Author's Note and Disclaimer: YEEEEEESSSSS!!! SCHOOL'S OUT!!! THAT MEANS
FASTER UPDATES!!! *cough* Yeah... 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, along with those stoopid people trying to keep our poor
hero away from Dinosaur Planet (except General Pepper). Sorry if the plot
strays, the second part of the story is a bit chaotic, I'm struggling to
keep face. ;_; Please review after reading. Thank you.
~~Imagen~~
***
Part II
Chapter 9: "I Won't Let You Die"
***
Fire. Fire everywhere. At the same time, however, it was also dark. Very dark. It's darker than pitched dark. And the sounds... only the sounds of burning flesh, growling demons, and clanging of chains are heard. And they were loud. Anyone who would be there, sitting in the middle of the chaos, would be in fetal position from the sights and the sounds of the darkness. Even the smells troubled the people there. The smell of burning flesh and brimstone... no one can stand it. And in one's skin he or she can feel fire burning, the heavy chains holding them down. Chaos... destruction... fire... torture... it's everywhere.
Yet in the midst of the darkness, a light shined brightly over the flames. A glowing Tanuki, wearing silk sapphire and ruby hagoromo with golden feathers and silvery white ribbons, sat in the chaos despite the fire and destruction, protecting six spirits with her celestial powers. As a tenshi, she is a representative of heaven. However, she has no idea how much longer she can stay in the depths of Jigoku.
She faced three of the spirits she guarded, all of them curled up and huddled into a group. She opened her soft lips to speak, her voice heard despite the chains and fires of the chasm. "So... now we're all here... I'm sorry I cannot take you out at this time-"
"It's all right, Tanuki-san," the oldest of the group said with his aged voice. "There is nothing you can do. At least we said our good-byes to Fox."
The Tanuki looked up, the gates of Jigoku still closed. "Don't give up hope now! Fox will come back and use the Golden Bafomdads to revive you!"
"But the Krazoa and our possessed bodies are down here with us..."
"Not all the way! They're chained up at the border, but they're not down here."
The youngest of the three shook, his youthful voice quivering. "It may be... too late..."
"No, it's not! Very soon, as this planet deteriorates... you all know why General Scales is doing this, right?"
"He wants his revenge," the third one spoke with a voice deep yet young. "He wants to pull the man who killed him down here to Jigoku, but in order to do that, he'll have to open it a different way, since that guy is a hard one to take down..."
"You know who he is, right?"
"Of course."
The Tanuki looked back down to the three. Around them, a lone figure also huddled close, and two more, embracing each other closely, sat very close to them too. The tenshi sighed, feeling guilty and responsible for the six of them down here... they shouldn't be there. This is not their place. If they were never to return to the living, their place is in the heavens, not here to Jigoku. They deserve peace, not destruction... yet they are pulled down to a place without mercy. "It's wrong..." she murmured. "It's just wrong..."
"Hey," the lone figure began, a voice soft and beautiful, that of a woman. "At least... Fox is alive, right?"
The tenshi hesitated before answering. "Yes... he is still alive."
"That's good. I really wished... I could see him again, though."
"I'm sure you all do." The tenshi turned to the first three again, "Wasn't it that you three died when your ship was being crushed?"
The youngest of the three shook his head. "No. It was in the crash."
"But you and Hare-san were impaled... and Lombardi-san was burned and-"
"It was the crash, believe me, Tanuki-san... and much more."
"What do you mean?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi began having flashbacks.
Peppy nearly blacked out, but when he heard Fox screaming he struggled to keep face. He turned to where he heard his leader cry, trying to ignore the scrap of metal through his shoulder. He allowed the blood to drip as he crawled to where Fox has fallen, leaving a trail of crimson. As soon as strength has returned to his legs, the aging rabbit pushed himself up and began approaching his fallen leader. He groaned and clutched his shoulder, feeling the blood flow through his fingers. He nearly collapsed again when he realized Fox has fallen to unconsciousness.
"Of the four of us, HE'S the one who gets knocked out?!" a voice shouted out angrily in the midst of the violent shaking of the ship. Peppy turned to see Falco standing on his own two feet, ignoring the burning sensation on his arms, hands, chest, and neck, his eyes slightly whitened and his green eyes faded. The aging rabbit gasped and froze as soon as he saw the standing tiercel, screaming as if he just saw a ghost or a zombie, frightened at the bloody body of the falcon. Falco, although his eyesight leaving him slowly, frowned at the lagomorphine. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"You're... you're..."
Falco shook his head. "I'm fine. Really, Peppy."
"But... you..."
"I said I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Worry about Fox!"
"But Fox isn't dying! We are!"
As soon as Peppy shouted those words, voices echoed in the rabbit and falcon's ear. Deep, haunting voices... like it was as if it was many people laughing in unison. Chills ran down both the bird and mammal's spines, shuddering as the laugh continued to echo, subtly growing louder and louder. Their hearts beat weakly and strong at the same time... strong, for fear was struck deep into them... and weak because they both knew their time was getting short.
Slippy, struggling to get on his feet as he gripped the metal in his stomach, the pain throbbing in his body. "That laugh... I know that laugh..."
"Me too..." Peppy whispered softly.
Despite his decreasing strength, Falco ran to the blown control bench. "Damn... completely destroyed... ROB, can you-"
Slippy turned towards to where their robotic companion was. "ROB? Aw, damn..." Sadly lying in a pile of twisted metal in the corner was ROB the Robot, crumpled together as if wrecked by even heavier machinery. The young frog gasped as ROB's body began to twist and turn as dents suddenly appeared on the metal, as if someone was pounding on it... someone invisible. ROB's eyes began to burst, the wires exposed and sparking. Its metal frame burst, oil spurting everywhere like robot's blood, gears, nails, and batteries flying from the body and scattering everywhere. ROB moaned like a dying victim of slow and painful torture as its head popped then exploded into bits and pieces of metallic dust.
Slippy shook his head. "It took me forever to make him twelve years ago... now I'll have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN!!!"
