PART EIGHT: FALCO'S TALE
As Star Fox flew through space in his damaged Arwing, he reflected for a second on what the heck had just happened. He had actually wondered for a brief moment if he had just arrived at the Giant Lylat System in the sky. Well... he had, but not in a dead sort of way. Only in a semi-unconcious way.
He groggily made for the Arwing's controls, and righted the ship. It had stopped facing the Command Ship... except there WAS no Command Ship.
Of course! He thought. We blew that up just now. Mission Accomplished.
No, wait... Objective Complete. The MISSION at hand was to destroy that massive Weapon in the distance. Even from the incredible distance Fox was from the thing, it still blocked out Star Fox's view of Dinosaur Planet. That's how massive it was.
All too suddenly, an even more massive ball of energy appeared from the Great Fox, and was flung towards the Weapon! NOW Star Fox was awake, glancing at the thing in wonder. It was likely that this ball was the most powerful attack that had ever been launched in the history of the Universe.
Finally, the thing found its target.
Now, the Arwing Star Fox was in may have been quite far from the thing, but unlike the Great Fox, his ship was unshielded, and much smaller, too. Therefore, as the Great Fox stood right up to the wave of energy created by the blast, Fox's ship was flung backwards yet again. This time he was flying on a course that took him in the general direction of Corneria. Fox finally righted his ship after an additional 5 minutes of tumbling and flew towards home, at long last.
NOW, it was Mission Accomplished.
What Fox had forgotten was, he was still labelled a criminal, and although the Great Fox had proof that... well... prooved otherwise, it was not with him. So, blind to the fact that he'd be thrown directly into the slammer when he landed that Arwing, Fox flew for home.
************************************************************************
It had been awhile since the Weapon exploded. Now, not only did the Universe exist without evil, but Fox had been confirmed alive, and Falco himself had returned, and apparently had stopped being evil! So, obviously, with the emotional rollercoaster officially over, and the catastrophe averted, the entire Team had nothing to do but return to Corneria (undoubtedly where Fox was headed). However, the Great Fox was much slower than an Arwing. So, instead of arriving within 3 hours of the victory, like Star Fox would, they would arrive within 3 DAYS of their victory. So, of course, they were all anticipating hearing Falco's end of the story. He'd never really explained himself at ANY point in these fictions, after all... where had he gone after being thrown out into Space and seemingly killed by Star Fox? How had he returned? And, after he had lost at Intensity, where had he jogged off to as Andross cooked up this master scheme for the last eight years?
"Well, mister big Narrator, I'd be able to TELL this to the readers if you'd shut your trap for a few seconds!!"
OKAY... Sor-RY... touchy, aren't we...
"Can it..."
*Grumble...* Fine.
"Okay, you guys," Falco began. He was sitting in a big, poufy armchair in the Great Fox's Lounge. The rest of the Team (minus ROB, since he was piloting the ship at the time. But hey, I doubt he cares all that much) was gathered around Falco's chair in a semicircle, seated in various chairs, beanbags, and cushions, ready for storytime (so to speak).
Falco continued, "Thanks to a good deal cut from the writer of these Fictions, I'll get almost an entire chapter to tell MY side of the story. I hope it'll answer ALL of YOUR questions... along with one of the most pertinant ones... Just HOW Did Andross Revive Himself? ...So, I won't waste time with any more intros, I'll get right into it."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-FALCO'S-*-*-*-*-TALE-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"Well, where to begin... oh, the beginning. Of course. Well, Star Fox had just successfully blown me up... the first occasion of many, actually. But anyways. I soared upwards from where the Great Fox's Canons had almost torn apart my Arwing. I was getting close to exiting Corneria's Atmosphere... so to speak, I would die of the cold, or lack of oxygen... in any case, I had to try to crudely get my Arwing repaired, so I could at least try to steer it towards a suitable planet. Using my gun as a crude wielding torch-thingie, I sealed up any cracks in the structure of the ship. Finally, I exited Cornerian airspace. I was free-floating in space, barely clinging to life. I knew I would have to land somewhere soon... If pressure didn't finally rip my ship apart, I'd run out of air in the small space I'd gotten for myself in there... the supply had been blown off while I was still in battle on Corneria.
