RusVal-Hello, dear readers.
(pause)
Jazz-What, no witty comment? No joke? No gag?
RusVal-Nope.
Jazz-Oh.
StarSonic
Ch. 8: So much for diplomacy
"So, this is it?" Falco asked skeptically, looking at the moss-filled cave.
"Yep," Tails confirmed, "We hid most of the entrances so Robotnik wouldn't find them."
Indeed, on closer looking, Falco noticed a runway just out of sight to the passing eye. Frowning, the bird-man checked over his controls, going through the necessary landing procedures. Over the comm, he could hear Slippy walking Tails through the same procedures. Even Falco had to admit, the kid had learned quickly, flying with him in tight formation. When learning how to hover, the young fox had shown amazing talent. –What is it with foxes and flying?- Falco pondered to himself. His pondering would have to wait, however, since he needed all of his concentration for this difficult landing.
"Is this the only hanger you have?" the question suddenly popped into Falco's mind.
"Well… no," Tails admitted sheepishly, "We had another hanger that houses another airplane we have… and that airplane…lands vertically."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US SOONER!" Falco shouted.
"Falco!" Slippy shouted back, "we can hear you just fine!"
"I forgot," Tails tried to defend himself, "And besides, only Rotor has the controls to open the hanger, and they are at his house."
"Then why…" Falco was about to complain.
"Oh, get off his case, Falco!" Slippy snapped.
"Fine, fine," Falco said, showing a rare moment of letting up, "you go first, Tails."
"Gee, thanks," Tails mumbled, words dripping with sarcasm.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Bunnie watched the two craft carefully from a nearby bush. She had initially planned to fly up to them, but when she noticed the laser cannons on them, the rabbot thought it best to hide, and see what they were up to. Soon, one of the two aircraft started to descend towards the hidden hanger, though it was a bit wobbly at first. The second one flew after it, seeming to be keeping a distance between it and the first one. When the first one came to the mouth of the cave the hanger was in, it just barely cleared the top of it. Perking her ears up, Bunnie thought she could hear something skidding inside the hanger, like the pilot was scrapping a wing against something. –Must be the pilot's first time- she thought to herself. However, the second plane cleared the mouth perfectly, and Bunnie couldn't hear similar sounds made by the first one.
"Bunnieeee!" shouted a familiar French-accented voice.
Turning back, she saw that Antoine had Geoffrey St. John and Hershey with him as he came running up.
"Well, sugah, y'all sure have impeccable timin'. You just missed 'em goin' into the hanger," Bunnie pointed out.
"You mean the hanger from the old Knothole base?" Geoffrey asked. When Bunnie nodded, a frown appeared on his face, "This is bad."
"How so, dear?" Hershey asked.
"I know all the Freedom Fighters that know that old base, and none of them had aircraft like the ones Antoine described."
"They sure didn't look like any ah've ever seen," Bunnie admitted.
"Well, then," Geoffrey got a determined look on his face, "why don't we welcome the mates to our little abode?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't know," Fox said, "It's going to be uncomfortable trying to walk like this."
Sonic had returned with the robe that he had suggested. It was the same robe he wore when he returned from beating Ixas Nagas. It was a little dusty, but otherwise presentable. However, Fox found he had to crouch pretty low to get to the height of a normal fox mobian. So much, in fact, that he was getting back aches from just a couple minutes practicing.
"Don't worry, dude," Sonic reassured him, "It won't be THAT far to the palace."
"How far is THAT far?" Fox asked skeptically.
"About as far as you walked now," Sally admitted.
"Great," Fox stated, not even hiding his sarcasm, "just PEACHY!"
"Well, we could always try a distraction if something happens before you make it to the palace," Rotor thought out loud, "Like if you trip or something."
"Yeah," Sonic thought out loud as well, "I, for one, am great at drawing crowds. Especially ladies…"
Sonic paused when Sally gave him a look. "Hey Sal, I can't help it if I'm so cool," Sonic grinned.
"I'm surprised you can run, let alone walk, with that big head of yours, Sonic," Fox noted.
Sonic just glared at him, will Sally and Rotor stifled snickers. "You know, I could have Sal and Rotor make you walk the long way to the palace," Sonic pointed out.
