PART SEVEN: THE BEGINNING OF THE END
*Three minutes later*
Fox stood before his Team. They had already connected power cables to route power from the core of the planet to the Great Fox's Canons. They were in Hyper-Mode. Everyone had collected on the Great Fox, waiting for orders. As for Fox, he spent awhile just... thinking. He considered having his entire team reunited before him, ready for battle, awaiting orders. His old arch nemesis, Falco, stood before him. Also awaiting orders. Many others that he should be hating, be beating their brains out at the mere sight of them, awaited orders. ORDERS.
This was a war. They were his army. And they were all ready to fight... maybe even die for... the assurance of a safe future of the Lylatt System.
"Alright, listen, team. Here's how it's going to go down. There's a Mega-Weapon out there, piloted by an unknown... something which is in a Command Ship that's not far behind the weapon. ALL of you except for Ganondorf, Samus, Slippy, Peppy, and Falco, you'll be on a Cloaked Dropship."
"Fox, that thing can detect cloaked ships," Slippy piped up.
Fox held up his hand... paw. "Let me finish. Slippy, Peppy and Falco will man Three cloaked Arwings. Now," he said slightly louder to overthrow Slippy's second protest, "Samus will be piloting the Great Fox. I trust you know how, Samus..."
She nodded.
"Excellent," Fox said with a sigh. "Ganondorf? You'll man the Great Fox's weapons. Including the HyperCanon. But we won't use that right off the bat. Downgrade the Canon's setting to Mega, not Hyper, then blast at the left-bottom section of the MegaWeapon. That'll knock out its cloaking detectors, allowing me and Team Star Fox to sneak onto the Control Ship and plant some bombs. While we're doing this, our cloaked Arwing pilots over here," he gestured to Slippy, Falco, and Peppy, "Will be providing the distraction; the most dangerous position. That weapon'll be firing at wherever you unload bombs at it from. You'll have to continuously move around to keep it confused. Stay Frosty, and aim for the edges of the MegaWeapon, and MAYBE you'll take a chunk out of it. But that's not your goal. Just keep it distracted long enough until we can get out of the Control Ship. Then we'll use the HyperCanon to destroy it after it turns on its auto-activated Artificial Intelligence."
"WHAT?!?" Ganondorf cried. "It has AUTO-Activated ARTIFICIAL Intelligence?!?"
"Of COURSE it does! You think Andross would let something that big and expensive just float helplessly if we simply destroyed the Command Ship? Fat chance. It'll just be stupider with AI. We'll be able to charge the HyperCanon enough while I join Slippy, Falco, and Peppy to keep up the distraction. With AI, it won't notice the charge happening. Then we simply blast it to Kingdom Come and hope that nobody dies in the process. All this before... (he checked the Planet's Power reading) our approximately 30:00 time limit expires. If we can't activate, charge, AND fire the HyperCanon before then, the Planet's energy will overcome both our ship and its Spellstones capacity, and it'll blow, vaporising everything near it. That includes them AND us. PLUS, the entire Lylat system will die. Questions?"
"Nope. Nice plan. 'Cept it puts many of us in a position to DIE, doesn't it?"
"And you're saying it's not worth the risk? Like I said, this is the future of all our lives we're talking about here. If we lose, everyone dies eventually anyways. That's how it goes, buddy. Now, move. This conversation has taken longer than the two minutes we had to plan. We've got to hussle."
And hussle they did. Everyone set out to their apponted tasks. Fox? He prepared the Dropship. As he did, he parked an Arwing in the small Docking Bay. He also packed an extra bomb. Heck, he thought to himself... bring two.
Anyway, after the preperation, Fox took the Dropship off from the Great Fox and cloaked it from the enemy's sensors. He glanced back at the Great Fox, which was preparing to use some of the Planet's power to take out the cloak detectors. Then he glanced at its target, and laid eyes on his overly large opponent for the first time.
Ouch. It was terrifying. Like something sewn together from many pieces of many people's nightmares. A giant, mechanical, monsterous lump of death, best describes it. It didn't resemble anything logical, Fox couldn't relate it to an animal he'd seen before or anything. It was just, many terrifying machines, crudely strung into one large jagged-spere-like... THING. Fox shuddered. But even as he did, he saw the MegaCanon's beam connect squarely with the correct portion of the ship. Scanners showed that their detectors were now useless.
"Let's move."
It was strage. Gliding along beside a complete monstrosity that was firing blindly wherever shots came at it from. Different robotic parts reared up and fired differently-coloured beams, balls of energy, bombs, and blasts at different times. He knew he would have nightmares about just TRYING to control all that by yourself. There'd have to be at least 10 people operating weapons alone on that Command Ship, if not more. Now perhaps you get an idea of the monstrosity of this thing.
After what seemed like a decade, Fox and his Team silently attached a SpaceTube link to the Command Ship, and snuck aboard. There, in a storage room, they gathered their supplies, as Fox unrolled a large floorplan.
"Hey!" They were shocked. "Where'd you get this?"
"Oh, I grabbed these from the Control Room back when we were in Andross's Ship. I guess I should've seen this whole "Secret Weapon" thing comming..."
"How So?"
Fox lifted the corner of the map. Written in big, bold letters was the phrase:
PLANS FOR SECRET WEAPON
Below that, the plans were listed. "Floorplan of Control Ship" was outlined on the side Fox had put facing up. The Team gathered around the map and Fox discussed their plan of action.
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Samus was flying the cloaked Great Fox. Ganondorf hadn't had much to do since he had fired that first Mega Shot, then activated the Great Fox's shield system. He lazed around, waiting for his role in the plan to come into play. And having nothing to do made him bored, regardless of the Triple-Arwing stealth assult that was going on outside. So, he started babbling.
"So, Samus."
She groaned. "What now?"
"Do you think you'll ever SEE Fox again?"
"I will."
"What makes you say that? One lucky shot from them and w... OOF!"
A stray bolt from the Weapon glanced off the Great Fox's shields. It rumbled with the impact.
"See? What if they just so happen to realise that Fox is on their Command Ship? They won't just sit there and take it, will they?"
"No, they've got to have automatic security on that thing or something..."
"Come on, Samus. You know as well as I do that automatic security will be the first thing Fox goes to deactivate on that ship. Then what? Will the Operators just abandon the Weapon and take out Fox and his ENTIRE TEAM themselves? Fat chance. They'll have to be reduced to the only SENSIBLE option of..."
"DON'T even suggest that!"
"Is it really so hard to believe? No way with a ship that small they'll be able to take Fox. They know he'll just destroy it anyways. Andross's army is NOT afraid of death, Samus. You know that too, as well as I do. They'll simply order the Weapon to destroy the Control Ship. Killing them all."
Samus shuddered. Slightly. But, luckily, she had put her armor back on, and Ganondorf didn't see this. "He'll make it. They all will. I know it."
"Hey, I'm just giving you a cold, harsh slap of reality in the face, all right? I'm Evil. It's what I do for a LIVING. Hey, Fox is a good guy, right? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with him. But it COULD HAPPEN. So don't get your hopes up too high. If he has to, Fox will rip that enire Ship apart himself... with him in it, if need be."
She shuddered again. "Just let me do my job. Please? No more of this."
Ganondorf just shrugged. "One lucky shot. That's ALL they need."
Samus knew this, too. She had gone through all this in her own head, but couldn't bring herself to admit it to anyone else. The chances of Fox making it off the ship weren't in his favor. It was likely that he, and possibly his team, would perish for the System.
