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 10: The Real Folk Blues

Large, billowing dark clouds covered the sky. The rain fell down from the heavens like guided bombs, soaking everything, attacking the tall tower that stretched skywards, higher than any tower around it. Raindrops fell on the concrete rooves of buildings, it fell on lampposts, the pavements and the parked vehicles. They fell on the nearby church and on the statues of saints, slowly dribbling down their cheeks as if the statues themselves were shedding tears.
Suddenly, vans came screeching round the corner. Vehicles of all kinds surrounded the Kleinfelter Plaza on all possible sides. Dogs, cats, species of all kinds, rushed out of their vehicles. Men shouted at the civilians through megaphones, yelling at them to get out of the way.
The SWAT Teams prepared themselves. The Star Fox Team prepared themselves. The Lylat Police prepared themselves.

* * * * *

The place was a sprawling hall equivalent to the atrium of a Roman villa, with marble columns and a marble floor. On one side was a wall of windows. Opposite the double doors were a small flight of marble stairs that led up to a single chair that stood in front of a large velvet banner that displayed the Gospel Army's logo.
Scales stood to the right-hand side of the chair, his arms crossed behind his back. He watched as Wolf climb up the steps of the dais, with one hand holding on to the scabbard in which his sabre was sheathed. The SharpClaw raised his good hand up to his radio earpiece.
"Wolf, we've got a problem," he told the lupine, mere seconds afterwards.
"There is no problem," replied Wolf, as he turned round and brushed his white cape aside before sitting down, still holding on to the sabre. He brought the tip of the scabbard down on the ground, as if the entire thing was a cane. "They're all here just as I anticipated. Even McCloud is here." A smile spread across his furry muzzle. "Let them come. They'll soon find out the true nature of the Gospel Army."

* * * * *

The glass doors slid open, after all, they were automatic. A canister was thrown, as lasers flew through the air. One laser hit it dead in middle and it exploded, sending gas pouring into the large hallway.
The SWAT Teams were the first to enter, each armed to the teeth. They stopped and saw that the Syndicate members within the building also wore gas masks like they did and were also armed. A laser was fired and hit one of the SWAT Team members in the chest.
A gun fight erupted within the large, marble-floored reception. Lasers flew through the air. Blood was shed and the floor dyed red.
Fox rushed past the Syndicate thugs. He saw more armed criminals up on the mezzanine above him. They opened fire at him, before he darted in a zig-zag pattern, dodging the lasers with fancy footwork. It was the best he could do. He grabbed a gun and raised it. Fox didn't even take aim. It was difficult for him to do that while running and dodging lasers. He just aimed randomly and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
One of the trenchcoat wearing thugs keeled over and fell over the banister.
The vulpine dived for the still functioning escalators and took cover between its metallic walls. He sorted out the weapons, making sure they were properly loaded. Fox grabbed a gun in each hand and looked up. He saw one of the thugs skid to a halt at the top of the escalators and take aim. Fox was quicker. He fired and then ran up the escalators, keeping as low to the metallic steps as possible.
Fox emerged on top of the mezzanine. He spread his arms out wide and fired in two directions, shooting two of the Syndicate thugs in the arms. The vulpine looked around carefully. Which way would take him to the top floor, where Dengar was undoubtedly situated?
Though the sound of laserfire was deafening, Fox could hear footsteps behind him. He whirled round and aimed his gun.
It was Falco.
"Whoa, easy there!" he shouted over the roar of the gunfire. "Follow me!" He rushed to the right and beckoned for Fox to follow.
There was no need to argue. Fox ran after Falco until he was running by the avian's side.
Falco skidded to a halt and placed an arm out in front of Fox.
"Wait," he said. His keen avian sense of vision had spotted something ahead of him. "Take cover," he told Fox. He then pointed towards the explosive that had been set on the wall. "Booby trap. Follow my lead." A small smile spread across his beak. It was nice to be leading the Leader and he was loving every moment.
The avian ran forward and at the last moment, he skidded across the floor, sliding across it so low that he was nearly lying on the ground. He stood up and beckoned for Fox to do the same thing.
Behind Fox, he heard a shout. He turned round and saw a couple of Syndicate thugs running towards him. It was now or never. Fox ran forward and skidded along the floor at the last moment, sliding underneath the range of the explosive's motion sensors.
"Quick, run!" shouted Fox. He had an idea and it didn't pay for them to be too close to the plan. "Run!" cried Fox more insistently, when Falco wouldn't.
"Okay," agreed Falco with a nod of his head, before he ran down the corridor at break neck speeds.
Fox ran in front of him and turned his head back to look behind him. He turned his arm back and aimed his gun, pulling the trigger. The laser flew through the air and hit the explosives. There was an eruption of fire, smoke and debris– an explosion so powerful that the shockwave knocked both Fox and Falco down to the floor.

