldn't help it. She was so lonely, and the fact that the hawk was tormenting her... Besides... I know what it's like to no longer be in your own child's life."
Krazoa Diva nodded.
Suddenly the earth beneath them began to rumble. James and Krazoa Diva gasped and took cover as the ground shook violently. Trees began to fall and the waters began to splash fiercely as the ground quaked, then peace was restored when the rumbling stopped.
James glanced at Fox, who was still unconscious. Krazoa Diva grunted and stood up and began running. The older fox called back, "W-Where are you going?"
"To get rid of Scales!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT???"
Krazoa Diva looked back as she ran. "The Palace MUST be restored! If we remain in the shells too long... I... we.... that man is causing too much menace on this planet! While Fox and the entire StarFox Team are disabled, we the Krazoa will rid this ghost!"
James knew it was too late to just call her back, so he just let her run. As he turned around to watch Fox he could hear the woman fall into another hole.
The false Diva screamed on the top of her lungs. "WHY DID YOU NOT CAUTION ME???!!!"
"What's the use?" James hollered. "You're just going to fall in anyway!"
***
In matter of moments, just outside the SnowHorn Wastes, all six of the shelled Krazoa arrived in a meeting. Each of them felt the violent rumbling of the planet- something is really amiss.
"We must get rid of that ghostly menace from the ruins immediately!" Krazoa Peppy said as he pounded his fist on his palm. "If we are absent from the torn-down Shrines too long, the entire planet will fall apart once again!"
"Fox McCloud is disastrously out of commission," Krazoa Diva reported. "He has unfortunately been in a very bad illness... influenza, I believe..."
"That is no problem," the fake Slippy said. "If you give him plenty of rest and some time he'll be ready to help save our planet!"
The Krystal shell shook her head. "But we don't have much time. If we don't hurry, General Scales will rip apart our dearly beloved planet. Now that Fox is down, only we are left to get rid of that SharpClaw until he recovers. We must leave immediately." As she turned to start marching to the ruins she turned to Krazoa Diva, "Oh, and by the way, watch out for holes and cliffs now, sister."
"Sure, mock the clumsy one, why don't you?"
***
General Scales leaned on a boulder, waiting patiently for his henchman to finish his job. When he felt the rumbling, he was gladdened. Finally, something was done right with his side of the deal.
Suddenly a strange feeling came chilling down his spirit spine. The SharpClaw phantom turned around and glimpsed at the horizon behind him. Approaching the Krazoa Palace Ruins were the six Krazoa, each and every one of them with shells of his enemy's late allies. Scales knew right away that they were the shelled Krazoa rather than the ghosts who keep pestering him. He could see the purple pupils of their eyes even seen a hundred feet away.
Scales stood up straight and casually approached the entrance to the ruins, just a safe distance away from the Krazoa. He bowed, which was unusual, coming from a tyrant. "Good morning, Krazoa! I see you're all well!"
"Don't make us laugh," Krazoa Krystal said coldly.
The dinosaur chuckled quietly. "I see, you all remember me. Which one of you was the one I had inside my body before I died?"
The Krazoa remained silent. Finally the one that possessed Starr's shell stepped forward. "It is I."
"You?"
"Yes."
"Well... I'm kind of surprised you know have possessed the child Starr's body... you know now of his fate, right?"
"Of course.... even though the spirit is separated from the body, I can feel his downfall in my bones."
"Scales!" Krazoa Peppy shouted. "It's time YOU turn to the gates of Jigoku! We will not allow your malicious deeds to continue on this planet!"
Scales scoffed as all six of the Krazoa pulled out their weapons, Krystal taking out her staff, Peppy a mace, Slippy an ax, Falco a katana, Diva her tasekkon, and Starr another spear. "I might have you know," Scales taunted, "that mortals' weapons cannot touch a spirit!"
'He's right...' the Krazoa considered. 'Weapons cannot touch him... only another spirit can... maybe...'
