FIRST CATCH
Pew pew. Number 6 is here. What do you guys think about this story so far? Let me know sometime! Also, to my Patrons, I absolutely adore you and your generosity so much! That's right Brian, Aqua, Sylv, Tikki and Latiking, I'm talking to you. You guys are like Power Rangers. Also, SYLV'S A GIRATINA.
LuanOTP owns nothing.
A pair of Arwings soared through a vacuum, twisting and twirling in ways each respective pilot saw fit. Their destination, a pale yellow coloured planet with low albedo, was only a couple of minutes away at the rate they were going. Falco looked ahead, glancing into the cockpit of his captain, before turning on the communications device to speak.
"Hey, Fox? You got a plan if we recover Katt? It's not like we can just take her back home to Corneria or somethin'."
"I haven't thought that far yet…" replied the captain, worriedly. "Although, the priority is on actually making sure Katt is alright. We can sort her out once we've ticked that box."
"Copy that, Cap'n." said Falco monotonously, reclining in his leather chair, before being smacked on the cheek with sudden realisation, making him widen his eyes for a brief moment. "Also, if I remember correctly, before we landed in Sargasso, you said you had somethin' to tell me? Now would be a good time."
"Um… I suppose it would be…"
"Well then?"
"H-Hey! Don't rush me! It's just that… Y-Your fly was open when we were in Sargasso. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I kinda didn't get a chance." Fox mused sheepishly.
Immediately, Falco spasmed in his seat. He looked down at his crotch area, discovering that his fly was indeed open in a pool of shock. With one hand, he took to closing it while the other maintained the flight of the Arwing.
"Seriously, Fox?!" screamed the avian into the transceiver. "You've seen me in underwear, for Pete's sake! Why couldn't you tell me sooner! Gosh, I must've looked like such an herb."
Falco watched his captain scratch the back of his head, guiltily. "I-It'd would've been awkward! Plus, that incident was all the way back during the academy!"
It was a memory the bird would never wish on his most loathed enemies. Merely, Falco shook his head, and used the remaining 4% of his dignity as confidence to move on from the wardrobe malfunction. Through the receiver in his ear, he could've sworn he heard Fox exhale relaxingly.
"A-Anyway, we'll pretend that didn't happen. Hang tight, Falco, we're entering Zoness air space."
"Heard."
The two Arwings swooped into the foggy atmosphere of Zoness, overlooking the swamped oceans left as a remnant from the Lylat Wars. Falco was only a couple metres above the wavy surface of the murky waters, and the sight of it all made his oesophagus tighten harshly, and stomach feel like it was in a zero gravity chamber.
Waves of literal garbage clashed against one another. The waste that sat upon the face of the water could only make the avian shake his head. It was another trip down memory lane, but he was on the wrong side of the pavement.
"Damn… aren't the Cornerian government supposed to be doing something about all this garbage? It's disgusting!" whined the exceptional pilot, weakened by the feature of a planet covered in pollutants.
"It'll take more than just a decade to clean all this schmuck up…" murmured Fox, feeling the heat from his cheeks begin to die away a little. "Let's focus on the mission at hand, though."
"Gotcha… Hey… Do you hear a harp playing, or is that just me…?"
Fox pulled a face. "What are you talking about?"
Without warning, Falco bounced up and down in his seat in desperation. "O-Oy! Eyes forward, Fox! Do you see that!?"
Fox squinted through his windshield, but didn't seem fazed. "Negative, Falco… Also, you really say 'Oy' a lot, don't you?"
"Mind your own business! I spot a birdie at 10 o'clock!"
Now, the fox had tilted his line of vision slightly at an angle to the left, and had his eyebrows skywards once he had noticed the vehicle Falco was talking about.
"O-Oh! Copy that, Falco, I've got eyes on that aircraft. Can't identify it, though."
"Let's go check it out, then!"
Upon Falco's suggestion, both of the Arwings increased their speed with the use of the nifty fitted boosters at the rear of the ship. As they got closer to their target, they began to recognise the familiar markings and hot pink colour scheme of the vehicle.
