Chapter 29: Trial by Friendship
Darkness slowly began to fill the Ladekahn IV as the sun slowly set behind the floating planet of Katina. It was not long after before all but only very few animals had returned to their rooms for the night. There was an innate silence that filled the large ship shortly after this happened. Nothing moved, there were no sounds except for the occasional beeping of a computer, but besides these subtleties, there was nothing that stirred on the Special Forces Cruiser. Normally, these conditions would provide an ideal setting for the night as everyone tried to fall asleep, but this night was different. This night, almost every single animal had the same exact thought on their mind.
(In Bill's room)
The gray canine stopped as he now found himself in the sanctity of his own room. He let out a worried sigh and quietly began the short walk over to his bed, onto which he gently eased his back. He let out another sigh as he stared blankly up at the ceiling, wondering what would become of his old Academy buddy. He couldn't help but think that it was somehow his fault, that maybe it was his fault for sending him and his team on this mission at all.
Why did I let them go by themselves, I should have known that there would be something waiting inside that base, so why didn't I predict it? If I would have given a few of my men to go with them, this whole thing might not have happened and Fox would still be here...but it's too late to change anything now. He's off to some hospital and I have no idea what's going to happen to him...If I were half the leader he was, I could've stopped this for happening. So much for the Academy teaching me how to lead...I'm a pilot, how did I...
Bill quickly cut himself off as a door that sat a short distance off from his bed slowly opened, causing a small ray of light to penetrate into the room. The beam of luminosity was broken in a single place where a short and slender figure blocked the light from exiting the room. This figure quickly and quietly closed the door, once again leaving Bill in the dark, but it wasn't long before the figure that had just shown itself slowly walked over towards the bed and turned on the small lamp that sat just beside it on a small end table. This light threw only a small amount of light throughout the room, but it was enough for the two figures that now silently sat thigh to thigh on the edge of the bed.
The young female canine placed a friendly hand on the back of the slightly distraught canine that sat next to her. He flashed a weak smile up at her as he hand gently moved across his back, but he quickly returned his head to it's lowered position. Ayme leaned her head into Bill's muzzle as she said apologetically, "It'll be alright Bill. Fox can make it through this." Bill remained still as he heard these words, but responded shortly after with little emotion, "It's easy to say that, but is that really true? Did you see that wound? He had a hole in his chest Ayme…that's not something that you can just walk off…" She quickly responded by slowly rocking her head against the side of his, replying, "But he's in really good care. The Cornerian hospitals are some of the best in the galaxy, and since Fox is so well known, he'll be treated as soon as he gets there. He has to get better, you just have to have a little faith Bill." The gray canine slowly raised his head, which caused Ayme to release her head from his, and commented solemnly, "Faith is a tough thing Ayme. It's a lot easier to trust yourself in tough situations, but now, there is nothing I can do to help Fox, it's out of my hands now. I just wish there was something I could do to help…" Ayme nodded and replied, "I know you want to help, and you may not like not having any control over the situation that he's in, but you have to believe that he can make it through. I'm sure if you were in the same situation, Fox would do the same, right?" Bill nodded hesitantly with a sigh as he realized the truth in Ayme's words. He looked over at her with a weak smile and replied quietly, "You're right Ayme…thanks." She smiled back as she tenderly wrapped her arms around his body, "It's alright Bill, Fox will make it through this…I know he will."
(Star Fox dormitory)
"This just in! We have quite possibly the most disturbing news since the threat of Andross' plot to take over the Lylat system eight years ago…"
Falco sat quietly on the couch in the middle of the large, circular room as he stared into the light of the large television, which was the only source of light for their room at that time. Katt was watching as well, but from the railing of the outer circle away from the blue avian. They both watched intently as the reporter looked nervously into the camera, himself looking obviously disturbed by this news, despite the efforts he made to remain professional during his news report.
"This is Jason Griffith here for the CBN, reporting live from outside the Cornerian Hospital. It was only a few minutes ago that we received confirmed reports that the famous mercenary Fox McCloud, who had until currently been working on a highly important mission for General Pepper, has been seriously injured during the course of this very mission. We have managed to gather a few images of amateur recordings of the craft that Fox McCloud was transported in and another, which shows him being taken into the Cornerian Hospital."
