CHAPTER 5: TWIST N' TURN

The Great Fox loomed into view before Fox's Arwing which was currently towing Slippy's ship. Fox had pretty much kicked back the rest of the way there, letting the ship go auto-pilot while he cranked up some music. He felt totally at peace right now. He had gotten Slippy and the second half of the shipment back into space and to the main ship without any real problems. Yep, it was all smooth sailing.

Hailing Peppy once he neared their headquarters, he calmly piloted both ships into the docking bay that opened up. The elder Fox team member met them once the hatch had closed, giving a look over the towing cables and assessing the situation.

"Did something happen?" he asked, adjusting his specs with the other hand behind his back. (Just for reference this takes place after Starfox Adventures-hence Peppy is a bit aged).

"Ah, yeah," Fox said, once he had slipped out of the Arwing to greet the hare. "Slippy's ship had a malfunction so I had to tow him off a nearby planet. No big deal. We still got the supplies in safe and sound."

"I hear one of your tow cables broke.," Peppy said, rubbing his chin and looking back to Fox. Fox's ears perked and his tail twitched again.

"Who told you that? I mean.it did happen but..," he said glancing back. Slippy was still trying to get out of where he'd wedged himself in Fox's ship. No one else had known about the cable incident besides..

"Oh, it's the funniest thing," the hare continued, chuckling with a genuine smile. "Just when were starting to get worried about you, we got this transmission."

"...You're kidding."

"Well, I haven't even told you the exciting part. The transmission was from a well known bounty hunter..told us you were having some troubles. But with some assistance you were well on your way," he continued. "I believe her name was-"

"Samus Aran?" Fox said bluntly, then he shook his head. "Wait a minute..? Her?"

"Well, yes. The young lady is on the ship as we speak. After she told us how she had helped you and told us how you planned to pay her back we decided to let her in to wait for you."

Fox stared at Peppy for a moment. His mind was reeling. He HADN'T evaded Samus. Samus was here. She had tracked him. And she was a SHE?

"Where is .she?" he finally asked, just as Peppy was starting to wonder what was up with him. He was making some pretty odd expressions in his thoughtful silence.

"Oh, she's in the dining area. Figured it was only right to offer her a drink and all."

"Right," Fox said, brushing past Peppy. "I'll be right back." The hare looked after him cooly.

"He needs a day off. Poor junior is all stressed out."

The dining room doors gave a light woosh as Fox stepped through them, his tail swaying lightly behind his now composed form. He wasn't sure exactly how he was going to handle this turn of events, but he figured all he could do was confront this bounty hunter and wing it-so to speak.

The dining area was fairly small since it was only the few of the Starfox Team on board. There wasn't much to it besides a couple tables and a bar area with a robotic bartender. Samus sat at one of the seats there in her hulking power suit. What she lacked now, however, was her helmet which, up to now, had made her pretty much sexless.

She was a blonde. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail at the back of her head and its lengths rolled down the back of her suit. For being crammed in such a small space it looked very well taken care of and shone in the lighting of the dining room. She apparently hadn't ordered anything and was sitting in the room simply waiting. Waiting for himself, Fox supposed.

As he approached her she turned to look at him, a few stray blondes strands from her hairline brushing her cheeks and floating over striking blue eyes. Fox came up and stood in front of the barstool beside hers and regarded her under his furry brows for a moment. She looked back at him, a smirk quirking at her lips for obvious reasons.

With a slight grunt Fox rested a hand on the bar and hoisted himself up on the seat. Again the two looked at each other silently. Fox still contemplated the best thing to say right now, though his mind was still registering all this information of having been beaten and ..her being female. He wasn't sure why this surprised him so much. it just did. In a way he had half expected her to be some cyborg or maybe even a full robot. The armor was that unique looking.

"Don't take it too hard. You aren't the first one who's tried to get out of paying me," Samus finally said, breaking the silence that seemed to cloud up aside from the robot bartender's hustle and bustle.

"I'm not taking anything hard," Fox immediately responded. "How did you-"

"The cloaking device? I merely disengaged it on your ship. I didn't actually remove it. And I can track any of my own devices from my ship," she explained simply. Fox hummed and thought about this a moment. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes he gave a breath and then let his head hang forward as he held out a gloved hand. "What?"

"Just shake my hand. Don't make me explain," he said, head still bowed, tone stiff. Samus shrugged and did as he asked. Fox felt a little better. He had silently acknowledged that he'd been outdone in this particular race. At least she wasn't forcing him to admit it aloud. "So tell me-and don't jerk me around---how did you know where to go on that planet?"

"Tallon IV," Samus replied. "I tracked a crashed space frigate there once. It's a long story but I had to scour the surface of the planet in order to stop this race known as Space Pirates."

"Space Pirates?" Fox questioned, raising a brow. "That sounds familiar."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you'd heard of them. They're a rather arrogant race that constantly tries to become superior to all others. On Tallon IV they attempted to bio engineer and augment various lifeforms by infusing them with Phazon. It's a very radioactive substance."

"And you succeeded.?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I succeeded in stopping their research, yes."

"Then what are those creatures still doing there?"

"Which?"

"The ones that tried to suck the life outta me." Samus pondered this but it only took a moment before she realized what he meant.

"Metroids.," she replied. "They feed off of the energy of other beings. When the Space Pirates crashed on Tallon IV they had many foreign species on their ship. They took what had survived to their labs. Once I ceased the research the Metroids spawned and became native to the planet."

"Don't you think you should have killed them while they were still wandering around in small numbers?"

"Not necessarily. Metroids are just as natural as any other organism living there. They didn't cause a huge upset to the ecosystems..and no civilization beyond the late Chozo has inhabited the planet otherwise," she explained. Fox was just about to question about these "Chozo" when Samus spoke up again. "You were bit by a Metroid?"

"Yeah, sorta. It got its teeth down into my back but the wounds don't appear very serious. I only bled a little." He halfway turned to check and see if the wounds still stung, but they didn't seem to be. Looking back at Samus he wondered at the serious expression that had crossed her features. "What?"

"Metroids excrete a very fine paralyzing venom from their talons to subdue their prey faster. You should really get it out of your system, or else get an antidote for it."

"Well, where am I going to get an antidote-I don't know anyone who knows--- " He stopped gesturing and looked at her. "..Wait a minute."

"Hm?"

"This is a con, isn't it. You're telling me this so I'll buy some sort of 'antidote' from you, aren't you?" he accused.

"Well, I won't deny that I have an antidote. But I never conned you into anything. If you want your body to slowly lose all feeling that's fine with me. It won't KILL you. I guess it's okay as long as you don't mind your muscles becoming eternal puddles of jelly," she replied, lifting her hands innocently.

"We're already paying for your services! Isn't that enough!" Fox declared.

"You know, Fox. You're the one who offered to buy it from me. I never said a thing about having to pay me for an antidote."

"Er.," Fox faltered, his ears falling to either side. Samus smiled charmingly and patted him on the shoulder.

"There, there, fuzzums. I'll give you a discount price for being so generous." With that, she rose from her seat, packing up her helmet. She gave him a wave before exiting the room. "I'll be at my ship whenever you're ready!"

Fox watched her go, his body totally stiff for a moment. Finally, he slumped back into the chair and sighed, resting his head in a hand. She was a crafty one for sure.. Though what irritated Fox wasn't the fact that she had twisted everything he said around and made it work out for herself, her keen wit and finesse..

...it was the fact he was impressed by it.