The laugh suddenly echoed again. Slippy took his eyes off his destroyed robot and looked everywhere. More and more metal of the Great Fox began to form lumps then explode, sparks and wires firing and singeing the frog and his companions, including the unconscious Fox. Peppy tore his overcoat off, his shoulder throbbing as the cloth ripped through the metal impaled through him. He laid it all over Fox, covering his face and body, not as in covering a corpse, but to protect his fallen leader. Slippy screamed as another piece of metal shot and thrust into his leg, more blood flying everywhere, adding the crimson walls of the main bridge. He crawled to where Peppy and Falco stood, his leg too gravely wounded to allow it to even move. Falco, leaning on the control bench that exploded and nearly killed him, began to fumble around, his eyesight beginning to leave him. He felt for any left over buttons and levers still functioning, and luckily he found one. Falco struggled to see. He blinked and tried to rub his eyes, but if he did not only will he lose where the controls were, but it'll injure his already burned hands and face. The bird squinted then widened his fading orbs. His world was whitening... as if fading away. He could still see the bench, the cracking windshield, and the planet before him, but barely. Like burnt frames of a film, the corners of the falcon's peripheral vision began to blacken, slowly closing in towards the middle. Falco felt his heart race. He didn't want to go blind. His eyesight was precious to him not only as a sharp-eyed bird of prey, but also as a pilot. A mercenary pilot of the StarFox Team.
StarFox... Fox is down. That laugh keeps echoing. If this keeps going on, Fox might...
Falco gripped the lever and pressed it forward. Peppy and Slippy nearly tumbled as the Great Fox shook more violently than it already has. Both the rabbit and frog glanced at the windshield, seeing that planet... Dinosaur Planet... grow bigger. Bigger... bigger... they were close... very close.
Slippy yelled on top of his lungs at the bird. "Falco! What are you doing?!"
Falco's breathing began to shallow again. He wheezed and choked, feeling his chest and throat pulsate painfully. He struggled to breathe, but it was no use; he could not get enough sufficient oxygen for his lungs. He managed, however, to gasp out as many words as he could. "He... he... wants... us... dead..."
"What?"
"We... Fox... it's not... over..."
"Falco! Don't talk!" Peppy yelled as he strived to keep balance as the Great Fox shook, advancing the planet quickly. He tumbled to the control bench, gripping the metal that didn't burn. He grabbed Falco's arm, who, upon contact, feel on his knees. Peppy held Falco up, feeling blood fall upon him once again. He began patting the bird's face, trying to get his attention. "Falco... Falco...? Can you hear me?"
Slippy caught on. He began thinking about what's happening... and why. He slapped his froggy webbed hands on the ground and dragged himself to the control bench, pulling himself up while gripping the metal then grabbing the same lever Falco pressed forward. He stood up, ignoring the metal through his leg and stomach. The Great Fox shook harder, to the point where everything fell but those three. Slippy struggled to concentrate on the mother-ship's path to Dinosaur Planet, which will be a bumpy ride. He shouted to Peppy in order to be heard over the noise. "If we hurry... we'll get of his clutches and hopefully survive... or at least Fox... We have to protect him-"
"Clutches... Whose?"
Slippy gazed into Peppy's eyes with a fearful and grave look in his. Peppy then became the last one to realize what was happening and nodded. He turned to the cracking windshield, pointing to it. They were no longer seeing a planet, rather, oceans and continents in its stead. "Steer there!" he yelled. Slippy then pulled the lever left as the rabbit directed him where to land. "It's a gamble, but we have no choice! That piece of land there is ThornTail Hollow! If we fall towards somewhere in the center left, we could land in an empty space. We mustn't go too fast, or we'll crash!"
"F### THIS!!!" Falco cursed. "If you haven't noticed, he's still gripping the Great Fox! Look at the radar!"
Peppy and Slippy glanced at radar. Sure enough, surrounding their mothership was that cloudy thing... but it was no longer cloudy. It was more... solid... as if although invisible, it was there... gripping over their ship like a hand... it was, however, shaped like a hand...
Slippy decided to take another risk. He pressed the lever even further, the Great Fox shaking so hard the wings and shingles of the ship literally tearing apart, the thrusters smoking. The metal of the ship began to burn, turning red and steaming as the mothership plunged further and further into the planet. The frog knew, however, that if they kamikaze into the planet, not only will they die, but also their leader. As soon as he felt it was the right time, Slippy pulled the lever back hard. However... it was stuck.
"S#!T!!!"
"We'll help!" Falco shouted as he too gripped the lever, along with Peppy. All three struggled to pull, their pains and wounds throbbing harder, their blood flowing a river. Their clothes began to soak with crimson, the pain reaching from their flesh to their bones. They felt as if they were going to die just from the pulling of the lever alone, the aching growing into unbearable torment. Their hands were glued to the lever, and they could not let go. They pulled harder... harder... the pain becoming more and more unbearable. They could feel the shaking lessen, becoming calmer... Very soon everything was so... calm... the shaking became stillness... metal was no longer bending... the sparks and fire died out... and Fox... he was still unconscious... but at least he's still breathing-
*FWUMP!!!*
All three of the lingering wingmen fell down as soon the Great Fox made a crash landing. It was rough and sudden, much of the ship digging deep into the earth. Much of the remaining metal burnt and bent, no longer the shape of a ship. More metal and wires fell from the ceiling, falling over all of them and Fox, covering every part of him except his face. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco peeked through the small spaces of debris and took one last glance before they closed their eyes. Fox was still breathing. In fact, he looked... asleep.
"We... He... made it..." each of them murmured before they closed their eyes.
They never opened them again.
***
"It was the crash, all right..." Peppy murmured. "We used up all our remaining strength to keep the Great Fox under control while it made its crash course to Dinosaur Planet. A careless landing, but at least Fox survived-"
"You've made so much effort in trying to protect him," the Tanuki sobbed as she was finished listening to StarFox's tale of woe. "It wasn't the crash that killed you... it was your will to ensure your Leader's safety! You were steadfast... you made sure you survived at least to see your Leader was safe... and he is to this day. Why didn't you try to save yourselves too?"
StarFox was silent.
The Tanuki gasped. "Or... did you..."
Slippy forced a smile from his sad face. "In Dinosaur Planet, there's magic, right? Then... perhaps there was a way to revive the dead... and if we knew Fox, he'd do it, right?"