The first recording began to play, which showed one of Bill's transports landing almost in the middle of the street just outside the hospital. As soon as it landed, a few of Bill's men emerged from the transport and carried Fox out on a rolling stretcher. Fox himself looked alright, mostly because of the large bandage that covered almost his entire upper body. He looked unconscious lying upon the stretcher as Bill's crewmembers quickly wheeled him away from the transport. This tape abruptly cut away and revealed a second recording which showed the same few members of Bill team running through the doors of the Cornerian Hospital with Fox in tow. Soon after the doors closed, a crowd quickly amassed around the entrance, which was now blocked of by a few security guards. This recording quickly ended and the image returned to that of the reporter.
"We have no official words as to his exact injury, but as you can see from these recordings, Fox McCloud seems to have taken an injury to the chest, which may prove difficult for the doctors here at the Cornerian Hospital to heal, but we here at the studio are all wishing our hero and his doctors the best of luck."
Falco quickly turned off the TV as this report was over, letting out a tired yawn as he did so. He stood up and said more to himself than anything, "Well, if he got to the hospital alive, he won't have any problems. Guess I'll turn in since there's nothing else to do around here…" As Falco began to make his way towards his bed, he heard a voice speaking from behind him, "Did I just hear you say that Fox will be alright?" Falco nodded indifferently at the surprised sounding voice and replied, "Ya, he's at the hospital so he'll probably be ok in a few days." The voice hesitated as it heard these words, slowly moving from its spot to a place just in front of the avian. The pink feline looked at him with a hint of frustration and responded, "Are you serious? He took a blaster shot to the chest, it's a miracle he's stayed alive this long, and you think just cause he's got a few doctors with him means he's instantly cured?" He sighed and lowered his head as he replied, "What, you don't think he'll be fine? Fox has gotten through worse than this." Katt responded now more out of anger instead of frustration, "Do you even care? Even someone like you should be showing a little more concern for him." Falco gave her a slightly confused glance as he commented, "What are you talking about, I don't have to be worried because there's nothing to be worried about. Fox knows he can't die now, he'll get through." Katt hesitated as she allowed him to walk past, only watching out of the corner of her eye as he passed.
She soon turned after him and said, "Do you care about anything at all?" Falco hesitated, making it seem like he was taken by her words, but sarcastically replied shortly after, "Sure, there's food, money, my Arwing…" Katt replied while placing her arms across her chest, "So pretty much anything that you benefit from, right?" Falco hesitated again and replied flatly, "Ya, pretty much." Katt rolled her eyes and dropped her hands quickly to her side as she replied, "Oh my god, you are the most pathetic creature I have ever seen…" At this, Falco shrugged his shoulders and responded in a perplexed tone, "What are you talking about?" Katt leaned forward slightly, along with the lowering of her tone, "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because your leader is dying in some hospital and you don't give a rip, or maybe it's your constantly negative attitude. I don't even see why Fox keeps you around with him." Falco gave a slight chuckle at this comment as he observed, "Is the reason your gettin' so ticked off at me because I didn't stop fighting to help you back on Katina?" Katt hesitated as she heard this, but quickly replied in an ignorant manner, "Why would I even care about that? I can take care of myself just fine, I don't need help from animals like you." Falco nodded at her comment and continued on his way towards his bed, "Fine, then we can just drop this subject so we can all get along, alright?" Katt quickly turned her back to the avian as she began her walk to the opposite side of the room where her bed sat, "Whatever will keep you quiet is fine with me."
Falco hesitated as he heard these words and shook his head, but quickly disregarded the feeling and crawled into bed. As he laid on his back, he looked blankly up into the dark ceiling that sat above him, giving a few thoughts he had time to make themselves clear.
Man, Katt sure was touchy about the whole Fox subject, I wonder why she's so defensive about him all of a sudden…if I didn't know any better, I think she's starting to like McCloud…but what in the heck is she doing that for? Can't she see that he already has Krystal to deal with? I guess if she's that desperate she'll take anything she can find, but at least she seems to have gotten off my case. I can finally start to see this thing die between us, which is great, saves me a lot of worry. Seriously, it's way to much work to have to put up with her, at least now I can move on. All we have to do now is wait for McCloud to get out of the hospital and we can get going on this mission. That better be soon, I'd love to get off this thing and back to the Great Fox.
(In the dormitory sector)
Quiet and darkness were to only things present at this time of night, giving the ship a new sense of peace that had not been held for the entire day. The dormitory sector seemed to be one of the better examples of the ship's newly acquired serenity, with it's many fountains continuing to create their soft sounding splashes and a few ground lights that beautifully and gently lit up every one of the exotic plants that sat in this area. Generally, anyone who passed through this area would be amazed at the calming effects that this area created, but the one and only creature that now sat in this area had far to many things on her mind to take heed of any of these things, her mind being completely taken on that one subject that she could not forget.