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Fox finished his strategy. A team would go to, true to Ganondorf's guess, disable the Security in the Ship. Another three teams would plant the bombs in three different sections of the ship. Once done, they would meet back there, get the heck out, and blow that station to ribbons. After that, it would be a piece of cake to take the Weapon itself out. Only a living being could possibly recognise, and act upon, the weakness of the enemy ship as it charges an attack as massive as the HyperCanon. They'd destroy the weapon, and save the planet all at once. But, again, time was still against them. Although using SOME of the Planet's energy (to destroy the Clock Detector) bought them some time, they only had 20:00 minutes left now to activate the HyperCanon, charge it, AND fire it. Otherwise, the Planet would explode. Crunch time for the Team.
Fox was all out of words by now, so to save breath, he simply pointed dramatically towards the door of the room. It was the most inspiring gesture many of them had ever seen. They slunk out of the room, all ready for action.
Fox was the first to reach his destination. He was the one to disable the security. He crept into the Security Control room. Bingo! The guard on duty was (as nameless stereotypical security guards tend to be), asleep. Fox silently pressed a few buttons. Then, standing back, he took careful aim with his blaster.
ZAP!
Down went the Security Guard. Since the room's sensors had just been shut off by Fox, nobody was the wiser. Fox then pulled out his Staff, jumped up, and let loose with a massive Super Quake! The room's computers exploded in a shower of sparks. Well, okay, the walls were too thick to let the sound of the attack escape. But the shaking of the entire ship caused by the impact, along with the slight hint of the Security Cameras shutting off, would probably alert the rest of the ship to their presence. Time to get moving. Fox snuck back to the Storage Room to wait for his team.
He didn't have long to wait. Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff were the first to return, having successfully planted their bomb. Dr. Mario, Young Link, and Mewtwo weren't far behind. But when the third team (of Luigi, Bowser, and Peach) didn't return for awhile, the rest started to worry. Finally, Peach and Luigi rushed in, covered in wounds. Not far behind was Bowser...
BLAM!
He bashed through the wall beside the door, having Shiek hanging on to his head for dear life, covering his eyes.
And the Moral of THIS story is: Having Bowser as an ally may be excellent for combat, but sucks when you need him for a STEALTH mission.
How had the Alliance got there? Simple, The Alliance against Star Fox had headed straight for THIS Control Ship after they fled from Andross. Star Fox and company had to GET OUT OF THERE before their bombs went off. The timer was set for 10:00 only. As soon as the third one was set, they were all armed. So, in about 8 minutes as of that moment, the ship would blow. With The Alliance there to beat up, it would be difficult.
Fox and company charged the Alliance, before all of them could file in through the door and through the "entrance" Bowser had made. Fox? He headed straight for Captain Falcon. Why's this? He was sick and tired of reading those Samus/Captain Falcon romance Fan Fictions, that he wanted payback for such a stupid idea. Captain Falcon? He charged straight at Fox. Why? Fox just so happened to be the closest opponent to him. Falcon never really held many grudges in these 'Fics.
WHAM!
Fox blasted Falcon backwards with a Fire Fox. Falcon caught fire. As he flew backwards, he melted another hole in the wall. Fox lept through, and hit Falcon with numerous shots from his blaster before Falcon could rise to his feet. Without warning, Falcon let loose with a Raptor Boost. Fox flew UPwards, and created a hole in the ceiling. Falcon lept up through that, and started up a Falcon Punch.
"FALCON..."
At the last instant, Fox attempted to dodge it...
"...PUNCH!"
Fox just barely slipped past Falcon as he let loose with the attack. As he did, he snatched Falcon's collar, pounded him in the face a couple of times, and whipped him across the room. Falcon slid across the highly polished floor into an elevator. Fox quickly pressed the Cargo Bay level button. The doors slid closed on a groggy Falcon as the elevator started its decent. Fox then suddenly got a brilliant idea. He whipped out his comminicator and yelled into it:...
"HEY! Listen to me! You guys, get the Alliance pushed back into the Cargo Bay! We'll be able to hold them there with the Airlock system!"
As soon as he finished this, he stuffed the communicator back into his pocket, and lept down through the hole his flaming body had created. In fact, he noticed, too late, that it put him right in the middle of the other's melee. Attacks whirled around him left and right. He just barely flipped over Yoshi, who was Rolling around in a large Egg. As he was in the air, he engaged another Fire Fox, and blasted a hole through the floor.
Perfect. He had dropped right down in front of the door that lead into the Cargo Bay. Quickly, he opened the doors and slipped inside. He glanced around. Silence met him. Then, without warning, a ding sounded somewhere nearby. A double-door opened to reveal an unconcious Captain Falcon, who tumbled out and fell on the metallic floor immediately. Fox dragged him out and placed him on the opposite end of the room, just near the large, sealed door that lead out into space. Fox flipped his communicator on and shouted into it;
"Okay! Push them down this hole, guys! I'll take care of the rest!"
Fox didn't have long to wait.
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Mewtwo had slipped away from the Melee. Why? He's phychic, of course. He had realised what Ganondorf had perdicted: The operators (nameless, ugly goons that aren't even important enough for further description) were immediately rerouting one of the Weapon's rear cannons to shoot the Control Ship. One blast would be all it would take to set off their bombs and kill them all. Sure, the rest of the team would be able to take out the Mega-Weapon. But then they would all die. Something they kinda wanted to aviod, if possible.
...If Possible.
And since he KNEW what was going to happen, he had immediately teleported up to stop it from happening. He appeared at the back of the room. About fifty or so computers, in nice, neat rows, faced opposite him. Like a human's schoolroom, Mewtwo thought with a silent chuckle. How awkward. Well. Time to get this over with, prefferably before we're all dead.
Mewtwo then pulled out his own Telekinetic Enhancement Device. (Where did he get this? Simple. When he won the SSB Rumble, he collected $250 000 in prize money. All of this he invested in the invention of a device which could enhance his own abilities to greater levels. He could control numerous subjects at once, with a greater level of ferocity. Basically it turned him into a killing ma-chine.
He flipped the switch to "On".
Mewtwo couldn't hold it in any longer. He flew forward, powered by his own telekinetic mind.
"Evening, gentlemen."
Each operater heard this voice in his head. Where was it comming from? Were they all dreaming? No, everybody else had heard it, according to their scared expressions. Then they finally realised that there was a creature hovering at the back of the room, eyes glowing a Dark Purple.
They got up and ran. Pretty characteristic. Mewtwo didn't even have much to do. He just sealed the doors, hovered over to the main control terminal, and deactivated the firing process that was about to destroy the Control Ship. Saved.
Unless...
No, too much thinking. This device was giving him a headache. A downside. He'd get that fixed later. Switching it to "off" after not even having to USE it (awww... I was expecting a huge massicre too, I'm sorry...) he suddenly realised that it was time to go. He could see it in Fox's emotion. All right. He teleported onto their tiny transport ship and engaged liftoff.
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The battle was deafening. Every member of every team (Minus Mewtwo, Fox, and Captain Falcon) were duking it out all at once.
The first highlight was Bowser, as he grabbed Marth in one hand, and Roy in another, and hurled them downwards through the hole. Fox quickly tossed them into the Cargo bay. (Kirby? He went back to being evil after winning his cash. Who knew?)
Peach had tackled Zelda, whacking her with a Frying Pan numerous times until she was unconcious. Then she rolled her down through the hole, and Fox rolled her straight into the Cargo bay.
Young Link was dueling with his older counterpart, amazingly pulling off a victory with a series of Spin-Slashes. He bombed Link down through the hole, and Link was then chucked into the Cargo bay by Fox.
Luigi was in his element. He ran up to Mario (who was riding Yoshi) and bashed them both with his Green Missile, scoring a perfect hole-in-one into the hole! Fox reflected on this interestingly as he chucked the duo into the Cargo bay.
Luigi wasn't finished there, though! He also ganged up on the Ice Climbers with Dr. Mario, and a series of Pills and Green Fireballs later, they were ready for holeing and Cargo baying.
Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff were pounding serieses of Combo Attacks at Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Game & Watch. A Singing-Thunderbolt and Electric Rollout after, the trio had been forcingly stuffed down the hole and shoved into the Cargo bay.
The rest of the Star Fox Team had lept down through the hole to join Fox. They looked at the room full of Alliance with relief. They also set eyes on Mewtwo, who was firing up the Transport Ship as they spoke. Freedom was a Space Tube away.
Fox did a head... body count. "Hey! Somebody's missing! Where's Ness?"
WHALLOP!
Ness had snuck in with his Baseball Bat and given that cranium what-for! The rest of the Star Fox team forced Ness into the Cargo bay. Unbeknownst to them, Ness had grabbed Fox with his Psy-Powers and pulled him in with them. When they sealed the doors, they watched as Ness smirked at them as he used the last of his energy to PK Fire the door mechanism.
"FOX!"
WHAM.
The door slammed shut, and they had no way to open it again.
Mewtwo telepathically messaged them. "Yo! 30 Seconds to detination! What the heck are you doing standing around?! GET IN HERE!!"
They ran. Oh, my, they ran. Quickly slipping though the Space Tube, all of them casting fleeting glances back at Fox.
"20 Seconds!"
Fox had gotten his communicator on. It sounded like a raging battle in there. "LISTEN! Guys! Quite obviously, these guys don't have a clue that we planted these bombs! They won't listen to a word I say! Just go! Sever the connection with this thing and get the heck out of here!"
"FOX!" Mewtwo messaged desperately. "We'll always remember what you did! You're a HERO, Fox!" (As out of character this was for Mewtwo, he couldn't help but call this out to him. Fox might as well feel better in his last moments.)
"Just GO! Get that Tube disconnected! And... tell Samus... I'm sorry..."
The communicator buzzed out. Mewtwo knew that it had been hit with an oncomming attack. Brave Fox, he thought. Go out fighting. It's what he probably wants for himself.
Mewtwo severed the connection.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*FLASHBACK*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"Samus," Fox said, "I want you to have this."
"What? You know I don't like sappy things like this, Fox..."
"Oh, come on... just for me, won't you?"
He held out his paw. It was his Badge.
"Since I honestly have broken Cornerian Law many, many times on this mission... I really don't deserve this. I want you to have it. For stepping up and taking command of our ship when we are facing the single biggest threat this system has ever faced? Well, of course. What else?"
What could she say? She embraced him, the light tears from her face seemingly melting into his warm fur. Thank goodness for you, Fox, she thought. I love you.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-END-*-*-*-FLASHBACK-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It seemed like ages ago. Samus held the Badge in her hand as yet more tears ran down her face. Her job was done, after all. Their weapon was charging up, and soon it would fire. No more work required from anyone but Ganondorf. Every other team meber had their face pressed against the large window portal, waiting to see the resulting explosion the weapon would create. Samus didn't care anymore. None of this... the mission, the battles... mattered to her. Running to her door, she threw the badge out her portal with all her might. It was immediately transported out into space.
As if guided by an invisible hand, the Badge soared back through the portal, into Samus's quarters, into her dresser drawer. Outside her room, Mewtwo lowered his hand.
If I didn't know this was Mewtwo I'm talking about, I would've sworn there was a slight hint of a smile on his face. You'll be wanting that later, he thought to himself.
But he didn't say it out loud. Or think it out loud, for that matter.
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Back to Ganondorf. His hands were flying across the Console with perfect precision. For someone who couldn't even operate a communicator properly at the beginning of this Fiction, he had improved very greatly, thanks to Fox's promised training of Ganondorf. As anticipated, the Weapon was still distracted by the three Cloaked Arwings. The Star Fox Team must have been wondering where Fox was; he had said he would be joining them in battle. Nobody had brought themselves to tell the Team of Star Fox's fate.
Ganondorf switched on the Ship's Communicator. Man, does that ever feel good, he thought.
BUZZEEP! "Okay, guys! I'm about to fire! Get out of there, now, before you're deep-fried!"
...No Response.
Ganondorf pondered this. He did the communication perfectly. Exact right frequency... BUZZEEP and all. And yet it wasn't reaching them. What was going on? Geez, if only Fox were here, he'd know...
Ganondorf's train of thought stopped short. He wasn't one to get all emotional like this. But hey; Fox was a great guy.
He *WAS* a great guy.
Ganondorf resumed his pacing. Back on topic. Why couldn't he reach them? Oh, of course... the answer was simple. The radiation from the A.I.'s generator... that was blocking the radio frequencies! Fox had told him about...
Fox *HAD* told him about.
OKAY! Ganondorf told himself. Stop thinking about Fox! And yet... no. Impossible. Ganondorf finally let his mind set on what it had been nagging him about ever since he heard the news.
There was a way... yes, there WAS a way Fox could have survived. It seemed impossible, though. The idea was pure madness. But... nothing was too impossible for Fox. He'd learned that over his time with him.
...So what if?
What if Fox survived? Well, provided everyone got home safe and sound, his crimes would certainly be lifted... heck, he'd be a hero!
And yet...
No. Too much thinking.
Thinking.
THINKING!
Ganondorf SHOULD HAVE been THINKING about how to get the REST of the Star Fox Team out of there! What was he THINKING?! He couldn't stop the firing sequence! Within the next 5:00 minutes, the HyperCanon would automatically fire... regardless of who was in the way or not. Ganondorf HAD to set it that way; and keep it set that way. Otherwise, the Planet would blow. Okay. Crunch time.
How could he do it? Could he shoot out the A.I.? No... that was in the middle of the device. And besides, his Canons were charging with the precision of a surgeon. If the timing was even slightly altered, the System might be doomed. It wasn't worth it.
Could he trigger an explosion? Toss up a flare? ...Send out a smoke signal? Get their attention somehow?
Could he just get the hell out there and do something about it himself?
Yes. Of COURSE he could!
Okay, he told himself. I should probably tell the others what I'm thinking.
No, that would be too complex. I'll just tell them what Fox would be thinking.
What Fox WOULD be thinking.
Shut up, brain, he told himself.
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"You're WHAT?!"
"I'm going out there! I'll go out in an Arwing and trigger this device! It'll block the A.I. signal and I'll be able to tell the rest of the Team to get the hell out of there!"
"Ganondorf," Mewtwo tried desperately to reason with him, "You can't fly."
"Oh, that's where you're mistaken! I can fly! Really! I've been... STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, DANGNABBIT!"
Young Link chuckled. "Naaaaaaaw. I've seen the file of your attempt. You absolutely sucked!!"
"WHAT?! How... who... what...!?"
Peach answered his stammering. "Apparently, there was a Dashboard-Cam on the Arwing Fox flew. They caught the whole thing on tape."
"I... I..." Ganondorf's composure was all gone. "I'm not THAT bad anymore!!!"
The rest of the Team just sighed. He'll never change, they thought.
Suddenly, the team heard a loud screetching from outside. They rushed to the Window-Portal and looked out.
There, believe it or not, was Krystal! She was riding her Cloudrunner Companion... in the middle of space...
Ganondorf cried what everyone else was thinking. "...THE LAWS OF PHYSICS?!?!?!?!"
Regardless of how impossible it was, she flew around the front of the Weapon a few times, and then turned and headed back towards the Great Fox. Ganondorf checked his readings. It was like a miricle.
"The Arwings! They're... following her!"
It was true. The three cloaked Arwings soared after Krystal. And yet... they could see her, and the Weapon couldn't? It was true... that entire time that open target flew around tauntingly in front of that massive Weapon, it hadn't fired a single shot at it. Actually, it had stopped firing alltogether. With the distraction gone, the Team anticipated it attacking the Great Fox. Soon, though, the HyperCanon would be prepared, and the Weapon would be toast. The Great Fox's shields would probably hold out until then.
