Quick Author's note: I spell checked this chapter 3 times. I re-uploaded it 3 times. Everytime, all the original spelling mistakes stayed. I kept trying to fix it, but I don't know what's going on, so this will be the ONLY chapter that should have any real spelling errors. For that, I appologize. Once this uploading tool wants to work with my properly saved document with no spelling errors, I'll re-up the chapter, properly. For now, read it for what it is, a story, not a college literary grade. Thanks!
CHAPTER
"A Memory's New Vengence"
x
The two arwings lifted, side by side, their nose cones tilting to a 45 degree angle to stop all forward motion, and to slowly set down upon the runway besides a shiney white and reddish-pink colored fightercraft.
"Is that who I think it is?" Fox mused, rubbing the bottom side of his muzzle.
"And of whom are you assuming to be it's owner?" Fara replied, with a giggly little grin. The Arwing jolted gently as it sat down upon the runway, the sun's gentle rays shimmering off of her polished dashboard as the canopy lifted from the cockpit.
Fox tilted his head slightly, pressing his paw against his communicator's metallic casing, "That friend of Falco.. Katt, or whatever that chic's name was," he trailed off seeing his wingmate and Katt Monroe approach from the small metallic door on the side of the flight control tower.
Just then, Katt's voice filled Fox's communicator, "Sugar, you mean ta tell me that you don't remember my full name, tiger? Or do you mean to say that Falco doesn't gloat enough about me?"
"It hasn't been since the war, last year," Fox replied with an impish grin, as he lifted his legs over the side of the fighter's hull, sliding down until he slid off the angled side of the Arwing, dropping to the ground. As Falco Lombardi approached, Fox and the old time friend quickly proceeded to administer a complex handshake to one another, leaving Fara and Katt watching, brows raised.
As the complicated synchronized gestures came to an end, Fox and Falco each pulled one another into a half hug, putting one free arm around the other, with a quick clasp on the other's back.
"Hey, McCloud," Falco said with a grin, ribbing him quickly in the gut.
"Guess who said 'yes' to a date?" Fox quickly replied, keeping his voice down. Over the roar of the airfield, Fox knew that no one else would hear what he said to Falco in a quick moment of confidence.
Falco grinned, "I bet she's standing behind you."
"Yep," Fox conceeded, looking rather pleased with himself.
"AHEM," Fara cleared her throat, approaching the two, "If I'm not interupting anything important, would you guys like to go see why we had to drag you both here?"
"Why, of course, dear," Fox said, his brows raised, with a broad smile.
"You quit that," Fara scowled playfully. That was basically what drew Katt's currious attention. She stepped besides the azure Avian, folding her arms, leaning forward with her brow lifted, as if expecting to hear what's going on.
Fara smiled almost shyly, "I'll explain later," She chuckled softly. With that, Fara placed her paws against the backs of both StarFox pilots and began to push forward, causing them to quickly fall into step, being led by Fara. Katt followed, arms folded and knowing exactly what was going to happen.
Leading the group forward, they quickly approached the small white building that was attached to the base of the control tower. Katt ran ahead to open the door, while Fara continued to lead the gentlemen inside. Fox cut a sidelong glance to Falco who could only reply with a shrug. Once inside, Katt stepped in, pulling the door shut. The lights were dim, but nothing that Fox couldn't see, with his natural vulpine night vision.
There was a table set up in the middle of the second room on the right. Several chairs were set around it, and as they group moved closer, Fox could tell there was a screen built into the center of the table. Fara stopped in the doorway, with her arms folded.
"What..?" Fox looked perplexed as did his currious wingman. Fara lifted her right paw, pointing at the table, and so Fox approached it quietly, glancing down at the moniter within.
. . . . . "And this has been a KNN exclusive. With the dissapearence of IRIRIAN's military member "ILIRIA" the Narconi 4 Iririan regime has crumbled, and the Narconi system has contacted Corneria of the Interplanitary Defense Council to sign a treaty of peace, putting the only slightly civilized people of Narconi4 on the council. General Pepper is expected to speak and will do so within the hour. Until then our Katina News Network team is standing by for an interview with the leader of Narconi4 and..."
