The Starfox team turning into ground combatants... While an interesting idea, the team has always been about them and their air superiority. Does that mean that they won't get any time on the ground? Not at all. Also, as others said, this fic is entirely based upon the original game and comics, so Star Wolf simply won't be making an appearance at all. Sorry.

One last thing - almost 100k words! I'm excited and stunned at the same time. Never figured that this would be so big. And I have so much more to write...
----------

Chapter 20: And One Big Problem
Miyu and Fay are such the strange pair. They seem such the opposite of each other, yet they appear to work so well together. I wonder what gizmo they'll show me next. – Fara


Meanwhile, the four Arwings suddenly appeared over the planet Papetoon in a flash of light, their engines decelerating from cruising speed. The craft slowed to a stop as Fox happily said, "Ah, home sweet home. So nice to see this place again."
"Armed with enough firepower to take this planet back," said Falco as he continued the vulpine's train of thought.
"I think there's a saying for this, Falco," said Peppy. "Vengeance is a dish best served with blazing blasters."
Falco laughed. "Whatever."
"Good old Peppy with his pearls of wisdom," said Fox. He sat there quietly in his seat, watching Papetoon slowly rotate in the distance. Even though it was little but sand and rock, it had its own beauty to those who looked deeper. "It's time to take back what rightfully belongs to us. Let's go, guys."
With everyone so caught up in the feelings of revenge on their ravaged planet, nobody noticed that Slippy stayed abnormally quiet.


The four Arwings charged through Papetoon's upper atmosphere, their shields glowing brightly as they absorbed the heat they were generating. Fox smiled from inside his cockpit, watching as the desert landscape quickly came into view. "I think I can see our cave from here," he joked.
"I don't think so," commented Peppy. "It should be located on the other side of the planet if these readings are correct."
"Fine then. Don't let me have any fun." As the desert floor neared, Fox debated on leveling out his craft, but instead continued his dive towards the surface. Just a few dozen feet above the sands he pulled up, his engine and airspeed causing sand to scatter everywhere in his wake. It also flew right into Slippy's Arwing, which had been following him closely the entire time.
The entire team noticed this oddity instantly, as the toad was not one to normally show off his piloting skills. "Nice stunt flying there, Slippy," said Fox as he lazily flipped his Arwing upside-down. To his surprise the other craft repeated the maneuver.
That could mean only one thing. "Slippy's on autopilot still for some reason," said Peppy, quickly growing worried as he came to the same conclusion.
The vulpine righted his Arwing, the other craft following. "This isn't good. Can one of you guys take a look inside?"
"I'm on it," said Falco, being the closest to the unresponsive craft. He flipped upside-down, speeding up slightly to catch the pair. What he saw inside the Arwing did not please him in the slightest. The toad was currently slumped back in his seat, the restraints the only thing holding his unconscious form upright. As he pulled away from the craft, he told everyone the bad news. "Guys, this is bad. Slippy's out cold in there."
Fox groaned, wondering what exactly had gone wrong. "Great. Not what I wanted to hear."
"We need to land and see how he is," suggested Peppy.
"I know." Fox peered around outside his craft, seeing nothing but sand and more sand in the general area. "Well, here looks as good as—" An alarm from his sensors interrupted his conversation, indicating that hostiles were approaching. He cursed his luck as he continued. "It looks like Slippy has to wait. All craft, 180 degree turn. Head back the way we came and floor it. Hopefully we can lose them."
Falco seemed upset as he voiced his opinion. "What, we're not gonna stay and fight?"
Fox wondered if his avian friend had a lick of common sense in his head. "Not when we have an Arwing trailing us on autopilot."
"We can't just run like this though," said a concerned Peppy. "We need to take a look at our wounded comrade."
"I know." The desert landscape flew by as the Arwings continued to out-distance their pursuers. "I have an idea. Falco, kick in your autopilot system and get Slippy to follow you instead of me."
Falco surprisingly did as he was told without arguing. "Okay. Now what?"
"Wait for the minute or so for the Arwing to start following you then get yourself back to Corneria as fast as you can."
Much to no one's surprise, Falco was outraged at being booted out of combat like this. "What?! My place is here with you kicking ass on this planet, not escorting some sick pilot back home!"
Fox quickly grew tired with his pilot's complaints. "Listen up and listen good, Falco, as I'm only going to tell this to you once. One – you are the only pilot here capable of engaging an enemy with a friendly following you if you encounter anybody on the way back. Two – as your commander, you will follow my orders. Understood?"
If the avian had any objections to Fox's demands, he kept them to himself. "Fine."
At that moment Slippy's Arwing broke away from Fox's craft and changed its heading to follow behind Falco. Noticing this, he swung his craft gracefully around, Peppy following after a moment. "Be careful, Falco," said Fox. "Get Slippy home safely and quickly."
"I will." He boosted off into the upper atmosphere, Arwing in tow. "Enjoy the hunt. Make sure you fuck up these damned lizards."
"The mighty evil empire will be devastated by the combined powers of the forces of good," said Peppy rhetorically.
Fox laughed as his sensors once again picked up their opponents. "Peppy, are you sure you're not in the wrong line of work? Maybe a scholar or something would be more suited to your witticisms."
"I'm so under appreciated around here," groaned the hare in response.
"Glad I could help. Anyway, time to light up the sky. You're free to engage the enemy when you have a clear shot."
Peppy moved his Arwing to one side, giving him a clear line of fire to the approaching targets. "Roger and wilco."
Fox watched eagerly as the hostiles bared down on their position, pleased that he would be able to get back at the lizards that had been claiming the planet for some time now, pushing aside his worries about his injured teammate for now.