Krazoa Falco was the first to test his idea. He threw down his katana and rushed towards Scales, who pulled out his knife. Before he would thrust his blade into the blue bird, K. Falco flipped back and attempted a flying kick. The kick connected to the ghost's face, and Scales fell and slid across the rocky earth before ghosting through a pillar and breaking his sliding.
"How....... how can that be?" Scales gasped in shock.
"Perhaps..." K. Falco said smirking. "It is because of the fact these shells are not 'mortal' anymore. Technically, this is a spirit versus spirit fight."
As the other Krazoa raced to the fallen tyrant, Scales recalled the very first part of his plan. Besides the death of Fox. Besides getting his revenge. Besides having Kuro go into the Force Point Temples. There was something that was devised even before any of these were put to mind. Something he has yet to complete and put to action after when he first heard of the Krazoa's whispers of curiosity of the outside world, when he crushed the Great Fox as it flew by Dinosaur Planet and sent it crashing into the earth, and when he burned down the Krazoa Palace and destroyed it...
It was Scales's turn to smirk. He calmly stood up and dusted himself then stretched out his hand. "If you ARE technically 'spirits', then the chains should be able to grasp you," he said as he reopened the Jigoku gates, the fissure reopening. It was most unfortunate that all six of the Krazoa were standing OVER the fissure- they immediately fell in, the chains grasping them and pulling them down.
None of them plunge too deep, however. After falling several hundred feet down, the chains stopped their jerking and slapped the shelled Krazoa on a wall of the earth. More chains sprout from the earth and wrapped around their wrists and ankles, pinning them to the wall. None of the Krazoa could escape- they were trapped, and they were very close to the actual gates. From there they could smell the fire, brimstone, burning of the flesh and blood and the foul odors of demons roaring and growling right below them.
To their ears the only sounds they could hear other than the growling and roaring was Scales's laughter. "I remember why I had Fox's allies killed! When I burned down the Krazoa Palace, I wanted to ensure ALL of you have taken shells! And WHY? Well....... I have to do something to prevent you from coming back to rebuild it! I was thinking, maybe........ if only I can give them bodies...... and the only way to get out of it was to have themselves killed or exit the bodies themselves... but now that you're down there, there's no way you'll escape!" he taunted right before he would close the fissure for the last time until his final part of his revenge is fulfilled.
((to be continued...))
***
((MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Now that the chapter's finished, please review! ;_; ))
~~Imagen~~
***
Part II
Chapter 6: "The Worsening"
***
"Behold, milord, the one nemesis you have struggled so hard to meet and kill. Fox McCloud!" Kuro boomed as he watched Fox faint.
The other three ghosts knelt by Fox's side, frantic that their leader has lost his strength. Slippy grabbed the vulpine's shoulders and shook him violently, "Fox! Fox! Wake up! Don't do this to us!"
Kuro sprang behind Slippy and grabbed his neck, strangling his fellow ghost then throwing him over at the edge of the still closing fissure, the baseball capped frog rolling off and grabbing the ledge. Scales did the same as he took hold of Peppy and Krystal, throwing them like a couple of rag dolls and into the hanging frog. More chains spat and grabbed hold of the lingering trio, and Peppy, hanging onto the ledge with Krystal and Slippy holding onto his legs, tightened his grip on the edge as they were being pulled down slowly. But Peppy will not release his grip.
"Kuro! Finish them off! I'll take care of Fox!"
The hawk smirked as he nodded to his master's command then headed out to the old rabbit. He placed his booted foot on Peppy's hand, twisting then crushing it. "Sorry, old man. You're just not worth our time."