Fox glanced back to Fara and Katt, who stood side by side with a grin. He glanced to Falco knowing his friend and wingmate had the same thought, and it was time to voice it.
"So," Fox started, wondering exactly how to word his question, "Well...uh, Why did you guys... bring us all the way to Katina just to see KNN?" Falco rubbed the backside of his head lightly before picking up where Fox left off.
"And what are you two girls up to?"
Fara grinned to Katt, who nodded in return.
"You realize they wouldn't have come if we told them, hon," Katt said to Fara, as if in casual conversation. Fara grinned, nodding softly, "I know, I know..."
"...What?" Fox and Falco seemed to say this word together, and regardless of the simultanious question, both of them were too busy being suspicious to really realize it.
Finally Fara took a long deep breath and side stepped from the doorway. In her wake, General Pepper stood in his full dress uniform, wearing a pair of dark aviator shades. Stepping into the room, he patted Fara on her shoulder and she leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"Good luck on that speech Sir, I have full confidence in you," Fara said. He smiled softly then approached McCloud. Fox decided to salute him, regardless of his non-military status.
"Heh, at ease, McCloud. I have a surprise for you," Pepper said, then offered a respectful nod to Falco who returned the gesture evenly.
"A...what?" Fox tilted his head once more, reaching his right paw back to scratch lightly at his nape, stealing a glance at a giddy looking Fara. Katt seemed to know something as well, looking as though she was proud of herself for completing a complicated assignment...
"The director of relations from Narconi 4 wishes to speak to you, today, live. He just found out this morning that the disappearence of Illiria is due in part to your efforts last year. We filled him in on what happened and he wanted to present a token of appreciation to you on air, having heard what you went through and what you had to persevere. I know you would never have accepted a publicly televised award and so I had Fara and her friend bring both you and Lombardi, while I was able to contact Peppy through Slippy, who you know does R&D for our weapons," Pepper explained.
Fox looked increadulous. His jaw dropped wide open, and he was simply astonished that Fara and Pepper would go through such great lengths to put him on the spot like this.
"You want me to ...what?" Fox glanced to Falco who simply shrugged. Falco really wasn't bothered by publicity. He sorta relished in the attentions of the media or teenage fanbase that StarFox had amassed since their successful Venom run, two years ago. Even with their failure to obtain a victory in last year's war with the Venom-Iririan military league, between Fox missing in action and the successful wedge having been driven through Venom and the Iririanians's collaborated effort, StarFox never dwindled in it's popularity. Falco loved this. Fox, on the other hand wanted to accomplish two things, making a better world, and making a living. He was indifferent to a crowd of people cheering his name...
No strike that thought, Fox remembered the public of Papetoon, running to his side after Andross escaped in the small pod a few years back, taking refuge in the blackhole after Fox, Falco and Peppy destroyed the corebase over Papetoon's upper hemisphere. He remembered how confident he felt deep down inside after having liberated the population from fear. A light smile crept up over his muzzle, but was quickly stifled.
"Since you have me on the spot here, I can't refuse," McCloud finally conceeded.
"Oh, there was no way I would have taken a refusal," Pepper replied with a grin. Falco had to grin at that, while Fara and Katt exchanged a high 5. Obviously Pepper had put them up to this whole thing, to get it together on such short notice.
"So long as I get to address the fact that Fara and I are dating on an interplanitary televised news network? I can't refuse," Fox said with a satisfied looking grin. Fara suddenly gave pause, turning away from Katt to give Fox 'the look'.
"Ooo.. Uh, Mac, I think you should reconsider," Falco whispered into Fox's ear.
"No no," Fox said, shaking his head, "She went through alot of trouble to get me televised so I can make news. Why not announce that the StarFox Squadron 'Bachlor-leader' has his eyes on someone?"