"But now... it's been so long... and now..."
It was Peppy's turn to force a smile. He rubbed his eye as if he was crying, then buried his face in his crossed arms and leaned on his knees. "We have no regrets."
The Tanuki turned to Krystal. "And you?"
Krystal nearly cried. "I was... hoping to see him again... at least to tell him something..."
The Tenshi turned to Diva and Starr. "He was... a good friend... For the first time in a very long time, it felt good to meet another Lylatian anthro after nine years of being stranded in Dinosaur Planet," Diva murmured, hugging her son.
"And you, Starr?"
"...................... I wanted to be just like him."
The Tanuki nodded, hearing the ghosts' last words on Fox McCloud. She felt like crying along with them, clutching her chest as if clutching her aching heart. "Don't worry... even if he'll never be able to revive any of you... I'm sure at least he'll remember you..."
The ghosts nodded in agreement as their spirits began to turn blue, azure flames enveloping them in the darkness. The Tenshi was afraid of this, and soon she began to sob and weep, her cries echoing in the darkness and over the clanging chains and burning fire.
***
Bill and Katt ran quickly through Walled City from the piece of earth that rose beneath their feet, hurriedly hopping off as that large chunk of land floated high into the sky. Both looked around. Not every piece of earth left for space. Some were simply floating at least a hundred feet high into the sky. The clueless Lylatians gulped as they watched the chunks just float there, afraid that some of them would fall on them. They avoided each piece of land whenever they can, and when they cannot, they run, leaping over every hole on the remains of the planet (unlike a certain purple falcon woman around here...).
Katt shuddered as she glanced at even a rock the size of a basketball floating no more than fifty feet from the ground. "I'm shocked at how this planet is falling apart... isn't it that if a planet gets smaller and smaller, the gravitational pull gets weaker and weaker?"
Bill nodded as he began remembering a lecture Slippy made on planetary gravitation. "What's strange is how only pieces of land are the ones falling apart from this planet yet everything else... the trees, the dinosaurs, the buildings, the water... us... we're not floating sky-high either!"
"Hopefully we won't... what will happen if this keeps up?"
The greyhound was silent. "I... I don't know..."
"Hey, look!" Katt yelled as she tugged her canine companion while pointing to a direction away from them. Leaning on a temple were two bags, one that was tied up and closed at the opening and the other open and spilling out its contents, which was something sparkling. Bill noticed the bags too, and he turned and began walking towards them to have a closer look. Inside the opened bag were four, large, radiant stones, two of them fiery red and the other two oceanic blue. The stones, although not smooth like gemstones, were rough and appeared to be like glass, while their edges were covered with grayish rock.
Bill recognized the stones as he stepped up to them and picked up a red one. "Hey... Fox told me about these... I think they're SpellStones!"
"SpellStones?" Katt picked up a blue Stone. "Wow... so pretty... I WANNA KEEP THE BLUE ONES!!!"
"KATT!!!"
"Finders keepers, losers weepers!"
"That's not what I meant!"
"You mean you want some too?"
"NO!!!" Bill barked. He sighed and took in a deep breath, counting one to ten in his head to cool down his anger. "Look, here, Katt... these SpellStones are of great importance to Dinosaur Planet!"
"Really?"
"Yes! You see, according to Fox, they should be kept at a Force Point Temple so that they, along with the Krazoa Spirits, whatever they are, could keep the planet together. You remember when Dinosaur Planet was crumbled up like this before?"
"Um, yeah?"
"Well, Fox, with the help of the Krazoa, put the planet back in place with these SpellStones. In fact, the reason why the Planet was crumbling apart in the first place was the absence of these Stones!"
"Oh, I get it now!" Katt said as she glanced and picked up the red SpellStones. "So, if we put these things back in the temple thing-a-ma- bobber... then we can put the Planet back together, right?"
"That's right!"
"But what about the... the... spirit things?"
"The Krazoa? Well... I dunno... Fox said something about the Krazoa being in their Palace... it's somewhere here on Dinosaur Planet... too bad Peppy isn't here to help us-"
"We can look around! And the Krazoa can give us directions to the Temples!"
"Good idea!"
***
In the silences, a bloodthirsty apparition watched the cat and dog roam about in Dinosaur Planet, sinister eyes piercing a cold gaze unto them. His feathers ruffled, his hands clutching into tight grips. He was frustrated and angry as he is; now these newcomers are simply pissing him off.
'I must get rid of them.............. before my lord finds out about these strangers....'
***
Fox thought about what happened in the Great Fox carefully. The clouds... he remembered seeing them with his very own eyes. The explosions... he remembered them too. The explosions of the controls... and on the metal... they weren't natural. Fox even recalled how Peppy and Slippy were killed... the metal was first bent into a bump, then it lengthened into a coil then burst. The pieces of metal impaled his unfortunate wingmen in the shoulder and stomach. As for Falco, the control bench he leaned on exploded. There was nothing wrong with the wiring; it just exploded as if a bomb was planted there. There was none, though. The only thing there were sparks, even if the wiring was not flawed. What could it be...?
'What attacked us?' Fox thought hard as he flew through the starry galaxy in his spare Arwing. It has been quite a while ever since he last flew his favorite ship... several weeks, maybe? It has been almost a month since the Great Fox crashed into Dinosaur Planet. Fox, however, felt as if he had been trapped there forever. Forever... extended eternity... has it really been a month? Everything just happened so slowly yet so quickly at the same time... the crash... Krystal's death... the burning of Krazoa Palace... Diva and Starr's arrival... realizations of the Krazoa's repossession of his friends' bodies... the return of General Scales and the menace of Kuro Youkai... the opening of Jigoku... collecting the Golden Bafomdads... and the entire planet falling apart... everything was coming by so slowly yet so quickly. Fox shuddered at all the events that happened. Nothing like that ever happened in his life, not like this. Everything was crashing down... lower... and lower. He began thinking, 'Could it get any worse?'
But there is hope. The Golden Bafomdads... all he needs is to find them again. The chest his friends told him could help him too. What did they mean, though? What's in it that could help him?
