Cowboy Star Fox

By Wolf O'Donnell

WARNING: This fanfic will contain swearing, graphic scenes of death and violence and the use of British-English Spelling and Grammar. If any of these things offend you or if you are underaged, please do not read any further. Upon reading any word or letter 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 contents of this fanfic. 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.

* * * * *

Episode 9: Too Good Too Bad

A whole bunch of men wearing black trenchcoats marched through the corridor. On the breastpocket of their trenchcoats was a symbol– a dark red G made up of straight lines within a black square-shaped diamond, against a circular white background. They were from the Gospel Army.
At the front was the elaborately dressed General of the Gospel Army, Ookami, otherwise known as Wolf O'Donnell. Suddenly, he stopped and motioned them to stop with a white-gloved hand. He gestured silently for them to move into a set position and then continued, his white cape trailing behind him. One hand reached for the hilt of a sabre, sheathed in a scabbard he wore around his waist.
With one swift movement, he unsheathed it and burst through the doors at the end of the corridor. His Gospel lackies followed him into the room. Wolf looked around him sternly with his two eyes– one real, one fake. The room was unusually empty and silent. The lupine didn't like this one bit.
"I knew that you would betray me one day, Wolf," chuckled a squealing voice from the balcony. Pigma walked out onto the balcony of the room and then gestured silently. His lackies emerged from their hiding places and surrounded Wolf and his posse. "Every day I would obey your blasted orders, while your Gospel Army stifled my Syndicate's operations. If it weren't for you and Gospel, we'd be filthy rich by now."
An angry snarl spread across Wolf's face.
"Me? Betray you?" he spat back angrily. He laughed bitterly at Pigma's choice of words. "I think not! It was you that betrayed me. You betrayed my trust, Pigma. I told you not to go after Fox McCloud, but what did you do?" Slowly, he re-sheathed his sabre, one that had been given to him when he graduated from the Lylat Flight Academy. He saw no need to have it drawn. "Tell me, Pigma, what did you think you could achieve by blatantly disobeying my orders?" He looked around him at Pigma's lackies, all of whom had their guns pointed at him and the Gospel members.
"Lower your weapons!" Wolf shouted at the Syndicate thugs. "That is a direct order!" They did not respond to him and that made Wolf even angrier. "Lower your weapons now or you will severely regret it." It was no use. Why would they not obey him? He was the Syndicate's true master, so why would they not obey him? "I see," he said more calmly, as a smile slowly formed on his muzzle, "so you have managed to trick them into siding with you, huh?" He chuckled mordantly, as he realised the reality of the situation. "So what will you do now, that you have me captured? Will you attempt to destroy the Gospel Army and make it your own, like I did with the Syndicate? Or will you kill me now?"
A devious smile appeared on Pigma's face. On a side note, it must be pointed out that it was the same smile that had appeared on his lips when he first betrayed James McCloud to Andross.
"You will die when I deem it fit," replied Pigma smugly. "As for now, you shall be held captive, until I have thought up of a proper punishment for you. Wolf, you will be made an example of for all of Gospel to see."

* * * * *

It had taken a week of preparation, but it was now all set.
A smile spread across Falco's beak, as he thought of how they would now be able to take down the Lylat Syndicate once and for all. He had worked hard, ever since he left Star Fox, to fight against the Lylat Syndicate and avenge the death of his friend. Falco took the burning cancer stick from his beak and breathed out a plume of smoke. He could remember how his friend had been caught between a gun fight between the Syndicate and a rival crime gang. Ever since that day, Falco had vowed to avenge his friend's death.
"You should really quit, you know," said Katt, as she holstered her gun. "Those things can make you go impotent, you know."
"No! Really?" exclaimed Falco sincerely. "You're yanking my chain."
Katt shook her head.
"No, it's true," she told Falco. "I read about it in a magazine once. Smoking can increase your chance of getting a heart disease and hardened arteries. People with heart diseases and hardened arteries tend to be impotent."
The avian looked at the cigarette and then at Katt. Which would was better? To ease his nicotine craving or to not be impotent? Falco dropped the cigarette and stepped on it.
"Maybe I should quit," he said thoughtfully, before taking his gun from the table and putting it into his holster. He looked up at the ceiling, as he shoved the gun in. "Hm, I wonder why the sprinklers didn't go off?" Falco sighed and shook his head. "Trust them to get the cheap sprinklers," he sighed.
The anticipation was starting to get to Falco. It was like a drug that intoxicated his every senses. He could hear the blood pumping through his body. He could taste the anticipation in his mouth. It thrilled him, making him eager for the actual bust on the Syndicate. Not since the invasion of Venom had he felt like this.
"So, you ready for this one, Katt?" he asked the pink-furred feline.
"Couldn't be more ready, sugar."
Falco smiled at Katt.
"Then let's get going," he suggested, as he went for the door. He opened the door and held it open and gestured with a feathered hand. "After you."

