The SSBM Chronicles – Chapter 32: Fox's Test
An SSBM Fan Fic, by Smoke_Rulz
srssbm.cjb.net


Fox dashes down the infinite darkness, searching for something to go on. He stops and turns around, seeing the wave of strange hands continuing to come toward him. He pulls out his blaster and begins firing. Each shot connects, causing the hand to splatter and evaporate. But for each one destroyed, another reappears. Fox realizes this and stops firing. The wave of hands continues approaching. Fox stands ready, an aura of fire beginning to surround him. However, just as the Hands draw close, they all disappear. Surprised, Fox glances around. The rest of the seemingly infinite darkness disappears, leaving him alone. The room he now is in is circular, and is adorned with several computers on the far wall. In the middle of the room is a machine, that looks a bit like a teleport chamber. One metal door is apparant near the computer terminal. Fox looks at all in shock. "This... This is the hologram room of the Great Fox!" He states.

The room is dim lighted, which is unusual. Fox walks over to the terminal. It's offline. What have they done to my ship?? He ponders.

He then heads toward the door and presses the button. The door opens, thankfully. Now in one of the main hallways, he decides to do some investigating. All the lights are either dim or off, making everything a bit creepy. Every computer terminal is off. Fox approaches the main area, where the cockpit is also located. He enters, seeing absolutely nothing, to no surprise. "Peppy! Slippy!" He calls out.

His voice echos around the area, but there is no answer. He then decides to check up top, to see where the ship is located. He climbs up the nearby ladder and activates the panel, opening the way to the top of the ship. He hops out, and views his surroundings, devastated. The Great Fox lays dormant in the ruins of Corneria. Several buildings have crumbled, and all the rest look as if they've aged 1000 years. The sky is black, and thunderous clouds loom in the distance. Fox continues to stare, spaced out. He then shakes it off. Get ahold of yourself, Fox... It's the Void. It's just toying with you... He thinks.

Fox then hears a familiar voice calling out. "Fox!" It yells.

The voice is Falco's. Fox spins around. On a skyscraper not very far away, he sees Falco, along with Peppy, Slippy, Samus, and Captain Falcon. They are all chained to spires on top of the skyscraper. "It's about time you showed up." Falco states.

"I thought I'd be chained here forever." Samus says.

"What the hell is going on?" Fox asks.

"You gotta get us out of these chains, of course. Free us! That's why you're here, right?" Captain Falcon responds.

"I'll break those chains..." Fox says, pulling out his blaster.

Peppy tries to protest, but Fox fires. However, his laser strikes an invisible force before it can reach. He looks on, curious. "'Fraid it won't be that easy, kid." Peppy says.

"Then what do I do?" Fox asks.

A booming voice then rings out among the area. It's Crazy Hand. "Oh, YoU'lL fInD tHaT oUt! tHiS iS yOuR tEsT oF dArKnEsS, fOx! WiN, aNd YoUr FrIeNdS aRe OuT oF tHe VoId. LoSe, AnD yOu WiLl JoIn ThEm!" He yells out.

The hatch that leads inside the Great Fox then closes, trapping Fox on the top. Fox then glances around, expecting some enemy to pop out. "Come on, Crazy Hand! You gonna fight me? Is it Wireframes? Andross? I'll take anyone on!" He yells out.

So far, nothing. Slippy then spots something. "Fox! Behind you!" He yells.

Fox darts around to see a ship flying toward him. He ducks and rolls, the ship passing directly over him. He stands up and watches the ship's flight. It takes to the sky, and 3 other ships join them. All of them are similar to ARWINGs. "Wait... Star Wolf? That can't be them!" Fox says.

The 4 ships then begin making their way toward Fox, firing their blasters. Fox leaps and bounds backwards to dodge, but comes to the edge of the cockpit area. He falls off the side and grabs hold of the ledge. The fleet flies over him. He jumps back to the top, and decides on his next move. Up on the skyscraper, the captive Smashers look on. "Man... He can't survive out here for very long." Samus says.

"And they closed off his only way into the ship!" Falcon points out.

"Oh no they didn't!" Slippy says.

Samus and Falcon are now curious. "They may have closed off the cockpit hatch, but they don't know of the hidden ones." Falco says.

The ship fleet makes a beeline and scopes out Fox. Fox has already ran to the far edge of the ship. The fleet prepares to fire. Fox simply smirks, and taps his foot down. The panel beneath him gives way, and he disappears into the ship. Once there, he closes it, and turns around. He's in the ship dock. He runs over to his ARWING, which appears to be undamaged. He hops in and activates the systems: Working perfectly. He then puts on his headset and activates his radio interceptor. Several voices then come up. "What the hell? Where did he go?" The first says.