Fox's thoughts, however, shifted to only his late Team as he gazed into the stars. Six stars... they seemed dark, almost as black as the vast space around them, but he could see them because they were cloudy, like mists. The fox's heart sank when he could see one star shining very brightly... a golden star.
The vulpine recalled what Diva told him, the dream she had as a warning to Fox about the Krazoa possessing his Team's shells. "I saw... four stars... a gold, a ruby, an emerald, and a sapphire. Each and every one of those stars shone brightly, more brightly than any other star in the sky. In fact, the gold shone the brightest, but the other three-the ruby, the emerald, and the sapphire, helped in sharing the light. But one day, these stars fell. The deaths of these stars were slow, agonizing, tragic yet sudden. Yet the gold star was able to shine brightly without the other three."
Fox recalled the last dream he had before departing again for Dinosaur Planet... what seemed to be his friends' final farewell. "Does this mean... no... it can't be... they will be revived... I'll make sure of it... this is no 'Good-bye'... I will revive you... even if it means putting those stars back in the sky!"
As he flew further and further towards the planet, however, the vulpine noticed the golden star is beginning to lose its brightness, as if fading.
***
"THIS IS KRAZOA PALACE???!!!" Katt almost screamed in her comlink as soon as she caught sight of the Krazoa Palace Ruins.
Bill also screamed, but not from the sight of the Krazoa Palace Ruins. "You don't HAVE to SCREAM that LOUD, Katt!"
"Say what? I can't hear you! I think I've gone deaf!"
"Oy..."
Bill and Katt soon landed their ships at a safe distance from the pillar that held the once magnificent palace of the Krazoa. With the SpellStones in their hands, they began running to the wreckage, careful not to look down from the bridge. As soon as they grew nearer and nearer to the ruins, they began to feel something dark and cold in this place, a chill running down their spines as the smell of death reached their nostrils. Bill and Katt hesitated as soon as they were only five feet away from the crumbled entrance, their bodies shaking. Sweat dripped from their brows, their hearts beating unsteadily in fear. Katt's hands trembled as she gripped the bag with the SpellStones, losing almost their feelings and becoming numb, the blood running through her veins growing cold. The hair on the back of the dog and cat's necks stood up, their tails shivering as they hung between their legs. The air suddenly grew cold, or at least cold to them. A haunting feeling as pricked their very being, that feeling of something watching you, waiting for you... and that feeling of anguish and hurt, at the same time, fury and hatred... it lingered there... along with the smell of death, that smell of shed blood and the taking of life...
Katt began to chuckle nervously. "Um, Bill, are you sure this is the right place?"
"Well, that's that giant statue said..."
"But doesn't he look kinda drunk?"
"Well, kinda... oh, great... yeah, Katt... let's go back-"
*SLASH!!!*
***
"Is that... Tricky?" Fox said to himself as his Arwing landed on an empty spot in Walled City. As he opened his cockpit, he watched the little dinosaur run across the city, chasing a Golden Bafomdad with a StarFox badge on its belly. "Oh, it's that Bafomdad... great... at least we have one more Golden Bafomdad..."
"GIMME MY BADGE AND THAT KEY, YA LITTLE THIEF!!!" Tricky hollered.
Fox's ears twitched. "Key?"
Drip, as what his master Kuro called him, blindly ran around in circles then finally ran to Fox's direction then over the vulpine's tail (in which that vulpine stuck out on purpose). Before the mischievous critter would get up, Fox grabbed it on the back of its neck and held it like a kitten.
Fox snickered. "You were a problem before... now we have you!"
Drip spat on Fox's eye. The fox dropped the Golden Bafomdad onto the ground, little Drip falling on his face. Again, before he would get up, he was caught, Tricky pouncing on him. As soon as the dinosaur's weight befell on him, Drip coughed up the key he swallowed before.
The vulpine gasped at the appearance of the small, golden key. "The... the key..."
"It was swallowed by this little thief," Tricky said through clenched teeth as he pinned Drip down with his foot then plucked the badge off him with his mouth. Tricky held his head up high so Fox could pin it back on him, which he did by sticking it back on the top of Tricky's crest.
Fox asked, "But why?"
"Well, Kuro thought it was a good hiding place."
"K-Kuro... you mean-"
"That hawk guy who works for Scales? Yeah."
Fox was silent.
Tricky looked down on the ground, ignoring Drip's squirming under his foot. "I... I have... bad news, Fox... It's about your Team."
"My... what? What happened, Tricky?"
Fox noticed Tricky shuddered, tears falling from his eyes. The fox suddenly became worried but furious at the same time, and he bent down and began shaking the dinosaur prince. "Tricky? Tricky! Tell me! What happened?! TELL ME!"
As Fox shook him, Tricky lost his footing, enabling Drip to crawl out then hop away. The fox and the dinosaur watched as Drip leaped away quickly, turning back to blow raspberry. Tricky yelled as he fought back the tears and his anger covered up his grief. "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE, FOX!!!"
*CRASH!!!*
"What?"
Fox noticed that the little Golden Bafomdad fell into one of the big holes that were laid out in Walled City.
Tricky stared in disbelief. "Looks like Miss Diva's clumsiness rubbed off on him!"
"Tricky..."
"Don't just stand there! Get him!"
Fox stood up and raced to the hole where Drip fell, Tricky following. When the two looked down inside the hole, they could see the Golden Bafomdad knocked out, probably from falling unto its head on a silver chest with the face of a Krazoa painted on it.
Hmmm....
"The... the chest!" Fox gasped.
'Oh, yeah...' Tricky thought as he stared at the chest. 'That's where James and I hid the chest... I wonder why James forbade me to tell Fox about him...'
"For once, my lucky star is shining!" Fox said as he clapped his hands together and looked up, almost crying. As he looked up, however, he thought of the time he saw his star... that golden star... fading... this is no time for celebrations! The mammal slid down the hole, the key (wiped clean, of course) gripped in his hand. "This is it, Tricky! I'm going to open this chest!"
"Do it, Fox!"
The vulpine swept the unconscious Golden Bafomdad aside then pinned him down with his foot as he searched for the lock. Finding it, which was clipped the chest's top onto the rest of the box, he inserted the key inside, twisting it, then opening it, Fox flinging the top wide open.