"It wasn't easy. I knew the quickest route to another planet's surface was on the other side of Meteo, the large Asteroid field just outside of Cornerian Space. My alternative was to go through Sector Y, which is now abandoned, as you know... and by doing that, I would have run out of air. Even then, I would've had to land on Aquas to stand a chance of living, and even then the chances of my drowning there would've been even higher. So, I risked Meteo. THAT was the hard part. I had to dodge between a number of huge Space-Rocks, some of them that were five times the size of my ship! There were a few tense moments when I was struck by one or two of 'em, but I somehow pulled through.
"The first planet I came to was Fortuna, as I would soon find out. My biggest fear here was taking this little craft into re-entry... I didn't think I would make it. However, I was able to make a crash-landing into one of the planet's few bodies of water. I was safe for the moment.
"The Arwing was, of course, ruined completely. However, I knew I couldn't stay on that planet for long. Fortuna is much closer to Solar than Corneria is, and I'm really not used to those temperatures. So, I trekked until I came across the Cornerian army base on Fortuna. Memories of back in the day... when the Star Fox team fought Star Wolf on these grounds... Fox disarmed a bomb inside that building that would have destroyed this entire area. Ah. Back in the day. But, it came to me that I hated Star Fox with a passion. So, I quickly snuck onto the premesis and... Stole a Cornerian Space Vessel. It..." He stopped, shamefaced at admitting his crime. A few gasps were heard from around the room; other than that, there was silence. Nobody seemed to really care about this detail, so Falco continued. "It was equipped with a Basic Laser Weapon, and shields... not to mention it was fully fueled. I figured I'd be able to make my way back to Corneria.
"But... I didn't, for some reason. I really didn't want to go back... at least, not just yet. I had a compelling desire to find a way to destroy Star Fox... and if creating an Alliance of talented fighters against him didn't work... I'd need something more powerful. So I thought to myself... what could I ADD to my team's might to make us... undefeatable?
"And then... the answer hit me. Hey, I didn't care that it was completely evil. I just wanted that animal dead. And so, I set my own little course... for Venom. I was going to look for Andross.
"Okay... so Fox killed Andross, in the name of his Father, blah, blah, blah... but you have to understand, Andross WAS a genius. There's no way he'd risk his life for ANYTHING. He would have a backup plan, possibly even to bring him back to life, or something to that effect. I know it sounds rediculous to you, but hey... NOTHING is too rediculous for him. He WAS evil, but he was also, as I mentioned before, a genius... a deadly combonation. Hopefully, in my opinion back then at least... deadly enough for even Star Fox.
"So, it took a couple of days to fly all the way out there. I could've taken a warp, but I really didn't want to risk getting caught... if I was spotted flying that ship, I would be labelled a criminal. Anyways, that ship WAS pretty slow, and pretty weak... I didn't want to risk melting it. So, to avoid the heat of Solar, I took a path through Sector X and over Titania. I passed by Bolse as well... more memories of combat with Star Wolf and destroying that Satellite came back to me, but I shrugged those off, and flew on. Finally, I reached Venom. And let me tell you, it never looked more poisonous then right at that moment.
"It took a lot of searching, but I finally found a small group of Cornarian Rebels wandering back near Andross's Temple. After inquiring with them, and assuring them that I indeed WAS a thief that took the ship I was flying (the ID didn't match with my wing-print), they told me about a secret project being developed on MacBeth. After the Star Fox team had run a Train into Andross's old Supply Base, the remaining Cornerian Rebels built a new base for Andross on that planet, devoted to the study of reanimation and revitalisation. At the time, the concept of reanimation gave me the shivers... but I couldn't stop a BIGGER shiver... more memories from running that Train into the Supply Base came flooding back into my head. Fox actually saved me from a bogey that was on my tail back then... anyways. I thought to myself that I should've stopped travelling the System right then to avoid more memories flooding back. Too much more of that, and I would stop hating Fox... something I dreaded. Anyways, I set out for MacBeth immediately, seeking to find this Base the Rebels spoke of.