"Fox."
The red-furred vulpine turned round and saw Krystal standing not too far away. This was awkward. Fox had a feeling that he knew what Krystal was here to talk to him about. Ever since he had been poisoned a week ago, Fox avoided Krystal like the plague. He feared what she would ask him and what she wanted from him.
"Hey, Krystal," he greeted the blue-furred vixen awkwardly.
"Fox, I have to talk to you about something," stated Krystal sternly, not taking her eyes away from Fox. It seemed as if she was gazing into his eyes and past them, deep into his mind and his soul. "I want to know something. Do you love me?" She waited a while and received no reply for a while. "I mean, do you really, truly love me?"
"Of course I do," replied Fox. "What ever made you think I didn't?" He saw her turn her head away from him and lower her gaze. Why did she do that? Fox had no idea and was beginning to wonder where this would lead. Would Krystal do as he feared and ask about his relationship with Fara?
"I think I know why," he said, after a while of silence. Fox could still remember how they had bickered over him at the hospital. Though he had his eyes closed at the time, he could still hear them and how they argued. "The truth is, I'm not sure which one of you I love more," he told Krystal truthfully. "Sure, I love you, but Fara..." He sighed and shook his head. Fox knew how unfair it was for the both of them, but he just couldn't decide. "She's clearly jealous of you and I can see why."
Krystal had this feeling that Fox was skirting around the true subject. She could tell that he was unwilling to talk about it and that was what infuriated her.
"Fox, am I your girlfriend or not?" asked Krystal, her voice slightly wavering in fear. The blue-furred vixen feared that Fox would say no and that she would end up without a boyfriend. "I'm not, am I? You don't see me as a girlfriend, do you?"
Fox exhaled sharply through his cold, wet nose.
"I've always been more concerned about my line of work," he told Krystal in a vague manner. "My work has always been foremost in my mind, so I always took my girlfriends for granted. I never thought much about them, to tell you the truth." He sat down on a bench and motioned for Krystal to join him. When she sat down, he continued, "Then I met you, Krystal. You were the most beautiful fox I'd ever seen."
A smile spread across Fox's muzzle, as he thought about when he first saw her on the top of Krazoa Palace.
"You took my breath away," he told her. When he first met Krystal, Fara had already dumped him in order to take on a job within the Lylat Police. "Yeah, we were definitely an item then, weren't we?"
"Yeah," replied Krystal with nod of her head.
"And then I took you to meet my other friends and Fara was with them," stated Fox. He shook his head at that memory. "I'm not sure what was up with her, but she seemed so jealous of you. I guess she thought that when I came back, we could get back together, but she saw you with me." Fox clasped his hands together and looked down at the floor, staring at the space between his boots. "I guess, ever since I wanted to make things up with her. After all, I dumped her as well."
Fox laughed and it was a short, sharp laugh that faded as quickly as it had began.
"Since then, you've both been fighting over my heart," he continued. He turned to look at her. "Krystal, I do love you, but the way things are going... I'm just real confused. I feel as if I love you, but I think I might still have feelings for Fara." He sighed. "My feelings are a mess. I guess, ever since my father passed away, they've always been a mess."
"Fox..." began Krystal, but she didn't get a chance to continue.
"I know," interrupted Fox, "it's unfair on you and it's unfair on Fara and all three of us." A thought went through Fox's mind. Would this be a repeat of how he dumped Fara? He could remember the reasons he gave, of how he wouldn't be able to support her due to the Star Fox Team's financial crisis. Fox had thought it best, if they went their separate ways. "Perhaps I should just stop dating. It'll make things easier on all of us."
A myriad of thoughts was going through Krystal's mind, as Fox talked. She really loved him. Krystal really did have feelings for him and could see through to his inner beauty. The vixen could see him for what he truly was. She knew him to be caring, kind and even gentle. She knew his passion for justice. She knew he would do anything for her. Krystal felt that there was something special about this fox and she wanted to be with him. Yet, could she be with a fox that may not even fully reciprocate her love?
"Fox," began Krystal, as a Cerinian saying went through her mind, "you know that neither Fara nor I will give up so easily, don't you?" She received a silent nod in reply. Krystal smiled at him. "Perhaps we could start all over from the beginning," she suggested.
"But..."
Krystal placed a furry finger against his muzzle, silencing him.
"Fox, don't," she told him with a small shake of her head. "Can't you see that I love you? Sure, there's things that I'd drawn the line at. If you were already dating Fara, I'd dump you just like that. But you're not, are you? I know you, Fox. You're not the type to be dating two girls at once." She rose from the bench. "Let's start all over again from the beginning. I'll win your heart over."
The door to the training room suddenly opened and Peppy stuck his head round the corner of the frame.
"Fox, Krystal, there you are!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you two. We've been asked to move out."
So, the raid was going to begin.
Fox smiled.
"Okay, I'll see you there, Pep," said Fox with a nod of his head. He turned to face Krystal. "Shall we?"
"Let's," agreed Krystal with a nod of her head.

