Fox closed his eyes for a moment and hugged Celestra close. This was it--with no way to escape and a fire closing in all around them, only a miracle could save them now. It was all Fox could do to keep breathing without choking on the ash in his nose, and he gagged a few times and wound up coughing through clouds of smoke. Celestra never stirred through all the noise, heat, and Fox's shaking. Sneezing, Fox again opened his eyes.
Something substantial was wavering in the air several feet away; squinting against the thick smoke Fox struggled to discern what it was. At first it only seemed to be a lighter, much less dense patch of ash, but as he looked on it condensed and melted into a real image, one that seemed to resemble a shadowy figure standing in the depths of the fire. The form it took was unbelievably familiar to the mercenary leader, so much so that he wasn't sure if he should burst into laughter or cry as he hadn't cried in years; instead his eyes opened to their widest, oblivious to the stinging he had to endure to even begin to comprehend just who it was standing there before him.
James McCloud, his father.
Fox opened his mouth, but anything he may have thought to say was lost in the wrenching of his heart. He remembered Peppy telling him the tale of his father's valiant death twelve years before, and the difficulty of making his peace with the news that he would no longer have the most important person in his life. For several years he watched helplessly as Peppy and General Pepper suffered under the weight of losing a close and trusted friend. He had grown accustomed to living with no blood relatives--and now here stood the father he thought lost to him forever?
"Father?" Fox breathed incredulously, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.
James didn't answer, standing motionlessly in the hazy smoke, wreathed in ash like some otherworldly being. Slowly he lifted his arm--something that still seemed less than corporeal--and beckoned to his son calmly, motioning for him to follow. Rising, supporting Celestra carefully, Fox picked his way swiftly through the hazardous room until he was near enough to gaze upon this father clearly. It was as though he was looking in a mirror, so great was the resemblance between them, yet there was something translucent about James that made Fox think that he was imagining things.
Wordlessly his father turned and pointed at Andross's ruined onyx throne; Fox scurried up to study it. There was a small lever on the side, partially concealed by one of the armrests, and Fox didn't hesitate to exert pressure on it until something notable occurred. Across the room a portion of the wall lifted into the ceiling, revealing a hidden staircase spiraling out of sight; James started up, and his son hurried to follow.
With a start Captain Anilora awoke in near-darkness, laid out comfortably in a small, untidy cargo area. His body ached when he tried to check on his injuries, then became more than a little confused when he realized his wounds had already been dressed. Slowly his eyes cleared as he blinked away a heavy fatigue, and he considered where he could be.
"Oh, you're awake! We were really worried that you wouldn't pull through."
Turning his head Anilora noticed a figure reclining nearby; Slippy leaned forward into the dim light, smiling broadly.
"What's happened?" asked the Katinan groggily, rubbing his dull violet eyes and bracing himself as a headache set in. "Where am I?"
Slippy scooted forward, applying a cool cloth to the captain's forehead and tucking a blanket around him securely. "We're in the back of Falco's Arwing, en route to Area 6, which still holds."
Falco poked his head about the seat, glancing into the tiny cargo area with a smile. "Good to see you alive, Captain! I've never been so happy to see anybody awake and talking in my whole life!"
Anilora sat upright very quickly, fighting nausea. "The defense station still holds? You mean--we still have a chance?!"
"Of course we do!" Slippy exclaimed.
"But what happened on Venom? Does Andross still live? What of Celestra?"
The two mercenaries were silent for a moment, then Falco answered, "The last we saw Celestra had killed Reivin and she and Fox left to find Andross. Wolf and his crew got away; Bill sent us after you, and here we are. No one knows if they're still alive, or even if they found Andross."
Speechless at the news of Reivin's murder, Anilora allowed Slippy to ease him back down into a reclining position, clutching his head in a feeble attempt to ease its throbbing. The end was coming; he could sense it in every world the mercenaries spoke, but what he hesitated to admit to them was the actual irrelevancy of the battle for the defense station. The success of all depended upon the life or death of Andross.
The lives of all depended upon the labors of two brave souls, and all odds were against them.
"How much longer before we reach the station?" asked Anilora, and he seemed to fear the answer.