Both Tricky and Fox gasped to see what was inside.
((to be continued...))
***
((That was.... quick..... anyway, now that the chapter's finished, please review! ;_; ))
~~Imagen~~
***
Part II
Chapter 9: "I Won't Let You Die"
***
Fire. Fire everywhere. At the same time, however, it was also dark. Very dark. It's darker than pitched dark. And the sounds... only the sounds of burning flesh, growling demons, and clanging of chains are heard. And they were loud. Anyone who would be there, sitting in the middle of the chaos, would be in fetal position from the sights and the sounds of the darkness. Even the smells troubled the people there. The smell of burning flesh and brimstone... no one can stand it. And in one's skin he or she can feel fire burning, the heavy chains holding them down. Chaos... destruction... fire... torture... it's everywhere.
Yet in the midst of the darkness, a light shined brightly over the flames. A glowing Tanuki, wearing silk sapphire and ruby hagoromo with golden feathers and silvery white ribbons, sat in the chaos despite the fire and destruction, protecting six spirits with her celestial powers. As a tenshi, she is a representative of heaven. However, she has no idea how much longer she can stay in the depths of Jigoku.
She faced three of the spirits she guarded, all of them curled up and huddled into a group. She opened her soft lips to speak, her voice heard despite the chains and fires of the chasm. "So... now we're all here... I'm sorry I cannot take you out at this time-"
"It's all right, Tanuki-san," the oldest of the group said with his aged voice. "There is nothing you can do. At least we said our good-byes to Fox."
The Tanuki looked up, the gates of Jigoku still closed. "Don't give up hope now! Fox will come back and use the Golden Bafomdads to revive you!"
"But the Krazoa and our possessed bodies are down here with us..."
"Not all the way! They're chained up at the border, but they're not down here."
The youngest of the three shook, his youthful voice quivering. "It may be... too late..."
"No, it's not! Very soon, as this planet deteriorates... you all know why General Scales is doing this, right?"
"He wants his revenge," the third one spoke with a voice deep yet young. "He wants to pull the man who killed him down here to Jigoku, but in order to do that, he'll have to open it a different way, since that guy is a hard one to take down..."
"You know who he is, right?"
"Of course."
The Tanuki looked back down to the three. Around them, a lone figure also huddled close, and two more, embracing each other closely, sat very close to them too. The tenshi sighed, feeling guilty and responsible for the six of them down here... they shouldn't be there. This is not their place. If they were never to return to the living, their place is in the heavens, not here to Jigoku. They deserve peace, not destruction... yet they are pulled down to a place without mercy. "It's wrong..." she murmured. "It's just wrong..."
"Hey," the lone figure began, a voice soft and beautiful, that of a woman. "At least... Fox is alive, right?"
The tenshi hesitated before answering. "Yes... he is still alive."
"That's good. I really wished... I could see him again, though."
"I'm sure you all do." The tenshi turned to the first three again, "Wasn't it that you three died when your ship was being crushed?"
The youngest of the three shook his head. "No. It was in the crash."
"But you and Hare-san were impaled... and Lombardi-san was burned and-"
"It was the crash, believe me, Tanuki-san... and much more."
"What do you mean?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi began having flashbacks.
Peppy nearly blacked out, but when he heard Fox screaming he struggled to keep face. He turned to where he heard his leader cry, trying to ignore the scrap of metal through his shoulder. He allowed the blood to drip as he crawled to where Fox has fallen, leaving a trail of crimson. As soon as strength has returned to his legs, the aging rabbit pushed himself up and began approaching his fallen leader. He groaned and clutched his shoulder, feeling the blood flow through his fingers. He nearly collapsed again when he realized Fox has fallen to unconsciousness.
"Of the four of us, HE'S the one who gets knocked out?!" a voice shouted out angrily in the midst of the violent shaking of the ship. Peppy turned to see Falco standing on his own two feet, ignoring the burning sensation on his arms, hands, chest, and neck, his eyes slightly whitened and his green eyes faded. The aging rabbit gasped and froze as soon as he saw the standing tiercel, screaming as if he just saw a ghost or a zombie, frightened at the bloody body of the falcon. Falco, although his eyesight leaving him slowly, frowned at the lagomorphine. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"You're... you're..."
Falco shook his head. "I'm fine. Really, Peppy."
"But... you..."
"I said I'm fine! Don't worry about me! Worry about Fox!"
"But Fox isn't dying! We are!"
As soon as Peppy shouted those words, voices echoed in the rabbit and falcon's ear. Deep, haunting voices... like it was as if it was many people laughing in unison. Chills ran down both the bird and mammal's spines, shuddering as the laugh continued to echo, subtly growing louder and louder. Their hearts beat weakly and strong at the same time... strong, for fear was struck deep into them... and weak because they both knew their time was getting short.
Slippy, struggling to get on his feet as he gripped the metal in his stomach, the pain throbbing in his body. "That laugh... I know that laugh..."
"Me too..." Peppy whispered softly.
Despite his decreasing strength, Falco ran to the blown control bench. "Damn... completely destroyed... ROB, can you-"
Slippy turned towards to where their robotic companion was. "ROB? Aw, damn..." Sadly lying in a pile of twisted metal in the corner was ROB the Robot, crumpled together as if wrecked by even heavier machinery. The young frog gasped as ROB's body began to twist and turn as dents suddenly appeared on the metal, as if someone was pounding on it... someone invisible. ROB's eyes began to burst, the wires exposed and sparking. Its metal frame burst, oil spurting everywhere like robot's blood, gears, nails, and batteries flying from the body and scattering everywhere. ROB moaned like a dying victim of slow and painful torture as its head popped then exploded into bits and pieces of metallic dust.
Slippy shook his head. "It took me forever to make him twelve years ago... now I'll have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN!!!"
