For those of you who read the comic so long ago, you might see a scene or two that looks familiar. As I stated in my introduction so very long ago, I wanted to merge a few of what I felt were the more important scenes into my comic. This chapter, and the next, is the last time I'll be doing that. Completely original the rest of the way.
Janus - don't worry, this fic isn't ending that quickly. Andross still needs to get his ass kicked.
Chapter 39: The First Failure
Well, it finally happened – our advance was stopped. We were so damn close as well. I wonder what our next move will be… – Fox
How the hell did Andross know we were coming? Where the hell did he get those reinforcements from? There's no damn way we can get past those kinds of defenses. – Falco
I could almost see Fox's thoughts back there. He was seriously considering attacking, even though we didn't have a chance at winning. And that really worries me. – Peppy
With a series of computer tones announcing their arrival, the four Arwings slowed to a halt some distance above Corneria. The team had been silent most of their journey home, unable to believe their failure so close to ultimate victory. It was disheartening to the four, as they had expected the war to be over by now.
Instead, they had failed.
They sat there and watched the planet slowly rotate in the distance, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong, or if there was something they could have done differently. But try as they might, no conclusions came to them, leaving the four in a depressive mood.
Out of the corner of his eye, something caught Fox's attention and drew him out of his sullen thoughts. As he turned his craft and tried to pinpoint what exactly he saw, the rest of the team noticed him drifting off. "Fox, what's wrong?" asked Peppy.
"There's something…" He quieted upon spotting a brief flash of light in the distance. "I'm seeing some kind of light out there."
"There's a dramatic increase in space traffic due to the war being almost—"
"That's not it." Thinking it was something natural that had caught his eye, he pulled up the star charts of the region. Plugging in his heading as he noticed another flash of light, it didn't take the computer long to come up with what seemed to be the only possible answer.
The only thing in that direction was the Black Hole.
The place where he'd lost his father so many years ago.
"Guys, there's something I want to take a look at. Go ahead and land. I'll meet you later." Without waiting for a response, Fox turned and boosted off, suddenly wanting to see the place of James' demise firsthand.
Not understanding what his teammate was so interested in, Peppy turned and followed as the others moved to land. Tagging along behind, he tried to find out where he was going as he looked through the navigation charts himself.
"Peppy, why are you following me?"
"Because it's unusual for you to run off like this."
"I'm fine. I just want to look at something."
With a series of beeps, Peppy's computer tracked down his destination. He suddenly grew very concerned as to his course. "Fox, where are you going?"
"I told you before – I saw some lights over here."
"The only thing that's in that direction is the Black Hole."
Fox quickly grew aggravated with the hare, as he wanted to be left alone with his thoughts. "And your point is?"
"It's dangerous."
"Just…just leave me alone. I'll be fine."
"Fox, I—"
With a grunt of frustration he reached over and killed the communication. He just wasn't in the mood to listen to any words of wisdom from his teammate. They'd lost the pivotal fight, the fight that would have won the war, and the hare's attitude hadn't changed in the slightest. He should be just as disappointed as the rest of the team was. Instead, he was chasing after the ones who wanted to be alone.
He continued in silence and watched the flashing lights in the distance, trying to determine what he was seeing. A few minutes passed before his computer finally identified what had caught his attention – a few buoys.
The oversized red objects hung stationary in space, a pair of lights flashing every few seconds to draw notice. Even with his communications turned off, his computer told him of their message, warning anybody who passed by of the severe dangers of the navigational hazard sitting nearby.
Fox came to a halt near one of the buoys and looked into the darkness of space where the Black Hole was. He knew that he wasn't going to see anything, but it gave him time to think about what might had been.
It had been only a few short years when he last saw his father, telling him about his latest extraneous mission for some bonus funds. It was from what was then the head of the academy, a name that he'd cursed ever since – Andross.
Even back then, Andross was somebody who was feared by a large portion of the students. While he was highly intelligent, leading a group of researchers within the school itself, he was someone you did not want to get on the bad side of. While Fox personally hadn't ever been in trouble, he'd known a few students who had.
According to his father, the mission was simple – pick up what was called a Gravity Bomb from the academy and detonate it well away from any planet in the system. It theory it was supposed to be eventually used to help restore the planet Macbeth to its former glory.
Instead, it had been modified beyond its original design as a way to get rid of James McCloud once and for all. The void in front of him was the result.