Fox...
The lonely cerulean-colored vixen sat alone in the large room on one of the benches that she had visited during the previous night. The night were Fox was still with her, still smiling at her. It was only one night before that on that very bench that she had leaned contently in the arms of the very vulpine that was now miles away from her, all because of that single moment, and the decision she made during that split-second, a choice that may keep this feeling of separation with her for the rest of her life. She looked longingly into the gently rippling fountain that sat among the circle of benches in this area, letting her numerous thoughts drift within her mind.
Why did this have to happen? I'm sure I could have stopped this all from happening somehow, but that creature…he's far more powerful than I had at first imagined. But why would he want to do this to us, why would he seek to destroy us so fervently, what is his motivation? What would cause him to do something like this…not just to Fox, but to all animals in this universe? It's such a cruel treatment…but Fox was able to break it, not even he could hold Fox back from telling me…telling me to take that extreme course of action. It did just as Fox said it would, it stopped him from killing myself, but…I wonder if he ever realized what harm could come to his own self…Only a truly heroic and self-sacrificing animal like him would allow this to happen to protect me…to protect everyone…
"…You are the last hopes for Cerinia and the universe, you must not give up, even when you are defeated..."
It seems like so long ago since I shared that vision with Fox, my mother told me…told us those very words. Even when we are defeated, we cannot give up…as much as I want to believe those words, how can I know that they are true? How can I be sure that the scrolls can guarantee our safety through these travels? There are so many questions, but so few answers…The only thing I can do for Fox now is wish for his well-being…if he were to pass on now…I don't know what I would do…
Krystal broke from her thoughts as a tear rolled down her cheek, giving her a slight chill as it slowly skimmed through the fur on her face. She stood up from the bench and scanned the area around her, noticing all the beauty that surrounded her. But as she saw these things, she quickly realized that it was difficult for her to see the same beauty in these plants as she had a day previous when Fox was still by her side. It was almost like everything around her seemed to take a darker and more negative attitude. She let out a tired sigh as she walked away from the gentle water of the fountain, hoping that she may find some relief in the comfort of the bed that awaited her in the dorm room. Before she left this large and peaceful room, she took one last look over her shoulder back to the fountain she had just been staring into before taking one final sigh and turning to leave.
Be strong Fox…you must not give up…please come back to me, Fox McCloud.
(The next morning, bridge of the Ladekahn IV)
Bill Gray sat on in his captain's chair, which was positioned almost in the exact center of the large bridge, and let his eyes wonder beyond the window that stood directly in front of him. He was the only person on the bridge at that time, generally this area of the ship would be filled with busy animals, but after yesterday, Bill decided that it would be best if his crew was allowed to sleep in, hoping that it would help them recover from the fighting they had experienced. But that was only one reason. Bill had strongly desired a few minutes to be alone, time to think of what exactly happened back on Katina and what effects that certain events may have brought about on himself and his crew. He remained in this position for several silent minutes, never moving an inch from where he originally found himself when he first seated himself in his chair. As much stress and anxiety he was feeling at this time, he was calmed by this rare silence that he was granted, finding it much easier to relax and think.
Eventually, after almost a half an hour of seclusion on the bridge, Bill snapped out his tranquil and pensive state of mind as he heard the sound of the bridge door sliding quietly open behind him. He quickly swiveled his chair around and watched as a black panther slowly approached his position on the middle of the bridge. The feline approached with his usual unemotional look on his face and asked, "Mr. Gray, what are you doing up here by yourself? Mrs. Gray has been looking all over for you." Bill nodded solemnly as he relied, "Ya, sorry about that, I just wanted some time alone. I'm sure she understands that." Panther slowly nodded back at this comment and replied in a flat tone of voice, "Well, I certainly do. To lose our friend Fox McCloud in such a fashion, it's quite a dreadful thought." Bill did nothing in reply to this comment, merely returning his eyes to the dark, star-spotted void of space. Panther quickly continued, "I suppose I will leave you be. I'll tell Ayme that you are on the bridge and that she needn't worry." Bill gave a quick glance back, accompanied by a slow nod, before returning his eyes to their original position. At this, Panther nodded towards his captain and turned to leave the bridge.
As soon as Bill heard the bridge door close behind him, another noise rose from around him. He looked around quickly, noticing that a small red indicator light was flashing on one of the many computers that sat on the bridge. He hesitantly stood up from his chair and walked a few short steps over to where this light noise was emanating from. It didn't take him long after reaching this consol to realize that this blinking light indicated an incoming transmission. Bill seemed somewhat surprised to see this, and was not really sure who would be calling them at this time. He didn't think it would do any harm to let this transmission pass, so he entered a few short commands into the computer and a large holographic screen appeared a short distance in front of the spot where he had just been sitting.
