Cowboy Star Fox
* * * * *
Bill was the one that sat behind the wheel, seeing as
Krystal didn't have a driving licence. The blue-furred vixen
sat besides the dog, as they sat there in the car and waited.
Stake outs were the one thing that Bill didn't like, but he
didn't let it on.
"So," began Bill in an attempt to break the silence, "Krystal, when did you and Fox first meet?"
"About a year ago on Dinosaur Planet," replied
Krystal calmly. "It was rather a short meeting actually. He
rescued me from falling and, well, that was it. We didn't say
much to each other, but that couldn't be helped. Andross was
there."
"Oh," said Bill with a nod of his head. He knew
exactly what the vixen was talking about. "Yeah, Fox told me
about that. I couldn't believe that Andross was still
alive."
Krystal shook her head at Bill's comment.
"He wasn't alive," she told him, as she thought back to when she had first set foot in the Krazoa Palace. "At least, he wasn't when I first saw him in the Krazoa Palace. He was like some kind of ghost or... essence." She could still remember that horrible time when she had seen his translucent face peer at her from round the stone pillar. "That's the bit I don't understand," she sighed. "Andross was like some kind of..." She trailed off, not knowing the right word to say. "I cannot explain it."
"Then don't," Bill told her. He glanced back at
the warehouse and then at Krystal. She was a beautiful vixen with
gentle sapphire blue eyes. "So, are you and Fox an
item?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject. The
response he got from her wasn't one he had expected.
"I don't know," replied Krystal with a shake of
her head. "Sometimes I feel that he loves me and others I
feel like he doesn't at all." She looked towards Bill.
"You know him better than me. Do you feel that I could ever
have a chance with him?"
That was the most awkward question he had ever been asked.
Bill had no idea how to answer. Though he knew his friend well,
he didn't know about his friend's choice in women.
"I don't know either," he told her truthfully. "It seems to me that Fox is more interested in his missions than anything else, but from the way I've seen him act around you, I'm guessing that you have a chance."
"I hope so," sighed Krystal, as she lowered her
head. "It's just, I feel as if I have competition in the
form of that Fennec fox, Fara."
"It's nice to be here with you again, Fox,"
mused Fara. She turned to face the fox in question and then
remembered the one habit she wished he didn't have. "Fox,
get your dirty feet off the dashboard!" she cried, and
swatted his boots off. "Sometimes I wonder whether you're
the gentleman you make yourself out to be."
Fox made his best apologetic puppy-dog look, wondering whether
it would still work on her.
"I'm sorry," he apologised with glistening emerald green eyes and a quivering lower lip. It really was a sight to behold. If any of his enemies had seen this, they would have died from laughing too much. Fox McCloud, the scourge of all bad guys, criminals and psychopathic monkeys, looking like some kind of sad puppy that had lost its mother.
"Oh, stop that," cried Fara, turning away as quickly
as possible.
"Stop what?" asked Fox and whined a little to make
the illusion all that much better, at which point Fara hit him.
"Hey, stop!" he protested, as he was hit over and over
again. It didn't hurt, but he got the message it portrayed.
"Okay, I'll stop with the sad-puppy look! I give! I
give!"
Fara shook her head in disbelief.
"Honestly, you don't know when to give up at times," she told him, as she turned back round to look out of the windscreen and towards the warehouse in front of them. She sighed. Thoughts came back to her, as she looked out of the windscreen. It had been a long time since Falco had gone in, disguised as the criminal, Zudwe Vokk, whom they had captured not too long ago. "Do you think Falco's all right?" asked Fara.
Fox thought about the disguise Slippy had given the
blue-feathered avian. It was the same one he had used on Dinosaur
Planet, only tweaked to make him look like Zudwe Vokk. Not once
had the disguise failed.
"He'll be fine," replied Fox calmly. "Slippy's disguise is fool proof."
