Chapter 4 – Deep Freeze
Location: Antronica
While Falco's team chased after Girax in the space zone, Fox, Krystal, and Bill chased after Emory's Xarviar to the snowy planet, Antronica.
"I don't like the looks of this planet. Reminds me of Fichina, hell frozen all over," remarked Fox as the three flew on, "Krystal, where is Emory?"
"I'm detecting his brain patterns a little to the north," replied Krystal after the ships entered the planet.
"Let's get on with it!" shouted Bill.
Soon, the three Arwings made it to Emory's base, which looked something like the Cornerian base from Fortuna. Fox noticed that the base was heavily protected with security, like gates and towers with enemy ships.
"Alright, Bill and Krystal, try to find out how to disable the security and…" began Fox when suddenly, he found himself crashing onto the ground, "Ahhhh! What happened?"
As Fox looked around, he saw that the towers had guns. They were shooting at Krystal and Bill, who dodged the shots.
"ROB, what do you make of this?" Fox asked through his VAC.
"The towers are for the security. If all eight of them are destroyed, then the security of the base will be disabled," explained ROB.
"Fox, what is your situation right now?" Peppy asked through the VAC.
"Can you send down a Landmaster? I got shot down, and please don't land the Landmaster far away from me or right on top of me," said Fox.
"Sure thing, but this will take a while. Do you have any warm clothing?" asked Peppy.
"Yep. Let me guess, I have to take care of things on foot first, right?" asked Fox, finding his blaster.
"Yes, so get going," said Peppy.
"Damn it, I hate going on foot," thought Fox as he got prepared to leave the damaged Arwing.
After putting on some warm clothing, Fox walked around with his blaster. He was looking for more enemies that could supply Fox with more useful weapons, just in case his teammates were in trouble. He walked up to a security tower. Hiding behind a rock, Fox shot a fully charged Blaster shot at the tower, doing nothing.
"Damn it. It's not working!" shouted Fox.
Just then, he saw three soldiers walking towards him. Two had machine guns, and the other had a homing missile launcher. Perfect.
"Hold it right there!" shouted a soldier.
Fox shot blaster shots at the soldiers, killing them.
"Really, I was expecting more of a challenge," muttered Fox as he walked up to the soldiers' corpses.
"Watch out, Fox!" shouted Bill.
Fox broke into a run just as a large laser landed at the spot where Fox was seconds ago. Then the laser coming from the security tower followed Fox. Then Fox picked up the Homing Missile launcher and hid behind another rock. The laser vaporized the rock into smithereens.
"Dang. Krystal, Bill, find a way to make that tower to stop shooting at me," ordered Fox as he ran into a forest, the laser burning the trees easily.
"I wish we could help, but we've got our own problems!" replied Krystal as she was being chased by three enemy ships.
Just then, Bill came and shot down the enemy ships. Then he began blasting the security tower that was shooting at Fox, eventually destroying it.
"Thanks Bill, but I was going to destroy it," thanked Fox as he looked at his handheld radar to look for another target.
"No way! I can't shake them! Unbelievable!" shouted Krystal as she was again chased by more enemy ships.
So, Fox ran out of the forest and shot a missile at the enemies chasing Krystal, saving her.
"I thought I was done for. Thanks Fox," thanked Krystal.
"Hey! I helped you out the first time!" shouted Bill.
"Oh yeah, thanks," replied Krystal.
"Could it be that Bill has a crush on Krystal? Nah, her heart is definitely with me, I think," thought Fox before three lasers were shot right past Fox's head, "Thank goodness for the enemy's poor aiming."
Fox turned around and shot a missile at the enemy soldiers. But they weren't shooting at Fox. He turned around to see a one-eyed robot with a blaster for an arm. It kept shooting at Fox. He wasted it by using two more missiles, wasting his own missiles.
"I wish they would stop making me waste missiles before using them on the security towers," muttered Fox as he looked in the soldiers' corpses, finding only blasters.