Before he would send the senior member of the StarFox into the fiery pits, a strong gush of wind suddenly blew into Kuro. The hawk quickly lost his balance and fell plat on his face, sliding and rolling several feet away. More chains spat out, reaching for Kuro rather than the StarFox ghosts, but he moved away and dodged every one of them and retreated, racing to his lord Scales. The same wind blew under Slippy and Krystal's feet, then lifted them with Peppy from the gates of Jigoku, the chains snapping off like a frail web of a spider. Peppy, Krystal, and Slippy heard both Kuro and Scales scream as if it was they who were falling into the pits, and they looked their way.
"T-T-T" they heard Scales stutter. "Tenshis!"
'Tenshis?' Krystal thought. 'As in angels?'
The rings that held Diva down also snapped apart. The young falcon looked up. Dressed in feathered hagoromo robes was a glowing Lylatian, seeming to be that of a two-tailed cat known as a Nekomata ((that's right, Inu-Yasha fans! Two-tailed cats like Kirara are known as Nekomata!)). The Nekomata tenshi held Diva in her arms, carrying her away as she floated, defying the laws of gravity, having the appearance of the heavenly maiden Tennyo rather than a tenshi. She and the falcon glanced at the rabbit, vixen, and frog. The other tenshi, a nine-tailed Kitsune, carried off with the StarFox ghosts, darting in the air like the wind itself. The Nekomata Tenshi quickly followed.
Scales, distracted from the sight of the angels, didn't notice Fox being carried away by a phantom. and a Golden Bafomdad quietly following.
***
"This is so cool!" Slippy shouted with glee as the two Tenshis carried the ghosts all the way in a dead forest in the SnowHorn Wastes. "I mean, look! We're being carried off by angels! Gorgeous, hot-looking women in feathered robes! Boy, will this be all over the-"
Krystal smacked Slippy on the head. "These tenshis will NOT be articles of a tabloid!"
"Hush now, ground dwellers," the Nekomata Tenshi said softly. "The Krazoa would like to speak to you soon."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?????"
"Are you messengers of the Krazoa?" Peppy asked.
"No, not the Krazoa. The Krazoa are fellow spirits who protect and keep together this planet. We are simply dwellers of heaven who are called down to by another ghost whose rest was taken away."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
***
"Well, well, the gang's all here," Krystal said sarcastically as four out of five of the shell-possessed Krazoa approached the ghosts, the Krazoa Diva being missing. Following closely behind was the now walking and breathing Starr, whom the sixth Krazoa possessed. Tricky walked behind him.
"What. happened?" Tricky asked.
Krystal shook her head. "We were too late. The chains of Jigoku pulled Starr down. and Falco with him."
Tricky shook then started to quietly sob. Slippy turned to the tenshis, "You CAN get them out. right?"
Both tenshis shook their heads.
"What? How can that be!" Peppy began to holler. "Izanami was able to escape Jigoku! How can Starr and Falco not?"
"Ah, so you know of the Creation myth," the Kitsune Tenshi began. "Well, here's a reminder of how it went: Izanami was the mother of all creation and burned to death giving birth to the God of Fire ((ironic, ain't it?)). Therefore, she and her husband Izanagi are considered also to be gods, so they CAN get out of Jigoku. Your friends are mortals. Plus, if you remember how the myth went correctly, Izanami never DID come out of Jigoku. First of all, she went to Yomi, the Land of Darkness, or the Land of the Dead, but she never escaped that either. She was close, but no, she never made it out. Your feathered friends went down to Jigoku, where the unrested dead are pulled down to and are devoured into demons and become evil spirits. That's different from Yomi."
"And." Tricky muttered.
"In other words, your friends will never escape Jigoku. If Izanami can never escape Yomi, then what chance do your friends have from the crueler, eviler Jigoku?"
Silence.
"However. the birds, even though rough, brash, and hard-headed, they were not evil, and their hearts are purer, though not completely, than those who should be pulled down to Jigoku. When we were sent to rescue you, there were three of us, not two. Our third companion, a Tanuki (raccoon dog), flew down to Jigoku before the gates would close. Since she represents heaven, the flames and demons will not get near her, so she will see if she can get them out. However, she cannot open the gates on her own, so she might stay there forever unless Scales opens the gates again."