Zudwe Vokk was a black-furred panther with a T-shaped scar
in the middle of his feline face. Falco Lombardi was a
blue-feathered avian. The two didn't look the same, hence the
disguise that Slippy had given Falco and the voice alteration
device.
Falco looked over the array of weapons that he had suddenly
been presented with. There were plenty of them and all of them
were black market weapons for sure. Busting this illegal arms
ring would be the best thing he had ever done.
"Yeah, these are all right," he said to them in a tone of voice that suggested that he regarded them as inferior. "They're not what I'm looking for, though. I'm looking for some weapons that can really do some damage, you know what I'm saying?"
The squirrel in the black suit looked at the array of weapons
he had laid out for the customer and then back at his colleagues.
"Yeah, I think I know what you're getting at," replied the squirrel with a nod of his head. "Follow me." He made a gesture with his finger for Falco to follow and led the avian in disguise past a few crates. "Guys, crack open this crate, will you?"
The avian crossed his arms as he waited for them to get the
crate open. He watched as they pried the lid open and then delved
in to bring out something. It was a weapon he had often seen, a
Nuksxak Assault Rifle, utilising 10G Cartidges that produce
lasers capable of cutting bone. Often during the Lylat War, he
had seen the enemy use this rifle, but never before had he been
in such a close proximity to one before.
"This is a..." began the squirrel.
"Yeah, yeah, a Nuksxak rifle," said Falco in a
dismissive tone. "Is this all you've got?"
"Well, yeah," replied the squirrel sternly.
"What are you looking for anyway? There's no weapon out
there more powerful than this."
Discreetly, Falco pressed a button on his wrist and waited a
few seconds, before letting a smile curl his beak.
"Funny you should mention that, actually," he told the squirrel, as he unfolded his arms and lowered them to his side. There was suddenly a crashing noise and the sound of several boots pounding across concrete, as the entire warehouse was suddenly filled up with guys in SWAT Team gear and armed with rifles. "We're here to arrest you," said Falco smugly, as he quickly raised his gun and aimed it at the squirrel.
"Good job, Falc'," praised Fox, as he moved in to
help Bill arrest them. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he
saw someone make a run for it. "Hey, you!" he shouted,
raising his gun. "Hold it right there!" No response.
"I'm going after him," he announced, before taking
flight after the criminal. He would not let a criminal get away.
He had never let one get away, especially not when he was now
working directly for the Lylat Police instead of for their
rewards. The criminal suddenly stopped and turned round. Fox
skidded to a halt. "Scales!"
"Fox McCloud!" exclaimed Scales in surprise. He had
not expected to meet the fox again, especially in the slums of
Corneria City, yet he could remember the warnings he had been
given. "So, you've come to get in my way again, have
you?" asked Scales angrily, as he raised his robotic arm. It
was not covered in any cloth of any kind unlike his other arm,
hence Fox could clearly see it for what it was. "Do you see
this? I lost my arm because of you!" He whirled round and
smashed his robotic arm into a stake of crates, destroying one of
them and sending the entire stack tumbling down in front of him.
He ran.
There was no need for him to fight Fox McCloud. Scales knew
that there was no need, for he had planned this completely. The
weapons they had stocked there were all inferior copies and all
of them would be destroyed, with Fox McCloud's destruction
following soon after.
The reptilian didn't get very far. He skidded to a halt when
his path was suddenly blocked by a couple of police officers and
a very familiar blue-furred vixen.
"You?" exclaimed Scales in disbelief. "What? Is this a reunion of all those that have opposed me?" He began to back off and then suddenly realised that McCloud was behind him. He turned round and saw the Fox making his way over the fallen crates. "You will regret this," he snarled, as he turned round to face Krystal and the Lylat Police officers.
"I severely doubt that, Scales," retorted Krystal,
as she held her magical staff firmly in her hands. This time
round, she would not let it slip out of her hands and she would
use it against the SharpClaw if he tried anything. "Now, I
suggest that you surrender, Scales. You're outnumbered."
Scales grinned at Krystal.