"Really, Junior," Pepper cut in, "This is just going to be you and the team recieving a little admonishment from the Narconi leader." Fara seemed to smile at Pepper's words, as if he had just saved her bacon. Then he continued, "You can talk about Fara all you want on a talk show. I'm sure there will be plenty of offers now that it's going public that you had more to percevere under Illiria then simply being a prisoner. Maybe you can talk about how Fara came to your rescue, proving her secret love for you and..." Pepper was suddenly cut off by Fara.
"Enough," She interupted. Fox grinned slightly, knowing that Pepper was only trying to make light humor of the real situation, knowing that Fox would be asked about the horrors that sometimes still haunted his sleep, on live television. Fox appreciated Pepper's decent attempt at humor, and leaned back on the table behind him, while thinking of where to go with the conversation.
"Well," Falco finally said, coming to Fox's rescue once again. "The way I see it, StarFox is gonna get KNN some good ratings. That's fine with me," Lombradi offered, turning to see Fox's expression.
McCloud chuckled lightly, and approached Pepper, reaching to pat the hefty hound's shoulder. "Shall we?"
Pepper nodded, turning towards the doorway. Fara and Katt stepped out of the room first, keeping their eyes peeled for the Media. The two ladies kept their guard up, knowing that the Media would turn into a circus if the group was spotted on the way to the Military Assembly hall, where most of the News Cameras were already being set up, and journalists were prepairing their introduction speeches, off camera.
Once in the room, several members of the press were quick to approach Falco and Fox, another several flocking to Pepper. Fara reached her hand out, placing a paw over one of the men's microphones.
"Please...; Can't it wait until we're all settled in? Do you really want to make the General late for his speech?" She said with an authoritative tone. Already, a throng of press had been seated around the podium, waiting for everything to start.
"Mr. McCloud, what brings you here to Katina Capital City for this historic treaty signing?" One journalist asked. Fox eyed the lynx carefully before leaning forward to the offered micraphone to answer quickly.
"I'm just a guest, and I'm here to celebraite the victory of Narconi 4 over the Iririanians," Fox replied.
"Mr. McCloud!" Fox glanced up at another reporter, wielding a micraphone. "Mr. McCloud! How do you reply to the new rumors that you were forced to work for the Iririanians and what was it like?"
With that simple question, Fox went silent, having a short flashback of himself reaching a paw out. A small metallic console was sought... a small button was pressed.. and a scream was heard in the background.. In this moment, Fox looked over his shoulder and saw a man named Steren behind him, crushed and ripped into shreds by the expanding forcefield that was barring the jail cell he was standing next to. Then he heard Falco's voice, snapping him back to reality.
"Look pal, Fox was a POW, that made it back in one piece. Give the guy some credit," Lombardi said, patting the reporter on the shoulder, guiding him away from Fox, to give the vulpine a little space.
"Well what about the rumors that you flew against Fox McCloud in a dogfight and survived his brainwashed wrath?" The reporter suddenly said, directing the new question towards the Avian.
Again, Fox's eyes seemed distant. The room was replaced by the inky tendrils of vast open space. Fox's paws closed into fists and he could feel the cold metal of a flight stick in his palms. Venom letters and symbols flashed infront of him, the viewscreen's glow reflecting in his eyes. A small red box closed around the tiny object that made a loop in the distence, heading back towards him. It was an enemy... but it's voice was so familure...
'Fox. This... this is Falco. Do you read me?'
'Fox- I know it's you in there. What are you doing?' Fox felt his fists push forward, the control stick responding fluidly. The fighter leaned forward to push the enemy's aircraft into a sharp dive, but apparently his bogey was ready and darted out of the way, causing Fox's blaster fire to miss. Next thing he knew, the bogey was coming up underneath him...
'Oh no you don't, Fox, I taught you that trick!' The familure voice exclaimed. It was at this point that Fox felt confusion and that ment punishment... He heard the voice again, although it was much more clear. There was no longer the crackle of radio gray-noise, but clear as if the voice was standing directly beside him.