"After landing there, and gaining the trust of the Rebels that worked there, I settled into MacBeth a bit and learned of their studies. Apparently, they had gotten hold of the remains of Andross's body... somehow. I'm not sure how Andross's body still EXISTED after the explosion he went through. But then I learned of Andross's biological control thingy... I can't really explain how it worked, I didn't get it. But apparently the REAL Andross wasn't actually ON Venom. Ever. The large Biologic mutated form of him was controlled by the REAL Andross, right there on a remote location on MacBeth. After his brain-thingy was killed, HE was killed, but leaving his body behind. Now all they had to do was relocate his soul... yeah, I know," Falco said, looking at their questioning expressions, "I was a bit sceptical myself. But apparently, his soul was seperated from his body, and it had landed on Aquas somewhere, in a containment device. Hidden, frantic searches for this Soul by the Rebels were being conducted... for, if Andross's Soul was recovered, then it could be mechanically reinserted into Andross's body, effectively bringing him back to life. He wouldn't be the same ever again, but at least he'd be ALIVE. That was the Rebel's main concern, after all, for without a leader, they were barely organised.
"Anyways. The Rebels persuaded me to join in the next search of Aquas's seabed. I don't even know how; I hate going underwater when I don't have to. However, I was spared from ever having to worry about that at all... another ship stunned my Cornerian Vessel while I was travelling, and captured me. I was unconcious for most of the time after that, but when I woke up, I was being held captive. I was afraid that the Cornerian Patrol had me; in that case, I'd be a criminal to them for theft of one of their ships. However, I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore... that ship was taken apart by my captors, and released into Space. It was found a month or so later; they never found out it was me that did it.
"Anyways. Back to my captors. I was held in a containment cell for quite awhile, then finally, a creature came and opened the door to the cell. I didn't get a very good view at first, since the light came from behind him, and all I saw was a shadow. But then, it entered the room, and I got a good look at him.
"It was a Gecko. Hey, not just any Gecko either... this was Gex, the legendary T.V. hero who had defeated the evil "Rez" on countless occasions. He didn't speak much, but he did say this: he warned me that fighting Star Fox would get me nowhere. He said I should just call it quits now, as not much I was doing right then mattered. It still isn't, really. But... I'll get back to that.
"Anyways. Gex told me, Sure, go on back and fight Star Fox at the next Cornerian event. Sure, take him on again. If I won, he said he'd leave me alone. However, if I lost, he told me that I would have to return to him. He said, in return for this deal, he would give me an X-Wing for transport and even combat purposes. So, of course, I accepted.
"You all know what happened. Fox whupped me again and again at the Tournament, finally beating me out for the Championship. Completely at a loss, I used the last of my money to purchase an Arwing from Corneria, and I flew out to Gex. I had nothing more to lose.
"It took me a long time, but I finally found him. And when I did... he told me, that I wasn't really looking for HIM... I was looking for an answer... anyways. He told me a lot of things. And finally, I came to understand. Through his teachings and aid, I learned about the Universe around us, and about all its secrets. Finally, destroying Star Fox was not all that high on my list of priorities. Belive it or not as you will, my new goal was, and still is, to help Free Fox... just as I have been freed."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"And that's all there is to know. Thanks for your time... you've been great."
The Lounge broke into applause from many members of the Team. Some, however, looked around in confusion of Falco's strange ending to his Tale. Freed? Answer? What could all that possibly mean? And what exactly did Falco LEARN? Has he, perhaps, been enlightened? No... that was TOO far-fetched.
Some, however, knew EXACTLY what Falco was talking about.
************************************************************************
True to my own guess, as soon as Star Fox landed his Arwing on Corneria's surface... instead of the hero's welcome he had probably expected, he was jailed immediately. The Great Fox was still plodding along towards Corneria, but it would be awhile before any evidence of what just happened got back to the planet. During that time, Fox would have to spend his time, in a dingy Containment Cell, alone... well, not ENTIRELY alone.