* * * * *

The place looked like a dungeon. It was a dungeon.
The walls were bare, except for the chains that hung from it. No doubt many that had displeased the Syndicate had been chained down there and tortured, possibly to the point of death itself. No light filtered into this dungeon within the Syndicate Headquarters from the outside. It was just the light from a feeble, single lightbulb that hung in the ceiling.
The door was opened by two tigers– one white, the other orange. They wore black trenchcoats, but unlike those that had followed O'Donnell, they did not have the Gospel Army's symbol on their trenchcoats.
These tigers were from the Syndicate. Each one stepped aside of the door, revealing a tall, scaly figure. This figure also wore a black trenchcoat.
It was Scales, the former General of the SharpClaw Army, and current member of the Lylat Syndicate. He stopped in the centre of the room, looking towards the figure that was chained against the brick wall. Though the furry head was lowered, Scales recognised the person as General Wolf O'Donnell of the Gospel Army.
"Wolf," he said in an attempt to attract the lupine's attraction, "I'm here to get you out of here."
"And why would you want to do that?" asked Wolf, not raising his head to look at Scales.
"I owe you one, remember?" replied Scales. "Back during the Lylat War, you saved my life from Cornerian spies. Besides, I..."
Wolf laughed, though at what, Scales was not too sure. Gradually, Wolf lifted his furry head until his eyes gazed into those of the SharpClaw.
"Do you really think that I need your help, Scales?" asked Wolf curiously. "Pigma is nothing compared to me. Surely, you of all people should know that?" A wolfish smile spread across his furry muzzle, as he looked at Scales. "Go now, before one of his brain-dead followers comes along. There is no need for you to free me. Even if I should die, Gospel will still continue to avenge the destruction of Planet Cerinia and serve the plans of Dr. Kano."
There was something in Wolf's gaze that reminded Scales of something. It sent shivers down his spine.
"Okay then," he sighed with a nod of his scaly head. "I'll leave then. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I doubt he does," said a squealing voice that made Scales whirl round.
It was Pigma Dengar, standing at the doorway. Several of his most loyal followers stood in a radiating fan fashion in front of him, protecting him.
"You see, if he did know what he was doing, he would have busted out a long time ago," sneered Pigma, as he motioned for his men to advance. "Scales, you will suffer the same fate as Wolf for betraying the Syndicate. Both of you shall be tortured to death. I feel that it's a suitable demise for the two of you, after all, it seems as if you enjoy pain so much."
Wolf burst out into laughter.
"Kill him!" he shouted.
Pigma frowned and then saw some of his followers turn their guns on him. Traitors!
"No!" he squealed in horror. "Stop them!" He backed off, as his most loyal followers turned their guns on the traitors and opened fire.
One of the trench-coat wearing thugs turned his gun on Wolf. He pulled the trigger and fired a laser that severed the chains that kept the lupine bound to the wall. Another laser flew through the air, but this time it was not fired from his gun. Blood trickled form the thug's head, before he dropped his gun and crashed to the floor lifeless.
Wolf wrenched himself free from the world. He unsheathed his sabre from its scabbard, as he ran past those loyal to Pigma. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the thugs aim a gun at him. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the blade and it cut off the Syndicate member's gun-wielding hand. Another one of Pigma's loyal followers rushed him. He swung his sharpened sabre vertically and cut the man in half from the bottom up.
The sight of one of his followers being cut in half horrified Pigma. He turned round and quickly made a run for it. Dengar had always been a coward and this time was no exception. Pigma didn't get very far, though, as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and throttled by an arm. He saw a shining blade with an edge so sharp, it looked as if could cut through an atom, and this blade was held right near his eyes.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Wolf curiously.
"Please, don't kill me," begged Pigma. "Please!"
Wolf chuckled at that comment.
"You're such a coward," he told the porcine. "You would gladly kill those more defenceless than you, but when faced against someone like me or even McCloud...?" He laughed at the thought of it. "Remember how James McCloud pleaded for his life, pleaded to your sense of decency? Remember how you ignored his pleas and killed him?"
"No, you wouldn't!" protested Pigma with a shake of his head. "I'm a team mate. A friend!"
"Yes, you were a team mate," said Wolf after much thought. "A friend, however? No. McCloud was your friend, if I remember correctly and a team mate." The smile on his muzzle widened. "Can you see where this is going?"
Though larger than Wolf, in terms of bulk, Pigma was not stronger. He could not break free from the grip Wolf held him in and even if he could, he would be cut to shreds before he could even make a move.
"Please, don't do this," pleaded Pigma, as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Tears," commented Wolf in surprise. "And I thought you had lost all sense of decency. Still, they won't help you now." He then drew his sabre across Pigma's eyes, cutting through them and into the porcine's skull. Wolf let go of Pigma and let the dead Syndicate Leader fall to the ground. "And you shall cry tears of crimson," muttered Wolf, as he stood there observing the increasing puddle of scarlet spread across the floor.
He bent down and then wiped his sabre clean of blood, before he resheathed into its scabbard.
"Cease all fighting and prepare for the raid," ordered Wolf sternly. "Remember, McCloud is mine and mine alone." He stood back up and stepped over Pigma's fallen body casually, before he made his way calmly out as if nothing had happened.

To be continued...