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...