TO BE CONTINUED
As Star Fox flew through space in his damaged Arwing, he reflected for a second on what the heck had just happened. He had actually wondered for a brief moment if he had just arrived at the Giant Lylat System in the sky. Well... he had, but not in a dead sort of way. Only in a semi-unconcious way.
He groggily made for the Arwing's controls, and righted the ship. It had stopped facing the Command Ship... except there WAS no Command Ship.
Of course! He thought. We blew that up just now. Mission Accomplished.
No, wait... Objective Complete. The MISSION at hand was to destroy that massive Weapon in the distance. Even from the incredible distance Fox was from the thing, it still blocked out Star Fox's view of Dinosaur Planet. That's how massive it was.
All too suddenly, an even more massive ball of energy appeared from the Great Fox, and was flung towards the Weapon! NOW Star Fox was awake, glancing at the thing in wonder. It was likely that this ball was the most powerful attack that had ever been launched in the history of the Universe.
Finally, the thing found its target.
Now, the Arwing Star Fox was in may have been quite far from the thing, but unlike the Great Fox, his ship was unshielded, and much smaller, too. Therefore, as the Great Fox stood right up to the wave of energy created by the blast, Fox's ship was flung backwards yet again. This time he was flying on a course that took him in the general direction of Corneria. Fox finally righted his ship after an additional 5 minutes of tumbling and flew towards home, at long last.
NOW, it was Mission Accomplished.
What Fox had forgotten was, he was still labelled a criminal, and although the Great Fox had proof that... well... prooved otherwise, it was not with him. So, blind to the fact that he'd be thrown directly into the slammer when he landed that Arwing, Fox flew for home.
************************************************************************
It had been awhile since the Weapon exploded. Now, not only did the Universe exist without evil, but Fox had been confirmed alive, and Falco himself had returned, and apparently had stopped being evil! So, obviously, with the emotional rollercoaster officially over, and the catastrophe averted, the entire Team had nothing to do but return to Corneria (undoubtedly where Fox was headed). However, the Great Fox was much slower than an Arwing. So, instead of arriving within 3 hours of the victory, like Star Fox would, they would arrive within 3 DAYS of their victory. So, of course, they were all anticipating hearing Falco's end of the story. He'd never really explained himself at ANY point in these fictions, after all... where had he gone after being thrown out into Space and seemingly killed by Star Fox? How had he returned? And, after he had lost at Intensity, where had he jogged off to as Andross cooked up this master scheme for the last eight years?
"Well, mister big Narrator, I'd be able to TELL this to the readers if you'd shut your trap for a few seconds!!"
OKAY... Sor-RY... touchy, aren't we...
"Can it..."
*Grumble...* Fine.
"Okay, you guys," Falco began. He was sitting in a big, poufy armchair in the Great Fox's Lounge. The rest of the Team (minus ROB, since he was piloting the ship at the time. But hey, I doubt he cares all that much) was gathered around Falco's chair in a semicircle, seated in various chairs, beanbags, and cushions, ready for storytime (so to speak).
Falco continued, "Thanks to a good deal cut from the writer of these Fictions, I'll get almost an entire chapter to tell MY side of the story. I hope it'll answer ALL of YOUR questions... along with one of the most pertinant ones... Just HOW Did Andross Revive Himself? ...So, I won't waste time with any more intros, I'll get right into it."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-FALCO'S-*-*-*-*-TALE-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"Well, where to begin... oh, the beginning. Of course. Well, Star Fox had just successfully blown me up... the first occasion of many, actually. But anyways. I soared upwards from where the Great Fox's Canons had almost torn apart my Arwing. I was getting close to exiting Corneria's Atmosphere... so to speak, I would die of the cold, or lack of oxygen... in any case, I had to try to crudely get my Arwing repaired, so I could at least try to steer it towards a suitable planet. Using my gun as a crude wielding torch-thingie, I sealed up any cracks in the structure of the ship. Finally, I exited Cornerian airspace. I was free-floating in space, barely clinging to life. I knew I would have to land somewhere soon... If pressure didn't finally rip my ship apart, I'd run out of air in the small space I'd gotten for myself in there... the supply had been blown off while I was still in battle on Corneria.