"He disappeared!" Says the second.

"No, he dropped down a secret panel and fell in." The third points out.

"Damnit! He's going for the dock! Move in and prepare for barrage!" Chimes in the fourth, obviously the leader.

There was no mistaking it. Those are the voices of Wolf, Pigma, Leon, and Andrew: The Star Wolf team. Fox activates his takeoff modules and fires out the opening bay entrance. As he does, he takes no fire. He beat Star Wolf to the punch. He rockets upward and spots Star Wolf encircling the dock area. "Damnit! He got out too fast!" Leon yells.

"He's fast! Don't get him out of your sights!" Wolf yells, obviously peeved.

Fox smirks, then activates his comms switch. "Alright, O'Donnell. Wanna dance? Let's take this to the skies." He says.

"What the heck?" Pigma says.

"It's our interceptor, Dengar. We can hear what he says." Andrew states.

"Does he have one too?" Leon asks.

"Who cares! If you can hear me, McCloud, prepare to die!" Wolf yells.

Fox smiles, and continues upward toward the black clouds. "Crap, he's going in the clouds." Andrew states.

"Don't be a chicken! Take him out!" Pigma states.

The Star Wolf fleet darts into the clouds. To see past the low visibility, they scan the area with a special visor program. No sight of Fox can be seen. "Where did he go?!?" Wolf says.

A loud explosion is then heard. Leon's ship drops out. "I'm hit! I'm going down!" He yells out on the radio.

The Smashers on the spires watch Leon's ship drop out of the clouds and fall. "One down!" Falco says.

Just beside him, the chains around Captain Falcon shatter. "Ha! Looks like I'm outta here. Later!" He says, disappearing in a flash.

"Fox is deadly in the ARWING. We'll be free in no time." Peppy states.

Back in the skies, the Star Wolf ships shatter and look in different directions for Fox's ARWING. "Damnit, he's nowhere!" Andrew states.

"Do you think he's cloaked from our detection?" Pigma queries.

"Well fire at anyt-" Wolf says, but is cut off.

He has been hit. He steers out of control toward the dead skyscrapers, as Samus is freed from her bindings. Pigma and Andrew panic. "Damnit! FIRE EVERYWHERE!" Andrew yells.

The two start firing their blasters amongst the clouds. Pigma then chimes in. "I think I got him!" He says.

"You moron! You hit me!" Andrew says, as he begins to fall out of the sky.

Pigma vents out his anger within his cockpit. Fox then comes on the air. "Oh Pigma... Might wanna look in front of you."

Pigma sees nothing. He then deactivates the visor program, and sees Fox's ARWING right in front of him. He reaches for his blaster trigger, but too late: Fox shoots him out of the sky. Fox then changes his direction and drops out of the black clouds, flying smooth. He looks over toward the skyscraper, and notices only Falco is remaining. He quickly realizes that one Smasher was freed each time he shot down one of the Star Wolf. He has one more challenge left. However, while putting these facts together, he failed to notice the warning on his radar. Just as he realizes the problem, his ARWING is struck by a bomb, and he shakes violently. He then begins to go down. Knowing he must crash land, he heads for the top of the Great Fox. He slams down hard upon its surface, and begins to skid to a stop near the edge. Falco looks on from nearby, and yells out. "Fox! Are you alright?"

Now at a stand still, Fox pops open the cockpit and jumps out. Just as he does, the ARWING begins sliding again, and plummets off the side of the Great Fox. He then looks to the sky. What hit me? He wonders.

He then notices a ship coming out from the clouds: It's one of the Star Wolf crafts. It's smoking, and beginning to fall. As it nears the Great Fox, the cockpit opens, and the pilot leaps out onto the Great Fox. The ship passes right by the Great Fox and plummets to the planet below. Fox stands and looks at the pilot. It's none other than his rival: Wolf O'Donnell. Wolf stands up straight. "Well... I hope that bomb didn't rattle you too much." He states.

"Cut the crap, O'Donnell. What you were doing here?" Fox asks.

"Let's just say the Hands made Star Wolf an offer we couldn't refuse."

"Do you even know how dangerous this Void is?"
"I am devoid of caring."
"Ha. Only because you wanted a crack at me. You and Star Wolf couldn't wait to get the 4-on-1 advantage. Well tell me this... Where is your team now?"