"Corneria Army Base to Special Forces Cruiser, Ladekahn IV. Do you read Ladekahn?" Bill sat back into his captain's chair and replied with a surprised tone of voice, "Ya, I read you." The receptionist from the Cornerian Army Base that appeared on screen sat nervously in her place, "Oh, Bill Gray. I'm glad to see you're fine, with what happened to Fox, we've been worried about the rest of your crew." Bill nodded and asked, "Ya, we're alright, but what did you contact me for?" The receptionist replied quickly, "Oh yes, General Pepper wants to speak with you about the mission as soon as possible. That's all I really know." Bill slightly readjusted his body position in his chair as he responded, "Alright, put me through. I'd like to hear what the General has to say about all this." The receptionist nodded and the screen went dark for a few seconds, but quickly reappeared, now showing the serious-looking face of General Pepper.
The General broke a slight smile as he saw the gray canine sitting in front of him, and said in a friendly yet somber voice, "Bill Gray, it is a great relief to see that you are well. With the mixed reports we've been receiving, I'm almost in disbelief that you are sitting in front of me at this moment." Bill tilted his head slightly to one side as he heard this and quickly responded, "Mixed reports?" Pepper nodded in response to the canine's question and answered, "Yes, there has been several unconfirmed reports that your ship and crew had been decimated during the fight on Katina. I had a hard time believing any of those rumors, but after learning of Fox's hospitalization, I felt that anything could have happened to your team during that time." Bill hesitated as he heard those words, but quietly responded soon after, "Ya, I couldn't believe it either…I never thought I'd see McCloud like that." Pepper nodded and quickly replied, "I can understand. Everyone on Corneria is in such a state of shock that their hero has fallen like this." Bill replied as he crossed his arms, as well as looking down towards the floor away from the hologram, "I'm sure it's been tough for animals all over the Lylat System to accept, it's really just a big time reality check for all of them. No one thought that Fox could be defeated, but…" Bill quickly cut himself off, but slowly continued with a voice of concern, "By the way, do you have any idea how Fox is doing? He wasn't that well off when he left this ship…" Pepper lowered his head and closed his eyes slightly as he answered in a remorseful voice, "As hard as it is for me to say, it seems as if Fox McCloud won't be able to live for much longer…His injuries are just too severe to recover from. I've received word from his doctors at the Cornerian Hospital that he will probably pass on within the next few days…"
Bill nodded slowly as he heard these words, "I was afraid of that, I didn't think it was possible for someone to survive an injury that severe…It's actually really lucky that he's lasted this long, but I don't think…I'd expect anything less from McCloud. It will be hard for him to accept death like this…" Pepper nodded in solemn concurrence as he added, "It will be hard for everyone to accept his coming death, first his Father, and then himself, Lylat truly adores the McCloud name, but now that the last of them will be gone…I'm afraid that many animals will find it terribly difficult to accept that fact."
There was a short silence between the two animals as their thoughts centered on the same creature, each realizing in different ways how much the nearing death of Fox McCloud would impact themselves and those around them.
Pepper was the first to speak after this short silence, having to clear his throat before he spoke, "Well, even though Fox McCloud will no longer be taking part in this mission, both you and the Star Fox team must continue on your mission to liberate these mind controlled planets. I would request that they immediately report to the Ladekahn bridge so that I may inform them of their next assignment." Bill hesitated as he heard this and replied shortly after, "General, I think it would be better to leave them alone for now. It'll be hard enough for them to hear that Fox is about to die…Maybe I could make a recording of their mission briefing and give it to them when they leave, I'm sure they're going to want a little time to themselves anyway." Pepper considered this proposition for only a matter of seconds before he nodded in agreement and said, "I suppose that would be much more tactful than merely giving them all this information at once. If you are able to make a recording of this message, than I will be happy to comply with your idea." Bill pressed a few buttons that were integrated into his captain's chair, each letting off a slight beeping noise as they were pressed. As soon as Bill had completed his preparations, he looked up at the General with a nod and said, "Alright, I've got the recording ready for you General Pepper, go ahead…"
(Star Fox dormitory)
Last night proved to be one of the more difficult nights for the Star Fox team. Having to go through so much in one day, it was hard for any of them to fully concentrate on sleeping instead of on their fallen leader. It was now a little past nine in the morning, and no one had stirred from their beds. Even through there was a considerable amount of light that filled the room; they still did not want to rise from their beds. Krystal, as well as Katt, had slept for little more than a few hours, finding that the thought of Fox lying in a hospital room with little chance of survival was too much to overlook. Falco on the other hand had managed to avoid all of these thoughts and had slept quite soundly through the night, made apparent by his still audible snoring.