"There's hope!" Slippy leaped for joy. "All we have to do is get Scales to open the gates!"
The Nekomata Tenshi sighed. "We don't want to risk losing any more of you to Scales's trap. Believe us, he will open the gates again soon, just in a different way. However... when he does.. we might be too late."
***
While the ghosts were taken to SnowHorn Wastes, Fox was taken to the blossoming forests of CloudRunner Forests.
Jim softly laid Fox on a bed of flowers then placed a warm burlap cloak on him. The fifth Krazoa, the one who possessed Diva, was nearby, soaking a rag with water. She wringed the water out then folded it and handed it to Jim, who placed it gently on Fox's forehead.
"Fox. my son. you were strong. but now, look at you. At a time when your friend needed you fell ill. what kind of leader are you? I was proud of you before. but now. you were careless enough to let all your friends die. *Sigh* What am I going to do with you?"
***
"Disappointing... this truly is... we were so close..." Kuro sighed as he sat atop a boulder in the Krazoa Palace Ruins, watching the sun rise beautifully from its mountainous bed, his rays fingering in the sky for the new day.
General Scales wasn't as calm nor was he in the mood for gazing at the dawn. In a fiery rampage he stormed and grabbed the hawk on the neck, his stony grip clamping on his feathery throat. Kuro felt the scaly fingers of his master's only hand clench his neck, squeezing all the air out of his ghostly throat. Of course, a ghost doesn't need to breathe... they're already dead. But their ghostly beings were similar in shape as in their physical bodies, plus assault can only be done to a spirit if inflicted by another. Kuro simply vanished in the General's hand, reappearing in the spot where he once held his rape victim captive.
Scales snarled. "Now the next thing you're going to tell me is that you want your woman back!"
"Of course, my lord."
"We had a deal, Youkai! If I grant you your woman and the demise of your son and rival, then you will deliver me my revenge and the death of Fox McCloud! NONE of your side of the bargain is fulfilled, and I have done MY part!"
"Yes, you're right, my lord. Therefore, all the more I should keep my end of the bargain. Just because Fox McCloud escaped does not mean that I will stop in my mission."
"..."
Kuro kneeled then bowed low to the ground, his face and hands on the rocky earth. "I have failed you, my lord. All I ask is for another chance to help you."
Scales glared at the bowing hawk coldly. "What makes you think I can entrust you this time?"
"If I fail again," Kuro began. "You can send me to Jigoku. Just like you, I have escaped the chains just to have revenge. If you sent me back surely the gods and demons will not take their eyes off me again."
"Sounds fair," Scales murmured. As Kuro stood back up, the tall SharpClaw continued, "To be honest, of all the men I've hired, you're the only one who seems useful. Do me a favor, Kuro- don't fail me again. I don't want to send to Jigoku a valuable man such as yourself... valuable, yet twisted, bitter, and lethal. I like that. All my men before they're all stupid idiots. You're the only ones who seem to have a brain."
Kuro nodded.
"I have decided your next move. If you come across Fox McCloud, then kill him, but meanwhile-"
"What do I do, my lord?" Kuro said as he approached Scales to listen carefully.
The dinosaur turned to the hawk. "First, I want you to go the Moon Mountain Pass and enter the Volcano Force Point Temple..."
***
"Diva?" Slippy spoke, his voice echoing in the dead forest. If he could recall, not only he, Peppy, and Krystal were rescued from the Jigoku gates, but Diva was also, freed from her prison. But if she was freed, then where is she?
"She's over here!" Krystal called out as she kneeled and leaned over on a boulder at the side of a steep precipice, pointing down. Tricky was asleep by the boulder, exhausted from the lack of night's sleep.
Both Peppy and Slippy ran to her. "Don't tell me she fell off again!"
"Nope! Not this time! She climbed down there."
"WHAAAAAT???"