Bringing himself back to the present with a shake of his head, he gazed out into the stars once more and tried to figure out what he was doing out here. His team was waiting for him back home, and Peppy had come to a stop nearby, making sure that he didn't attempt anything rash.
A slight smile came to his face as his goal came to him suddenly. While he had visited his parents' graves occasionally since their deaths, he'd never been to the place where his father vanished. He figured it was as good as time as any to say a few words.
"Hey, Dad, it's Fox. Look…I'm sorry that I haven't visited you or Mom in quite some time, but as you know, I've been quite busy. I've been going after Andross like I promised. I was close to winning today. So damn close…"
He sighed. "I still intend to take that blasted ape down, but I don't know how. He's got his planet walled up tight, and he seems to know we're coming. I promise you, however, I will get my revenge for both of you."
He closed his eyes, almost on the verge of tears. "I just…wish you were here. Mom too. How I miss you both. Life…hasn't been the same without you."
"Well…I gotta go. Peppy's bugging me to no end, but that's just his way. If there was only…" Quieting, he realized that there was an answer to his unfinished comment. Spinning his craft around, he programmed the probe he had sitting in the small cargo hold and set its course to enter the Black Hole. "Here, Dad, have something to show we're still thinking of you."
Without another word, the probe drifted out of the bay and waited until it was a short distance away before the lone thruster fired up. It slowly flew off, heading straight towards its demise, transmitting data back home the entire time. "See you later, Dad. Say hi to Mom for me."
Not wanting to watch the probe's final moments, he fired up the engine and started back home. Debating on traveling in silence, he concluded that he might as well relieve the worry in his teammate. "Hey."
As expected, the hare sounded extremely concerned over his unusual actions. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah."
"If I may ask, what was that about?"
"Just…just something that I needed to do."
Peppy stayed silent and hoped to get a better explanation. He finally spoke up, as he realized he wasn't going to get one. "You know, Pepper's going to be rather upset with you wasting a probe like that."
Fox laughed. "If that's his biggest concern, his priorities are really screwed up."
"True. Well, if you need to talk, I'm always available."
"I know, Peppy, I know. Thanks."
Fox had to repress a sigh as he looked among the staff in the center of the base. He could see the disappointment on their faces as he told them of his failed mission, of how close they had come to winning the war. He didn't blame them one bit. "And that's how it went, General. Any thoughts?"
The normally stoic canine frowned as he thought through the situation. "It seems that Andross knew of your approach somehow."
"That's an understatement," muttered Falco.
He continued, ignoring the snide remark as usual. "Unfortunately, as you already know, the Arwings simply don't have the fuel capacity to reach Venom and still have sufficient resources to fight with. You need to land somewhere to refuel first."
"There's no external fuel design or something?" asked Fox, not telling how he knew exactly why Andross knew of their approach.
"No," said Fara. "It was always assumed that the Arwings wouldn't be used to cross the system in a single shot. Either that or they'd be based on a mobile mothership of some sorts."
"Could one be designed and built?"
She nodded. "Something could be jury-rigged, but it would take time to do. They'd also create a rather severe weak point as well unless it could be detached in mid-flight."
"Time is something we simply don't have however," interrupted Pepper. "Andross has a significant power base assembled on Venom, and delaying any further could allow him to create an even larger defensive fleet."
"Delaying the inevitable is never a good thing," added Peppy. "It causes increased tensions on both sides, and allows the defender to fortify his defenses even further."
Falco groaned. "Can't you ever say something we can all understand?"
Fox shook his head, wondering once more how his old friend managed to always think up his almost useless lines on the fly. "While we may not always understand Peppy, this time around I do. And I completely agree with his point. We can't simply wait around here for Andross' next move."
"So what the hell are we going to do, oh great glorious leader?"
"Your mocking tone is very annoying."
"Yeah, so? What the hell are we going to do?"
Left without an answer of any sort, Fox was grateful for an unexpected interruption. "Sirs?" asked Celine quietly from her station, not sure if she should butt in.
Everyone in the room turned at the query, thankful for a quick end of what looked to be another argument between the pilots. "What's wrong, Celine?" asked Pepper.
"Sir, I'm receiving probe telemetry data."
"How's—"
"From Venom."
"What!"
In a flash, Gary ran over to a nearby terminal and punched in his access codes. His mouth opened agape in shock as he looked at the data. "By the Creator…"
"Now what's wrong?" moaned the avian.
Gary just shook his head as he started with what he saw. "General, remember when Fox launched his probe into the Black Hole not too long ago?"