Suddenly, there came a knock on the door that sat at the entrance to their dorm room, which seemed to have little effect on the occupants of the room, the only reaction coming from Falco, who turned over in bed and made a small groaning noise in disagreement with this abrupt noise. Another knock came and still no one moved, except for Falco, who seemed to be getting quite annoyed by this noise, made obvious by the fact that he threw off his covers and quickly walked over towards the door, not looking like he was thrilled about having to wake up at such an early hour.
When the avian reached the door, he quickly opened it and said before the door even had a chance to fully open, "We're tryin' to sleep in here! What's the deal?" Falco hesitated after he saw the slightly frightened form of Bill Gray that stood outside the door. Falco smirked, which seemed to immediately ease Bill's mind, and apologized, "Sorry about that Bill, I'd think you would know better than to wake me up so early." Bill seemed hesitant to reply, his face donning a bleak looking expression, but he soon responded in a dull tone of voice, "That's alright Falco. Could you…come outside for a minute, I…need to tell you something." Falco gave him an inquiring glance and asked, "What's the problem, you put a scratch in my Arwing or something?" Bill shook his head and answered, "No, it's not that. I just got done talking with General Pepper on the bridge, and there's a few things I think you should know…" Falco began to catch on at this point and responded in a questioning tone, "You mean, you know something about McCloud? Meh, the guy'll be fine in a few days, nothing to worry about." Bill lowered his head slightly as he heard the blue avian say these words, replying in a weak voice, "Well, let's just take a walk around the dormitory and I'll tell you all about it." Falco nodded and responded with no worry in his voice, "Alright, but let's make it quick, I might still be able to get some more time to sleep if we hurry this up."
Falco followed Bill outside the dorm room, leaving the two remaining animals once again in silence. Katt quietly watched as he did so, sighing audibly as he walked out of sight. Ever since she seen what had happened to Fox, she just couldn't seem to get him off of her mind, but Falco seemed to just blow it off as if he knew for a fact that he would make a perfect recovery. No matter how much Katt thought this through, she couldn't think of any reason why Falco could be as confident in his theory. She quickly stopped herself before she began to bore herself with more of these incessant thoughts and quietly slid her legs over the edge of her bed, gently stretching her arms and legs as she did so. After letting out another tired yawn and gently rubbing the remnants of sleep that remained in her eyes, she stood from the bed and walked slowly over towards the middle of the room.
She quickly stopped herself just before she reached the slightly sloping ramp that led to the middle portion of the room, hearing what sounded like disturbing and painful groans coming for the opposite end of the dorm room. She slowly looked across the room to see that Krystal, who was apparently still sleeping, was gently thrashing around in her bed, also finding that the noises were emanating from her as well. Katt hesitantly walked through the middle of the room and up the small ramp that sat on the end of the small circular section of the room to the bed where Krystal was, watching in silence the entire time. Krystal's face was beaded in a light coating of sweat, the majority of her bed sheets no longer resting on her body. Her head kept rolling from side to side, and as it did, she would let out a groan of what sounded like pure pain, but in a much quieter tone. Each time her body position moved, she would let out one of these groan, and amid them, you could hear the garbled syllables of words. Much of the time, she uttered the name of their fallen leader, Fox McCloud, her eyes wincing hard each and every time she said his name.
This entire process that Krystal was going through pained Katt to watch to a great extent. When she had first found out that Krystal was the one who was forced to shoot Fox, she knew that Krystal would be regretting the decision for a very long time, even longer if their leader really did pass away, but she knew that this blue-furred vixen did not deserve to go through a nightmare like the one she must have been experiencing. Katt kneeled down to the floor on one knee and gently placed her hand on Krystal's shoulder, feeling her tremble slightly as soon as her hand contacted the vixen's fur. This seemed to stop her for her tossing and turning however, as she now laid still on the bed with her head facing away from the feline. Katt was relieved that she had stopped, and gave her a slight shake while speaking in a quiet voice, "Krystal…Krystal, wake up."