Both the rabbit and the frog ran alongside the boulder to have a peek for themselves. Kneeling while leaning forward on the snow, sobbing her heart out and crying out to the world, was the falcon woman Diva, hugging an object very close to her undead heart. All three of the StarFox ghosts climbed down the cliff and quietly and slowly walked to the lamenting falcon, then leaned over to have a look at what she was embracing. In her arms, cradled like a baby, was a very small, worn out the spear.
Krystal started. "That's... that's..."
"That's Starr's spear!" Peppy finished.
When she heard her fellow ghosts speak, the grieving woman turned her head. Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal gasped and stepped back when they saw her face. Diva's tear-brimmed eyes were not only crying with grief but also glaring coldly and hatefully, her beak trembling as if finding the words to shout out.
'Oh, gawd,' Slippy thought. 'Boy, is she PISSED!!!'
"You... let... him... die..."
"Diva-" Peppy began, holding his palms up.
Diva stood up, still holding her spear. "You... let... him... die..."
"It wasn't our fault-" Slippy stuttered.
"YOU LET MY SON DIE!!!!!!!!!!"
All three of the other ghosts fell back in fright of the falcon's bellowing. They even scooted several feet backwards, but Diva, still sobbing and infuriated, stormed after them, clenching the spear as if it was her own weapon.
All three were in terrified as if what they were facing was a voracious RedEye. "Please, Diva!"
"You..."
"Diva! Please!" They all screamed in fear, cowering as they curdled up, forgetting that all of them are ghosts and aren't suppose to be afraid of dying. "We're sorry! We should have watched Starr more closely! We tried, Diva, and we failed! Forgive us, please!"
Peppy and Krystal's ears twitched when they heard the spear drop on the snow. All three of them looked up to see Diva's anger disappear. She fell on her knees and continued her sobbing, her shoulders heaving and a river forming from her eyes. She struggled to speak and managed to choke a few words. "You've... tried..."
"Diva..."
The mother dried her eyes. "Starr wasn't the only one. Falco went down too."
"Yeah... we know..."
She looked up to Peppy and Slippy as she wiped her eyes dry. "If Falco was there with him, then all of you should have been also." She heaved a sigh and picked up the spear.
"Come to think of it," Krystal began. She faced her comrades, "Now that Falco's also down there, do you-"
"NO!!!" Diva shouted. "Falco and I may have been adversaries and we hated each other, it doesn't mean I'm happy that he went down! He... helped me when I came to a time needed a friend the most... and he even took care of Starr like he was the father..."
'More like an older brother if you ask me...' Slippy muttered under his breath. Peppy nudged him lightly.
Krystal ignored the two and continued, "The Tenshis told us that they're going to try to free Starr and Falco."
"I've heard. I was there," Diva explained. "However, what I am afraid is that they might be too late," she continued as she gently stroked the spearhead as if she was stroking the head of her child.
***
While the real Diva was accompanying the other ghosts, the false one, Krazoa Diva, was accompanying Fox.
What she was surprised was that Jim was angry that Fox was ill rather than concerned. She asked, "What is it, James McCloud? Why are you forsaking your son at a time like this? It seems to me that he has fainted from lack of food, rest, and warmth when he spent all this time trying to find the Golden Bafomdads for his Team's revival. And because of this he has succumbed to illness. Should it not be you rather than me to look after him?"
Jim, who was facing to the east where the sun rose, only sighed. "I AM concerned, Mistress Krazoa. In fact, I blame myself for my son to fall ill."
"Why is it?"
Jim turned around and faced the false falcon. "Fox wanted to be so much like me. But when I died while being captive in Venom by the hands of Andross, he tried so hard to never fall into such traps. So far, he escaped Scales and that one hawk's clutches. But now, because of his hard struggle to revive his friends, he has never thought about stopping to rest... now... he..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, James," Krazoa Diva comforted. "Because you have left your son so early in his life, he just wanted to prevent anyone else he loves and cares for to die. But when he mistakenly fell into a trap while flying near Dinosaur Planet, he tragically lost his closest friends in Lylat, and as time passed by he lost even more. When he heard that he could revive them he will stop at nothing and even risk his life to ensure their resurrection. That's why he fell ill. That's why he still needs company to nurture him back to health. That's why you have to be here with him."