Probably.
That was the big risk. If the Weapon, say, dished out a new, more powerful attack, the shields might fail.
And then?
Everybody would be dead within 24 Hours.
Anyways. Back to Krystal. As soon as she had reached the Great Fox, she AND her Cloudrunner companion had vanished.
"A Hologram...! She was just a Hologram!"
So THAT'S why the Weapon didn't fire at Krystal... it couldn't see her, since it's Detector was lying in ruins! There was only one problem with that theory...
She would have to be transmitting that image herself. As Krystal. And of course, the Cloudrunner. That would have to be done from a ship with a large, large range... which would have to be a large, large ship... and since no other ship (with the exception of the Weapon) was actually in range, it must have been transmitted from the Great Fox...
This was, again, Ganondorf's thinking. Wow, he thought. Fox really taught be about this stuff well. He's a really good teacher.
He WAS a really good teacher.
Okay. NOW this was getting annoying. Stop thinking like that, he told himself.
But even he couldn't lie about the tear he brushed out of his eye.
Okay! Focus, Ganondorf, he said. Krystal must be...
"Right here?"
The Elevator door opened, and out stepped none other than Krystal herself, accompinied by her Cloudrunner companion.
Ganondorf looked slyly at them. "I do believe we sweeped this ship for Stoaways before takeoff."
Krystal laughed. "As if you've been keeping a close enough watch of your ship! With the recent events, your operator's minds were CLEARLY elsewhere. It was no hassle for me to get on this Ship.
Ganondorf smiled lightly. "Well. It was certainly clever of you to use the Hologram-Transmitter. That never occured to me."
"Well," Krystal smiled airily, "I certainly could make a comment about YOUR intelligence here, but I won't for YOUR sake... Mr...?"
"Ganondorf," he said, shaking her hand. "Pleasure."
"Oh, let me assure you," Krystal responded, drawing her hand back quickly, "The pleasure is all yours."
Before Ganondorf could actually work out that he'd been insulted, Krystal continued. "I certainly haven't heard thanks for what I've done for your team yet, considering the fact that I've just saved the lives of three of your most valued pilots. By the way... three isn't four. I would very much like to know where Fox is, as I would like to congratulate him... face-to-face."
Falco and company entered. "Yeah, Ganonpork, where IS Foxy ol' pal? I haven't actually chatted with the guy in a long time, and it'd be nice to catch up. Hey, why wasn't he out there with us? That lazy bum... he never has been into the whole business of distraction-work. He goes for the most important job. ...Typical.
He WENT for the most important job, nagged Ganondorf's brain. He knew he had to tell them... but he didn't know HOW.
Luckily, he was saved from having to explain anything, as the HyperCanon finished charging. The Weapon drew within firing range of the Great Fox, and attempted to attack... too late.
The HyperCanon's auto-targeting system... well... found its target perfectly. Every living being in that ship (with the exception of Samus, remember?) ran to the Window-Portal to witness the resulting explosion.
The HyperCanon fired. All that energy from the Planet was balled up into one, massive, giant... sphere of death, basically. This thing lurched towards the Weapon, slowly but surely. The Weapon tried in vain to destroy this ball. The energy from its lasers, however, only ADDED to this sphere's might. Finally, the sphere connected with the plating of the Weapon.
It was quite a sight.
(Usually, I would portray the sound made by it here, but it simply defies description.)
The Weapon basically blew into billions of tiny little pieces. Every piece, now wreathed in a ball of flame, was flung away from the body of the ship. All the rest simply dissintigrated into thin... space. As chunks of flaming debris was hurled in every possible direction, many of the team imagined the large cleanup that would result from this explosion. Nevertheless, it would be worth it. A small price to pay for the lives of every living being in this entire System.
Finally... after about fifteen minutes, the rumbling from the explosion died down. Small glowing pieces of Weapon slowly floated around, creating a new set of orange stars, up against all those other bright white ones that already dotted space. The entire Team immediately started babbling in excitement, amazement, and relief.
After all this, Falco finally continued his question. "What a rush.... so! Ganonpork. You never answered my question. Where's Fox? He's really the one who made all this happen... he's the Hero, all right!
Ganondorf looked pained as he looked around at the Team. Some faces looked near tears... heck, some were IN tears... some looked distressed, saddened... Falco looked a bit confused. Krystal and her Cloudrunner just looked completely miffed. Finally, Ganondorf found a voice, and took a breath to speak...
Mewtwo raised his hand to silence Ganondorf before he even spoke.
Mewtwo smiled.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*FLASHBACK*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Fox had gotten his communicator on. It sounded like a raging battle in there. "LISTEN! Guys! Quite obviously, these guys don't have a clue that we planted these bombs! They won't listen to a word I say! Just go! Sever the connection with this thing and get the heck out of here!"
"FOX!" Mewtwo messaged desperately. "We'll always remember what you did! You're a HERO, Fox!" (As out of character this was for Mewtwo, he couldn't help but call this out to him. Fox might as well feel better in his last moments.)
"Just GO! Get that Tube disconnected! And... tell Samus... I'm sorry..."
The communicator buzzed out. Mewtwo knew that it had been hit with an oncomming attack. Brave Fox, he thought. Go out fighting. It's what he probably wants for himself.
Mewtwo severed the connection.
...And as he did, Mewtwo, using the vast powers his TED gave him, commanded the Arwing he sensed in the docking bay to fly towards the Cargo bay of the Command Ship. He also took control of the two bombs that were stored there. This would have to be timed with mechanical percision. Alone, it would be impossible for Mewtwo. But remember, he basically WAS mecanical, with TED by his side.
The two bombs flew towards opposite ends of the Command Ship's Cargo bay. One, slightly ahead of the other. Directly behind that ahead-bomb was the Arwing. Once again, timing was critical.
The first bomb struck the side of the Cargo bay, blowing a hole in it. Trilliseconds later, just so it wouldn't be damaged by the blast, the Arwing soared into the Cargo bay.
Mewtwo spoke to Fox. So nobody else in the Universe could hear him. He said one word...
"Jump."
And jump Fox did. It was a quite impressive jump, too. A large, exaggerated backflip that carried him to, nearly, the roof of the room. The Arwing soared into the room as the suction of Space hurled all the other occupants out of the room... Fox included. Mewtwo saw that comming, and placed the Arwing right above the opening as Fox came down.
Mewtwo focused with all his might, trying desperately to ignore the severe pain in his head as he continued his plan. The top of the Arwing open, and Fox landed directly in the seat of it.
Milliseconds after that, the Arwing's cockpit snapped shut, protecting Fox from the icy cold of Space. Milliseconds after THAT, the second bomb hit its target, blowing a hole in the opposite wall. The hard part for Mewtwo was over. The hard part for Fox was just beginning.
Mewtwo activated the Arwing's Turbo Boost.
Mewtwo spoke again, to Fox, and only to Fox: "Fly."
And fly Fox did. Out the opposite wall, at maximum Fox flying speed. JUST as Fox exited the Cargo bay, the ship exploded. The Arwing tumbled though space, away from the Weapon, away from the battle.
But it was intact, and operational.
Fox was alive.
Mewtwo was in terrible pain. It was plain to see. Anyone else on the ship would think that it was because Mewtwo's leader had just perished, and he was grieving. But Mewtwo had done the unthinkable. Not only had he created an escape route for Fox and given him safe transportation (effectively saving his life), he had done all that in UNDER THREE SECONDS. It would seem impossible to anyone but those who witnessed either the event itself, or the survivor of it: Fox McCloud.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-END-*-*-*-FLASHBACK-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
And to a large number of people, the impossible would seem completely possible very, very soon.