A few minutes later found the Starfox team's wing blasters cooling down after an aggressive assault against the forces engaging them. With a final spread of shots the last fighter exploded into a ball of fire, the charred remains drifting down to the sands below. "Nice shooting there, Fox," said Peppy as he moved into position next to the other Arwing.
"Thanks," replied Fox proudly. "You're not too bad of a shot yourself, old hare."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Peppy looked over the local map as he asked, "So now that we've disposed of the local riffraff, what's out first target?"
"We're coming up to it now actually. It's one of the bunkers."
Peppy suddenly swerved out of the way, dodging a laser bolt headed his general direction. "I think it's more like we're coming up to them."
"I see it." Fox quickly adjusted his plan. "Let's just pass over the thing and see what the sensors pick up as far as weak points go on that bunker. Go in low to minimize fire."
"Understood."
The two Arwings skimmed the desert surface, sand scattering everywhere in their wake. Four sets of turrets fired as they approached, but the craft were simply too nimble to take anything short of a few hits. As they neared, the Arwings split up, each passing the base on a different side. Peppy reported first on what he saw. "I count a dozen flight capable craft and two double barreled turrets on this side."
"The same on my end," said Fox. "Change that – the craft are launching."
"Suggestions?" The thought of taking on a dozen times their number made him nervous.
Fox swung his Arwing around and advanced on the base again. "Let's see if our little upgrades are working correctly. Firing a Nova Bomb!" Dodging turret fire from multiple directions, he lined up his craft for a shot. Hoping the engineers had successfully fixed all the bugs like they said they did, he depressed the fire button.
After a short half second charging whine from the launcher beneath him, a Nova Bomb launched out of his craft, streaking towards the base. Going nearly vertical, Fox punched the throttle forward, his boosters glowing brightly as he escaped the incoming devastation.
As expected, nothing survived the explosion. The turrets that were firing upon the craft detonated, debris shooting into the sky. The fighters that were attempting to launch disintegrated into nothingness, small chunks of ash and vehicle remains slowly drifting towards the ground. The two bunkers that held everyone were blown off their foundations, pieces of wall coming to rest all over the place.
In short, there was nothing left of the base.
Fox looked over the remains as they settled to the desert floor, realization hitting him as to how many people he had just killed with a touch of a button. "By the Creator, Peppy, what have I done?"
Peppy's gentle voice took a moment before responding. "Remember that in war, there are only two sides – the ones who survive and the ones who don't. Keep in mind that they would have done the exact same thing to you given the chance."
The vulpine seemed unsure that his teammate's answer was the correct one. "But this seemed different somehow. In combat the enemy has a chance to surrender, to escape. This was just wholesale slaughter."
"Noticing that is a good thing. This shows that you not only have very good morals entrenched into your mind, but a conscience as well. This differentiates you from the average fighter jocks, and makes you what you are – a leader."
Fox stayed quiet for a moment as he debated his mentor's thoughts. Was he right? It sure felt like it. Either way he'd simply have to deal with it, as there would be much more killing in his future if he continued onward with this war. "I see your point. Thanks, old friend."
"I do what I can. Shall we go?"
He gave one last look over the destruction he'd caused before pointing his Arwing towards their next objective. "Yes, let's. We have lots of people depending on us."