Pepper turned towards the vulpine. "I do. I was going to ask—"
"Not now. The probe…it's back."
Gasps of shock were heard around the room. The command staff knew that no probe had ever returned from the depths of the Black Hole when they first started to investigate it. The fact that it had, and ended up on the other side of the system, made absolutely no sense to them. "How?" asked Pepper. "What condition is the probe in?"
Gary's fingers flew over the keyboard as he looked up the information. "The probe is very beat up, looking like it's been sheared apart by gravimetric—" As if on cue, the stream of data disappeared, leaving them looking at a blank screen. "It just self-destructed. I have some data though."
"But a black hole simply doesn't work that way," said Slippy as he wandered around in thought. "There's been speculation, but…"
Peppy sat down in a nearby chair and focused his thoughts. "Unless…unless it isn't a black hole."
"What's on your mind, you two?" asked Fox as he watched the pair with his arms crossed. "What could—"
"A wormhole," said Peppy suddenly, ignoring the others in the room short of the toad.
Falco's eyes scrunched in confusion. "A worm what?"
"A wormhole," stated Slippy, saying it slow enough so the avian would hopefully understand. "A rip in the very fabric of space itself, allowing objects to pass through and reappear elsewhere, whether it be in the same system or one far away. It's never been physically proven that it actually exists though."
Peppy's eyes raised in disbelief. "Impressive, Slippy. Never knew that advanced physics was your forte."
He smiled in response. "Just something that I took on the side as I went through the academy."
"The important question however is if it's stable or not. If it is, we have a potential avenue to approach Andross from. If not, who knows where we'll end up."
Fox's eyes lit up, as if he'd found the solution to all their problems. "It should be stable considering we just sent something through not too long ago, right?"
"In theory, maybe."
"And the Arwings are carrying what's basically a portable gravity generator, right?"
"Yes," replied Fara, worried as to where this line of questioning was going. "What's your point?"
"We have the means to kick Andross' ass, and now we have a way to surprise him on his home turf. He may have stopped us once, but he will not do so again!"
Falco looked upon his leader with shock, knowing exactly what he meant to do. "You're nuts."
Like everybody else, Fox ignored the avian and pressed on with his speech. "I'm going through the Black Hole, and I'm going to give that hairy ape the surprise of his life. Who's with me on this?"
His response was anything but enthusiastic, stunned silence and shaking heads meeting his view.
"I'm going to get Andross if it kills me. And if you don't want to help, then the hell with you all!" With one swift motion he left, no longer caring about those he called his teammates.
"Junior, this is madness!" yelled Pepper.
"The name's Fox! Not Junior!" Wasting no further time, he ran out of the control room, his boots pounding hard on the floor in anger.
The pilots looked among themselves and tried to figure out what to do. "Fox is beyond reason and he'll kill himself unless we stop him!" stated Peppy.
"I know," replied Falco, cracking his knuckles with a grim look on his face.
"What're you thinking?"
"In the academy, there was only one way to cool Fox down. Come on."
With a huff, Fox watched as the elevator doors slowly swished open, giving him plenty of time to stir in his own anger. He couldn't believe that his team was abandoning him like this, with their goal and a means to accomplish it right in front of them. Sure, it was dangerous, but they'd done stunts like this before.
Was this one just too crazy though? He didn't think so.
He jogged over to his Arwing and met up with Cyrus, who picked up a toolbox as he approached. "Afternoon, lad." He gestured behind him. "Taking her out for a spin again so soon?"
Fox nodded. "Yes."
"She's fueled up and ready to go." Turning around, the badger raised his voice to make sure he was heard. "Lads, outgoing Arwing! Clear the flight deck!"
Taking one quick look around him, thinking that this might be the last time he saw the peaceful confines of Corneria Base, he reached over and pressed the hidden buttons to extend the ladder. Reaching the top step, he was about to climb in when he heard Falco say, "Wait."
He turned and saw the rest of the Starfox team standing nearby, their faces blank. The avian was in the front, apparently taking command for the moment. He wondered if they were here to help, or if there was something far more on their minds. Either way, he was willing to give his friends one last chance. He dropped to the floor and asked, "What do you want, Falco?"
"A lot of things, but mainly a commander with some common sense."
Now he knew that they were just here to talk to him. And he didn't want to hear any of it. "We have to hit Andross hard and fast, and this is the perfect way to do it! You can't stop me!"