"Maybe so, but I am certainly not outgunned," he retorted, as he clenched his robotic hand into a fist. There was suddenly a loud explosion to their left and another one behind Scales. "I've rigged this place to blow up and go up in flames. Let's see you catch me now, when your lives are at stake!" He began to laugh, as he lowered his arm and pressed a button on his belt. Immediately, he became translucent and then disappeared from sight.
"He's gone!" exclaimed one of the police officers
in disbelief.
"Never mind about that!" shouted Fox, as he ran up
to the others. "Let's get out of here!" He looked
around him as the warehouse burned furiously. His keen vulpine
ears swivelled round as best as they could, listening for any
sounds made by anyone that could have been trapped. "Hey,
Krystal, where are you going?" csried Fox, as he saw her
rush past. "Krystal, don't!" He ran after her in the
hope that he could catch up with her.
Ahead of him, he saw Krystal trying her best to move a large
wooden box. What was she doing? It was then that he heard a voice
over the roar of the flames. He rushed over and helped her. He
stood his ground and then started to push. Their combined
strength seemed to do the trick and the box seemed to budge.
Whatever was in it was certainly heavy. Fox strained against it
and soon it slid out of the way.
From out of the wreckage crawled a reptilian that Fox
recognised instantly.
"Caiman?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. He hesitated and then realised that this reptilian needed his help. He bent down and placed one of Caiman's arms around his shoulder and stood back up again, supporting the reptile's weight. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Yeah, let's," agreed Krystal with a nod of her
head, as she turned round.
A large piece of timber suddenly came crashing down in front
of them and burnt fiercely in front of them, blocking their path.
All around them was this inferno and it prevented them from
escaping. It was like Hell on Corneria and they were trapped
inside this burning inferno.
Krystal extended her staff and lowered it towards the flames.
A cold blast of air emerged from its tip and eventually the
flames subsided and disappeared.
"Here, let me help you!" she called out and placed one of Caiman's arms around her shoulders to help bear the reptilian's weight. The two of them then ran for it, carrying Caiman between the two of them.
They stopped. A huge wall of fire was blocking their escape
path and all around them was the creaking of wood weakened by the
flames. The smoke was making it more difficult to breathe and the
flames were getting hotter every second. Anymore and they
wouldn't have been able to stand it.
"Krystal, do you think your staff can handle that?"
asked Fox, having to shout over the roar of the flames.
"We'll just have to see," was Krystal's reply,
as she did her best to aim it. A cold blast of air emerged from
the staff, yet the flames did not shrink away from the cold blast
of air. They still burnt fiercely and defiantly against that
which would have extinguished lesser fires. It seemed as if they
had a life of their own and were resilient to all those that
would take that life away from them. "It's no use!"
she cried in horror. "It's too strong."
Fox looked around him and saw that they had no other choice.
Flames surrounded them on all sides and the roof looked as if it
would collapse on to them at any moment.
"There's only one thing for it then," he said to Krystal. "We'll have to leap through the fire."
"What? Are you nuts?" cried Krystal in protest. She
had never heard anything so stupid in her life. There was
suddenly a loud groaning and the vixen looked upwards. It seemed
as if the roof was going to cave in. Perhaps, the idea wasn't
so stupid after all. What else had they to lose? "Oh, okay
then," she sighed. "We'll go through with your
idea"
Fox looked past the flames. They weren't prepared for the
entire endeavour. He realised that they would at least need to be
soaked to the bone with water or wearing flame retardant clothing
to survive. They had nothing else at their disposal, however. Or
did they?
"Krystal, see if you can use your staff to douse us both!" he shouted at the blue-furred vixen over the flames. He was sure that the heat of the raging inferno would keep the staff from freezing them into blocks of ice.
Krystal nodded in acknowledgement and slipped away from Caiman
and Fox. She brought out her staff and aimed. A steady,
controlled blast of cold air hit the two of them and she made
sure it wasn't strong enough to freeze them solid. When they were
both suitably doused, she handed the staff over to Fox and
quickly supported Caiman's weight in Fox's place.