Squinting ahead Falco could just see a few nondescript blobs flitting against the blackness of space, but he could make out little else. "Peppy, max out the engines and boost your thrusters to the brink--we can be there in five minutes, Captain, just in time for the finale. It looks like Star Wolf beat us there, too; I hope someone can handle them until we arrive."
"It seems we are reaching the end of our endless line of chances, Wolf," Leon offered smoothly, glancing casually around the battlefield before turning his full attention back to the Arwing of Sensenic Morray. "Be thinking about what we shall do if Andross falls."
Wolf gritted his teeth and chased Bill through an opening, firing hasty shots that weren't even close to hitting their target; he was clearly becoming frustrated. "Andross is not going to fall, Leon, and thinking so is considered blasphemous to the Separatist beliefs."
"Blasphemous to a system that is rapidly crumbling around us. Do try and face reality, Wolf; denial is a terrible quality in an evil mercenary. Unless Andross is truly immortal he has likely been killed already; if he lives, he would have arrived and thrown down this assault an hour ago at the least. If I were you, I would be watching my back for Pigma--he does tend to betray those closest to him when he finds himself on the losing team, you know."
"We haven't lost yet." Wolf wasn't sure why he was still protesting; he knew Leon was correct.
As if sensing his doubts the chameleon chuckled quietly. "Reivin Frost is dead, my friend, and if you don't acknowledge that this war is already over, we will be too."
Bill jostled Wolf's spacecraft with shots; Wolf cursed and shouted, "What would you have me do, Leon? Order the retreat and flee like a coward?"
"Not at all; I would have you order the retreat and flee to pick a better fight at a later date."
The mercenary leader was pondering the suggesting when a familiar voice shouted over the radio: "I'm with him, Wolf; your number's up, and now it's time you paid for everything you've done!"
Two Arwings appeared on the edges of sight, bearing the names MeteoRiot and Nebulafire, and Wolf could almost feel his hopes shrivel at the sight. What occurred next set all the forces of Venom back on their heels, for Captain Anilora's voice rang out, saying, "Form up! All unoccupied cruisers to the station! Attack, all of you, and never relent!"
"It can't be," muttered Wolf hopelessly, but no one could hear him over the cries of joy following Anilora's voice.
Taking advantage of the confusion Morray successfully snuck away from the mercenaries' battle, and Erik slowly followed as they made their way toward FrigidFire. Falco and Peppy swooped in to fill their absences, and Bill and Katt pressed in even harder.
"Where's Celestra?" Bill demanded angrily.
"Back on Venom with Fox!" Falco called in reply. "After she killed Reivin they went looking for Andross!"
Bill reeled in the cockpit of his Arwing at the unexpected news. "Reivin's dead?!"
Wolf and Leon exchanged a grim glance through the G-Diffuser screen, and Wolf offered a grave nod in silent reply. Switching to a private radio channel he ordered, "Pigma, Andrew, withdraw and scatter in any direction. If we want to live it is time to leave; I'll contact you each in a few weeks with further instructions. Keep away from the public and stay out of sight."
The four Star Wolf mercenaries parted way abruptly, saying no good-byes, and none bothered to follow them even for a moment.
"To the station!" was the cry upon every man and woman's lips, and together they fell upon Area 6 Defense Station like a devastating plague. The Venomian force was swiftly dwindling now in the absence of the evil mercenaries; Slippy was shouting out statistics of the strength of the defensive shields, and then the station seemed to groan under the strain of the assault.
FrigidFire snailed forward then, maneuvering to the front of the line of majestic cruisers, and at the helm Sensenic Morray gleefully rubbed his hands together as Erik Nioxin guided the starship on ahead. "Make way!" called the Fortunan commander-in-chief, and as he called for a path to be made Erik prepared the devastating MOEC to fire its next round. "Make way!"
With a negligent wave and a smile General Pepper bid his pilot to let Vortex Four fall back, and FrigidFire took its position and fired until the last line of Venom's defenses was no more than sparkles of dust in space like thousands of concentrated stars.
It was impossible to determine who cried the most ecstatic tears.
Fox stumbled along the spiral staircase, gasping for air and struggling to keep pace with James. His father still had not uttered a single word, merely continued on his way without pausing once to be certain the mercenary leader was still following. Celestra lay limp in Fox's arms, still unconscious; her blood was soaking through his own clothes and her face, normally slightly pale, had worsened to a deathly shade of white.