Fox held his hands up in defeat, "Alright, I'll stop with the snide comments…for now, anyway."
"Good…I think."
"So, are we ready to go?" Fox asked the group. Everyone nodded. However, as they set out to go to Knothole, none of them noticed a small mechanical cricket that was watching from nearby.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, the dashing heroes are some sort of cross between overlander and mobian," Robotnik pondered this information.
"I didn't want to attack without knowing a bit more about what I was dealing with. Now I know. And since I know, I don't need this source of information any more."
Robotnik then set out, pressing buttons until the monitor showed this on the screen:
Target: Fox McCloud. Elimination Priority: Alpha
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Well, at least now BOTH wings have been damaged," Falco noted, looking at the Arwing that Tails had been flying. Tails did have trouble landing it a bit, scraping the undamaged wing against the pavement as he was attempting a hover turn.
"Don't worry," Slippy reassured Tails over the headphones he was still wearing, "It's easily repairable. You should have seen the condition of some of Fox's old Arwings…"
"So," Falco said, looking around the hanger, changing the subject, "This is the place, eh?"
"Yep," Tails looked around as well, "Our home sweet home before the new Knothole village."
As Falco looked around the room, he noticed a couple planes near the back of the hanger. Walking over, he noticed many of them were of the same design as the plane he had seen Tails fly earlier. The only difference was that these planes were armed.
"So, I see you like the Tornado series," Tails noticed.
"Who built these?" Falco wondered out loud.
"Well… I did, with help from Sonic," Tails admitted as he blushed a bit.
"YOU built these?!" Falco looked at the young fox, surprised, "Wow. You and Slippy would DEFINATLY get along."
"How so?" Tails asked.
"Because I built many of the Arwings from scratch, as well," Slippy answered over the headphones.
"Wow, really?"
"Yep. Maybe I could give you a few tips someday…" Slippy was about to continue before Falco interrupted.
"Ok, look. We can talk all day about this, but we need to contact Fox and the others to tell them we are here."
"Already on it, Falco," Slippy snapped.
"Ok, I'll head to Knothole and wait for them," Tails said, taking off the headphones and hiding them in his tails.
"I'll stay here," Falco stated, "call me when they make contact."
"Will do!" Tails then hurried off through a door that he knew would take him to the village.
When the kid was gone, Falco turned back to the Tornadoes, looking them over. He hated to admit it, but the young fox had talent. However, as he was looking over the planes, he failed to notice a group of creatures hiding in the shadows, sneaking as quietly as they could towards him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"PORT! GO PORT NOW!!" Fox shouted over the noise of the engine.
Things were going smoothly at first, although Fox found the rear cockpit to be a tight fit. However, as the Hurricane was flying, it was suddenly attacked by a squadron of jets. It didn't take long to realize that Robotnik had sent them.
"How are we going to fight these things?!?!" Rotor sounded hysterical as he dodged another shot, "This plane isn't armed!!"
Thinking quickly, Fox reached into his backpack. –Good thing General Pepper said I could use this,- he thought as he pulled out his blaster.
"It is now!!" Fox quickly got up in his seat, and, careful as to not fall out, started shooting at the jets. With keen accuracy, he quickly downed three bogies by hitting their engines. After that, another wave of jets joined the fight, making things even more difficult for Rotor to dodge. All the while, Fox was firing like mad, ducking a couple times when stray shots almost hit him. He was successful at downing three more before a shot nicked his ear.
"Ok, this isn't working," he grumbled to himself. He had to think of a plan fast, otherwise both he and Rotor were going to be in a wrecked metal heap on the ground. Looking down, he noticed Sonic waving his arms as if to say come down.
"Quick, Rotor!" Fox tapped the walrus's shoulder, pointing at Sonic when Rotor glanced back. Seeming to understand what Fox had in mind, Rotor flew the plane close to the ground, allowing Sonic to jump onto the wings.
"Hey, nice shooting, ace," Sonic smirked, "But let a pro show you how it is done."