The laugh suddenly echoed again. Slippy took his eyes off his destroyed robot and looked everywhere. More and more metal of the Great Fox began to form lumps then explode, sparks and wires firing and singeing the frog and his companions, including the unconscious Fox. Peppy tore his overcoat off, his shoulder throbbing as the cloth ripped through the metal impaled through him. He laid it all over Fox, covering his face and body, not as in covering a corpse, but to protect his fallen leader. Slippy screamed as another piece of metal shot and thrust into his leg, more blood flying everywhere, adding the crimson walls of the main bridge. He crawled to where Peppy and Falco stood, his leg too gravely wounded to allow it to even move. Falco, leaning on the control bench that exploded and nearly killed him, began to fumble around, his eyesight beginning to leave him. He felt for any left over buttons and levers still functioning, and luckily he found one. Falco struggled to see. He blinked and tried to rub his eyes, but if he did not only will he lose where the controls were, but it'll injure his already burned hands and face. The bird squinted then widened his fading orbs. His world was whitening... as if fading away. He could still see the bench, the cracking windshield, and the planet before him, but barely. Like burnt frames of a film, the corners of the falcon's peripheral vision began to blacken, slowly closing in towards the middle. Falco felt his heart race. He didn't want to go blind. His eyesight was precious to him not only as a sharp-eyed bird of prey, but also as a pilot. A mercenary pilot of the StarFox Team.
StarFox... Fox is down. That laugh keeps echoing. If this keeps going on, Fox might...
Falco gripped the lever and pressed it forward. Peppy and Slippy nearly tumbled as the Great Fox shook more violently than it already has. Both the rabbit and frog glanced at the windshield, seeing that planet... Dinosaur Planet... grow bigger. Bigger... bigger... they were close... very close.
Slippy yelled on top of his lungs at the bird. "Falco! What are you doing?!"
Falco's breathing began to shallow again. He wheezed and choked, feeling his chest and throat pulsate painfully. He struggled to breathe, but it was no use; he could not get enough sufficient oxygen for his lungs. He managed, however, to gasp out as many words as he could. "He... he... wants... us... dead..."
"What?"
"We... Fox... it's not... over..."
"Falco! Don't talk!" Peppy yelled as he strived to keep balance as the Great Fox shook, advancing the planet quickly. He tumbled to the control bench, gripping the metal that didn't burn. He grabbed Falco's arm, who, upon contact, feel on his knees. Peppy held Falco up, feeling blood fall upon him once again. He began patting the bird's face, trying to get his attention. "Falco... Falco...? Can you hear me?"
Slippy caught on. He began thinking about what's happening... and why. He slapped his froggy webbed hands on the ground and dragged himself to the control bench, pulling himself up while gripping the metal then grabbing the same lever Falco pressed forward. He stood up, ignoring the metal through his leg and stomach. The Great Fox shook harder, to the point where everything fell but those three. Slippy struggled to concentrate on the mother-ship's path to Dinosaur Planet, which will be a bumpy ride. He shouted to Peppy in order to be heard over the noise. "If we hurry... we'll get of his clutches and hopefully survive... or at least Fox... We have to protect him-"
"Clutches... Whose?"
Slippy gazed into Peppy's eyes with a fearful and grave look in his. Peppy then became the last one to realize what was happening and nodded. He turned to the cracking windshield, pointing to it. They were no longer seeing a planet, rather, oceans and continents in its stead. "Steer there!" he yelled. Slippy then pulled the lever left as the rabbit directed him where to land. "It's a gamble, but we have no choice! That piece of land there is ThornTail Hollow! If we fall towards somewhere in the center left, we could land in an empty space. We mustn't go too fast, or we'll crash!"
"F### THIS!!!" Falco cursed. "If you haven't noticed, he's still gripping the Great Fox! Look at the radar!"
Peppy and Slippy glanced at radar. Sure enough, surrounding their mothership was that cloudy thing... but it was no longer cloudy. It was more... solid... as if although invisible, it was there... gripping over their ship like a hand... it was, however, shaped like a hand...
Slippy decided to take another risk. He pressed the lever even further, the Great Fox shaking so hard the wings and shingles of the ship literally tearing apart, the thrusters smoking. The metal of the ship began to burn, turning red and steaming as the mothership plunged further and further into the planet. The frog knew, however, that if they kamikaze into the planet, not only will they die, but also their leader. As soon as he felt it was the right time, Slippy pulled the lever back hard. However... it was stuck.
"S#!T!!!"
"We'll help!" Falco shouted as he too gripped the lever, along with Peppy. All three struggled to pull, their pains and wounds throbbing harder, their blood flowing a river. Their clothes began to soak with crimson, the pain reaching from their flesh to their bones. They felt as if they were going to die just from the pulling of the lever alone, the aching growing into unbearable torment. Their hands were glued to the lever, and they could not let go. They pulled harder... harder... the pain becoming more and more unbearable. They could feel the shaking lessen, becoming calmer... Very soon everything was so... calm... the shaking became stillness... metal was no longer bending... the sparks and fire died out... and Fox... he was still unconscious... but at least he's still breathing-
*FWUMP!!!*
All three of the lingering wingmen fell down as soon the Great Fox made a crash landing. It was rough and sudden, much of the ship digging deep into the earth. Much of the remaining metal burnt and bent, no longer the shape of a ship. More metal and wires fell from the ceiling, falling over all of them and Fox, covering every part of him except his face. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco peeked through the small spaces of debris and took one last glance before they closed their eyes. Fox was still breathing. In fact, he looked... asleep.
"We... He... made it..." each of them murmured before they closed their eyes.
They never opened them again.
***
"It was the crash, all right..." Peppy murmured. "We used up all our remaining strength to keep the Great Fox under control while it made its crash course to Dinosaur Planet. A careless landing, but at least Fox survived-"
"You've made so much effort in trying to protect him," the Tanuki sobbed as she was finished listening to StarFox's tale of woe. "It wasn't the crash that killed you... it was your will to ensure your Leader's safety! You were steadfast... you made sure you survived at least to see your Leader was safe... and he is to this day. Why didn't you try to save yourselves too?"
StarFox was silent.
The Tanuki gasped. "Or... did you..."
Slippy forced a smile from his sad face. "In Dinosaur Planet, there's magic, right? Then... perhaps there was a way to revive the dead... and if we knew Fox, he'd do it, right?"
"But now... it's been so long... and now..."
It was Peppy's turn to force a smile. He rubbed his eye as if he was crying, then buried his face in his crossed arms and leaned on his knees. "We have no regrets."