Once Fox stubbed his toe and tucked the assassin in close to him as he tripped, landing painfully a few steps down and chancing a glance back. A pale orange light was bathing the stone below him, and a moment later he could hear the hungry, inhuman flames licking their way up the stairs toward them. It didn't make any sense; it couldn't be possible, yet Fox scrambled to find his feet and nearly collided with his father, who was standing serenely a few steps ahead of him and waiting patiently.
"Andross's dying wish is to kill you both," James began slowly, and Fox's eyes widened when he realized his father's voice was possessed of an unearthly echo. "The fire will continue to spread so long as you stand upon Venomian soil. You must leave the planet, and quickly." Without waiting for a reply James turned and started on his way again; with a yelp Fox hurried to keep up.
The flames roared at their heels, leaping to bite at the mercenary leader's boots from time to time and keep him constantly alert. Through it all James scaled the endless staircase without a single complaint, and as Fox studied him he realized something; he himself was already laboring for breath, and James's respiration remained perfectly normal.
Then ahead of them appeared a speck of light, signaling the approach of the outside world, and Fox demanded still more of his aching legs at the flicker of remaining hope. James turned and beckoned him on, smiling with loving encouragement, and as Fox crested the threshhold and stepped into the light he felt almost as if he had transcended the physical world and passed on into heaven.
A trapdoor clanged shut behind them, rescuing them from the immediate wrath of the expired Andross, but Fox harbored no doubts that soon the entire cursed planet would be alive with writhing flames. Laying Celestra out comfortably on the ground he rushed toward his father, arms extended to embrace the man he had presumed dead nearly all of his life.
He passed right through James and tumbled to his knees.
Covered in dirt and fighting tears in his eyes Fox glanced up and whispered hoarsely, "I don't understand. You're here . . . aren't you real?"
With a small smile of admiration James crouched down and said, "I am here, yes, but not in any physical sense, I'm afraid. I came only to aid you in your escape, something I myself did not accomplish twelve years ago."
"So . . ." Fox stifled a sob and met his father's gaze as stoically as he could manage. "You really are . . . ?"
In silent response James slowly raised a hand, bidding Fox to do the same with a glance, and his son's hand passed through his own without any resistance whatsoever. The sob broke Fox's lips, and twin tears trickled from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as the vision of his father's ghost sighed sadly.
"I am dead, my dearest son," he murmured, and James supposed he would be crying if that was at all possible. "I have been dead these many years."
"But I . . ." Fox angrily wiped away his tears and fought hard to keep his voice from breaking as he looked upon the specter. "I need you in my life, Dad . . ." As he finished his nose caught the resinous scent of something burning, and the look on James's face changed to one of urgency.
"I know you do, son, but now I need you to firm yourself for what you must do." The ghost rose and beckoned Fox to his side as he did so. "Just east of here you will find Bringer of Chaos waiting for you to depart in, but you must go quickly! If you waste any time at all Andross will undoubtedly succeed in destroying you and poor valiant Celestra. The two of you have worked much too hard, have sacrificed far too much--" James swallowed hard and glanced down at the ground before saying, "--to end up like me."
Fox knelt down and scooped the still-unconscious assassin into a strong and supportive grasp in his arms, pausing only to cast a single longing gaze at an image he knew was the only remnant of his father. "I . . . I miss you, Dad . . . I don't know if I can do this without you . . ."
With another fleeting grin the ghost took a small step back, and in that moment he seemed small, frail, and very alone. "You don't have to do this without me, Fox--in these twelve long years I have never once taken my eyes off you." And then the ghost of James McCloud dematerialized, leaving Fox to the final dash that would deliver himself and Celestra from death and make them heroes.
The mercenary leader struck a course east at as fast of a run as he could manage with Celestra's added weight. Flames seemed to spring out of the ground as he passed, devouring the spongey ground he tread on only moments after he had fled. Bringer of Chaos melted out of the mundane flames like a glimmer of sweet hope; somehow Fox quickened his pace, leaping into the cockpit with a yelp as the wild curtains of flame at last spilled onto the planet's surface. The cargo area in the rear of the Fortunan Arwing was more spacious than his was, providing enough room for Celestra to lay comfortably with a fire blanket covering her for warmth, and after hastily fastening the safety restraints he clasped the joysticks and attempted to fire the craft's three engines. Nothing happened.