Then Fox walked around a bit more until he found a security tower ahead. He shot it with a missile, destroying it.
"Two down, six more to go," said Fox.
"Fox. I've finished the preparations for the Landmaster. Here goes," Peppy said.
Then the Great Fox shot a blue beam at the Antronican surface. In the blue beam, the Landmaster was created. Unfortunately, it was right next to Fox's Arwing, and Fox was far away from it.
"Peppy, I told you to make it not go far away from me!" shouted Fox.
"But isn't that where you are?" asked Peppy.
"If you haven't realized, I'm in enemy territory, and I can't afford to be a sitting duck. You could have used the Great Fox's transmitting system's targeting, for there are no enemies in the area so far," explained Fox.
"You know, you could go to the Landmaster if there are no more enemies," retorted Peppy.
At that moment, Fox heard an explosion around the area where his Arwing was.
"Don't count on it," replied Fox.
"All right, I'll send you another one, and I'll send an Arwing to you later, seeing that they destroyed that," replied Peppy.
"And please use the transmitting system's targeting," added Fox before shutting down his handheld VAC.
Then he looked for another tower. Most of them could be accessed by Landmaster. But then, he found himself fighting more robots. So, he shot bullets from his machine guns at them to destroy them. Then he found more robots with rockets chasing him. Using his weapons, he saw that they won't affect the robots. So Fox ran away from them while fending them off with missiles.
Soon, he ran out of missiles, so he just ran for it just when he crashed into a security tower.
"Great. I always run into security towers just when I run out of missiles," thought Fox as he saw that the robots surrounded him, so he put down his weapons and put his hands on his head, "Krystal, I know you can read my mind. So get over here and save my butt right now!"
Before Krystal could come and save Fox, a blue beam was shot from the Great Fox and a Landmaster crushed the robots.
"Great job, Peppy," Fox said through the handheld VAC before jumping into the Landmaster, "Let's get blasting."
So after setting up the Landmaster, Fox aimed the turret above him and destroyed the security tower. Then he drove the Landmaster toward the slope where the next security towers were on top of.
"Use the boost to get up the slope," ordered Peppy.
"I've used the Landmaster for about 11 years now. You don't think I know?" asked Fox as he boosted up the slope easily.
Then he used the Landmaster to waste the next two security towers with the laser. To get to the next one, Fox had to go over a crevice.
"Try hovering," suggested Peppy.
So, Fox made the Landmaster hover over the crevice and destroyed the security tower. He also destroyed the enemies easily with lasers or running them over. Then he neared a security tower, but he had to cross an icy lake, and he saw that the ice was thin.
"Fox, the Landmaster can't drive over that lake. You'll drown!" warned Peppy.
So, Fox exited the Landmaster. Then he ran to where he killed a soldier by running him over. Luckily, he was carrying a missile launcher. He saw that it had six missiles left.
"Good enough," thought Fox as he ran across the icy lake with easy.
Then he used the missile launcher to destroy the security tower. Then he ran back to his Landmaster and set it up again. Just then, a large ship came and began shooting lasers.
"Do a barrel roll!" shouted Peppy.
So, Fox barrel rolled out of the lasers' way. Then he shot down the ship. Then he began searching for the last security tower.
"Fox! Be careful! I sense something coming up ahead that can destroy the Landmaster!" warned Krystal.
"I'm always careful," replied Fox.
"No you're not," retorted Bill.
"Shut up," retorted Fox.
"Only if you shut up," replied Bill.
Just then, a laser was shot at the Landmaster, completely disabling its systems.
"Oh what now?" asked Fox?
"Fox! The last security tower is in a pit. You didn't see it as it shot a laser at you," explained Peppy.
"Can't say I didn't tell you you're not careful," said Bill.
"Just great," muttered Fox as he exited the Landmaster just before another laser was shot at it, destroying it.