"I could easily tell you that I out flew my wingleader. But it was my Wing Commander's iron willpower that kept him from shooting me down," Falco replied to the reporter. Fox was shaken from his reverie, glancing up at the Avian who stood taller than the rest of the group as they made their way towards the head of the room.
"So you're admitting that Fox flew against you in a Venom fighter?" The reporter asked excitedly.
"Man, don't twist my words around, I never mentioned a Venom Fighter or Fox flying against me. I just said he had iron willpower that kept him from shooting me down." Falco quickly realized that simply by trying to suggest that Fox was strong enough to keep from tearing Falco appart, the Press only pulled up the fact that he indeed flew against his fellow StarFox team member.
"Look," Falco finally said, "If it really was Fox in that Venom fighter, don't you think he would have flew home and rescued himself? I was just trying to suggest that Fox would never take me on in a dog fight. He's too loyal for that!" The Avian exclaimed.
Fox was too loyal... too loyal... McCloud's eyes fluttered shut as he was slowly guided forward towards the head of the Assembly Hall, and everything around him was dark. In the center of the room his mother stood next to Iliria, who stood, smiling.
'But you wouldn't attack a friend would you? What would your parents think?' The voice belonged to Iliria, and ... Fox's leg brushed something.. and he found himself sitting suddenly, staring at Vixy... Her soft smile and her gentle visage faded and was replaced by that same soft smile, the same gentle visage... but her ears were horizontal as opposed to vertical... Fox was stairing at Fara, sitting off to the right, behind the podium.
"Pst, Fox," Fara leaned towards him, whispering quietly. "You alright? You looked like you blacked out back there. Just relax, don't be camera shy or nervous. You'll do fine!" She said, reaching forward to pat his muzzle. He smiled softly, remember what the shrink told him... That there is a difference between reality and fantasy. But that you can make Fantasy a reality by simply using mind over matter, and right now, that seemed like solid advice. Afterall, Fox was once lonely, and his Fantasy of finding someone to spend his life with was more reality now than before, with Fara accepting his proposal to courting. And he knew that one day, Fara would accept his proposal to engagement, and he would be betrothed to the one he adored.
But reality had to start with real life. And right now, he was sitting off to the right of the podium, in the far left corner of the room, next to Falco, behind Fara and Katt. That's when his head cleared up, and he realized that General Pepper was giving a speech. How long had he been day dreaming? A quick glance at his wrist-chronometer basically told him that nearly forty-five minutes had passed.
x
"The price of our freedom is at the cost of eternal vigilance. The price of this freedom is a cost that weighs upon every freedom-loving citizen of both Lylat and Narconi's system, and together, by this joining ... by the signing of this treaty, may we both compliment one another's freedom with joint vigilance." The voice was replaced by applause. The applause was replaced by darkness. . .
The image faded from the holovid's platform, a fading white dot replacing what was once the image of the Narconi speaker. Seeing Fox McCloud besides him, and mentioning a victory over the Iririan military faction made her sick... hearing him talk of freedom made her sick. Seeing Fox walking back to his chair wearing a medal presented by the leader of Narconi 4 made her sick... and seeing Fox sit back down next to that silly little fennec he was so obsessed with made her stomach churn.
Iliria picked up the small remote control in her paw, lifting it over her head in preperation to hurl the small object when suddenly she froze. Her paw lowered once more, and her finger mashed down on the power button. The image was brought back to life once more, and her maw was covered with a rather sardonic smirk. It was only a moment before the live speech was over, and the news would show recaps from the highlights of the speech. Her patience was awarded with a shot of Fox McCloud sitting down behind the podium, wearing a medal around his neck. When he sat down, he took an empty seat adjacent to the cute looking vixen, taking her paw into his own, just as the clip ended, replaced with an image of the news anchor.
Iliria closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember where she's seen that face before. Picking up a magazine with the words WORLD written at the top, Iliria flipped to page 45. Fox McCloud was on the center of the page. She flipped through a few pages until she got to a picture of Fox with his paws outwards, as if he was explaining something. The caption underneath was quite clear...