"Please be joking," Fox pleaded, a slight tremor in his voice, and he urged the engines to start again. He made some progress; a sputter could be heard, and the interior lights flickered on for a moment, but then everything returned to a state of utter uselessness. Outside the flames shot across the surface to meet Bringer of Chaos, dancing up in front of the windshield and licking the flanks, and Fox drew one shaky breath in an attempt to steady himself. If the engines didn't spark successfully this time, they would not make it out alive.
Keeping his father's face fresh in his mind and refusing to give up for Celestra's sake, Fox tried one last time to start the Arwing; the engines gave a great cough of strain but fired, and all around the mercenary leader the craft hummed to life. It rose above the burning surface like a phoenix, wingtips slightly aflame, and when it broke the atmosphere and pressed into the blackness of space all the vitals returned to normal.
Fox released the joysticks adn screamed in delight, throwing his head back in laughter. "We made it! We actually made it out alive, AND we killed Andross!!"
Turning in his seat the vulpine looked back at Celestra. Throughout the entire race from Andross's throne room she had not come to once, and as he watched over her protectively a feeling of guilt shot through his heart. Never once in the battle had she left him to face the Venomian lord alone; she had risked everything to keep him from any serious harm, and if not for her brilliant scheme to set the room ablaze Andross surely would have killed them both.
"I'll get you home safe, Celestra," he promised her prone form. "For everything you've done for me, I won't let this be the end." Toggling the controls he set a course for Area 6, hoping his comrades would still be alive to meet him when he arrived.
General Pepper was pacing the conference room, adding to the anxiety of Falco, Peppy, Bill, and Katt, who were seated at a table in the center of the room. Sensenic Morray stood beside the door, listening for the sounds of footsteps down the hallway; Bill's face was hidden by his hands, and all the others were silent.
A knock on the door met their ears, and a moment later an escort entered supporting Captain Anilora. He was very alert now; his wounds had been professionally tended to upon his return, and although he had to lean heavily on the soldier and limped visibly it seemed he would recover. After staggering into a seat Anilora bade the soldier to exit, and he glanced up at Pepper gravely. "What news?"
Even as he asked this Slippy entered with Erik in tow. The faces of both were stricken with some unspoken grief; all eyes turned to them, wordlessly pleading for an absolution. Erik cleared his throat solemnly. "It's Venom . . . our sensors show that the planet is completely engulfed in flame. We're not picking up any life-forms."
Bill leapt from his seat, rattling the table, and Falco was only seconds behind him. "That's not right!" exclaimed the Katinan assassin, balling his fists in denial. "Check it again! Keep checkin'!"
Slippy wasn't paying attention to them; Anilora had risen to his feet, shaking, face stunned, and everyone looked over at him in pity. His violet eyes were wide, disbelieving, and he focused on Erik. "That isn't possible. They can't be gone; they can't."
Morray crossed the room, running a hand down his face and swallowing a cry of despair, and he dropped a sympathetic hand on Anilora's shoulder before simply leaving the room.
"I . . . I'm sorry." Erik slumped into a chair next to Katt, who placed her hands over his in comfort. "No one understands the severity of this tragedy better than I, for just hours ago I lost my only brother--" He broke off with a wail and collapsed on the table, sobbing; Slippy slouched against a wall, covering his face with his hands, and Falco thought he heard the youngest mercenary sob Keil's name before he started crying incomprehensively.
"This can't be happening." Anilora's shaking knees failed to support him any longer and he dropped to the floor, bracing his hands on the carpet to keep himself from sprawling out flat. "Celestra and Fox are too strong, too capable to just . . ." Before he could calm himself tears began to flow down his cheeks, and it felt so natural that he let them slip from his eyes almost willingly. "They're not dead."
Bill howled in rage and punched the door so hard several splinters of wood cascaded outward from the point of impact; clutching his throbbing hand he too sank to his knees. "Damn! I should have gone with them; they needed me the most! Celest probably thought I was abandonin' her, just like Reivin did when we were kids--" The Katinan assassin buried his face in his hands and howled in grief.