In a blur, Sonic jumped from one jet to the next, blowing them up into little bits. He even stopped to stand on one. Looking at another jet, he stuck out his tongue, and waved his hands with the thumbs in his ears. The jet didn't like that, and shot at Sonic. However, Sonic jumped off, and the shot hit the jet he was standing on, blowing it up. Sonic then destroyed that jet as well. When the skies were cleared of everything except the Hurricane, Sonic landed back on the wing, lying down casually with his legs crossed.
Fox just stared at him. After a couple of moments, all he could say was, "Thanks."
"Ah, don't mention it," Sonic said with a smile, "Consider it a thank you for saving my little buddy."
Nodding, Fox sat back down in his seat, placing the blaster he was holding back in his backpack.
"Although we may have to talk about your gun when we arrive at Knothole…"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Falco stood up straight. He had been stooping down to look in one of the engines of the planes when he thought he had heard a noise. Glancing around, he didn't see anything besides the Arwings and the Tornadoes. He, however, thought he saw the tail of a skunk out of the corner of his eye. Shrugging, he turned back around to inspect the engine some more when a voice called out.
"Ok, mate. No sudden moves."
Turning back around, he saw standing in front of him four figures. One appeared to be a skunk. Another looked like a fox, but without a tail, and a silly looking toupee. Another one looked like a cat, while the final one looked like a rabbit. It was the rabbit, however, that caught Falco's attention, for this rabbit had a robotic arm, and two robotic legs.
It also looked like the figures had a surprised look on their faces. Falco figured that they didn't expect to see someone who looked like…what was it? Underlanders and mobisies?
"Alright…who eva' you are," the rabbit spoke with a strange accent that Falco hadn't heard before, "If you give up peacefully, we won't have to hurt ya."
"Won't have to hurt me?" Falco chuckled, "I was more worried about hurting you."
Taking that as a sign, the skunk lunged at Falco. The avian retaliated with a quick roundhouse kick to the jaw, sending the skunk to the wall, knocking him out cold. The cat then approached him, with the fox pulling out a sword and circling behind him. –Good thing I had learned this in that fighting tournament I competed in with Fox,- Falco thought as he did a split when the two were close enough. Caught off guard, the would-be attackers fell flat on their faces. As he quickly got up, Falco then got jumped by the rabbit, which used her robotic arm in a choke hold. Falco struggled against her surprising strength. When it looked like he was going to pass out, he quickly let out a burst of strength, and flipped the surprised girl over his shoulder.
Gasping for breath, Falco could barely dodge the fox's sword thrust before grabbing the sword hand with his left. Back-handing the fox on the snout, Falco then grabbed the dropped sword. As he brought it around to bear, the rabbit easily grabbed it out of his hand with her metal hand. Falco then was kicked to ground from the back by the cat. Not giving up, Falco lashed out with his fist, hitting the bunny on the nose (and heard a weird 'honk' sound) before kicking behind him, sending the cat flying. The bunny quickly recovered, and was about to attack when someone shouted.
"Oh, no! GUYS, STOP, DON'T!!"
Both Falco and the rabbit turned towards the voice, who turned out to be Tails.
"Tails?!" they both shouted at the same time, and then stared at each other, "YOU know him?!"
"Of course ah know him, ah'm one of his friends!" the half-robot shouted.
"Well, I know him, because he showed me the way here!" Falco shouted back.
Everyone except Falco (and the skunk, who was unconscious) gave Tails a surprised look.
"Tails, iz zis true?" the fox asked as he picked himself up.
"Well…yes," Tails admitted, looking a bit unsure of himself, "but I can explain…"
He wasn't allowed to finish, because the rabbit had grabbed one of his ears.
"Well, ma stars!" the rabbit blurted, "If Sally found out 'bout this, she'd…"
"Princess Sally Acorn was the person who sent us here," Falco stated, "Although it was Sonic's idea to hide the Arwings here."
"Oh," the rabbit said, red creeping into her cheeks, before letting Tails' ear go, "sorry 'bout that, sugah-Tails."
"Awww, it's alright, Bunnie," Tails reassured her while rubbing his sore ear, "you didn't know."
"And it would be best if no one else knew," Falco reminded him, "at least for now."
"Oh, right," Tails remembered.
The rabbit, now known as Bunnie, walked up to Falco.