TO BE CONTINUED
*Three minutes later*
Fox stood before his Team. They had already connected power cables to route power from the core of the planet to the Great Fox's Canons. They were in Hyper-Mode. Everyone had collected on the Great Fox, waiting for orders. As for Fox, he spent awhile just... thinking. He considered having his entire team reunited before him, ready for battle, awaiting orders. His old arch nemesis, Falco, stood before him. Also awaiting orders. Many others that he should be hating, be beating their brains out at the mere sight of them, awaited orders. ORDERS.
This was a war. They were his army. And they were all ready to fight... maybe even die for... the assurance of a safe future of the Lylatt System.
"Alright, listen, team. Here's how it's going to go down. There's a Mega-Weapon out there, piloted by an unknown... something which is in a Command Ship that's not far behind the weapon. ALL of you except for Ganondorf, Samus, Slippy, Peppy, and Falco, you'll be on a Cloaked Dropship."
"Fox, that thing can detect cloaked ships," Slippy piped up.
Fox held up his hand... paw. "Let me finish. Slippy, Peppy and Falco will man Three cloaked Arwings. Now," he said slightly louder to overthrow Slippy's second protest, "Samus will be piloting the Great Fox. I trust you know how, Samus..."
She nodded.
"Excellent," Fox said with a sigh. "Ganondorf? You'll man the Great Fox's weapons. Including the HyperCanon. But we won't use that right off the bat. Downgrade the Canon's setting to Mega, not Hyper, then blast at the left-bottom section of the MegaWeapon. That'll knock out its cloaking detectors, allowing me and Team Star Fox to sneak onto the Control Ship and plant some bombs. While we're doing this, our cloaked Arwing pilots over here," he gestured to Slippy, Falco, and Peppy, "Will be providing the distraction; the most dangerous position. That weapon'll be firing at wherever you unload bombs at it from. You'll have to continuously move around to keep it confused. Stay Frosty, and aim for the edges of the MegaWeapon, and MAYBE you'll take a chunk out of it. But that's not your goal. Just keep it distracted long enough until we can get out of the Control Ship. Then we'll use the HyperCanon to destroy it after it turns on its auto-activated Artificial Intelligence."
"WHAT?!?" Ganondorf cried. "It has AUTO-Activated ARTIFICIAL Intelligence?!?"
"Of COURSE it does! You think Andross would let something that big and expensive just float helplessly if we simply destroyed the Command Ship? Fat chance. It'll just be stupider with AI. We'll be able to charge the HyperCanon enough while I join Slippy, Falco, and Peppy to keep up the distraction. With AI, it won't notice the charge happening. Then we simply blast it to Kingdom Come and hope that nobody dies in the process. All this before... (he checked the Planet's Power reading) our approximately 30:00 time limit expires. If we can't activate, charge, AND fire the HyperCanon before then, the Planet's energy will overcome both our ship and its Spellstones capacity, and it'll blow, vaporising everything near it. That includes them AND us. PLUS, the entire Lylat system will die. Questions?"
"Nope. Nice plan. 'Cept it puts many of us in a position to DIE, doesn't it?"
"And you're saying it's not worth the risk? Like I said, this is the future of all our lives we're talking about here. If we lose, everyone dies eventually anyways. That's how it goes, buddy. Now, move. This conversation has taken longer than the two minutes we had to plan. We've got to hussle."
And hussle they did. Everyone set out to their apponted tasks. Fox? He prepared the Dropship. As he did, he parked an Arwing in the small Docking Bay. He also packed an extra bomb. Heck, he thought to himself... bring two.
Anyway, after the preperation, Fox took the Dropship off from the Great Fox and cloaked it from the enemy's sensors. He glanced back at the Great Fox, which was preparing to use some of the Planet's power to take out the cloak detectors. Then he glanced at its target, and laid eyes on his overly large opponent for the first time.
Ouch. It was terrifying. Like something sewn together from many pieces of many people's nightmares. A giant, mechanical, monsterous lump of death, best describes it. It didn't resemble anything logical, Fox couldn't relate it to an animal he'd seen before or anything. It was just, many terrifying machines, crudely strung into one large jagged-spere-like... THING. Fox shuddered. But even as he did, he saw the MegaCanon's beam connect squarely with the correct portion of the ship. Scanners showed that their detectors were now useless.
"Let's move."
It was strage. Gliding along beside a complete monstrosity that was firing blindly wherever shots came at it from. Different robotic parts reared up and fired differently-coloured beams, balls of energy, bombs, and blasts at different times. He knew he would have nightmares about just TRYING to control all that by yourself. There'd have to be at least 10 people operating weapons alone on that Command Ship, if not more. Now perhaps you get an idea of the monstrosity of this thing.
After what seemed like a decade, Fox and his Team silently attached a SpaceTube link to the Command Ship, and snuck aboard. There, in a storage room, they gathered their supplies, as Fox unrolled a large floorplan.
"Hey!" They were shocked. "Where'd you get this?"
"Oh, I grabbed these from the Control Room back when we were in Andross's Ship. I guess I should've seen this whole "Secret Weapon" thing comming..."
"How So?"
Fox lifted the corner of the map. Written in big, bold letters was the phrase:
PLANS FOR SECRET WEAPON
Below that, the plans were listed. "Floorplan of Control Ship" was outlined on the side Fox had put facing up. The Team gathered around the map and Fox discussed their plan of action.
************************************************************************
Samus was flying the cloaked Great Fox. Ganondorf hadn't had much to do since he had fired that first Mega Shot, then activated the Great Fox's shield system. He lazed around, waiting for his role in the plan to come into play. And having nothing to do made him bored, regardless of the Triple-Arwing stealth assult that was going on outside. So, he started babbling.
"So, Samus."
She groaned. "What now?"
"Do you think you'll ever SEE Fox again?"
"I will."
"What makes you say that? One lucky shot from them and w... OOF!"
A stray bolt from the Weapon glanced off the Great Fox's shields. It rumbled with the impact.
"See? What if they just so happen to realise that Fox is on their Command Ship? They won't just sit there and take it, will they?"
"No, they've got to have automatic security on that thing or something..."
"Come on, Samus. You know as well as I do that automatic security will be the first thing Fox goes to deactivate on that ship. Then what? Will the Operators just abandon the Weapon and take out Fox and his ENTIRE TEAM themselves? Fat chance. They'll have to be reduced to the only SENSIBLE option of..."
"DON'T even suggest that!"
"Is it really so hard to believe? No way with a ship that small they'll be able to take Fox. They know he'll just destroy it anyways. Andross's army is NOT afraid of death, Samus. You know that too, as well as I do. They'll simply order the Weapon to destroy the Control Ship. Killing them all."
Samus shuddered. Slightly. But, luckily, she had put her armor back on, and Ganondorf didn't see this. "He'll make it. They all will. I know it."
"Hey, I'm just giving you a cold, harsh slap of reality in the face, all right? I'm Evil. It's what I do for a LIVING. Hey, Fox is a good guy, right? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with him. But it COULD HAPPEN. So don't get your hopes up too high. If he has to, Fox will rip that enire Ship apart himself... with him in it, if need be."
She shuddered again. "Just let me do my job. Please? No more of this."
Ganondorf just shrugged. "One lucky shot. That's ALL they need."
Samus knew this, too. She had gone through all this in her own head, but couldn't bring herself to admit it to anyone else. The chances of Fox making it off the ship weren't in his favor. It was likely that he, and possibly his team, would perish for the System.