Krystal did a flying kick that sent the Syndicate thug flying. She landed back, bending her knees to soften the impact. The blue-furred vixen rushed forwards and swung her staff in a huge arc at the hands of another of the Syndicate's goons, knocking the gun out of the bruin's hands. She swung the other end of her staff and smacked it into the bear's guts with such force he collapsed to the ground.
A laser flew through the air and Krystal leapt back to avoid being hit. She looked up and saw the gunman on the mezzanine above her. A smile spread across her face, as she raised her staff and fired back at the gunman. Then with one swift backward thrust, she shoved the back end of her staff into the groin of the Syndicate thug behind her, heard a gargled cry of pain and then a thud.
There was nothing that Krystal, a Cerinian couldn't do. She whirled round and faced the Syndicate thugs that had crept behind her. They look startled. It was then that she noticed the Gospel Army symbols on their trenchcoats.
"You're from the Gospel Army," she stated.
"What do you think you're doing?" cried one of the Gospel members, upon recognising her accent and the Cerinian jewelry she wore. "You're from Cerinia too, aren't you?"
"What's that got to do with this?"
"You stupid bitch," growled a voice from behind her, before a robotic hand clapped over her muzzle and she was pulled towards a muscular body. "The Gospel Army is a Cerinian Organisation!" The mysterious person then pulled her aside. "You take care of the Police," he told the other Syndicate thugs. "I'm going to see General Ookami."
Though Krystal was put in a headlock that she couldn't escape, that didn't mean she couldn't do at least some damage. She began kicking at the person that held her. The robotic hand then grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up. Krystal was turned round. Her suspicions were confirmed. It was Scales that held her. She wanted to shout obscenities at him, but his hold on her throat was so tight she could barely breathe, let alone speak.
Scales smiled at her.
"General Ookami would love to have you," he chuckled. A laser suddenly hit his robotic arm and Scales screamed out, letting go of Krystal. He turned round and saw the grey-furred canine that had dared to open fire on him. "Fuck you!" he swore, as he pressed a few buttons on his robotic arm, making a small laser gun rise up from within. He took aim and then fired.
Bill dodged the lasers, rolling sideways out of the way. He returned fire, his lasers flying at Scales. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the Gospel thugs take aim at him. Bill turned his gun sideways and fired furiously at them before they could even open fire. He caught one in the head and another in the chest and a third in the leg. That was when he saw another set of lasers flying at the thugs. It was Fara!
The Fennec fox rushed in, all her guns ablazing. She shot the Gospel members in the legs and in the arms, making sure not to kill them. Every one of Fara's shots were accurate and none missed their mark.
There was suddenly the sound of a terrible explosion from above.