"Sorry 'bout that," Bunnie apologized, "We weren't sure if y'all were an enemy or not."
"It's alright," Falco smirked, "I needed a workout anyway."
Bunnie chuckled slightly, before extending her organic hand, "Let me introduce ma'self. Ma name is Bunnie Rabbot."
"Falco Lombardi," Falco took her hand in his, "second best pilot of the Starfox team."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Well, this is it. Home sweet home."
The Hurricane finally touched down on a runway near a fairly good-sized village. Jumping out of the plane, quickly putting on his robe and crouching down, Fox noticed that many of the buildings were actually in the trees. In all his years, he had never seen anything like it.
"I see you like the place already," Sally chuckled, walking up.
"Yeah, I can see why you would want to protect it," Fox said, "It's so beautiful here."
"Yep," Sonic agreed, "well, it's best not to keep the royal family waiting. Come on!"
Nodding, Fox plodded along, before Sonic stopped and turned to Fox, "Oh, almost forgot. Could you leave your gun with Rotor?"
"What?!" Fox was definitely alarmed, "Why?"
"Well, it's like this," Sally explained the story of the accident where a mobian prince was killed by an overlander because of a gun, and how it has been a law never to have personal firearms in your possession.
"I can understand the logic behind that," Fox said finally, "but how do you protect yourselves? From what you told me, Robotnik has a large arsenal at his disposal."
Sonic then cleared his throat, then pointed at himself.
"Oh, right," Fox realized, remembering how Sonic trounced the jets that had attacked them earlier. Without further prodding, Fox handed his blaster over to Rotor.
"Let's get going," Fox then said, "I can't stand like this forever."
Laughing a bit, the group, not including Rotor, headed for the palace of Knothole.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Your majesty," a guard walked into the throne room, "someone would like to speak with you."
"Really? Who?" King Acorn was surprised, because he wasn't expecting someone to come today.
"A mister Fox McCloud, saying he is representing the country of Cornaria."
"Alright, let him in," as the guard left, Max turned to his wife, "this should be interesting."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It had taken a little longer than expected, considering that Sonic had to take time to cause a distraction. He was talented, though, at drawing large crowds, especially when he took out a guitar to play. Fox found no trouble getting to the palace unnoticed. He even had time to stretch halfway through before heading the rest of the way. The entire time, Fox kept his arms and legs hidden, and made sure he didn't trip along the way. When he made it to the palace, Sally asked one of the guards to alert her father of their presence.
When the guard came back and said they could come in, Fox let out a sigh of relief. Even with the short stretch, his back was killing him! As he entered the throne room, he could tell that these people were definitely Sally's parents. The queen was a chipmunk, and Fox could see that Sally had gotten her mother's looks. What surprised him was the king was a squirrel. He'd have to ask about that later. When he got up to the throne, he bowed respectfully, or bowed as much as he could while crouched.
"So, you are Fox McCloud?" the King asked as Sally walked up to her mother's side, "I guess it makes sense that they call you that."
"Yeah, I guess it does," Fox said, still bowing.
"You may stand up, Mr. McCloud," King Acorn permitted.
"All the way up, sire?" Fox's question obviously surprised the king.
"But of course," he said, raising an eyebrow.
Fox looked at Sally, who nodded.
"Alright, just don't be too startled," Fox warned. He then removed his robe, and stood all the way up. When the king and queen saw what he really looked, they let out a small gasp.
"My," the queen said, flabbergasted, "he is a well built boy, isn't he, dear?"
"Y…yes," the king sputtered, still recovering.
"Well, the surprises aren't finished yet, so I suggest taking deep breaths to calm yourselves down," Fox stated, taking out the holocommunicator, pushing a few buttons to activate it.
Jazz-Well, as Fox would say, "Mission complete!" Now that they have made contact with the Royal Family, what new missions will Starfox receive? And how will the public react? Find out next time on "StarSonic".
RusVal-Well, it's official. I am now an official Arcadian writer. Check out my other story, Arcadian Dimensions, which stars my very own characters.
Jazz-YAY! We get our own story!!
RusVal-So until next time, speed on, full afterburner.
(Small teaser. Having three fighter pilots is enough to make a team, as far as I know. Guess who they are.)