The day continued for the two Arwing pilots. Like how the hot desert sun would kill off any unprotected lifeforms, the team did the same, their blaster barrages destroying anything in their path. The pilots were en route to their final destination – Papetoon Planetary, the main starport of the planet. The place where their little adventure started only a few days ago.
Fox looked outside at the desert landscape and was glad that he was protected against the blazing afternoon sun in his cooled craft. "Ah, the desert heat," he reminiscenced. "Makes me glad I'm in here right now."
"That's one thing I'll never regret leaving behind," said Peppy. "The afternoon sun was almost hot enough to melt steel some days, much less us flying around in those hoverbikes."
Fox laughed as he remembered his team's prior experiences in the desert. "Ah, yes. How could I forget the four of us almost roasting out here on more than one occasion?"
"Those were the times." The hare looked at the rapidly approaching spaceport, glad that their mission was almost over for the day. "Shall we call down the transport here, Fox? Or did you have other plans for it?"
"Oh yeah. Actually, I almost forgot about it." He fiddled with the communications, contacting the transport that was awaiting their signal. "Transport Horizon, this is Fox McCloud. Come in please."
The commander of the squad was a battle-hardened lioness. She was pleased to hear his voice, as she and her team had become rather bored flying around the planet. "McCloud, this is the Horizon. Glad to see that you haven't forgotten about us."
He had to work to keep a straight face at the irony. "Not at all ma'am. We're on our way towards Papetoon Planetary. Care to join us?"
"Roger. What kind of resistance should we expect?"
"Based on prior encounters, very little ma'am. That's why we're calling you in early."
"Sounds like a plan. ETA is 15 minutes, so prepare a welcoming party for us. Also, please cut the ma'am crap. You make it sound like I belong in a retirement home or something."
Fox laughed. "Understood. We'll be awaiting your arrival. Over and out."


Meanwhile, many a planet over, Andross was spending yet another afternoon looking over his war effort. While the Starfox team had put a dent into his overall plans, he knew that he still had enough of an advantage to wipe them out given enough time.
And he had a plan.
He always had a plan.
All he had to do was wait for his incompetent lizards to accomplish it.
A flashing light on the console he was working at caused him to smile. "Finally," he said quietly to himself as he accepted the incoming call. "Report."
The voice on the other end sounded worried. "Emperor, sir, I have some bad news."
Andross' mood soured quickly. "Explain."
"We've just gotten reports from Papetoon – they've been attacked."
The ape grumbled something incoherent under his breath before responding. "Have our defenses had any luck stopping them?"
"No, sir. They've all pulled back to the main spaceport, and they're attempting to stage one final stand against them. There is one oddity though sir – there are only two Arwings attacking."
Andross frowned as he sat back in his chair, debating on why there were so few forces engaging this planet. "Interesting. They must have taken more damage than we thought yesterday."
"Sir, the troops are requesting further assistance. Shall we divert any of our forces…"
Andross cut the lizard off with a growl. "No. We can't send in any reinforcements without giving away our position. We need those ships to wipe out McCloud and his cronies. That planet is of no real concern to me anymore as it is."
"Understood, sir. I'll pass on the information."
"Good. Get back to me when you have something I want to hear, like when those lizards have finished that mission of theirs."
"Yes, sir. From last reports, our scouts are very close from tracking down that probe. They guarantee it'll be destroyed shortly."
"For your sake, I hope so. Andross out." Shaking his head at the lack of intelligence of his lizard assistants, he made a mental note to acquire smarter help from the planets he had captured. He couldn't keep dealing with this level stupidity.