James nodded. He got up and knelt by Fox's side and gently stroked the fur on his son's head. As he did, memories of the day he and his pup were together ran through his own head. Those days... they were over. He remembered the frustration whenever Fox would rebel, disobey, talk back, and storm away. He recalled the grief whenever Fox would run to him whenever he was beaten up, confused, broken, mourned, and apprehensive of life's realities. And best of all, he could even reminisce the days they laugh, had fun, play games, and expressed their love as a father and son pair. Yes. Those days were over. When he left home that day it marked the end of their bond. James McCloud left his son Fox to investigate the strange activities in Venom. There, he was captured and killed. That day James thought he could never see his son ever again. But when he came, destroyed the maniacal ape, then became wounded from the scientist's self- destruction, James could be seen his ghostly Arwing to guide him out alive. Now they're together again, but this time, James must not let Fox know he is still roaming about as an undead creature. He does not want to let his grown pup know that he is no longer at rest and that he should pour his heart out in saving his Team rather then mope around that his father is still a ghost.
"By the way," Krazoa Diva began. "I was reported by your Tenshis of how you comforted my shell's original owner."
The fox father nodded. "I couldn't help it. She was so lonely, and the fact that the hawk was tormenting her... Besides... I know what it's like to no longer be in your own child's life."
Krazoa Diva nodded.
Suddenly the earth beneath them began to rumble. James and Krazoa Diva gasped and took cover as the ground shook violently. Trees began to fall and the waters began to splash fiercely as the ground quaked, then peace was restored when the rumbling stopped.
James glanced at Fox, who was still unconscious. Krazoa Diva grunted and stood up and began running. The older fox called back, "W-Where are you going?"
"To get rid of Scales!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT???"
Krazoa Diva looked back as she ran. "The Palace MUST be restored! If we remain in the shells too long... I... we.... that man is causing too much menace on this planet! While Fox and the entire StarFox Team are disabled, we the Krazoa will rid this ghost!"
James knew it was too late to just call her back, so he just let her run. As he turned around to watch Fox he could hear the woman fall into another hole.
The false Diva screamed on the top of her lungs. "WHY DID YOU NOT CAUTION ME???!!!"
"What's the use?" James hollered. "You're just going to fall in anyway!"
***
In matter of moments, just outside the SnowHorn Wastes, all six of the shelled Krazoa arrived in a meeting. Each of them felt the violent rumbling of the planet- something is really amiss.
"We must get rid of that ghostly menace from the ruins immediately!" Krazoa Peppy said as he pounded his fist on his palm. "If we are absent from the torn-down Shrines too long, the entire planet will fall apart once again!"
"Fox McCloud is disastrously out of commission," Krazoa Diva reported. "He has unfortunately been in a very bad illness... influenza, I believe..."
"That is no problem," the fake Slippy said. "If you give him plenty of rest and some time he'll be ready to help save our planet!"
The Krystal shell shook her head. "But we don't have much time. If we don't hurry, General Scales will rip apart our dearly beloved planet. Now that Fox is down, only we are left to get rid of that SharpClaw until he recovers. We must leave immediately." As she turned to start marching to the ruins she turned to Krazoa Diva, "Oh, and by the way, watch out for holes and cliffs now, sister."
"Sure, mock the clumsy one, why don't you?"
***
General Scales leaned on a boulder, waiting patiently for his henchman to finish his job. When he felt the rumbling, he was gladdened. Finally, something was done right with his side of the deal.