(pause)
Jazz-What, no witty comment? No joke? No gag?
RusVal-Nope.
Jazz-Oh.
StarSonic
Ch. 8: So much for diplomacy
"So, this is it?" Falco asked skeptically, looking at the moss-filled cave.
"Yep," Tails confirmed, "We hid most of the entrances so Robotnik wouldn't find them."
Indeed, on closer looking, Falco noticed a runway just out of sight to the passing eye. Frowning, the bird-man checked over his controls, going through the necessary landing procedures. Over the comm, he could hear Slippy walking Tails through the same procedures. Even Falco had to admit, the kid had learned quickly, flying with him in tight formation. When learning how to hover, the young fox had shown amazing talent. –What is it with foxes and flying?- Falco pondered to himself. His pondering would have to wait, however, since he needed all of his concentration for this difficult landing.
"Is this the only hanger you have?" the question suddenly popped into Falco's mind.
"Well… no," Tails admitted sheepishly, "We had another hanger that houses another airplane we have… and that airplane…lands vertically."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US SOONER!" Falco shouted.
"Falco!" Slippy shouted back, "we can hear you just fine!"
"I forgot," Tails tried to defend himself, "And besides, only Rotor has the controls to open the hanger, and they are at his house."
"Then why…" Falco was about to complain.
"Oh, get off his case, Falco!" Slippy snapped.
"Fine, fine," Falco said, showing a rare moment of letting up, "you go first, Tails."
"Gee, thanks," Tails mumbled, words dripping with sarcasm.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Bunnie watched the two craft carefully from a nearby bush. She had initially planned to fly up to them, but when she noticed the laser cannons on them, the rabbot thought it best to hide, and see what they were up to. Soon, one of the two aircraft started to descend towards the hidden hanger, though it was a bit wobbly at first. The second one flew after it, seeming to be keeping a distance between it and the first one. When the first one came to the mouth of the cave the hanger was in, it just barely cleared the top of it. Perking her ears up, Bunnie thought she could hear something skidding inside the hanger, like the pilot was scrapping a wing against something. –Must be the pilot's first time- she thought to herself. However, the second plane cleared the mouth perfectly, and Bunnie couldn't hear similar sounds made by the first one.
"Bunnieeee!" shouted a familiar French-accented voice.
Turning back, she saw that Antoine had Geoffrey St. John and Hershey with him as he came running up.
"Well, sugah, y'all sure have impeccable timin'. You just missed 'em goin' into the hanger," Bunnie pointed out.
"You mean the hanger from the old Knothole base?" Geoffrey asked. When Bunnie nodded, a frown appeared on his face, "This is bad."
"How so, dear?" Hershey asked.
"I know all the Freedom Fighters that know that old base, and none of them had aircraft like the ones Antoine described."
"They sure didn't look like any ah've ever seen," Bunnie admitted.
"Well, then," Geoffrey got a determined look on his face, "why don't we welcome the mates to our little abode?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't know," Fox said, "It's going to be uncomfortable trying to walk like this."
Sonic had returned with the robe that he had suggested. It was the same robe he wore when he returned from beating Ixas Nagas. It was a little dusty, but otherwise presentable. However, Fox found he had to crouch pretty low to get to the height of a normal fox mobian. So much, in fact, that he was getting back aches from just a couple minutes practicing.
"Don't worry, dude," Sonic reassured him, "It won't be THAT far to the palace."
"How far is THAT far?" Fox asked skeptically.
"About as far as you walked now," Sally admitted.
"Great," Fox stated, not even hiding his sarcasm, "just PEACHY!"
"Well, we could always try a distraction if something happens before you make it to the palace," Rotor thought out loud, "Like if you trip or something."
"Yeah," Sonic thought out loud as well, "I, for one, am great at drawing crowds. Especially ladies…"
Sonic paused when Sally gave him a look. "Hey Sal, I can't help it if I'm so cool," Sonic grinned.
"I'm surprised you can run, let alone walk, with that big head of yours, Sonic," Fox noted.
Sonic just glared at him, will Sally and Rotor stifled snickers. "You know, I could have Sal and Rotor make you walk the long way to the palace," Sonic pointed out.