"It can't end like this," Anilora muttered to himself in despair. "Please, God . . . not like this."
"Some people would do well to exhaust all of their possibilities before admitting defeat," murmured Morray through tightly clenched teeth. He was jogging to the control room of Vortex Four, jostling soldiers and ship-hands as he went and inticing more than a few crude remarks in protest. Skittering around a corner he brought his fists slamming down on the door barring his passage forward, shouting obscenities until one of the pilots honored his tumult. "Only authorized personnel may enter the control room--Oh! Doctor Morray!" Recognizing the commander-in-chief he stepped aside, holding the door open politely for his superior. "Excuse me, sir, we weren't expecting you."
"I need access to your strongest G-Diffuser system," Morray hastily ordered, crossing the room quickly with the young pilot in tow. "If it is in use, see to it that it becomes available to me in the next half-minute, if you please."
The pilot obliged immediately, leading the Fortunan to the helm and booting up Vortex Four's primary G-Diffuser. Positioning himself in front of the viewing screen Morray exhaled once to steady his voice before saying, "SpiritNova, this is commander-in-chief Sensenic Morray of the Cornerian cruiser Vortex Four. Can you hear me?"
No picture blipped onto the screen, and the audio sensors picked up only static. Undaunted, Morray started over, saying, "Bringer of Chaos, please reply before my veins clog with worry. Is there anyone aboard?"
"Morray?" A great deal of static filled the transmission, but there was no mistaking the voice he heard. "This is Fox! We're okay! We're en route!"
With wide eyes and a hammering heart he tore out of the control room, sprinting back to the briefing room and banging his way inside. Clutching a stitch in his side Morray panted, "Connect with . . . G-Diffuser . . . primary controls . . . now."
General Pepper bounded to the G-Diffuser console and accepted the frequency Morray had started in the control room. "Who is this? State your name and position."
"Hey, General! It's me, Fox!" The battered mercenary leader cracked a smile and waved back at the incredulous faces staring incomprehensibly back at him. "We're about half an hour from you, en route from Venom. I was just about to send you a transmission, but I was a little busy. Celestra's unconscious in the cargo area; she's in bad shape, but I did the best I could. Have at least a handful of medics ready for our arrival, if you could please."
Bill and Falco turned to Morray and tackled him to the floor, crushing him under the weight of their enthusiastic embraces, and the elder Fortunan squealed in an undignified manner before they lost sight of his face completely.
"I don't mean to sound heartless," interrupted Pepper, folding his arms over his chest and drawing Fox's attention back to the primary objective. "What happened to Andross back there?"
A hush fell over the room as even Falco and Bill looked up from their confused and pinned target on the floor, staring nervously at the mercenary leader with bated breath; Fox grinned and couldn't keep joyous tears from welling in his eyes. "It's over . . . he's dead." The tears made their way down his cheeks, and he made no move to stop them. "We've won!"
General Pepper clutched his breast in shock and nearly swooned for the floor before collapsing heavily into a chair; everyone else remained silent and perfectly motionless. Then Erik glanced over at Slippy and they wordlessly fell into a hug, the need for vengeance quite gone from both sets of eyes; Peppy was crying soundlessly to himself, and without any further prompting Bill snorted and burst into laughter. Gradually Falco and Katt joined him, and Morray cried out, "Now, really!" before they smothered him in joy again. Soon the whole room was filled with the disbelieving chuckles so long sublimated in the face of abominable fear. No one's eyes were capable of holding back the overwhelmed tears; they fell over one another in one massive trembling embrace, and suddenly all the long labors of their lives had at last come to fulfillment.
Mopping his face with the back of one hand Morray squirmed out of the giggling and crying mass of his comrades, trying to conserve some dignity by straightening his clothes. Pepper clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, "Sensenic . . . spread the word. Let every man on every ship learn the outcome--Andross has fallen at last!" With a smile Morray bowed deeply and exited, offering a salute to Fox before disappearing down the hall.
"I'm moving as fast as I can," Fox offered to them. "No more than twenty-five minutes before touchdown. Over and out."
They all bid him good-bye, and then they fell upon one another again in a subconscious blur of ecstatic disbelief.
Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Bill started across the bridge connecting living quarters to the hospital bay. Anilora had contacted him mere moments before to say that Celestra would live, but she was still in the middle of extensive surgery and was preparing for a minor blood transfusion at that very moment. On the whole the Katinan assassin was still very tired, but his step was considerably lighter than it had been in years. Andross was defeated.
Bill was so immersed in his private thoughts that he bumped into someone as he crossed; turning back to apologize he recognized Fox standing alone, leaning on the banister and gazing wistfully back toward Venom. By the expression on his face it seemed he hadn't noticed Bill at all; curious, the Katinan approached. "Alright there, chum?"
With a start the vulpine glanced up, only just realizing he was no longer by himself. "Oh! Hey, Bill. And yeah . . . I'm fine."
A part of Bill desperately wanted to leave the conversation at that--his best friend was in surgery, after all--but his good nature prompted him to place a comforting hand on the mercenary leader's shoulder. "Come on, now--if there's somethin' on yer mind, give a shout! We're pals, ain't we? Ya can talk to me."
Fox exhaled, seeming miserable, and he said simply, "You'd think I was losing my mind."
"Half the boys here have already lost their minds." Bill's tone was more serious now, understanding that something must be truly wrong. "What's goin' on, Fox?"
He joined the vulpine at the rail, quietly studying the vast expanse of space as he politely waited for his friend to gather his thoughts. Behind them billowed Whitewater, FrigidFire, and the rest of the allied triad; the Zonessians were leading the entourage back toward Corneria, fully a five-day journey if they kep the same pace and neglected hyperspace travel. After several moments Fox heaved another great sigh and muttered, "I saw my dad."
Bill ogled at Fox; he had been prepared to hear several things, but now he was genuinely surprised. "Yer dad?"
"Back there," added the mercenary leader tonelessly. "On Venom. He led us out of the fire . . . up the stairs . . . saved our lives."
Bill didn't know what to say. "Are ya sure?"
"He told me he came to save us." Fox's chin was trembling, and although he seemed determined to keep his voice, even his eyes were shining with emotion. "He said I'd sacrificed too much to end up like him." His knuckles were white on the banister; bitter, defenseless tears were streaming down his face. "He said he'd never once taken his eyes off me, not once in twelve years." Shoulders heaving, Fox's voice broke as he dissolved into tears.
Bill ventured an arm around Fox's shoulders, trying to sort things out before saying anything offensive. "Ya saw the ghost of James? He actually spoke to ya?"
Shuddering, Fox could only nod. Bill smiled.
"Ya know what that means? It means he came back one last time to see ya." At those words Fox looked up quizzically; Bill continued, "When he died he wasn't at peace because Andross lived and ya never made peace with his death. Now that Andross is gone, he can move on and have a good afterlife."
"You mean I'll never see him again," Fox countered glumly.
Bill laughed. "Ya think the people we love ever really leave us? When he died, did ya ever expect to see him after that? James is still alive in ya, Fox, just like Keil will always be with Slippy and William will always be with Erik. The people we care about most hang around with us until the day we die, and even then we don't really die . . ." Bill smiled at Fox. "We join 'em."
Fox wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, seeming at last to comprehend. "Do you think that's how it really is? That it's never really over?"
"I sure do." Bill moved away a bit, respecting Fox's dignity. "And ya know, she'll never admit it out loud, but Celest is really donna miss Reivin for awhile. To her, he's still the kid we went to flight academy with, and when she dies, that's the kind of person she'll see in him forever."
Fox nodded and turned back to the railing, something warm like acceptance shining through the mist in his eyes. Smiling softly to himself, Bill clapped him once more on the shoulder and strode away for the medical bay.
"Maybe he's right," the mercenary leader murmured to himself, and from a breast pocket he drew out a pair of dirty and cracked flight sunglasses, the very same pair Peppy had given to him all those years ago just after learning of James's fall to Andross. "Maybe I should have let go of you a long time ago, and let you rest in peace like you deserve. I was selfish to think only of how I felt without you--everyone else misses you too, but . . . I can't keep you to myself anymore, can I?"
Carefully he tucked the precious keepsake back into his flight jacket and looked once more to the distant surface of Venom. It was time for him to start over.
"Thanks from the bottom of my heart, Dad," he whispered to the heavens with a smile. "Until next time."