Falco slowly approached, arms at his side, his face still expressionless. "Maybe not, but you're going to have to take…this!" With a grunt, he brought his right paw forward and slammed it into Fox's stomach. As the vulpine dropped to his knees in shock and pain, Falco swung his other paw around and hit him again, this time toppling him over from the blow.
Fox was left utterly dumbfounded and gasping for breath, trying to comprehend what was happening to him. His mind couldn't grasp the concept of his friends of many years suddenly attacking him like this, leaving him unable to defend himself from Falco's blows.
The avian dragged him to his feet via the front of his flight jacket. "I won't let you destroy yourself, Fox!" This time he gave him a right hook across the face, connecting with Fox's cheek.
He dropped to the ground like a rock, his eyelids fluttering as he tried to stay conscious. Knowing that his friends had abandoned him, he happened to look Fara's way and pleaded with his eyes to get her to stop the fight. There was nothing more he could do. His body had given up.
Seeing some life left in him, Falco leaned down to pick up Fox once more. Fara took one look at her terrified teammate lying limp in the avian's paws, and realized it was up to her to do something. "Stop it, Falco!"
Falco didn't either hear her, or was too deeply entrenched in his position of power to want to stop. As he pulled back his paw for one final blow, Peppy roared, "That's enough!"
Coming to his senses, Falco stayed his attack, holding Fox upright as blissful unconscious overcame the groaning vulpine. Unable to contain herself any longer over what she thought was an unnecessary fight, Fara turned and ran as tears welled up in her eyes. "What's wrong with her?" asked Falco.
"What do you think, dumbass?" replied Slippy, disgusted in how he had to watch the fight.
"Why you little—"
"You're in no position to argue!" interrupted Peppy as he put himself in front of Falco and took command. "Slippy, help out the engineering staff." The toad nodded. "Falco, we'll put Fox into solitary to let him cool down. Something you can use as well it seems."
"Humph," muttered the avian. "Just like old times though."
Peppy sighed, wondering once more if Falco had any sense in that head of his. "Yeah. Let's go."
With a grunt, Falco dropped Fox onto the padded bed inside the small holding cell. "Damn, are you heavy," he groaned as he straightened back up. He looked at his commander and shook his head. "Sorry, friend, but this is for your own good." Finally, he turned around and met Peppy outside the cell. "You think this plan of his is going to work?"
The hare closed the cell door and made sure it was locked. "The theory is sound. Unfortunately, wormholes are nothing but theory and speculation, as we've never encountered one up close like this until now. But if an unprotected probe made it through, there's no reason as to why an Arwing shouldn't."
"True." He gestured behind him as the pair walked off. "We gonna let Fox out before we leave?
Peppy stopped and closed his eyes for a moment in thought. "I don't know. Earlier today, over Venom, I could almost see his thoughts for a minute. If I didn't know better, I'd say that he was seriously considering attacking."
Falco looked over in shock. "We—"
"Would have been killed, I know. Just like what he tried to do today to himself."
"Damn fool. I can't blame him for hating Andross like that, but…"
Peppy nodded. "Fox would hate us for the rest of his days if we don't. But we'll see, Falco, we'll see."
"Yeah."
As the two pilots left, a third one shrank back into the shadows, making sure that she wasn't seen. After waiting a minute, she stepped out, her brown tail swishing from side to side in amusement from her stealthy actions. "They can't leave him behind," she muttered as she walked over to the empty room containing the holding cells.
Concerned as to the condition of her teammate, Fara peered through the lone window on the door. "Fox, are you okay?"
A few groans responded to her query and worried her greatly. "Fox?"
"Ugh. I…I'll live. What's going on out there?"
"Your team is making the adjustments to the Arwings right now." She paused for a moment, not sure if she should tell him what she heard. "And…they're debating not bringing you along for this ride."
"What?" The sound of the vulpine pounding on the door echoed throughout the hallway as his face appeared in the window. "Let me out!"
"Shhh!" She looked down at the control panel keeping the door shut. "I don't know the codes to open this door. However…"
"Yes?"
"I have a plan. Get some rest. I'll be back soon."
He stood there at the window and watched as Fara ran off. Left with nothing to do other than brood, he laid back down on the bed and winced in momentary pain. He poked and prodded where he was struck earlier and tried to see if anything was broken underneath.
Relief passed through him after a short while. As far as he could tell, his bruises were nothing more than that. He was grateful that Falco was aiming to disable instead of injure, as he knew firsthand just how powerful the avian was in paw-to-paw. His injuries were a clear reminder of that.