The Tanuki turned to Krystal. "And you?"
Krystal nearly cried. "I was... hoping to see him again... at least to tell him something..."
The Tenshi turned to Diva and Starr. "He was... a good friend... For the first time in a very long time, it felt good to meet another Lylatian anthro after nine years of being stranded in Dinosaur Planet," Diva murmured, hugging her son.
"And you, Starr?"
"...................... I wanted to be just like him."
The Tanuki nodded, hearing the ghosts' last words on Fox McCloud. She felt like crying along with them, clutching her chest as if clutching her aching heart. "Don't worry... even if he'll never be able to revive any of you... I'm sure at least he'll remember you..."
The ghosts nodded in agreement as their spirits began to turn blue, azure flames enveloping them in the darkness. The Tenshi was afraid of this, and soon she began to sob and weep, her cries echoing in the darkness and over the clanging chains and burning fire.
***
Bill and Katt ran quickly through Walled City from the piece of earth that rose beneath their feet, hurriedly hopping off as that large chunk of land floated high into the sky. Both looked around. Not every piece of earth left for space. Some were simply floating at least a hundred feet high into the sky. The clueless Lylatians gulped as they watched the chunks just float there, afraid that some of them would fall on them. They avoided each piece of land whenever they can, and when they cannot, they run, leaping over every hole on the remains of the planet (unlike a certain purple falcon woman around here...).
Katt shuddered as she glanced at even a rock the size of a basketball floating no more than fifty feet from the ground. "I'm shocked at how this planet is falling apart... isn't it that if a planet gets smaller and smaller, the gravitational pull gets weaker and weaker?"
Bill nodded as he began remembering a lecture Slippy made on planetary gravitation. "What's strange is how only pieces of land are the ones falling apart from this planet yet everything else... the trees, the dinosaurs, the buildings, the water... us... we're not floating sky-high either!"
"Hopefully we won't... what will happen if this keeps up?"
The greyhound was silent. "I... I don't know..."
"Hey, look!" Katt yelled as she tugged her canine companion while pointing to a direction away from them. Leaning on a temple were two bags, one that was tied up and closed at the opening and the other open and spilling out its contents, which was something sparkling. Bill noticed the bags too, and he turned and began walking towards them to have a closer look. Inside the opened bag were four, large, radiant stones, two of them fiery red and the other two oceanic blue. The stones, although not smooth like gemstones, were rough and appeared to be like glass, while their edges were covered with grayish rock.
Bill recognized the stones as he stepped up to them and picked up a red one. "Hey... Fox told me about these... I think they're SpellStones!"
"SpellStones?" Katt picked up a blue Stone. "Wow... so pretty... I WANNA KEEP THE BLUE ONES!!!"
"KATT!!!"
"Finders keepers, losers weepers!"
"That's not what I meant!"
"You mean you want some too?"
"NO!!!" Bill barked. He sighed and took in a deep breath, counting one to ten in his head to cool down his anger. "Look, here, Katt... these SpellStones are of great importance to Dinosaur Planet!"
"Really?"
"Yes! You see, according to Fox, they should be kept at a Force Point Temple so that they, along with the Krazoa Spirits, whatever they are, could keep the planet together. You remember when Dinosaur Planet was crumbled up like this before?"
"Um, yeah?"
"Well, Fox, with the help of the Krazoa, put the planet back in place with these SpellStones. In fact, the reason why the Planet was crumbling apart in the first place was the absence of these Stones!"
"Oh, I get it now!" Katt said as she glanced and picked up the red SpellStones. "So, if we put these things back in the temple thing-a-ma- bobber... then we can put the Planet back together, right?"
"That's right!"
"But what about the... the... spirit things?"
"The Krazoa? Well... I dunno... Fox said something about the Krazoa being in their Palace... it's somewhere here on Dinosaur Planet... too bad Peppy isn't here to help us-"
"We can look around! And the Krazoa can give us directions to the Temples!"
"Good idea!"
***
In the silences, a bloodthirsty apparition watched the cat and dog roam about in Dinosaur Planet, sinister eyes piercing a cold gaze unto them. His feathers ruffled, his hands clutching into tight grips. He was frustrated and angry as he is; now these newcomers are simply pissing him off.
'I must get rid of them.............. before my lord finds out about these strangers....'
***
Fox thought about what happened in the Great Fox carefully. The clouds... he remembered seeing them with his very own eyes. The explosions... he remembered them too. The explosions of the controls... and on the metal... they weren't natural. Fox even recalled how Peppy and Slippy were killed... the metal was first bent into a bump, then it lengthened into a coil then burst. The pieces of metal impaled his unfortunate wingmen in the shoulder and stomach. As for Falco, the control bench he leaned on exploded. There was nothing wrong with the wiring; it just exploded as if a bomb was planted there. There was none, though. The only thing there were sparks, even if the wiring was not flawed. What could it be...?
'What attacked us?' Fox thought hard as he flew through the starry galaxy in his spare Arwing. It has been quite a while ever since he last flew his favorite ship... several weeks, maybe? It has been almost a month since the Great Fox crashed into Dinosaur Planet. Fox, however, felt as if he had been trapped there forever. Forever... extended eternity... has it really been a month? Everything just happened so slowly yet so quickly at the same time... the crash... Krystal's death... the burning of Krazoa Palace... Diva and Starr's arrival... realizations of the Krazoa's repossession of his friends' bodies... the return of General Scales and the menace of Kuro Youkai... the opening of Jigoku... collecting the Golden Bafomdads... and the entire planet falling apart... everything was coming by so slowly yet so quickly. Fox shuddered at all the events that happened. Nothing like that ever happened in his life, not like this. Everything was crashing down... lower... and lower. He began thinking, 'Could it get any worse?'
But there is hope. The Golden Bafomdads... all he needs is to find them again. The chest his friends told him could help him too. What did they mean, though? What's in it that could help him?
Fox's thoughts, however, shifted to only his late Team as he gazed into the stars. Six stars... they seemed dark, almost as black as the vast space around them, but he could see them because they were cloudy, like mists. The fox's heart sank when he could see one star shining very brightly... a golden star.