************************************************************************
Fox finished his strategy. A team would go to, true to Ganondorf's guess, disable the Security in the Ship. Another three teams would plant the bombs in three different sections of the ship. Once done, they would meet back there, get the heck out, and blow that station to ribbons. After that, it would be a piece of cake to take the Weapon itself out. Only a living being could possibly recognise, and act upon, the weakness of the enemy ship as it charges an attack as massive as the HyperCanon. They'd destroy the weapon, and save the planet all at once. But, again, time was still against them. Although using SOME of the Planet's energy (to destroy the Clock Detector) bought them some time, they only had 20:00 minutes left now to activate the HyperCanon, charge it, AND fire it. Otherwise, the Planet would explode. Crunch time for the Team.
Fox was all out of words by now, so to save breath, he simply pointed dramatically towards the door of the room. It was the most inspiring gesture many of them had ever seen. They slunk out of the room, all ready for action.
Fox was the first to reach his destination. He was the one to disable the security. He crept into the Security Control room. Bingo! The guard on duty was (as nameless stereotypical security guards tend to be), asleep. Fox silently pressed a few buttons. Then, standing back, he took careful aim with his blaster.
ZAP!
Down went the Security Guard. Since the room's sensors had just been shut off by Fox, nobody was the wiser. Fox then pulled out his Staff, jumped up, and let loose with a massive Super Quake! The room's computers exploded in a shower of sparks. Well, okay, the walls were too thick to let the sound of the attack escape. But the shaking of the entire ship caused by the impact, along with the slight hint of the Security Cameras shutting off, would probably alert the rest of the ship to their presence. Time to get moving. Fox snuck back to the Storage Room to wait for his team.
He didn't have long to wait. Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff were the first to return, having successfully planted their bomb. Dr. Mario, Young Link, and Mewtwo weren't far behind. But when the third team (of Luigi, Bowser, and Peach) didn't return for awhile, the rest started to worry. Finally, Peach and Luigi rushed in, covered in wounds. Not far behind was Bowser...
BLAM!
He bashed through the wall beside the door, having Shiek hanging on to his head for dear life, covering his eyes.
And the Moral of THIS story is: Having Bowser as an ally may be excellent for combat, but sucks when you need him for a STEALTH mission.
How had the Alliance got there? Simple, The Alliance against Star Fox had headed straight for THIS Control Ship after they fled from Andross. Star Fox and company had to GET OUT OF THERE before their bombs went off. The timer was set for 10:00 only. As soon as the third one was set, they were all armed. So, in about 8 minutes as of that moment, the ship would blow. With The Alliance there to beat up, it would be difficult.
Fox and company charged the Alliance, before all of them could file in through the door and through the "entrance" Bowser had made. Fox? He headed straight for Captain Falcon. Why's this? He was sick and tired of reading those Samus/Captain Falcon romance Fan Fictions, that he wanted payback for such a stupid idea. Captain Falcon? He charged straight at Fox. Why? Fox just so happened to be the closest opponent to him. Falcon never really held many grudges in these 'Fics.
WHAM!
Fox blasted Falcon backwards with a Fire Fox. Falcon caught fire. As he flew backwards, he melted another hole in the wall. Fox lept through, and hit Falcon with numerous shots from his blaster before Falcon could rise to his feet. Without warning, Falcon let loose with a Raptor Boost. Fox flew UPwards, and created a hole in the ceiling. Falcon lept up through that, and started up a Falcon Punch.
"FALCON..."
At the last instant, Fox attempted to dodge it...
"...PUNCH!"
Fox just barely slipped past Falcon as he let loose with the attack. As he did, he snatched Falcon's collar, pounded him in the face a couple of times, and whipped him across the room. Falcon slid across the highly polished floor into an elevator. Fox quickly pressed the Cargo Bay level button. The doors slid closed on a groggy Falcon as the elevator started its decent. Fox then suddenly got a brilliant idea. He whipped out his comminicator and yelled into it:...
"HEY! Listen to me! You guys, get the Alliance pushed back into the Cargo Bay! We'll be able to hold them there with the Airlock system!"
As soon as he finished this, he stuffed the communicator back into his pocket, and lept down through the hole his flaming body had created. In fact, he noticed, too late, that it put him right in the middle of the other's melee. Attacks whirled around him left and right. He just barely flipped over Yoshi, who was Rolling around in a large Egg. As he was in the air, he engaged another Fire Fox, and blasted a hole through the floor.
Perfect. He had dropped right down in front of the door that lead into the Cargo Bay. Quickly, he opened the doors and slipped inside. He glanced around. Silence met him. Then, without warning, a ding sounded somewhere nearby. A double-door opened to reveal an unconcious Captain Falcon, who tumbled out and fell on the metallic floor immediately. Fox dragged him out and placed him on the opposite end of the room, just near the large, sealed door that lead out into space. Fox flipped his communicator on and shouted into it;
"Okay! Push them down this hole, guys! I'll take care of the rest!"
Fox didn't have long to wait.
************************************************************************
Mewtwo had slipped away from the Melee. Why? He's phychic, of course. He had realised what Ganondorf had perdicted: The operators (nameless, ugly goons that aren't even important enough for further description) were immediately rerouting one of the Weapon's rear cannons to shoot the Control Ship. One blast would be all it would take to set off their bombs and kill them all. Sure, the rest of the team would be able to take out the Mega-Weapon. But then they would all die. Something they kinda wanted to aviod, if possible.
...If Possible.
And since he KNEW what was going to happen, he had immediately teleported up to stop it from happening. He appeared at the back of the room. About fifty or so computers, in nice, neat rows, faced opposite him. Like a human's schoolroom, Mewtwo thought with a silent chuckle. How awkward. Well. Time to get this over with, prefferably before we're all dead.
Mewtwo then pulled out his own Telekinetic Enhancement Device. (Where did he get this? Simple. When he won the SSB Rumble, he collected $250 000 in prize money. All of this he invested in the invention of a device which could enhance his own abilities to greater levels. He could control numerous subjects at once, with a greater level of ferocity. Basically it turned him into a killing ma-chine.
He flipped the switch to "On".
Mewtwo couldn't hold it in any longer. He flew forward, powered by his own telekinetic mind.
"Evening, gentlemen."
Each operater heard this voice in his head. Where was it comming from? Were they all dreaming? No, everybody else had heard it, according to their scared expressions. Then they finally realised that there was a creature hovering at the back of the room, eyes glowing a Dark Purple.
They got up and ran. Pretty characteristic. Mewtwo didn't even have much to do. He just sealed the doors, hovered over to the main control terminal, and deactivated the firing process that was about to destroy the Control Ship. Saved.
Unless...
No, too much thinking. This device was giving him a headache. A downside. He'd get that fixed later. Switching it to "off" after not even having to USE it (awww... I was expecting a huge massicre too, I'm sorry...) he suddenly realised that it was time to go. He could see it in Fox's emotion. All right. He teleported onto their tiny transport ship and engaged liftoff.
************************************************************************
The battle was deafening. Every member of every team (Minus Mewtwo, Fox, and Captain Falcon) were duking it out all at once.
The first highlight was Bowser, as he grabbed Marth in one hand, and Roy in another, and hurled them downwards through the hole. Fox quickly tossed them into the Cargo bay. (Kirby? He went back to being evil after winning his cash. Who knew?)
Peach had tackled Zelda, whacking her with a Frying Pan numerous times until she was unconcious. Then she rolled her down through the hole, and Fox rolled her straight into the Cargo bay.
Young Link was dueling with his older counterpart, amazingly pulling off a victory with a series of Spin-Slashes. He bombed Link down through the hole, and Link was then chucked into the Cargo bay by Fox.
Luigi was in his element. He ran up to Mario (who was riding Yoshi) and bashed them both with his Green Missile, scoring a perfect hole-in-one into the hole! Fox reflected on this interestingly as he chucked the duo into the Cargo bay.
Luigi wasn't finished there, though! He also ganged up on the Ice Climbers with Dr. Mario, and a series of Pills and Green Fireballs later, they were ready for holeing and Cargo baying.
Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff were pounding serieses of Combo Attacks at Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Game & Watch. A Singing-Thunderbolt and Electric Rollout after, the trio had been forcingly stuffed down the hole and shoved into the Cargo bay.
The rest of the Star Fox Team had lept down through the hole to join Fox. They looked at the room full of Alliance with relief. They also set eyes on Mewtwo, who was firing up the Transport Ship as they spoke. Freedom was a Space Tube away.
Fox did a head... body count. "Hey! Somebody's missing! Where's Ness?"
WHALLOP!
Ness had snuck in with his Baseball Bat and given that cranium what-for! The rest of the Star Fox team forced Ness into the Cargo bay. Unbeknownst to them, Ness had grabbed Fox with his Psy-Powers and pulled him in with them. When they sealed the doors, they watched as Ness smirked at them as he used the last of his energy to PK Fire the door mechanism.
"FOX!"
WHAM.
The door slammed shut, and they had no way to open it again.
Mewtwo telepathically messaged them. "Yo! 30 Seconds to detination! What the heck are you doing standing around?! GET IN HERE!!"
They ran. Oh, my, they ran. Quickly slipping though the Space Tube, all of them casting fleeting glances back at Fox.
"20 Seconds!"
Fox had gotten his communicator on. It sounded like a raging battle in there. "LISTEN! Guys! Quite obviously, these guys don't have a clue that we planted these bombs! They won't listen to a word I say! Just go! Sever the connection with this thing and get the heck out of here!"
"FOX!" Mewtwo messaged desperately. "We'll always remember what you did! You're a HERO, Fox!" (As out of character this was for Mewtwo, he couldn't help but call this out to him. Fox might as well feel better in his last moments.)
"Just GO! Get that Tube disconnected! And... tell Samus... I'm sorry..."
The communicator buzzed out. Mewtwo knew that it had been hit with an oncomming attack. Brave Fox, he thought. Go out fighting. It's what he probably wants for himself.
Mewtwo severed the connection.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*FLASHBACK*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"Samus," Fox said, "I want you to have this."
"What? You know I don't like sappy things like this, Fox..."
"Oh, come on... just for me, won't you?"
He held out his paw. It was his Badge.
"Since I honestly have broken Cornerian Law many, many times on this mission... I really don't deserve this. I want you to have it. For stepping up and taking command of our ship when we are facing the single biggest threat this system has ever faced? Well, of course. What else?"
What could she say? She embraced him, the light tears from her face seemingly melting into his warm fur. Thank goodness for you, Fox, she thought. I love you.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-END-*-*-*-FLASHBACK-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It seemed like ages ago. Samus held the Badge in her hand as yet more tears ran down her face. Her job was done, after all. Their weapon was charging up, and soon it would fire. No more work required from anyone but Ganondorf. Every other team meber had their face pressed against the large window portal, waiting to see the resulting explosion the weapon would create. Samus didn't care anymore. None of this... the mission, the battles... mattered to her. Running to her door, she threw the badge out her portal with all her might. It was immediately transported out into space.
As if guided by an invisible hand, the Badge soared back through the portal, into Samus's quarters, into her dresser drawer. Outside her room, Mewtwo lowered his hand.
If I didn't know this was Mewtwo I'm talking about, I would've sworn there was a slight hint of a smile on his face. You'll be wanting that later, he thought to himself.
But he didn't say it out loud. Or think it out loud, for that matter.
************************************************************************
Back to Ganondorf. His hands were flying across the Console with perfect precision. For someone who couldn't even operate a communicator properly at the beginning of this Fiction, he had improved very greatly, thanks to Fox's promised training of Ganondorf. As anticipated, the Weapon was still distracted by the three Cloaked Arwings. The Star Fox Team must have been wondering where Fox was; he had said he would be joining them in battle. Nobody had brought themselves to tell the Team of Star Fox's fate.
Ganondorf switched on the Ship's Communicator. Man, does that ever feel good, he thought.
BUZZEEP! "Okay, guys! I'm about to fire! Get out of there, now, before you're deep-fried!"
...No Response.
Ganondorf pondered this. He did the communication perfectly. Exact right frequency... BUZZEEP and all. And yet it wasn't reaching them. What was going on? Geez, if only Fox were here, he'd know...
Ganondorf's train of thought stopped short. He wasn't one to get all emotional like this. But hey; Fox was a great guy.
He *WAS* a great guy.
Ganondorf resumed his pacing. Back on topic. Why couldn't he reach them? Oh, of course... the answer was simple. The radiation from the A.I.'s generator... that was blocking the radio frequencies! Fox had told him about...
Fox *HAD* told him about.
OKAY! Ganondorf told himself. Stop thinking about Fox! And yet... no. Impossible. Ganondorf finally let his mind set on what it had been nagging him about ever since he heard the news.
There was a way... yes, there WAS a way Fox could have survived. It seemed impossible, though. The idea was pure madness. But... nothing was too impossible for Fox. He'd learned that over his time with him.
...So what if?
What if Fox survived? Well, provided everyone got home safe and sound, his crimes would certainly be lifted... heck, he'd be a hero!
And yet...
No. Too much thinking.
Thinking.
THINKING!
Ganondorf SHOULD HAVE been THINKING about how to get the REST of the Star Fox Team out of there! What was he THINKING?! He couldn't stop the firing sequence! Within the next 5:00 minutes, the HyperCanon would automatically fire... regardless of who was in the way or not. Ganondorf HAD to set it that way; and keep it set that way. Otherwise, the Planet would blow. Okay. Crunch time.
How could he do it? Could he shoot out the A.I.? No... that was in the middle of the device. And besides, his Canons were charging with the precision of a surgeon. If the timing was even slightly altered, the System might be doomed. It wasn't worth it.
Could he trigger an explosion? Toss up a flare? ...Send out a smoke signal? Get their attention somehow?
Could he just get the hell out there and do something about it himself?
Yes. Of COURSE he could!
Okay, he told himself. I should probably tell the others what I'm thinking.
No, that would be too complex. I'll just tell them what Fox would be thinking.
What Fox WOULD be thinking.
Shut up, brain, he told himself.
************************************************************************
"You're WHAT?!"
"I'm going out there! I'll go out in an Arwing and trigger this device! It'll block the A.I. signal and I'll be able to tell the rest of the Team to get the hell out of there!"
"Ganondorf," Mewtwo tried desperately to reason with him, "You can't fly."
"Oh, that's where you're mistaken! I can fly! Really! I've been... STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, DANGNABBIT!"
Young Link chuckled. "Naaaaaaaw. I've seen the file of your attempt. You absolutely sucked!!"
"WHAT?! How... who... what...!?"
Peach answered his stammering. "Apparently, there was a Dashboard-Cam on the Arwing Fox flew. They caught the whole thing on tape."
"I... I..." Ganondorf's composure was all gone. "I'm not THAT bad anymore!!!"
The rest of the Team just sighed. He'll never change, they thought.
Suddenly, the team heard a loud screetching from outside. They rushed to the Window-Portal and looked out.
There, believe it or not, was Krystal! She was riding her Cloudrunner Companion... in the middle of space...
Ganondorf cried what everyone else was thinking. "...THE LAWS OF PHYSICS?!?!?!?!"
Regardless of how impossible it was, she flew around the front of the Weapon a few times, and then turned and headed back towards the Great Fox. Ganondorf checked his readings. It was like a miricle.
"The Arwings! They're... following her!"
It was true. The three cloaked Arwings soared after Krystal. And yet... they could see her, and the Weapon couldn't? It was true... that entire time that open target flew around tauntingly in front of that massive Weapon, it hadn't fired a single shot at it. Actually, it had stopped firing alltogether. With the distraction gone, the Team anticipated it attacking the Great Fox. Soon, though, the HyperCanon would be prepared, and the Weapon would be toast. The Great Fox's shields would probably hold out until then.