Closing his eyes, he thought through what had happened earlier and tried to figure out why his teammate had attacked him in the first place. Based on how the rest of the team had stood idly by, he guessed that the plan to beat the daylights out of him was an accepted move. He just didn't know—
Suddenly, the answer came to him.
It was the second year of the Academy for Fox, and things had not been going well for him. The classes were difficult, the workload was overwhelming, and worst of all, his father was dogging his every mistake, as he knew that he could do better.
One wet afternoon, while he was walking back to his dorm after an especially difficult class, one of the fourth year students decided to bully the vulpine about his parents. About his mother, or lack thereof.
Fox's self-control shattered in an instant, the pent-up anger pouring out onto his opponent in the form of sharp blows and well placed kicks. Taken by surprise, the older lupine tried to defend himself, but Fox was as fast as the raindrops falling around them.
Afterwards, the vulpine looked over his handiwork. The gray wolf was a mess of small cuts and bruises, lying on the soaked grass like a cheap lawn ornament. Giving him one last kick for good measure, he turned and stormed back to his room.
Amazingly, nobody had seen the fight. When later questioned, the wolf insisted that he was jumped by four people, none of which he could identify. Questions were asked and students were interviewed, but in the end, Fox had gotten away scot-free.
Almost.
Falco had been looking out his dorm window at the time and had seen the entire fight. He knew from what little time that he'd known him that the vulpine had a temper, but it was kept under tight control. His control had obviously failed him, and in doing so threatened his entire existence at the Academy.
After discussing it with Fox's friends, it was decided that somebody needed to watch over him and make sure that this incident didn't happen again. As luck would have it, Falco was with him when it almost happened a second time, not two months later.
The pair had been talking about an incident that happened earlier in the day during one of their labs, where one of Fox's experiments had gone horribly wrong and set a small fire to the equipment itself. The teacher was more than ready to offer extra credit in an attempt to salvage the grade, but as far as the vulpine was concerned, it was one of the students' fault it happened in the first place.
Later that day, Falco somehow found out about Fox's intentions. Unlike the other two teammates on the Starfox team however, the avian knew and cared little for discussing this with Fox. Instead, he used what he knew best – his own fists.
The pair didn't talk for a month afterward, but it did get Fox thinking about what he had tried to do. As his father had repeatedly reminded him, "Violence never solves anything. Violence only causes more violence."
Fox laid there, thought about that line, and nursed his own injuries best he could. The realization about what he had almost done hit him like a pile of bricks, causing him to close his eyes and sigh as he thought about it. If he had gone out there alone, it would have accomplished nothing but his own death.
And now his team was considering leaving him behind because they didn't know if he could control his anger and hatred in the face of Andross. They needed a leader, not a crazed warrior who cared little about his own survival.
He just wasn't sure if he could provide that right now.
Fara came running back into the holding cells, talking into her headset. "Is the team still down in engineering?" She paused. "Good. Look, I owe you two a lot. If there's anything—"
"Who're you talking to?"
She startled and looked up into Fox's face as he stared through the window. "Just a pair of friends that I owe quite a bit to right now."
"You here to get me out of this mess?"
"Yeah." She looked around and talked into her microphone. "If it's clear, we're ready."
Fox wondered who she was talking to, but ultimately didn't care as a series of loud clicks were heard throughout the room a short time later. It sounded like every lock in the cell block was opening up. He pushed the door open and looked into his rescuer's eyes with delight. He debated on hugging the vixen, but decided to give her a huge smile instead. "Thanks."
She nodded. "Anytime. Let's get out of here."
The pair ran as fast as they could through the winding hallways of the level they were on. The floor itself was unused by the base, as with the low staffing levels, everybody wanted to reside in a room with a view, instead of the underground rooms these passageways held.
Their muffled footsteps echoed through the silent halls along with their heavy breathing. Suddenly, Fara grabbed hold of Fox's wrist and yanked him to a halt. Before he could say anything, she dragged him into a darkened room whose door opened just a moment before. "Shhh," she whispered as the door shut behind them.
Fox grinned slightly at the close contact, but didn't want to say anything that could ruin his escape. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.
"There's somebody outside," she replied, trying her best to muffle her rapid breathing. The doors were relatively soundproof, but she didn't want to take any chances.
"Who?"
"No idea. There are no cameras on this floor. Only the usual sensor package." The door hissed open without warning and prompted her to continue. "Come on."