Krystal moaned as her eyes slowly opened and she felt the hand against her shoulder. For an instant, she thought that it might have been Fox who was waking her from that nightmare, but after hearing the voice that accompanied the hand, she quickly realized that it was not. She raised her hands to her eyes and slowly removed the combination of sweat and sleep that remained. For a few seconds after this, she merely laid in the same position in her bed, staring into the wall that she was facing directly towards, but soon turned over onto her other side after letting out a heavy sigh. As soon as she did, she found herself staring straight into the eyes of a pink feline, who was kneeling beside her bed with a nervous smirk.
"I'm glad you're awake, looked like you were having a pretty bad dream. Are you ok?" Krystal hesitated as she heard this, taking the opportunity to prop herself up against the wall that sat behind her bed, and remained silent in response to the feline's question, only giving a slight nod in reply. Katt nodded back and asked as she stood from the floor, "Are you sure? You don't look fine to me." Krystal lowered her head as she heard Katt's comment, knowing that she really wasn't feeling fine. The fact that she continued to have her thoughts, and even her dreams center on Fox continually haunted her, but there was no way she could forget what she had done. Katt once again took her silence as an answer and sat down on the side of the vixen's bed, asking in a quiet voice, "…It's Fox, isn't it?" Katt hesitated for a moment before continuing in a slightly wavering voice, "Listen, what you did…I don't know if I could have done if I were in your situation. If I had to be the one to make that choice…I probably would have taken the easy way out, that's just how I am I guess. You trusted McCloud and did what he thought was best…" Katt smirked slightly to herself as she continued, "If I would have done that, if I would have had a little more trust in certain animals, I'd probably be much happier right now." Krystal nodded silently and replied shortly after in a quiet voice, "Yes, but Fox…he's, he may not make it through the day because of that action I took, which can only make me wonder…if that really was the best thing for me to do, maybe there was a way to prevent this from happening at all, but I was too afraid at the moment to…"
Katt cut the vixen off as gently as possible, shaking her head and saying, "If it wasn't for you, the entire universe may have lost its only hope at that exact time if you didn't do what you did. I know it's hard to see Fox as hurt as he was, and I know you never wanted to see him in that situation at all, but really, you did what was best for Fox, and what was best for the rest of us. If not for you, Fox would still be under the mind control, doing anything that whoever was controlling him wants. Even through you did have to take the extreme to stop him, I'm sure he's a lot happier now than he was when he was under mind control, don't you think?" Krystal, who was quite taken aback by the feline's knowledgeable reasoning, nodded and replied, "I suppose you are right, but still…I wish there was something I could have done…to save him…somehow." Katt nodded back at her in reply, slowly placing her arm around the vixen's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the troubled vulpine, and said in a calm voice, "Krystal, it's alright…what's done is done. McCloud is a pretty tough guy, he'll find a way to make it through this, I know he will." Krystal looked over towards the feline, whose head was not far from her own, and said in a grateful voice, "Katt…thank you, for trying to comfort me. I must believe that Fox will recover, and I am starting to believe that he truly may, thank you." Katt smiled back in replied, "Don't worry about it Krystal, I'm glad that I could help, I know this has to be a tough time for you, but I…"
Katt's voice was abruptly cut off as the sound of an opening door suddenly rang across the room. Both of the female's heads turned in unison as they saw the figure of Falco walking back into the room with his usual emotionless expression on his face. He smirked as he saw the two of them on the bed and announced, "Well, I don't know what I've interrupted, but from what I understand, we're heading out on our next mission right now. So I'd pack your stuff and be ready to go in the next few minutes if I were you." Katt stood up, quite surprised by this statement, and responded, "You mean we're actually going on without McCloud? Who's gonna take his…" Katt paused as she realized what this meant. She sighed before continuing in the form of a question, "…You?" Falco's smirk widened as he heard Katt say this and replied, "That's right, I'm the new leader of the Star Fox team, too bad ol' McCloud isn't here to congratulate me." Katt rolled her eyes as she heard this and responded with a sneer, "Oh god, how can you say that after all he's having to go through? You don't deserve to lead this team." Falco crossed his arms as he replied, "Is that how you talk to your leader? Besides, I just got done talking with Bill, he told me that…" Falco hesitated only for a split second, not wanting to reveal the true status of their former leader, he instead continued, "…he's fine, he'll be back on the team in a few days, nothing to worry about, just like I said."
