Cowboy Star Fox

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.

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Episode 4: Words that we couldn't say

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."

To be continued...