Needing no additional advice, Fox took off running once more. Somebody was going to know that he wasn't in his cell very shortly, and without him knowing what that person was going to do, or who it even was, he didn't want to be anywhere nearby.
They reached the elevator without further interruption, the bright white lighting a stark difference compared to the muted dimness in the hallways before. Blinking their eyes to adjust, they rode to the engineering bay, their anticipation building as they awaited their next move.
As their ride came to a stop, Fara turned around to explain what she'd been told via her headset. "Unfortunately, most of the engineering staff is still around the Arwings, so this next step is…hold on."
Fox still couldn't believe he was trusting this unknown person communicating to Fara. It hadn't led them astray yet though. "Yes?"
She stayed quiet and listened in on the other conversation. "Cool. Catch you both when I get back." She looked back towards the vulpine with a mischievous look on her face. "Falco and Peppy are at your Arwing. The staff has just moved back into their hangar, so we have a clear run short—"
He moved between her and the elevator exit. There was no way he was going to let Fara get involved in the mess he was going to create shortly. In addition, he didn't want her around during the final battle with Andross, incase things didn't go as planned. "Fara, I want you to stay here."
She was as shocked as he expected her to be from his statement. "What? Why?"
"Think for a moment. I'm basically stealing an Arwing. My team, along with Pepper, all thinks that I'm still in that cell. For your own sake, I don't want you to get involved. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."
"Fox, I—"
"Please."
Fara looked deep into his green eyes and noticed the seriousness in his words and his gaze. As much as she wanted to get involved, she realized that he was right. While she'd worked around Pepper for some time now, she didn't have any idea how he'd react to the upcoming events. "All right." She sighed. "Be careful, okay?"
"I will." The elevator door slid open, prompting him to turn and leave without another word.
Standing there, watching Fox sneak his way through the engineering bay, Fara shook her head as she realized her teammate still wasn't thinking clearly. Somebody had to follow him, even if it was the rest of the team. "Like hell you're going alone," she muttered quietly as she moved off after him.
Falco leaned over the cockpit of Fox's Arwing and looked at Peppy below. As usual, he was complaining as things weren't going his way. "Where's that blasted toad? And where did Fara get off to?"
"Both are questions that I simply can't answer," replied the hare. He looked around and noticed the engineers move off to their protective haven nearby. "You ready for this mission?"
He guffawed in response. "To kick Andross' ass? Hell yes. As far as the Black Hole goes…"
He noticed the silence in his teammate and sensed his worry. "Yeah, traveling through there has me worried as—"
"I'm not worried," interrupted Falco, emphasizing his machismo and lack of concern. "I'm just gonna have to concentrate as we fly through that thing. This isn't going to be easy."
Suddenly, the avian heard some noise coming from the other side of his craft, almost as if somebody was climbing in. As he twisted in his seat, he found himself face to face with someone he didn't expect to see – Fox. "This'll be easy enough for you, Falco!"
Hearing some unexplained noise from the Arwing nearby, Peppy looked upwards with concern. "Falco, are—" With shock he watched as Falco tumbled overboard and fell on top of the startled hare. Extracting himself quickly, he tried to find some answers. "Who did this?"
His attention was drawn towards the craft once more, as Fox revealed himself to his teammate. "You all know I'm the only one qualified!"
"Fox!"
As the Arwing slowly took to the air, Peppy spun to another nearby craft has he heard it power up. "He's not the only one qualified!" said Fara as she quickly closed the canopy.
As the second Arwing lifted off, Slippy came running into the engineering bay, yelling desperately for attention. "Fox isn't in his cell! And Fara's not—"
Peppy sighed and held up one paw to quiet his teammate, using the other to point towards the rising craft. "I know."
Realization finally hit the toad as he noticed not only the departing Arwings, but Falco on the ground nearby. Reaching the pilots, he said quietly, "Good luck you two."
At that moment, Falco's eyes snapped open and looked directly at the smoke and exhaust of the craft. Moving groggily to his feet, he yelled, "Stop them! Follow me!"
Now a couple hundred feet in the air, rapidly ascending towards the freedom of outer space, Fox noticed that he had another Arwing on his tail. He didn't even have to guess who it was. "What are you doing, Fara?"
She flipped her craft upside-down and watched as the base quickly vanished in the distance. "Every leader needs a team. And there's no way I'm letting you go out there alone."
Fox sighed, wishing that she wasn't there behind him, doing the same foolhardy assault plan that he was. While he appreciated her help, he didn't want her risking her life as well. But there was no turning back now. "Come on then."