Both the ears of Katt and Krystal perked up as they heard these words. Katt's face completely changed expressions as she asked with hidden relief, "Fox is alright? How did you figure this out?" Falco smirked as he repeated, "I already told you, me and Bill where just talking about it downstairs. Seems like Pepper called up the ship this morning and gave Bill McCloud's medical report. And…as far as I know, Fox will be fine in a little while. Is that good enough for you?" Katt remained silent after she heard this, mostly because she could simply not believe it. She gave a quick glance back at Krystal, who seemed to be thinking to herself again, but now her worried expression had lifted slightly from her face. The feline quickly turned back to the avian and responded, "I'm glad to hear that McCloud's gonna be alright, but what is this thing about this next mission, where are you going exactly?" Falco shrugged his shoulders at this question and replied, "I don't know, Bill just said something about a new mission. He also said he made a recording of the briefing from when the General called this morning, so once we're ready to leave, he'll have it ready for us to take back to the Great Fox." Katt nodded in response and said, "Alright, if that's the deal, we have to leave as soon as possible. We really didn't bring anything except for our blasters and personal M.C.D.'s, so we should be ready to go already." Falco nodded at this and commented while turning towards the door, "Then let's go, I'm sure Pepper doesn't want us sitting here spinning our wheels like we usually do."
As Falco once again left the room, Katt fully turned back to the still seated vulpine behind her. "Hey, sound's like McCloud's gonna be alright after all, huh? That guy never fails to impress me." Krystal looked up, seeming to have just broken out of thought, and replied with a weak smile, "Yes, it seems so." Katt smiled back at her comment and then turned back to leave the room, "Well, now that we don't have to worry about McCloud, we should head back to the Great Fox and keep going on this mission." Krystal raised her hand slightly and motioned towards the door as she replied, "You go ahead, I'll be along in a while, there's still something I need to do before I depart." Katt nodded and replied, "No problem, just don't take too long, you know how Falco can get when he has to wait." Krystal only nodded in reply as she watched the pink feline walk the short distance across the room and exit the door, leaving her alone in the now silent room.
The vixen's head returned to it's lowered position as she continued to lean against the wall that sat behind her bed. There was something that disturbed her about the sudden confidence that Katt and Falco seemed to have about Fox's health. There was something inside her that told her otherwise, that Falco may not have been telling the truth.
I would like to believe that what Falco said was true, but something is telling me that it's not accurate, that he's actually hiding what really is happening. I have never felt like this before...So drained of energy and emotion, it's almost like a part of me is missing, but, even if Fox were to be separated from me, I should still be able to recover on my own...unless...That must be it, I remember my mother telling Fox and myself something in that vision…
"You feel each other's pain...when one is hurting, the other feels it also."
I never realized just how powerful that statement could be until this very moment. Even though thousands of miles separate us, I can still feel the pain that Fox is going through at this very moment, but it isn't exactly in the form of physical pain, it's more as if the vitality that Fox has lost because of this ordeal is also being drained from me, but in a much more gradual way. That means that if what my mother said is true, than Fox is still in great danger, despite what I've heard from Falco...This is all quite to much for me to try and comprehend, perhaps I will find the answers later. But if Fox really is still in the grim condition he was in when he departed from this ship...none of that will matter, without Fox to fight by my side...the scroll and it's predictions will be useless...and I...well, I don't know…exactly what would become of myself if that were to happen...I must believe in Katt's words, he must find a way to make it through this time of struggle, or else this entire galaxy will fall...and, I'll be left alone again...
Please Fox, come back to me...
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wow, that was longer than I expected, but whatever, if they're not long enough people start whining about it, so I might as well go longer instead of shorter…but whatever. Can I also say that it's pretty hard to type a chapter after something like what occurred last chapter, it's really tough to follow, so…don't pressure me, gosh! Let's see, I'm close to 100 reviews, which is pretty cool, cause that's more than like, 3 or 4. I could give away some type of prize for the 100th reviewer…I guess we'll just have to wait and see! Plus on a completely unrelated note, I won my first Golf match…yay for me huh? Oh well…
(Title not yet devised)
I didn't even realize that I haven't done this section for quite some time, mostly because I usually don't know what I want to do in some chapters that I don't really have planed out, like this one for instance. I think the true news of Fox's health will be revealed, and…that's all I know, at least, that's all I'll say without spoiling anything…ya.
EDITOR'SNOTES: It's that time once again. The time where you scroll down to read my comments on your reviews! Oh…I mean, I guess you can look at this thingy below if you want, but I don't know…if you really want to. But do it anyway, it makes the kid happy…
"Hey Everybody guss what it is me again Justin Alan Haibon and i am going to bore the hell out of u with more editors notes but i am not realy sure u guys read these things u do know i pure my hart and soule into this so please read my notes for the sake of nick and the story so any wany with that over i will now wright my notes for this chapter well here i go:-) so umm krystal can fell his pain cuz of that magic stuff its hard to understand but when she dont fell good u know something is wrong with fox so umm yeah there is a pertty good chance that fox will die but will he or am i lieing to u if u wnat to know the reast of what will happen then u must read the reast of the story and let me tell this is just the start of the story Nick told me that he is thinking of makeing this story about 40 or 50 chapters long or shoter but hey i cant tell u much of anything at all so for get about that part well i am done with boring you with editors notes so i will leave u alone This is Justin Alan Haibon singing out thank u for reading well bye bye..."