Fox was quick about it getting Krystal suitably wet. The idea
was that the moisture would delay the action of the fires on
their clothes and fur. Hopefully, it would limit the burns they
would receive. He took Caiman's other arm and helped support his
weight. Without any more hesitation the two of them rushed
forwards with Caiman between them. The three leapt through the
flames and emerged out on the other side, slightly singed.
"There they are!"
Caiman was too dazed to make out what was going on, but he was
aware that some people were rushing straight towards him and
pulling him away from the flames. That was good. He didn't want
to be anywhere near the flames. He coughed slightly and smiled,
allowing his heavy eyelids to close shut. Sleep was what he
needed and plenty of it.
* * * * *
Scales looked on at the burning warehouse from the roof of
a nearby building. His arms were crossed, as he watched it burn.
He could see the commotion on the ground and realised what it
meant. The SharpClaw sighed miserably at the thought that McCloud
had survived. More importantly, the reptilian, Caiman had
survived. Scales didn't like that at all.
The plan had been simple. He himself had leaked out the
information on the arms deal. Everything had been planned out
carefully. The plan was that when they came across Caiman's
charred remains, they would have thought it was him, Scales. He
would have been free from the Syndicate then, able of starting
his own organisation to crush the Syndicate and take back control
of Dinosaur Planet.
Now that was all but a dream. Scales raised his robotic arm
and opened the lid. He pressed a few buttons on the
holo-communicator and waited.
A holographic image of Pigma's face appeared on it.
"Scales? What is it?" asked Pigma angrily.
"It seems that General Ookami was right," replied
Scales sternly, in his most humble manner. "McCloud was
there and he saved that traitor Caiman." It made his soul
cringe to be so humble before a worthless, fat pig. Yet, he knew
it was necessary for his own survival. "Shall I go after
them?"
Pigma frowned at that statement.
"I wonder how he knew?" wondered Pigma out loud. It was strange that General Ookami, the Leader of the Gospel Army, would know such a thing. He, the new Head of the Lylat Crime Syndicate, had agents everywhere and all of them worked for him. "As for Caiman, I don't think it would be wise to go after him. That would draw too much attention. However, he will tell them about our old friend, Malpass. See to it that they never capture him."
A smile spread across Scales' snout. This was the exact type
of work that, though below him, was still satisfying.
"Of course, sir," he replied. "Neither Star Fox nor the Lylat Police will ever arrest him." The holographic image of Pigma's head soon disappeared.
Slowly, Scales reached out with his good arm and shut the lid
on his robotic arm. He placed a foot on the ledge of the roof and
peered over. Below, he could see the burning wreckage of the
warehouse that was supposed to be Star Fox's trap. The SharpClaw
couldn't understand how they could have survived. The place was
designed to burn with them inside it. They should never have been
able to escape from the burning warehouse.
Scales' robotic fist clenched tightly, as he glared down at
Fox McCloud angrily.
"I'll get rid of you, McCloud," snarled Scales. "I will crush you with my bare hands and tear you to pieces." He turned round and made his way across the roof and away from the scene of the explosions. "Just you wait, McCloud. You will die at my hands."
By Wolf O'Donnell
Author's Note: Star Fox and all related characters (including me) are copyrighted by Nintendo. Scales, Dinosaur Planet and all related characters are copyrighted by Rare. The Gospel Army, Dr. Jerome Kano, the Sekai Foundation and all related characters and places are copyrighted by me. Upon reading any word in this file, you hereby agree to forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that this fanfic contains swearing, violence and the use of British-English Spelling and Grammar.
Episode 4: Words that we couldn't say
"So," began Bill in an attempt to break the silence, "Krystal, when did you and Fox first meet?"
"He wasn't alive," she told him, as she thought back to when she had first set foot in the Krazoa Palace. "At least, he wasn't when I first saw him in the Krazoa Palace. He was like some kind of ghost or... essence." She could still remember that horrible time when she had seen his translucent face peer at her from round the stone pillar. "That's the bit I don't understand," she sighed. "Andross was like some kind of..." She trailed off, not knowing the right word to say. "I cannot explain it."