Then he shot a missile at the last security tower, disabling the base's security. Then Fox ran to the base, which was not very far away. Plus, he got to shoot down more soldiers with weapons, although none of them had missile launchers.
Soon, he arrived at the base. Using his blaster, he blasted open the door. Inside, he fought more robots from outside. He kept using his missile launcher to destroy them. When he ran out of missiles, he used his machine gun, which was half as effective as the missile launcher. When he saw more robots, he used a Grenade to destroy them all. Then he ran around the base with his machine gun raised, looking at his handheld radar for Emory.
Soon, he arrived at a large room with more soldiers. He killed them all with two Grenades. Then he saw something in the room. He walked up to a table and looked at the holograms. He saw Agatha saying, "Emory, take care of Star Fox. Use your weapon. Meanwhile, our army is going to attack the Cornerian Defense Satellite to manipulate it. Then it'll be sent on a crash course to Corneria. This will be a step forward in making the inhabitants of Lylat give in to our demands."
"This will be something useful," said Fox as he took the hologram file and pocketed it.
Then Fox made the message in his handheld VAC before sending it to Great Fox. It would later be heard by Falco to make his team help out in the Cornerian Defense Satellite.
"Ah, McCloud, it's good to see you," said a voice from behind.
Fox turned around to see Emory. He used his machine gun, but saw that he ran out of bullets. Before he could use his blaster, Emory punched him in the face, immediately knocking Fox out.
When Fox woke up, he noticed that he was unarmed. Then he saw Emory, who threw him into icy water. Fox tried to swim to land, only Emory was shooting with his machine gun, so Fox was forced to stay underwater, but then he began losing oxygen and heat. Soon, Emory stopped attacking, assuming Fox died. As Emory went back into the base, Fox went back to the surface, but saw that the surface had frozen over, so he was trapped.
Just then, Bill came in his ship and shot lasers at the ice, freeing Fox, who was unconscious. Bill landed his ship floating in the icy pool and picked up Fox and put him in the ship.
"He's suffering from hypothermia," Bill reported to Krystal.
"Take him to the medical bay in the Great Fox!" ordered Krystal.
"But that's one or two light years away!" shouted Bill.
"Yes, but still," replied Krystal as Bill used a medical tool to heat up Fox and his clothes quickly.
Then Bill flew away in his ship with Fox in the cockpit. He began flying off at full speed.
In Antronica, Krystal saw Emory's weapon. It was a large wheel with a robot on it.
"I see I've effectively weakened Star Fox. Prepare to die!" shouted Emory as the robot began shooting lasers at Krystal's Arwing.
"Peppy! What do I do here?" asked Krystal.
"Where is Fox?" asked Peppy.
"He's coming to the Great Fox!" replied Krystal, "Bill will explain later. Just how do I defeat this machine?"
"Shoot at the hub of the wheel!" ordered Peppy, "But first, you'll need a Landmaster. It can withstand more hits than the Arwing, and it can be more powerful!"
"But I'm horrible in a Landmaster!" replied Krystal.
"Just do the best you can!" replied Peppy.
Then the Great Fox shot a blue beam in front of Krystal's Arwing (that landed). Then Krystal (in warm clothes) jumped into the Landmaster.
"So, what makes you so special to fight me?" asked Emory as he set the robot in full speed, making the wheel roll quickly.
As Krystal did a barrel roll, the robot went past where Krystal was, but it crushed Krystal's Arwing. Then Krystal tried shooting at the wheel, but the wheel, as well as most of the robot, was heavily armored. Krystal kept shooting, but nothing happened. Then the hub of the wheel was shown to her. Krystal shot at the hub, and no effect was shown.
"This isn't working!" said Krystal.
"Just keep shooting!" ordered Peppy.
"Why won't you just give in? You obviously can't defeat me!" shouted Emory as his robot continued shooting lasers at Krystal.
One hit Krystal's Landmaster, damaging it.
"Krystal, are you all right?" asked Peppy.