Fox held his hands up in defeat, "Alright, I'll stop with the snide comments…for now, anyway."
"Good…I think."
"So, are we ready to go?" Fox asked the group. Everyone nodded. However, as they set out to go to Knothole, none of them noticed a small mechanical cricket that was watching from nearby.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, the dashing heroes are some sort of cross between overlander and mobian," Robotnik pondered this information.
"I didn't want to attack without knowing a bit more about what I was dealing with. Now I know. And since I know, I don't need this source of information any more."
Robotnik then set out, pressing buttons until the monitor showed this on the screen:
Target: Fox McCloud. Elimination Priority: Alpha
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Well, at least now BOTH wings have been damaged," Falco noted, looking at the Arwing that Tails had been flying. Tails did have trouble landing it a bit, scraping the undamaged wing against the pavement as he was attempting a hover turn.
"Don't worry," Slippy reassured Tails over the headphones he was still wearing, "It's easily repairable. You should have seen the condition of some of Fox's old Arwings…"
"So," Falco said, looking around the hanger, changing the subject, "This is the place, eh?"
"Yep," Tails looked around as well, "Our home sweet home before the new Knothole village."
As Falco looked around the room, he noticed a couple planes near the back of the hanger. Walking over, he noticed many of them were of the same design as the plane he had seen Tails fly earlier. The only difference was that these planes were armed.
"So, I see you like the Tornado series," Tails noticed.
"Who built these?" Falco wondered out loud.
"Well… I did, with help from Sonic," Tails admitted as he blushed a bit.
"YOU built these?!" Falco looked at the young fox, surprised, "Wow. You and Slippy would DEFINATLY get along."
"How so?" Tails asked.
"Because I built many of the Arwings from scratch, as well," Slippy answered over the headphones.
"Wow, really?"
"Yep. Maybe I could give you a few tips someday…" Slippy was about to continue before Falco interrupted.
"Ok, look. We can talk all day about this, but we need to contact Fox and the others to tell them we are here."
"Already on it, Falco," Slippy snapped.
"Ok, I'll head to Knothole and wait for them," Tails said, taking off the headphones and hiding them in his tails.
"I'll stay here," Falco stated, "call me when they make contact."
"Will do!" Tails then hurried off through a door that he knew would take him to the village.
When the kid was gone, Falco turned back to the Tornadoes, looking them over. He hated to admit it, but the young fox had talent. However, as he was looking over the planes, he failed to notice a group of creatures hiding in the shadows, sneaking as quietly as they could towards him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"PORT! GO PORT NOW!!" Fox shouted over the noise of the engine.
Things were going smoothly at first, although Fox found the rear cockpit to be a tight fit. However, as the Hurricane was flying, it was suddenly attacked by a squadron of jets. It didn't take long to realize that Robotnik had sent them.
"How are we going to fight these things?!?!" Rotor sounded hysterical as he dodged another shot, "This plane isn't armed!!"
Thinking quickly, Fox reached into his backpack. –Good thing General Pepper said I could use this,- he thought as he pulled out his blaster.
"It is now!!" Fox quickly got up in his seat, and, careful as to not fall out, started shooting at the jets. With keen accuracy, he quickly downed three bogies by hitting their engines. After that, another wave of jets joined the fight, making things even more difficult for Rotor to dodge. All the while, Fox was firing like mad, ducking a couple times when stray shots almost hit him. He was successful at downing three more before a shot nicked his ear.
"Ok, this isn't working," he grumbled to himself. He had to think of a plan fast, otherwise both he and Rotor were going to be in a wrecked metal heap on the ground. Looking down, he noticed Sonic waving his arms as if to say come down.
"Quick, Rotor!" Fox tapped the walrus's shoulder, pointing at Sonic when Rotor glanced back. Seeming to understand what Fox had in mind, Rotor flew the plane close to the ground, allowing Sonic to jump onto the wings.
"Hey, nice shooting, ace," Sonic smirked, "But let a pro show you how it is done."