"I don't know either," he told her truthfully. "It seems to me that Fox is more interested in his missions than anything else, but from the way I've seen him act around you, I'm guessing that you have a chance."
"I'm sorry," he apologised with glistening emerald green eyes and a quivering lower lip. It really was a sight to behold. If any of his enemies had seen this, they would have died from laughing too much. Fox McCloud, the scourge of all bad guys, criminals and psychopathic monkeys, looking like some kind of sad puppy that had lost its mother.
"Honestly, you don't know when to give up at times," she told him, as she turned back round to look out of the windscreen and towards the warehouse in front of them. She sighed. Thoughts came back to her, as she looked out of the windscreen. It had been a long time since Falco had gone in, disguised as the criminal, Zudwe Vokk, whom they had captured not too long ago. "Do you think Falco's all right?" asked Fara.
"He'll be fine," replied Fox calmly. "Slippy's disguise is fool proof."
"Yeah, these are all right," he said to them in a tone of voice that suggested that he regarded them as inferior. "They're not what I'm looking for, though. I'm looking for some weapons that can really do some damage, you know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I think I know what you're getting at," replied the squirrel with a nod of his head. "Follow me." He made a gesture with his finger for Falco to follow and led the avian in disguise past a few crates. "Guys, crack open this crate, will you?"
"Funny you should mention that, actually," he told the squirrel, as he unfolded his arms and lowered them to his side. There was suddenly a crashing noise and the sound of several boots pounding across concrete, as the entire warehouse was suddenly filled up with guys in SWAT Team gear and armed with rifles. "We're here to arrest you," said Falco smugly, as he quickly raised his gun and aimed it at the squirrel.
"You?" exclaimed Scales in disbelief. "What? Is this a reunion of all those that have opposed me?" He began to back off and then suddenly realised that McCloud was behind him. He turned round and saw the Fox making his way over the fallen crates. "You will regret this," he snarled, as he turned round to face Krystal and the Lylat Police officers.
"Maybe so, but I am certainly not outgunned," he retorted, as he clenched his robotic hand into a fist. There was suddenly a loud explosion to their left and another one behind Scales. "I've rigged this place to blow up and go up in flames. Let's see you catch me now, when your lives are at stake!" He began to laugh, as he lowered his arm and pressed a button on his belt. Immediately, he became translucent and then disappeared from sight.
"Caiman?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. He hesitated and then realised that this reptilian needed his help. He bent down and placed one of Caiman's arms around his shoulder and stood back up again, supporting the reptile's weight. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Here, let me help you!" she called out and placed one of Caiman's arms around her shoulders to help bear the reptilian's weight. The two of them then ran for it, carrying Caiman between the two of them.
"There's only one thing for it then," he said to Krystal. "We'll have to leap through the fire."
"Krystal, see if you can use your staff to douse us both!" he shouted at the blue-furred vixen over the flames. He was sure that the heat of the raging inferno would keep the staff from freezing them into blocks of ice.
"Scales? What is it?" asked Pigma angrily.
"I wonder how he knew?" wondered Pigma out loud. It was strange that General Ookami, the Leader of the Gospel Army, would know such a thing. He, the new Head of the Lylat Crime Syndicate, had agents everywhere and all of them worked for him. "As for Caiman, I don't think it would be wise to go after him. That would draw too much attention. However, he will tell them about our old friend, Malpass. See to it that they never capture him."
"Of course, sir," he replied. "Neither Star Fox nor the Lylat Police will ever arrest him." The holographic image of Pigma's head soon disappeared.
"I'll get rid of you, McCloud," snarled Scales. "I will crush you with my bare hands and tear you to pieces." He turned round and made his way across the roof and away from the scene of the explosions. "Just you wait, McCloud. You will die at my hands."
To be continued...