"I'm fine, no thanks to you," muttered Krystal as she continued shooting at the hub of Emory's robot's wheel.
"You think that can do something? Well, think again!" said Emory as he shot more lasers at the Landmaster.
Just then, the hub of the wheel gave away as it began rolling uncontrollably. This uncontrolled movement of the wheel made Emory's robot fly off, making it crash into icy water. Meanwhile, Krystal got out of her Landmaster to chase after Emory in hopes of finishing him off. Luckily, she just got out of the Landmaster right before the wheel ran over her Landmaster.
"No! I can't believe this is happening!" shouted Emory.
So, he did the unthinkable. He exited his robot through a door and tried swimming to the surface. Just when he reached the surface, he saw that he was trapped by ice. Then Krystal came with a homing missile launcher she just picked up. She pointed the missile launcher at Emory.
"This is for Fox," said Krystal before shooting a missile at Emory.
What followed was a pretty gruesome explosion. Fire, ice shards, blood, and maybe some flesh were sent flying around the area.
"Ugh! This is a messy way to die," remarked Krystal as she walked around, waiting, "Well Peppy, where is the Arwing?"
"Oh, you're done? All right, here goes," replied Peppy.
Then a blue beam was shot next to Krystal. An Arwing materialized where the blue beam was.
"Thanks Peppy," thanked Krystal as she hopped into the Arwing and flew away from the planet, knowing that Prime Minister Abercrombie was not in Antronica, for she read Emory's mind.
"Hold in there, Fox," thought Krystal as she flew towards where the Great Fox was on her radar of Lylat System.
In the Great Fox, Fox woke up, wearing medical clothes. Then ROB arrived with a cup of hot cocoa.
"Drink this. It'll refresh your health," said ROB as Fox took the cup and drank from it.
"Where's Bill and Krystal?" asked Fox, not asking where he was, for he's been here several times.
"I'm here," replied Bill as he arrived, "You okay?"
"Yeah. What happened?" asked Fox before sneezing and coughing a few times.
"Here is your medicine for your cold," said ROB as he gave Fox a pill.
"Well, Emory threw you into some cold water, and Krystal told me about your situation after sensing you were in there, so I saved you. That pill should heal you quickly. ROB himself made it," explained Bill.
"Where's Krystal?" asked Fox.
"She's either in Antronica or on the way," replied Bill.
"All right, I'm going back," said Fox as he walked away from his bed.
"What? Where?" asked Bill.
"To Antronica, of course," replied Fox.
"But what is the use?"
"I don't know, but Krystal might be in trouble!" replied Fox as he went to his Great Fox room to change into his normal clothes.
Then Peppy came as Fox was ready to go.
"Fox! Where do you think you're going?" asked Peppy.
"To Antronica," replied Fox.
"But Krystal is already coming back to the Great Fox. She defeated Emory," explained Peppy.
"All right, and what about Prime Minister Abercrombie?" asked Fox.
"He's not in Antronica," replied Peppy.
"Now are you not going to go?" asked Bill.
"Actually, Fox, you do need to go to…" began Peppy.
"I know, to the Cornerian Defense Satellite. Is Falco's team here?" asked Fox.
"They're in the Great Fox," replied Peppy, "All we need now is Krystal."
"I'm already here," said Krystal as she arrived.
"Krystal! You all right?" asked Fox.
"I should be asking that," replied Krystal.
"I'm fine. Thanks for saving me, and defeating Emory," thanked Fox.
"Well, so what are we waiting for?" asked Krystal, "Let's get ready for the next mission!"
"All right. Peppy, gather the rest of the team. We will need the full team of six for this," ordered Fox.
Character Analysis: Emory Sunders:
Age: 31
Species: Lion
Emory Sunders is the strongest superior of Andross' Insurrection, but he is also the dumbest, which was why he attempted to escape the icy water by trying to swim away. Not much is known about his life, except that he is the second most hated superior and the most feared, for even his voice can terrorize people.