"It wasn't easy. I knew the quickest route to another planet's surface was on the other side of Meteo, the large Asteroid field just outside of Cornerian Space. My alternative was to go through Sector Y, which is now abandoned, as you know... and by doing that, I would have run out of air. Even then, I would've had to land on Aquas to stand a chance of living, and even then the chances of my drowning there would've been even higher. So, I risked Meteo. THAT was the hard part. I had to dodge between a number of huge Space-Rocks, some of them that were five times the size of my ship! There were a few tense moments when I was struck by one or two of 'em, but I somehow pulled through.
"The first planet I came to was Fortuna, as I would soon find out. My biggest fear here was taking this little craft into re-entry... I didn't think I would make it. However, I was able to make a crash-landing into one of the planet's few bodies of water. I was safe for the moment.
"The Arwing was, of course, ruined completely. However, I knew I couldn't stay on that planet for long. Fortuna is much closer to Solar than Corneria is, and I'm really not used to those temperatures. So, I trekked until I came across the Cornerian army base on Fortuna. Memories of back in the day... when the Star Fox team fought Star Wolf on these grounds... Fox disarmed a bomb inside that building that would have destroyed this entire area. Ah. Back in the day. But, it came to me that I hated Star Fox with a passion. So, I quickly snuck onto the premesis and... Stole a Cornerian Space Vessel. It..." He stopped, shamefaced at admitting his crime. A few gasps were heard from around the room; other than that, there was silence. Nobody seemed to really care about this detail, so Falco continued. "It was equipped with a Basic Laser Weapon, and shields... not to mention it was fully fueled. I figured I'd be able to make my way back to Corneria.
"But... I didn't, for some reason. I really didn't want to go back... at least, not just yet. I had a compelling desire to find a way to destroy Star Fox... and if creating an Alliance of talented fighters against him didn't work... I'd need something more powerful. So I thought to myself... what could I ADD to my team's might to make us... undefeatable?
"And then... the answer hit me. Hey, I didn't care that it was completely evil. I just wanted that animal dead. And so, I set my own little course... for Venom. I was going to look for Andross.
"Okay... so Fox killed Andross, in the name of his Father, blah, blah, blah... but you have to understand, Andross WAS a genius. There's no way he'd risk his life for ANYTHING. He would have a backup plan, possibly even to bring him back to life, or something to that effect. I know it sounds rediculous to you, but hey... NOTHING is too rediculous for him. He WAS evil, but he was also, as I mentioned before, a genius... a deadly combonation. Hopefully, in my opinion back then at least... deadly enough for even Star Fox.
"So, it took a couple of days to fly all the way out there. I could've taken a warp, but I really didn't want to risk getting caught... if I was spotted flying that ship, I would be labelled a criminal. Anyways, that ship WAS pretty slow, and pretty weak... I didn't want to risk melting it. So, to avoid the heat of Solar, I took a path through Sector X and over Titania. I passed by Bolse as well... more memories of combat with Star Wolf and destroying that Satellite came back to me, but I shrugged those off, and flew on. Finally, I reached Venom. And let me tell you, it never looked more poisonous then right at that moment.
"It took a lot of searching, but I finally found a small group of Cornarian Rebels wandering back near Andross's Temple. After inquiring with them, and assuring them that I indeed WAS a thief that took the ship I was flying (the ID didn't match with my wing-print), they told me about a secret project being developed on MacBeth. After the Star Fox team had run a Train into Andross's old Supply Base, the remaining Cornerian Rebels built a new base for Andross on that planet, devoted to the study of reanimation and revitalisation. At the time, the concept of reanimation gave me the shivers... but I couldn't stop a BIGGER shiver... more memories from running that Train into the Supply Base came flooding back into my head. Fox actually saved me from a bogey that was on my tail back then... anyways. I thought to myself that I should've stopped travelling the System right then to avoid more memories flooding back. Too much more of that, and I would stop hating Fox... something I dreaded. Anyways, I set out for MacBeth immediately, seeking to find this Base the Rebels spoke of.