At least he spells and capitalizes his name right…
MAIL CALL:
Obsidian Thirteen
Logic and mathematics, not to mention Marvin the Paranoid Android, insists that you continue this story irregardless of any other things happening. I don't care if it's the Apocalypse, you must keep writing.
FoxMC: Crap, that's a lot of scientific stuff. I guess E does equal MC2…but don't expect two chapters per post…and why would you name an android Marvin…what a nerdy name.
deathscall
Well, sorry about threatening ya, it's just been so long since i've read a really good story that's long, and is a star fox story, but, great chapter, I feel so sorry for Krystal, and you better not kill Fox, if ya do though, can I have Krystal please? well, no, I couldn't have her but, still, it'd be nice to know id be able to have if it was possible... and continue the great work, or i'll have to help ur editor. Yea, that's right.
FoxMC: Were you threatening me? I told my editor that I was gonna let you replace him, that was funny. I've never seen a kid cry so much…wait, actually there was one time, just recently, when I told him I would quit typing the story, now that was a good one, he tried to make me write again by rallying all his family and friends he knew to convince me to keep typing. His sister said he went into the bathroom and cried…heh.
Ben Stylin
You finally wrote another chapter where I read every word, instaed of just skipping through most of it because it was boring.
Don't call me kid. I'm probably older than you.
FoxMC: Don't worry, I call everybody a kid, it makes me sound older and more authoritative. That and old people own us pretty much, so I might as well join them.
Tie
wow...this chapter made me very sad. I now know who that guy in the cloak was. Fox got really hurt, I hope he gets better fast.
Update soon
FoxMC: I'm hoping that most everyone knows who that guy is, if you haven't figured it out by now…uh, that's too bad?
Whinnie
Wow! Finally, the thrity-secondth chapter is up:D And this isn't the 28th chapter, it's the 32nd. :p Anyway, I loved this chapter, I was expecting that Falco and Katt would... You know... Well, anyway, this was great! I hope you post the next one soon! ;)
FoxMC: Well, if you want to be all technical about it, my story is on the chapter that I post at the beginning of the page. The Falco side stories are not truly part of the main story, but they do count as, "chapters," on this website…And as far as Falco and Katt are concerned…well, I don't know, they don't get along very good do they, maybe you could straighten them out for me…I'd really like that, I'm running out of stuff that they can yell at each other about…
demonslayer206
nice ending to a multi-part chapter, a real cliff hanger. i only have one word that best describes it. ouch. i'll wait patiently for the next chapter, and good luck with golf
FoxMC: Ya, I'm sure if I got shot in the chest I'd say ouch too. I say ouch when I stub my toe…actually, paper cuts hurt worse…especially in-between fingers…man, no matter how hard you try, you just can't get a band aid in there…ya
Wolf O'Donell
great story :), much better than any other on this site, to bad for fax and krystal though :( keep typing more chapters i cant wait to read more!
FoxMC: Good ol' Fax…anyway, you will most definitely see more, unless of course I am hospitalized or become one among the ranks of the dead. But I've heard of these cool guys called the, "Living dead." Weird, maybe if I die I can come back and type again…Authorliness is next to immortalityness.
Black Phoenix
Man, that really sucks what happened to Fox. The story still kicks, dude. Keep up the good work.
FoxMC: Yes indeed, getting shot in the chest does suck to a great degree, but maybe he'll live…maybe he won't, just depends on what I already have in my head…wait, so I guess I know already…whatever
BlueWolf419
This is probably the best starfox story there is on this site. I've been reading this story since chapter 28 but I haven't reveiwed yet. Sorry. Anyway, I really hope that this story doesn't end at forty. (I don't wanna see it end :( ) I kinda wanna see Wolf in this story. Other than the lack of Wolf, This story has it all and will continue to be my favorite.
FoxMC: What? You want to see Wolf in this story? Umm…ok!
Wolf: Hi
FoxMC: And there you have it, the great Wolf O' Donnell for your reading pleasure! Anyway, I don't know when this story will end. I wanted it to be long, about 40-50 chapters, but maybe it'll be shorter, maybe longer, I can't really tell.