'Fox explains that his team, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad and Peppy Hare would never be complete without a woman who was very special to him since the Venom-Lylat War. Fara Phoenix, a military instructer had lead the team in an assult against The Venom-Iririan military League and was pivitol in his safe return. Fara Phoenix is daughter to the celebrity founder of Phoenix space freight, our very own.. Mr. Riches himself, Peter Jacob "Devon" Phoenix...'
Iliria's lips twisted upwards into a satisfied grin. It was the girl that resembled Fox's mother. Only slightly of course, it was easy to mistake, but all simularities have to end somewhere. This Fara Phoenix was a fennec; As Iliria could remember from dwelling in Fox's dreamworld, his mother was a redfox vixen. Ah, but they looked so much alike other than the ears... Fox McCloud had reached for the girl's paw when he sat down in the news clip.
It was time for Iliria to remind people why they once feared her name. It was time to give a lesson in History... and this History's lesson would be... 'Don't forget me' and oh how Iliria was ready to jog their memory.
She needed only to learn a bit more about this Fara Phoenix character. Turning to her left, she called out for her current one, waiting for his reply. Quickly, a young gentleman stepped into the room. He bowed quietly and waited for instructions.
"Be a dear and fetch me the information on Fara Phoenix," Her voice cooed, soft as silk.
"Yes Mistress. May I ask a question of you, Mistress?"
"Yes, you may speak..."
"When will I be given the chance to kill Fox McCloud for the death of my brother?"
"Oh sweety. I promise it will be soon. Steren will finally rest peacefully knowing that you've avenged his death. I think that once Miss Phoenix sees things the way you do, she'll be more than happy to help us avenge Steren's murder at Fox's hand," Iliria replied in an almost cheerful tone.
"Thank you, Mistress," the man said, then turned to leave. The room was quiet once more. This left Iliria to rub her collarbone, where her shoulder had been sore. How could she ever forget what it felt like to have it dislocated after she wound up in that dreadful pit. Had she not known of the release hatch they used to get Fox out with, when he spent time in it, she would have starved. Since her shoulders wern't as broad as McCloud's, it took her several days to get out of that damned shaft, but she would never forget. ...Never forget the humiliation Fox McCloud delt her... And she would remind him where he belongs, when she had this Fara Phoenix in her grasp...
x
Fox stepped onto the bridge of GreatFox, glancing from left to right at the dimmly illuminated area. He settled down into his favorite chair, pulling the laptop up, that was built into the right armrest. Upon lifting the screen the computer began to bootup quickly, prompting a display of options. Fox punched a few keys and his optic mail began to come up, displaying "Six Unread Optic Letters".
No sooner had he began opening the first letter when Slippy Toad shuffled onto the deck, looking tired. A tool was wedged in his left hand as he trudged across the room, nodding quietly to Fox.
"Dear Mr. McCloud," Fox began to read outloud, "It would be to our delight if you could escourt the treaty vessel ULANBURG from Narconi 4 to Corneria. We'll pay you handsomely for your protection. If you decide to take this offer, We'll give you 25,000 credits before and after the flight." Fox glanced up from the screen and grinned at Slippy.
"Fifty Thousand credits, Slip. That'll buy a loooot of Pizza," McCloud said with a slight grin upon his muzzle.
"When d-d-do we fly this escourt bit?" Slippy asked, scratching the underside of his chin with the screwdriver in his left hand. Fox parused the letter once more, before answering.
"They apparently havn't even finished the rough draft copy of the treaty. They gotta put in all the clauses and all the legal jargan. It's not just a post-it note that says "we're friends, sign here". I'd say about 40 hours. That gives me time to spend some quality alone-time with Miss Phoenix," Fox explained with a grin. Slippy smiled then shook his head, shuffling off the bridge and out into the hallway.
"I'm out," The frog said behind him, as he passed through the double doors.
"Night!" Fox called in return, opening the next letter.