"After landing there, and gaining the trust of the Rebels that worked there, I settled into MacBeth a bit and learned of their studies. Apparently, they had gotten hold of the remains of Andross's body... somehow. I'm not sure how Andross's body still EXISTED after the explosion he went through. But then I learned of Andross's biological control thingy... I can't really explain how it worked, I didn't get it. But apparently the REAL Andross wasn't actually ON Venom. Ever. The large Biologic mutated form of him was controlled by the REAL Andross, right there on a remote location on MacBeth. After his brain-thingy was killed, HE was killed, but leaving his body behind. Now all they had to do was relocate his soul... yeah, I know," Falco said, looking at their questioning expressions, "I was a bit sceptical myself. But apparently, his soul was seperated from his body, and it had landed on Aquas somewhere, in a containment device. Hidden, frantic searches for this Soul by the Rebels were being conducted... for, if Andross's Soul was recovered, then it could be mechanically reinserted into Andross's body, effectively bringing him back to life. He wouldn't be the same ever again, but at least he'd be ALIVE. That was the Rebel's main concern, after all, for without a leader, they were barely organised.
"Anyways. The Rebels persuaded me to join in the next search of Aquas's seabed. I don't even know how; I hate going underwater when I don't have to. However, I was spared from ever having to worry about that at all... another ship stunned my Cornerian Vessel while I was travelling, and captured me. I was unconcious for most of the time after that, but when I woke up, I was being held captive. I was afraid that the Cornerian Patrol had me; in that case, I'd be a criminal to them for theft of one of their ships. However, I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore... that ship was taken apart by my captors, and released into Space. It was found a month or so later; they never found out it was me that did it.
"Anyways. Back to my captors. I was held in a containment cell for quite awhile, then finally, a creature came and opened the door to the cell. I didn't get a very good view at first, since the light came from behind him, and all I saw was a shadow. But then, it entered the room, and I got a good look at him.
"It was a Gecko. Hey, not just any Gecko either... this was Gex, the legendary T.V. hero who had defeated the evil "Rez" on countless occasions. He didn't speak much, but he did say this: he warned me that fighting Star Fox would get me nowhere. He said I should just call it quits now, as not much I was doing right then mattered. It still isn't, really. But... I'll get back to that.
"Anyways. Gex told me, Sure, go on back and fight Star Fox at the next Cornerian event. Sure, take him on again. If I won, he said he'd leave me alone. However, if I lost, he told me that I would have to return to him. He said, in return for this deal, he would give me an X-Wing for transport and even combat purposes. So, of course, I accepted.
"You all know what happened. Fox whupped me again and again at the Tournament, finally beating me out for the Championship. Completely at a loss, I used the last of my money to purchase an Arwing from Corneria, and I flew out to Gex. I had nothing more to lose.
"It took me a long time, but I finally found him. And when I did... he told me, that I wasn't really looking for HIM... I was looking for an answer... anyways. He told me a lot of things. And finally, I came to understand. Through his teachings and aid, I learned about the Universe around us, and about all its secrets. Finally, destroying Star Fox was not all that high on my list of priorities. Belive it or not as you will, my new goal was, and still is, to help Free Fox... just as I have been freed."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"And that's all there is to know. Thanks for your time... you've been great."
The Lounge broke into applause from many members of the Team. Some, however, looked around in confusion of Falco's strange ending to his Tale. Freed? Answer? What could all that possibly mean? And what exactly did Falco LEARN? Has he, perhaps, been enlightened? No... that was TOO far-fetched.
Some, however, knew EXACTLY what Falco was talking about.
************************************************************************
True to my own guess, as soon as Star Fox landed his Arwing on Corneria's surface... instead of the hero's welcome he had probably expected, he was jailed immediately. The Great Fox was still plodding along towards Corneria, but it would be awhile before any evidence of what just happened got back to the planet. During that time, Fox would have to spend his time, in a dingy Containment Cell, alone... well, not ENTIRELY alone.
TO BE CONTINUED