Seated in the medical bay on board the Great Fox, McCloud was letting the robots do their thing. They had already stitched up the wounds in his back and were now working on all the other cuts and gashes he had gotten.
Fox was numb to the sting of disinfectants. He had other things to worry about. How did Pyra learn Captain Falcon's moves? What had happened to the captain? How was Fox going to find Pyra? The last question seemed to be the most important. If he could stop Pyra from stealing the moves of anyone else, things would be so much easier.
But how was ho going to find Pyra? Fox had no idea what Pyra was traveling in, who he was going to target next or even where he came from. And how did that ring fit in? It had something to do with all this, but what? All questions that could be answered later. Right now, he had to contact the General and inform him of the situation.
He went to the control room and activated his radio. When he saw General Pepper's face, he knew there was going to be bad news.
"We have been contacted by the Master Hand again," Pepper said. "It seems you weren't as successful as they had hoped."
Fox frowned. "How do they know how successful I was?"
"They are the rulers of the tournament. They must have away to keep an eye on you."
"They don't have eyes," Fox said.
"You know what I mean." General Pepper cleared his throat. "The Master Hand is greatly concerned about the recent events. He wants you to find this thing and stop it by whatever means necessary."
"But I don't know where he is," Fox complained. "He could be anywhere by now."
"Find a way, McCloud," General Pepper said before signing off.
Fox cursed to himself. This was turning into one hell of a day. He leaned back let his head fall against the headrest, thinking about the situation. He ran through his questions again but came up with nothing new. Then he swore again.
He was out of his league. He was used to missions where he could just shoot the enemy down from the relative safety of his Arwing. Now he was supposed to fight man to man? Fox to cat? Smasher to… demented, power hungry type? He was going to need help. Help from someone who knew how to handle themselves on foot. A bounty hunter feared and respected the galaxy over.
He just hoped she was in a good mood.
Brin Star. What a place to make a living. Lava everywhere. Unstable platforms. And that big, black, ominous dragon thing in the back. Not Fox's ideal vacation spot. But vacations would have to wait. Right now, he had someone to meet. Find, rather. He cursed himself for not being able to call ahead.
Fox landed his Arwing and stepped out onto the shifty ground. He looked around, waiting for anything to come flying at him from the dark places on the planet's surface. Nothing came, but that didn't mean nothing was there. No one as skilled as her could have missed the Great Fox orbiting the planet.
What made things worse was the circumstances of their last meeting. They had fought in the latest tournament and it was by sheer luck that Fox managed to beat Samus. She had him dead to rights. Her mistake was wanting to finish Fox off with a bang. She charged up her Charge Shot and let loose. Fox hit his Reflector and bounced the huge ball of energy back into her face, knocking her off of the stage. Praying she didn't hold a grudge was a waist of energy.
Fox set out, careful of his footing. A wrong step could get you in trouble. Active lava tubes were a major hazard on this planet. He traveled slow, not knowing where to go exactly. His hope was that she would find him. Or rather approach him first. She was no doubt watching him right now. Fox looked around, hand near his blaster. She had a habit of shooting first.
He spun around when he heard an explosion behind him. He pulled his blaster and kept it aimed where the smoke was rising. He was frozen, waiting for something to happen. Something did. Another explosion behind him. He spun and fired randomly into the smoke.
This was getting bad. He couldn't see anything but smoke. He looked around, breathing hard with fear. There was another explosion and Fox fired into the air above it. Then he realized that this was stupid. He holstered his blaster and held up his hands.
"Hello?" he called. "Samus? I need to speak with you."
There was another explosion a little closer to Fox. He resisted his impulse to draw the blaster and fire.
"I'm not here to do battle," Fox continued. "There is a matter of great importance that I must discuss with you."
Something landed behind Fox. He spun around and was picked up by Samus's Screw Attack. He was flung around in a circle for several seconds before finally being sent to the ground. He hit hard, knocking a hole in the ground. He started to fall, but a strong hand grabbed his tail and pulled up.
"What are you doing in my world?" Samus demanded, before throwing him across the landscape.
His body opened several more pits, but fortunately, he came to rest on solid rock. He got to his feet and looked at Samus. She was charging up her Charge Shot.
"You don't belong here," she said as she let loose with the massive ball of energy.
Fox jumped over it and landed on his feet. Samus was charging at him. So Fox dropped to his feet and spun his foot out, tripping her. She would have been sent flying if she hadn't rolled into a ball. Fox was about to go after her but realized that she had left a trail of bombs. The first one exploded right next to him, and he was sent flying. He recovered in mid-air and landed on sturdy ground.
"We don't have time for this!" Fox shouted. "We need to talk!"
"Come to gloat?" Samus asked, kicking Fox in the back before launching several missiles.
Fox hit his reflector, bouncing all the projectiles back at Samus, who dodged them easily. She jumped and landed behind him before catching him in another Screw Attack. Once again Fox was flung up into the air. He landed on his shoulder, hurting his arm.
"No," Fox said. "There is trouble and I need your help."
This time, Fox heard Samus land behind him. He rolled forward, turned and dashed right through her. A cyan illusion smacked into Samus, sending her to the ground. But she was on her feet again in seconds. Only to get knocked into the air by a second one. Then Fox was over her, smacking her to the ground with a blow to the stomach.
He landed next to her and got her foot in his face. He was sent a few feet into the air, which Samus took as an opportunity to send his skidding over the ground. Which she did. When Fox came to a stop, she ran at him again.
"And why should I help you?" she asked, kicking Fox in the face when he tried to get up. She leaned down grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up, her large arm mounted gun pointed at his face. "You proved you could handle yourself at the tournament pretty good."
"I lost, Samus."
"So I heard," she said with obvious enjoyment in her voice. "And by a newcomer, too."
"We need to talk," Fox said, ignoring her remark.
"Then talk," she said. "I'm all ears."
Fox began to explain but was cut off by a loud explosion. Then Fox knew that somehow, Pyra had managed to come to Brin Star.