Several moments went by in silence before the double doors opened up once more. Fox didn't bother glancing up to see who it was just yet, he was still reading over the last several sentences of his second O-Mail, as the person made their way onto the bridge. Finally his eyes lifted from the screen.. and suddenly his jaw dropped wide open at who stood before him.
Iliria had her arms folded, standing before him. The small com-link that was attached to the side of her head seemed to shine as she stood just feet away from him, with a shyann strapped to her hip. It was the Pandorian music instrument of choice for Peppy, resembling a harp of sorts. Her arms unfolded, and she lifted her fist, pointing her finger directly at him. He reached for the blaster in the storage compartment build into the side of his chair, but by the time he brought the gun up, she was gone. Fox was alone in the room, the double doors slid shut.
"What the..." Fox muttered softly as he sat up, and slid to the floor, keeping his pistol trained on the doors that had just slid shut. He walked to the wall, adjacent to the doors and put his back up against the bulkhead, then spun around, into the doorway, his gun drawn, as the doors slid open.
He was staring directly into complex ruby orbs of sunswept crimson hues. Those glowing red eyes spoke volumes of the Iririan standing infront of him. He quickly brandished the Pistol and burried the muzzle into Iliria's stomach, pulling the trigger. Nothing. He rubbed his eyes with the backside of his paws, now aware of the hole in the hallway wall several feet away. The frustraited vulpine cursed softly, pushing the pistol into the waistband of his sweats, looking around the hallway furtivly. Nothing. There was no reason that the double doors should have slid open in the first place... did they? Apparently his mind wasn't through playing tricks on him.
"This is silly. If she was still alive, the Iririan forces wouldn't have lost their footing against the Narconis. She's so dead," Fox reassured himself.
"Who's dead?" The soft voice filled the room, causing him to glance back into the bridge, where the sound had come from. No one was there. Fox turned back to the hallway, glancing out into it, left then right. Nobody was around.
"Aw, c'mon! She's dead, Fox!" McCloud said aloud, as he reapproached his bridge-chair. Slumping down into the cushion, he continued to try and reassure himself that everything was fine. "Andross prolly kicked her ass for trying to manipulate him. She's probably got a blaster hole in her skull, floating through space, after the old ape tossed her butt out an airlock," Fox reasoned.
Just then the hallway doors slid open. Fox freed his blaster almost instantly, pointing the barrel at whatever was about to walk through those doors. A very suprised Fara quickly covered her muzzle with a paw, gasping softly in surprise.
Seeing this, Fox quickly pushed the gun into the seat cushion in shame. Fara approached him, looking concerned but still shocked. He couldn't even begin to explain and just shook his head, throwing his paws up in the air. She opened her muzzle to speak, or perhaps to seek an explination when Fox quickly replied, "Don't ask... please"
"Yeah... I might not like the answer," She conceeded. Approaching him, Fara was quick to change the subject to something a little less confusing, "So, how long before we arrive in the Narconi system?"
"Another hour. Then in the morning, we'll escort the ambassador back to Lylat," He explained. Fara nodded, walking to the viewscreen, placing her palm gently upon it. She thought for a moment, finally looking over her shoulder to Fox, and speaking, "You uh, not looking forward to returning there are ya...?"
"It wasn't the nicest experience... that time I ... we... crash landed on their planet," Fox reminded.
"It was a jungle region... It's not supposed to be civilized, Fox."
"So?" He grinned, shaking his head, "You know... We almost lost my father's best friend on that place. That's all I have left of my old man; That place just gives me the creeps because of what happened from the direct involvement with the enemy force's leader," Fox added. Fara shook her head softly, knowing that he was still a little bit bugged out by Iliria. She was really the only adversary to put the fear of God into Fox McCloud. Fara also knew that Fox had nightmares about his parents, about falling to his death at the bottom of a cliff, and a good many other dreams that lasted for ages after Iliria dissapeared.
Sauntering over to him, Fara gently collapsed into his lap. Hooking an arm around him, she nuzzled the side of his face with hers, gently. Fox responded warmly, hooking an arm about her. Afterall, they were technically "Dating" now.