In a blur, Sonic jumped from one jet to the next, blowing them up into little bits. He even stopped to stand on one. Looking at another jet, he stuck out his tongue, and waved his hands with the thumbs in his ears. The jet didn't like that, and shot at Sonic. However, Sonic jumped off, and the shot hit the jet he was standing on, blowing it up. Sonic then destroyed that jet as well. When the skies were cleared of everything except the Hurricane, Sonic landed back on the wing, lying down casually with his legs crossed.
Fox just stared at him. After a couple of moments, all he could say was, "Thanks."
"Ah, don't mention it," Sonic said with a smile, "Consider it a thank you for saving my little buddy."
Nodding, Fox sat back down in his seat, placing the blaster he was holding back in his backpack.
"Although we may have to talk about your gun when we arrive at Knothole…"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Falco stood up straight. He had been stooping down to look in one of the engines of the planes when he thought he had heard a noise. Glancing around, he didn't see anything besides the Arwings and the Tornadoes. He, however, thought he saw the tail of a skunk out of the corner of his eye. Shrugging, he turned back around to inspect the engine some more when a voice called out.
"Ok, mate. No sudden moves."
Turning back around, he saw standing in front of him four figures. One appeared to be a skunk. Another looked like a fox, but without a tail, and a silly looking toupee. Another one looked like a cat, while the final one looked like a rabbit. It was the rabbit, however, that caught Falco's attention, for this rabbit had a robotic arm, and two robotic legs.
It also looked like the figures had a surprised look on their faces. Falco figured that they didn't expect to see someone who looked like…what was it? Underlanders and mobisies?
"Alright…who eva' you are," the rabbit spoke with a strange accent that Falco hadn't heard before, "If you give up peacefully, we won't have to hurt ya."
"Won't have to hurt me?" Falco chuckled, "I was more worried about hurting you."
Taking that as a sign, the skunk lunged at Falco. The avian retaliated with a quick roundhouse kick to the jaw, sending the skunk to the wall, knocking him out cold. The cat then approached him, with the fox pulling out a sword and circling behind him. –Good thing I had learned this in that fighting tournament I competed in with Fox,- Falco thought as he did a split when the two were close enough. Caught off guard, the would-be attackers fell flat on their faces. As he quickly got up, Falco then got jumped by the rabbit, which used her robotic arm in a choke hold. Falco struggled against her surprising strength. When it looked like he was going to pass out, he quickly let out a burst of strength, and flipped the surprised girl over his shoulder.
Gasping for breath, Falco could barely dodge the fox's sword thrust before grabbing the sword hand with his left. Back-handing the fox on the snout, Falco then grabbed the dropped sword. As he brought it around to bear, the rabbit easily grabbed it out of his hand with her metal hand. Falco then was kicked to ground from the back by the cat. Not giving up, Falco lashed out with his fist, hitting the bunny on the nose (and heard a weird 'honk' sound) before kicking behind him, sending the cat flying. The bunny quickly recovered, and was about to attack when someone shouted.
"Oh, no! GUYS, STOP, DON'T!!"
Both Falco and the rabbit turned towards the voice, who turned out to be Tails.
"Tails?!" they both shouted at the same time, and then stared at each other, "YOU know him?!"
"Of course ah know him, ah'm one of his friends!" the half-robot shouted.
"Well, I know him, because he showed me the way here!" Falco shouted back.
Everyone except Falco (and the skunk, who was unconscious) gave Tails a surprised look.
"Tails, iz zis true?" the fox asked as he picked himself up.
"Well…yes," Tails admitted, looking a bit unsure of himself, "but I can explain…"
He wasn't allowed to finish, because the rabbit had grabbed one of his ears.
"Well, ma stars!" the rabbit blurted, "If Sally found out 'bout this, she'd…"
"Princess Sally Acorn was the person who sent us here," Falco stated, "Although it was Sonic's idea to hide the Arwings here."
"Oh," the rabbit said, red creeping into her cheeks, before letting Tails' ear go, "sorry 'bout that, sugah-Tails."
"Awww, it's alright, Bunnie," Tails reassured her while rubbing his sore ear, "you didn't know."
"And it would be best if no one else knew," Falco reminded him, "at least for now."
"Oh, right," Tails remembered.
The rabbit, now known as Bunnie, walked up to Falco.