Suddenly a strange feeling came chilling down his spirit spine. The SharpClaw phantom turned around and glimpsed at the horizon behind him. Approaching the Krazoa Palace Ruins were the six Krazoa, each and every one of them with shells of his enemy's late allies. Scales knew right away that they were the shelled Krazoa rather than the ghosts who keep pestering him. He could see the purple pupils of their eyes even seen a hundred feet away.
Scales stood up straight and casually approached the entrance to the ruins, just a safe distance away from the Krazoa. He bowed, which was unusual, coming from a tyrant. "Good morning, Krazoa! I see you're all well!"
"Don't make us laugh," Krazoa Krystal said coldly.
The dinosaur chuckled quietly. "I see, you all remember me. Which one of you was the one I had inside my body before I died?"
The Krazoa remained silent. Finally the one that possessed Starr's shell stepped forward. "It is I."
"You?"
"Yes."
"Well... I'm kind of surprised you know have possessed the child Starr's body... you know now of his fate, right?"
"Of course.... even though the spirit is separated from the body, I can feel his downfall in my bones."
"Scales!" Krazoa Peppy shouted. "It's time YOU turn to the gates of Jigoku! We will not allow your malicious deeds to continue on this planet!"
Scales scoffed as all six of the Krazoa pulled out their weapons, Krystal taking out her staff, Peppy a mace, Slippy an ax, Falco a katana, Diva her tasekkon, and Starr another spear. "I might have you know," Scales taunted, "that mortals' weapons cannot touch a spirit!"
'He's right...' the Krazoa considered. 'Weapons cannot touch him... only another spirit can... maybe...'
Krazoa Falco was the first to test his idea. He threw down his katana and rushed towards Scales, who pulled out his knife. Before he would thrust his blade into the blue bird, K. Falco flipped back and attempted a flying kick. The kick connected to the ghost's face, and Scales fell and slid across the rocky earth before ghosting through a pillar and breaking his sliding.
"How....... how can that be?" Scales gasped in shock.
"Perhaps..." K. Falco said smirking. "It is because of the fact these shells are not 'mortal' anymore. Technically, this is a spirit versus spirit fight."
As the other Krazoa raced to the fallen tyrant, Scales recalled the very first part of his plan. Besides the death of Fox. Besides getting his revenge. Besides having Kuro go into the Force Point Temples. There was something that was devised even before any of these were put to mind. Something he has yet to complete and put to action after when he first heard of the Krazoa's whispers of curiosity of the outside world, when he crushed the Great Fox as it flew by Dinosaur Planet and sent it crashing into the earth, and when he burned down the Krazoa Palace and destroyed it...
It was Scales's turn to smirk. He calmly stood up and dusted himself then stretched out his hand. "If you ARE technically 'spirits', then the chains should be able to grasp you," he said as he reopened the Jigoku gates, the fissure reopening. It was most unfortunate that all six of the Krazoa were standing OVER the fissure- they immediately fell in, the chains grasping them and pulling them down.
None of them plunge too deep, however. After falling several hundred feet down, the chains stopped their jerking and slapped the shelled Krazoa on a wall of the earth. More chains sprout from the earth and wrapped around their wrists and ankles, pinning them to the wall. None of the Krazoa could escape- they were trapped, and they were very close to the actual gates. From there they could smell the fire, brimstone, burning of the flesh and blood and the foul odors of demons roaring and growling right below them.
To their ears the only sounds they could hear other than the growling and roaring was Scales's laughter. "I remember why I had Fox's allies killed! When I burned down the Krazoa Palace, I wanted to ensure ALL of you have taken shells! And WHY? Well....... I have to do something to prevent you from coming back to rebuild it! I was thinking, maybe........ if only I can give them bodies...... and the only way to get out of it was to have themselves killed or exit the bodies themselves... but now that you're down there, there's no way you'll escape!" he taunted right before he would close the fissure for the last time until his final part of his revenge is fulfilled.
((to be continued...))
***
((MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Now that the chapter's finished, please review! ;_; ))