Probably.
That was the big risk. If the Weapon, say, dished out a new, more powerful attack, the shields might fail.
And then?
Everybody would be dead within 24 Hours.
Anyways. Back to Krystal. As soon as she had reached the Great Fox, she AND her Cloudrunner companion had vanished.
"A Hologram...! She was just a Hologram!"
So THAT'S why the Weapon didn't fire at Krystal... it couldn't see her, since it's Detector was lying in ruins! There was only one problem with that theory...
She would have to be transmitting that image herself. As Krystal. And of course, the Cloudrunner. That would have to be done from a ship with a large, large range... which would have to be a large, large ship... and since no other ship (with the exception of the Weapon) was actually in range, it must have been transmitted from the Great Fox...
This was, again, Ganondorf's thinking. Wow, he thought. Fox really taught be about this stuff well. He's a really good teacher.
He WAS a really good teacher.
Okay. NOW this was getting annoying. Stop thinking like that, he told himself.
But even he couldn't lie about the tear he brushed out of his eye.
Okay! Focus, Ganondorf, he said. Krystal must be...
"Right here?"
The Elevator door opened, and out stepped none other than Krystal herself, accompinied by her Cloudrunner companion.
Ganondorf looked slyly at them. "I do believe we sweeped this ship for Stoaways before takeoff."
Krystal laughed. "As if you've been keeping a close enough watch of your ship! With the recent events, your operator's minds were CLEARLY elsewhere. It was no hassle for me to get on this Ship.
Ganondorf smiled lightly. "Well. It was certainly clever of you to use the Hologram-Transmitter. That never occured to me."
"Well," Krystal smiled airily, "I certainly could make a comment about YOUR intelligence here, but I won't for YOUR sake... Mr...?"
"Ganondorf," he said, shaking her hand. "Pleasure."
"Oh, let me assure you," Krystal responded, drawing her hand back quickly, "The pleasure is all yours."
Before Ganondorf could actually work out that he'd been insulted, Krystal continued. "I certainly haven't heard thanks for what I've done for your team yet, considering the fact that I've just saved the lives of three of your most valued pilots. By the way... three isn't four. I would very much like to know where Fox is, as I would like to congratulate him... face-to-face."
Falco and company entered. "Yeah, Ganonpork, where IS Foxy ol' pal? I haven't actually chatted with the guy in a long time, and it'd be nice to catch up. Hey, why wasn't he out there with us? That lazy bum... he never has been into the whole business of distraction-work. He goes for the most important job. ...Typical.
He WENT for the most important job, nagged Ganondorf's brain. He knew he had to tell them... but he didn't know HOW.
Luckily, he was saved from having to explain anything, as the HyperCanon finished charging. The Weapon drew within firing range of the Great Fox, and attempted to attack... too late.
The HyperCanon's auto-targeting system... well... found its target perfectly. Every living being in that ship (with the exception of Samus, remember?) ran to the Window-Portal to witness the resulting explosion.
The HyperCanon fired. All that energy from the Planet was balled up into one, massive, giant... sphere of death, basically. This thing lurched towards the Weapon, slowly but surely. The Weapon tried in vain to destroy this ball. The energy from its lasers, however, only ADDED to this sphere's might. Finally, the sphere connected with the plating of the Weapon.
It was quite a sight.
(Usually, I would portray the sound made by it here, but it simply defies description.)
The Weapon basically blew into billions of tiny little pieces. Every piece, now wreathed in a ball of flame, was flung away from the body of the ship. All the rest simply dissintigrated into thin... space. As chunks of flaming debris was hurled in every possible direction, many of the team imagined the large cleanup that would result from this explosion. Nevertheless, it would be worth it. A small price to pay for the lives of every living being in this entire System.
Finally... after about fifteen minutes, the rumbling from the explosion died down. Small glowing pieces of Weapon slowly floated around, creating a new set of orange stars, up against all those other bright white ones that already dotted space. The entire Team immediately started babbling in excitement, amazement, and relief.
After all this, Falco finally continued his question. "What a rush.... so! Ganonpork. You never answered my question. Where's Fox? He's really the one who made all this happen... he's the Hero, all right!
Ganondorf looked pained as he looked around at the Team. Some faces looked near tears... heck, some were IN tears... some looked distressed, saddened... Falco looked a bit confused. Krystal and her Cloudrunner just looked completely miffed. Finally, Ganondorf found a voice, and took a breath to speak...
Mewtwo raised his hand to silence Ganondorf before he even spoke.
Mewtwo smiled.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*FLASHBACK*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Fox had gotten his communicator on. It sounded like a raging battle in there. "LISTEN! Guys! Quite obviously, these guys don't have a clue that we planted these bombs! They won't listen to a word I say! Just go! Sever the connection with this thing and get the heck out of here!"
"FOX!" Mewtwo messaged desperately. "We'll always remember what you did! You're a HERO, Fox!" (As out of character this was for Mewtwo, he couldn't help but call this out to him. Fox might as well feel better in his last moments.)
"Just GO! Get that Tube disconnected! And... tell Samus... I'm sorry..."
The communicator buzzed out. Mewtwo knew that it had been hit with an oncomming attack. Brave Fox, he thought. Go out fighting. It's what he probably wants for himself.
Mewtwo severed the connection.
...And as he did, Mewtwo, using the vast powers his TED gave him, commanded the Arwing he sensed in the docking bay to fly towards the Cargo bay of the Command Ship. He also took control of the two bombs that were stored there. This would have to be timed with mechanical percision. Alone, it would be impossible for Mewtwo. But remember, he basically WAS mecanical, with TED by his side.
The two bombs flew towards opposite ends of the Command Ship's Cargo bay. One, slightly ahead of the other. Directly behind that ahead-bomb was the Arwing. Once again, timing was critical.
The first bomb struck the side of the Cargo bay, blowing a hole in it. Trilliseconds later, just so it wouldn't be damaged by the blast, the Arwing soared into the Cargo bay.
Mewtwo spoke to Fox. So nobody else in the Universe could hear him. He said one word...
"Jump."
And jump Fox did. It was a quite impressive jump, too. A large, exaggerated backflip that carried him to, nearly, the roof of the room. The Arwing soared into the room as the suction of Space hurled all the other occupants out of the room... Fox included. Mewtwo saw that comming, and placed the Arwing right above the opening as Fox came down.
Mewtwo focused with all his might, trying desperately to ignore the severe pain in his head as he continued his plan. The top of the Arwing open, and Fox landed directly in the seat of it.
Milliseconds after that, the Arwing's cockpit snapped shut, protecting Fox from the icy cold of Space. Milliseconds after THAT, the second bomb hit its target, blowing a hole in the opposite wall. The hard part for Mewtwo was over. The hard part for Fox was just beginning.
Mewtwo activated the Arwing's Turbo Boost.
Mewtwo spoke again, to Fox, and only to Fox: "Fly."
And fly Fox did. Out the opposite wall, at maximum Fox flying speed. JUST as Fox exited the Cargo bay, the ship exploded. The Arwing tumbled though space, away from the Weapon, away from the battle.
But it was intact, and operational.
Fox was alive.
Mewtwo was in terrible pain. It was plain to see. Anyone else on the ship would think that it was because Mewtwo's leader had just perished, and he was grieving. But Mewtwo had done the unthinkable. Not only had he created an escape route for Fox and given him safe transportation (effectively saving his life), he had done all that in UNDER THREE SECONDS. It would seem impossible to anyone but those who witnessed either the event itself, or the survivor of it: Fox McCloud.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-END-*-*-*-FLASHBACK-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
And to a large number of people, the impossible would seem completely possible very, very soon.
TO BE CONTINUED