Falco was the first one to get up. He looked behind him at the charred corridor and saw that the explosion had fell all of the Syndicate thugs.
"Fox, you all right?" he asked the vulpine.
"I'll be fine," replied Fox, as he rose back up to his feet and dusted himself off. "Come on, let's get going." He ran ahead of Falco, still holding on to his two guns tightly. His fingers over the triggers and he was ready to fire at anything that moved.
Fox quickly emerged into another corridor that ran perpindicularly to the one he was in, aiming his gun both ways, as he looked up and down it. In front of him was an elevator. He rushed over and pushed a button. His keen vulpine ears heard something. Fox whirled round and opened fire at the oncoming Syndicate thugs. There were only two and he caught each one in the arm and then the leg.
There was a chime and the elevator doors opened. Fox turned to face the empty elevator and then to face Falco.
"Hurry up!" he shouted at the avian.
A bunch of five Syndicate thugs ran down the corridor towards Falco and Fox. The avian whirled round the corner and hid behind it for cover.
"You go ahead!" shouted Falco, as the Syndicate thugs opened fire. "I'll deal with them." He saw Fox about to protest, but he would have none of that. "Go!" he shouted before poking his gun out from behind the corner and firing at the oncoming Syndicate thugs.
Fox quickly dashed into the elevator and took cover to the wall near the panel of buttons. He pressed one and the doors slowly started to close, the lasers smashing against the closing metallic doors. In the elevator, Fox took in deep breaths and checked the batteries for his guns. They still had a few shots in left, but Fox wasn't going to take the chance. He dislodged the battery cartridges from the two guns and brought out two more, which he slid in quickly.
The elevator stopped. Fox looked up. This wasn't the floor he wanted.
The doors opened and lasers flew into the elevator carriage, slamming against the back of the elevator. Slowly, the Syndicate thugs advanced towards the open elevator. One rushed in and opened fire. There was no one there. He looked around him curiously, as his other colleagues followed him in.
The vulpine dropped down on them from above, smashing their heads together and knocking them unconscious, as he brought them crashing down to the floor. Fox looked out of the elevator and saw it empty. He quickly darted out, looking up and down the corridor. It was probably best for him to go on foot for the rest of the way up.
A laser hurtled at him and Fox leapt sideways. It cut past his arm, making Fox yelp out in pain. He whirled round and aimed his guns, before firing the both of them repeatedly at the person that shot at him. Fox saw a spurt of blood and then the Syndicate member collapsed to the ground. That was that one taken care of.
Suddenly, his ears detected a sound. He whirled round, aiming his gun at his opponent's head and found himself with a gun pointed at his own head. That was not all.
"Fara?" exclaimed Fox in surprise, as he lowered his gun.
"Fox? Sorry about that," apologised Fara, as she lowered her gun.
"What are you doing here all alone?" asked Fox curiously.
"We've secured the lower levels," replied Fara sternly, "so I thought I'd come up to help you."
"Look out!" cried Fox, as he pushed Fara aside. He quickly fired and caught the tiger in the chest, felling the Syndicate criminal.
Fara suddenly opened fire in the opposite direction to Fox. She hit two Syndicate members in legs and one accidentally in the neck.
"Looks like we're even," she commented, as Fox turned round to face her. That was when she saw something behind him. She quickly pushed him out of the way and opened fire, just as the Syndicate criminal did. A laser smashed into her body and she fell backwards, as she pulled the trigger one last time, killing the Syndicate criminal.
"Fara!" cried out Fox, as he caught her. He noticed the rapidly increasing patch of red on her arm. "Shit!" he cursed, as he looked down at the wound.
"Don't worry about me," said Fara, wincing through her pain. "It's nothing serious, really. You go ahead."
Fox looked at the wound and saw that she was losing blood at a rapid rate.
"Yeah, right," he said sarcastically, as he untucked his shirt and ripped out a strip of fabric. He placed this around her arm and tied it tight around the wound to stop the bleeding. "I've got to get you back down. You need medical attention, now. Pigma can wait."