"Sorry 'bout that," Bunnie apologized, "We weren't sure if y'all were an enemy or not."
"It's alright," Falco smirked, "I needed a workout anyway."
Bunnie chuckled slightly, before extending her organic hand, "Let me introduce ma'self. Ma name is Bunnie Rabbot."
"Falco Lombardi," Falco took her hand in his, "second best pilot of the Starfox team."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Well, this is it. Home sweet home."
The Hurricane finally touched down on a runway near a fairly good-sized village. Jumping out of the plane, quickly putting on his robe and crouching down, Fox noticed that many of the buildings were actually in the trees. In all his years, he had never seen anything like it.
"I see you like the place already," Sally chuckled, walking up.
"Yeah, I can see why you would want to protect it," Fox said, "It's so beautiful here."
"Yep," Sonic agreed, "well, it's best not to keep the royal family waiting. Come on!"
Nodding, Fox plodded along, before Sonic stopped and turned to Fox, "Oh, almost forgot. Could you leave your gun with Rotor?"
"What?!" Fox was definitely alarmed, "Why?"
"Well, it's like this," Sally explained the story of the accident where a mobian prince was killed by an overlander because of a gun, and how it has been a law never to have personal firearms in your possession.
"I can understand the logic behind that," Fox said finally, "but how do you protect yourselves? From what you told me, Robotnik has a large arsenal at his disposal."
Sonic then cleared his throat, then pointed at himself.
"Oh, right," Fox realized, remembering how Sonic trounced the jets that had attacked them earlier. Without further prodding, Fox handed his blaster over to Rotor.
"Let's get going," Fox then said, "I can't stand like this forever."
Laughing a bit, the group, not including Rotor, headed for the palace of Knothole.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Your majesty," a guard walked into the throne room, "someone would like to speak with you."
"Really? Who?" King Acorn was surprised, because he wasn't expecting someone to come today.
"A mister Fox McCloud, saying he is representing the country of Cornaria."
"Alright, let him in," as the guard left, Max turned to his wife, "this should be interesting."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It had taken a little longer than expected, considering that Sonic had to take time to cause a distraction. He was talented, though, at drawing large crowds, especially when he took out a guitar to play. Fox found no trouble getting to the palace unnoticed. He even had time to stretch halfway through before heading the rest of the way. The entire time, Fox kept his arms and legs hidden, and made sure he didn't trip along the way. When he made it to the palace, Sally asked one of the guards to alert her father of their presence.
When the guard came back and said they could come in, Fox let out a sigh of relief. Even with the short stretch, his back was killing him! As he entered the throne room, he could tell that these people were definitely Sally's parents. The queen was a chipmunk, and Fox could see that Sally had gotten her mother's looks. What surprised him was the king was a squirrel. He'd have to ask about that later. When he got up to the throne, he bowed respectfully, or bowed as much as he could while crouched.
"So, you are Fox McCloud?" the King asked as Sally walked up to her mother's side, "I guess it makes sense that they call you that."
"Yeah, I guess it does," Fox said, still bowing.
"You may stand up, Mr. McCloud," King Acorn permitted.
"All the way up, sire?" Fox's question obviously surprised the king.
"But of course," he said, raising an eyebrow.
Fox looked at Sally, who nodded.
"Alright, just don't be too startled," Fox warned. He then removed his robe, and stood all the way up. When the king and queen saw what he really looked, they let out a small gasp.
"My," the queen said, flabbergasted, "he is a well built boy, isn't he, dear?"
"Y…yes," the king sputtered, still recovering.
"Well, the surprises aren't finished yet, so I suggest taking deep breaths to calm yourselves down," Fox stated, taking out the holocommunicator, pushing a few buttons to activate it.
Jazz-Well, as Fox would say, "Mission complete!" Now that they have made contact with the Royal Family, what new missions will Starfox receive? And how will the public react? Find out next time on "StarSonic".
RusVal-Well, it's official. I am now an official Arcadian writer. Check out my other story, Arcadian Dimensions, which stars my very own characters.
Jazz-YAY! We get our own story!!
RusVal-So until next time, speed on, full afterburner.
(Small teaser. Having three fighter pilots is enough to make a team, as far as I know. Guess who they are.)