This comment strikes one of Wolf's nerves. He growls angrily. "They're gone, because they are weak! I, however, am not! I am your final challenge! And so the fate of you and your bird friend is in my hand!"

On saying this, he points to Falco. Fox glances up toward Falco. Falco looks back, then lets out a smart-aleck laugh. "Kick his ass, Fox." He says.

"With pleasure." Fox states, glancing back at Wolf.

"You seem sure of yourself. Well, only one person will be doing the ass-kicking around here..." Wolf says.

On that, he suddenly speeds toward Fox in an illusion move, and strikes him with an arm strike. Fox goes crashing to the ground, hard on his back. "...Because. I am not as weak as you think." Wolf concludes.

As quickly as he was knocked down, Fox leaps to his feet and strikes Wolf in a fiery blaze with his fists. Wolf goes sliding backward several yards. He looks up in surprise. Fox stands ready. "Well then I surely hope you don't intend to underestimate me." He says.

Wolf says nothing, and instead zips forward in an illusion technique. Fox saw this one coming, and raised to block, catching Wolf's fist. Wolf swings with his other arm, but Fox moves his head out of the way, and then punches him firmly in the gut. Wolf bends forward, reeling from the attack. Fox then raises his arm, ready to strike down. Wolf suddenly looks up and smiles. He then unleashes a massive uppercut, his fist surrounded in an odd light-purple energy. Fox goes flying backward, and Wolf wastes no time in speeding forward and unleashing several fast punches and kicks. Fox falls down to ground. Wolf then comes down for a stomp, but Fox rolls right. He leaps up and grabs Wolf, then proceeds to spin around and throw him into the air. He then immediately pulls out his blaster and fires several shots. Wolf raises an odd light-purple shield and seems to absorb the shots. Wolf then pulls out his own blaster and fires a couple shots, which fire off in... completely different directions. The shots then turn their trajectories and head in straight toward Fox. Fox flips away, and the multiple shots collide, resulting in a huge flash of power. Fox then begins firing at Wolf once again as he lands. Wolf again raises the odd shield, but soon starts to show weakness, and falls down on both knees. Fox assumes he is stunned and moves in for the attack. Just as he gets close, Wolf lashes out both his arms, and explodes in a massive ball of energy. Fox is overtaken, and can feel himself almost getting ripped apart. The blast stops, and Fox goes flying all the way back to the far side of the Great Fox. Falco looks on in disbelief, as Fox is unmoving. "Holy crap... Wolf? But how? Fox can't be beat by this pushover!" He says.

Fox begins to stir. He sits up and begins standing, but soon falls back down, face-first. Wolf just chuckles. "So... You enjoy my absorb shield? I'm afraid the effects of an overload are a bit devastating, don't you think?" He states.

Fox manages to speak, as he attempts to get up. "So... The Hands give you that power..?"

"Not totally. They merely taught me how to bring it out. Now I'm like a 'Smasher,' as you so like to call yourselves."

Fox gets to his knees, and gathers his energy. Wolf pulls out his blaster. "Sorry I have to do this to you, old chum. But... It's OVER!" He yells out.

Wolf fires several more blaster shots, which once again fly in weird directions. They then all change course and head straight toward Fox. Fox then glances up. "NEVER!" He yells.

On that, he summons his reflector energy, in a massive perimeter. Wolf's blaster shots strike it before they can group up, and begin flying around erratically. "What the...?" Wolf says, bewildered.

He then spots two of the shots heading for him. They strike, piercing his shoulder and his waist. Wolf drops his blaster and falls to his knees, stunned. Fox stands up, now surrounded in flame. He dashes toward the downed wolf and unleashes his fury. Wolf becomes the victim of many flaming strikes of Fox's fists and feet. He is sent to the edge of the Great Fox, where Fox comes and lifts him up, holding him over the ledge. The two look at each other, silent for a moment. "Well... It seems this battle is over, McCloud..." Wolf says, weakly.

Fox smiles. "Goodbye O'Donnell." He states.

With that, he releases his grip. Wolf falls, his yell echoing, and getting quieter. Fox backs away from the ledge, and attempts not to collapse. He glances over at Falco, who is free from the bindings that held him to the spire. He flashes Fox a thumbs-up, and Fox does the same. Falco then disappears in a white flash. Behind Fox, a shining clear light appears. He wearily walks into it, and feels his injuries melt away in the soothing aura. He slowly ascends it, and everything goes white...


THE END
Next: Chapter 33 - Final Destination

Note: Chapters 29 through 32 happen simultaneously.