"Especially seeing he's dead," laughed Fara bitterly. She saw the incredulous look on Fox's face. "We found him in the basement. Somebody had cut clean through the top of his head." Her pupils suddenly dilated in fear. "Fox, behind you!"
It was too late. Scales swung his robotic arm at Fox and knocked the vulpine to the other side of the corridor. There was a smile on the SharpClaw's face, as he advanced towards Fox.
"Looks like I'll win this time round," he stated, as he placed a boot on Fox's stomach and pinned the fox down to the ground with his sheer weight. He leaned forward. "Nothing can stop the General now. The Gospel Army will have its revenge." He aimed his robotic arm down at Fox, the laser gun in his arm aimed at at the vulpine's head.
He would have taken aim, had something not rushed him and pushed Scales off. The SharpClaw crashed to the floor with a thud. He glared up angrily.
"You again?" he roared, as he saw Krystal standing over him with her staff's tip aimed at him. "You meddling bitch! This time I'll tear your fucking throat out!" He shoved her aside with his legs and rose to his feet.
Krystal quickly got back up to her feet and readied herself. Her eyes were set on the laser gun attached to his robotic arm. She knew she would have to avoid that.
"This time, Scales, you're not going to escape," retorted Krystal, before she rushed at him. She was a blur. Her staff smashed into Scales' head, as she whirled round in the air like the blades of a helicopter. Krystal kicked him, as she spun in the air.
She landed back on the floor and then rushed him. Her staff was twirled through the air gracefully. Krystal was much faster than Scales, and managed to hit him again and again.
Fox rose to his feet and aimed his gun. He fired at Scales' robotic arm, destroying the laser gun.
Scales roared and swung his good arm at Krystal, only to miss as the blue-furred vixen ducked. Her staff hit him in the face and then the other end smashed into his groin. With a roar of pain, he staggered backwards and collapsed to the floor.
"You think you can handle him, Krystal?" asked Fox curiously.
"You bet," replied Krystal with a smile on her face. She then put her fingers to her mouth and whistled, at which point a couple of guys clad in SWAT Team gear ran up the corridor.
Fox smiled back at Krystal.
"Take Fara to a medic and go back down with her," he told Krystal. "I'm going upstairs."
"No, wait!" protested Fara and Krystal, almost simultaneously.
Krystal rushed towards Fox, placing a hand on his shoulder to halt him.
"Wait, Fox, you can't go on your own," she told him. "Let me go with you." She had this feeling that there was something up there at the top of the Kleinfelter Plaza, something that Fox couldn't possibly face on his own. "Please," she pleaded, as he look him in her eyes.
"If she's going, I'm going too," stated Fara, as she staggered back to her feet.
"No, you can't!" protested Fox. He didn't want to see Fara or Krystal get hurt. "I have to do this alone," he told them sternly, looking them both in the eyes. "Please, go with the others back down." Fox didn't even wait for them to reply or protest. He turned his back on them and made his way down the corridor.

* * * * *

Wolf still sat in the chair at the top of the Kleinfelter Plaza. No one had dared to enter the building from the roof, so Wolf had been left completely alone at the top.
"He's here," he muttered under his breath. A smirk slowly appeared on his furry muzzle, widening into a grin and then a full blown smile. "Come in, McCloud!" he shouted. "Come in!" He laid his sabre, still sheathed in its scabbard, on his lap and waited. "What are you waiting for, McCloud? I'm in here!"
The door opened. There was suddenly a huge explosion that tore the roof straight off the Kleinfelter Plaza and rendered the west wall asunder, sending glass and steel and concrete flying into the air and downwards to the ground below. Dust flew upwards, billowing out like a mushroom in the side of the tall tower.
O'Donnell lowered his arm, uncovering his furry face. There was a smile on his muzzle. He began to laugh, as the raindrops fell on to him, matting his fur and dampening his clothes.
"McCloud, you fool!" he laughed.
"Hey, I'm not the only fool around here, if you think that that could kill me."
As the dust began to settle, it became clear to Wolf that Fox had survived. The vulpine had survived, just as Wolf had.
"So you survived," said Wolf with a smile on his grey-furred muzzle. "Just as a I thought. It looks like I'll be the one to kill you after all."

To be continued...