The vulpine recalled what Diva told him, the dream she had as a warning to Fox about the Krazoa possessing his Team's shells. "I saw... four stars... a gold, a ruby, an emerald, and a sapphire. Each and every one of those stars shone brightly, more brightly than any other star in the sky. In fact, the gold shone the brightest, but the other three-the ruby, the emerald, and the sapphire, helped in sharing the light. But one day, these stars fell. The deaths of these stars were slow, agonizing, tragic yet sudden. Yet the gold star was able to shine brightly without the other three."
Fox recalled the last dream he had before departing again for Dinosaur Planet... what seemed to be his friends' final farewell. "Does this mean... no... it can't be... they will be revived... I'll make sure of it... this is no 'Good-bye'... I will revive you... even if it means putting those stars back in the sky!"
As he flew further and further towards the planet, however, the vulpine noticed the golden star is beginning to lose its brightness, as if fading.
***
"THIS IS KRAZOA PALACE???!!!" Katt almost screamed in her comlink as soon as she caught sight of the Krazoa Palace Ruins.
Bill also screamed, but not from the sight of the Krazoa Palace Ruins. "You don't HAVE to SCREAM that LOUD, Katt!"
"Say what? I can't hear you! I think I've gone deaf!"
"Oy..."
Bill and Katt soon landed their ships at a safe distance from the pillar that held the once magnificent palace of the Krazoa. With the SpellStones in their hands, they began running to the wreckage, careful not to look down from the bridge. As soon as they grew nearer and nearer to the ruins, they began to feel something dark and cold in this place, a chill running down their spines as the smell of death reached their nostrils. Bill and Katt hesitated as soon as they were only five feet away from the crumbled entrance, their bodies shaking. Sweat dripped from their brows, their hearts beating unsteadily in fear. Katt's hands trembled as she gripped the bag with the SpellStones, losing almost their feelings and becoming numb, the blood running through her veins growing cold. The hair on the back of the dog and cat's necks stood up, their tails shivering as they hung between their legs. The air suddenly grew cold, or at least cold to them. A haunting feeling as pricked their very being, that feeling of something watching you, waiting for you... and that feeling of anguish and hurt, at the same time, fury and hatred... it lingered there... along with the smell of death, that smell of shed blood and the taking of life...
Katt began to chuckle nervously. "Um, Bill, are you sure this is the right place?"
"Well, that's that giant statue said..."
"But doesn't he look kinda drunk?"
"Well, kinda... oh, great... yeah, Katt... let's go back-"
*SLASH!!!*
***
"Is that... Tricky?" Fox said to himself as his Arwing landed on an empty spot in Walled City. As he opened his cockpit, he watched the little dinosaur run across the city, chasing a Golden Bafomdad with a StarFox badge on its belly. "Oh, it's that Bafomdad... great... at least we have one more Golden Bafomdad..."
"GIMME MY BADGE AND THAT KEY, YA LITTLE THIEF!!!" Tricky hollered.
Fox's ears twitched. "Key?"
Drip, as what his master Kuro called him, blindly ran around in circles then finally ran to Fox's direction then over the vulpine's tail (in which that vulpine stuck out on purpose). Before the mischievous critter would get up, Fox grabbed it on the back of its neck and held it like a kitten.
Fox snickered. "You were a problem before... now we have you!"
Drip spat on Fox's eye. The fox dropped the Golden Bafomdad onto the ground, little Drip falling on his face. Again, before he would get up, he was caught, Tricky pouncing on him. As soon as the dinosaur's weight befell on him, Drip coughed up the key he swallowed before.
The vulpine gasped at the appearance of the small, golden key. "The... the key..."
"It was swallowed by this little thief," Tricky said through clenched teeth as he pinned Drip down with his foot then plucked the badge off him with his mouth. Tricky held his head up high so Fox could pin it back on him, which he did by sticking it back on the top of Tricky's crest.
Fox asked, "But why?"
"Well, Kuro thought it was a good hiding place."
"K-Kuro... you mean-"
"That hawk guy who works for Scales? Yeah."
Fox was silent.
Tricky looked down on the ground, ignoring Drip's squirming under his foot. "I... I have... bad news, Fox... It's about your Team."
"My... what? What happened, Tricky?"
Fox noticed Tricky shuddered, tears falling from his eyes. The fox suddenly became worried but furious at the same time, and he bent down and began shaking the dinosaur prince. "Tricky? Tricky! Tell me! What happened?! TELL ME!"
As Fox shook him, Tricky lost his footing, enabling Drip to crawl out then hop away. The fox and the dinosaur watched as Drip leaped away quickly, turning back to blow raspberry. Tricky yelled as he fought back the tears and his anger covered up his grief. "NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE, FOX!!!"
*CRASH!!!*
"What?"
Fox noticed that the little Golden Bafomdad fell into one of the big holes that were laid out in Walled City.
Tricky stared in disbelief. "Looks like Miss Diva's clumsiness rubbed off on him!"
"Tricky..."
"Don't just stand there! Get him!"
Fox stood up and raced to the hole where Drip fell, Tricky following. When the two looked down inside the hole, they could see the Golden Bafomdad knocked out, probably from falling unto its head on a silver chest with the face of a Krazoa painted on it.
Hmmm....
"The... the chest!" Fox gasped.
'Oh, yeah...' Tricky thought as he stared at the chest. 'That's where James and I hid the chest... I wonder why James forbade me to tell Fox about him...'
"For once, my lucky star is shining!" Fox said as he clapped his hands together and looked up, almost crying. As he looked up, however, he thought of the time he saw his star... that golden star... fading... this is no time for celebrations! The mammal slid down the hole, the key (wiped clean, of course) gripped in his hand. "This is it, Tricky! I'm going to open this chest!"
"Do it, Fox!"
The vulpine swept the unconscious Golden Bafomdad aside then pinned him down with his foot as he searched for the lock. Finding it, which was clipped the chest's top onto the rest of the box, he inserted the key inside, twisting it, then opening it, Fox flinging the top wide open.
Both Tricky and Fox gasped to see what was inside.
((to be continued...))
***
((That was.... quick..... anyway, now that the chapter's finished, please review! ;_; ))