Static emanated from both of the fighter pilots' receivers, before a smooth female voice came from the speakers.
"Oh, well look what we have here. Two of Lylat's finest pilots. Here to rescue me again, Falco?"
Falco was smacked with a fluster; he hadn't heard that angelic yet seductive voice for the longest time, and now he was getting an overdose of it.
"K-Katt…" mumbled the blue bird indistinctively.
"...Sorry guys, no time for a reunion now - We're here for necessary extraction!" called Fox from the receiver, as Falco was otherwise speechless. "StarWolf are on the search for you, Katt!"
"You're preaching to the choir, sister." retorted Katt, her Cat's Paw starfighter swivelling through the Zoness atmosphere closely above the pair of Arwings. "They've been on my tail for the past month or so. Not to sound snide, but I think I'll be fine on my own."
"But Katt! This situation is ser-"
Fox was cut off - Two parallel lasers appeared from 3 o'clock, piercing the underbelly of Katt's aircraft. Smoke spewed out from the blast, as the hot pink vehicle spiralled and plummeted toward the murky seas.
"D-Damn, Katt!" Falco called out, as he turned right and announced a red speck that caught his eye, whilst also maneuvering his Arwing to a safer altitude. "Oy, Fox, that's a bogey, right side!"
Fox took notice as the thrashing sound of the Catspaw slapping the waters' surface shook the surroundings around them. "I've got a visual! Go secure Katt! I'll take care of the shooter."
Falco nodded, and shifted gears to get going toward the wreck that was his old partner's aircraft, while Fox got to work of his own, pursuing the assailant.
Gently, Falco set the Arwing on the waving seas, and got a good look at the state of Katt's ship; The lasers didn't seem to get anything vital, such as the cockpit. He turned on his transceiver, and spoke into it.
"Falco to Katt, do you read me?"
"...Loud 'n' clear, birdie." replied the frazzled feline over the subtones of silent static. "Didn't even see what hit me."
Falco cringed at the use of his nickname since the academy. Furthermore, by squinting, the avian could spot Katt in her cockpit, adjusting certain controls. "Well, do you think you could get that thing in the air again?"
"I kinda doubt it…"
Falco shook his head and pouted with unamusement. He knew what he was in for as soon as he signed up for this task. However, this particular mission was one he never could've anticipated.
"I don't even think I could get it repaired; the main engine's totalled…" sadly mused Katt, making a bad gut feeling of Falco's even worse.
"Alright, Katt! I get it. You're gonna have to ride with me."
"Aww, really?!" yipped the cat over the transmission ecstatically. "You're such a gentleman Falco, even after all these years. Now, help a lady out of her cockpit, will ya?"
Sighing, Falco opened the window to his own cockpit, and carefully tread across the partially submerged wing of his Arwing over to the bobbing Catspaw, where Katt had began getting out herself. Each step proved vital for Falco, as it caused a change in the buoyancy of the Arwing. Once close enough, the avian extended an arm toward the pink feline.
"Here, Katt. Grab my hand." he had commanded, a formal blush lying below his cheek feathers. "Easy, though."
"Oh my, Falco." smugly sang Katt, grabbing onto the gesticulation. "Now, make way for Katt."
The duo traversed across the wing, and back to Falco's Arwing. The avian had made space in his not so roomy Arwing for Katt to sit behind the main flight chair. Falco hopped in, and sighed. He pressed on the transmitter to speak.
"Falco to Fox - 'Ello?" spoke the falcon, rolling his eyes at the feat of Katt knocking her boots against the back of Falco's chair.
"I hear you Falco, loud and clear." came again the captain, sounding as authoritative as ever. "Did you recover Katt?"
Looking over his shoulder, Falco glanced at the facetious feline, frivolously flipping a small ball within her paws. "Um, yeah. Couldn't get her Catspaw out of the water, though."
"That's fine, we can recover it using Cornerian towing vehicles ASAP. Head back to base."
"Right. Hey, wait - Did you catch the herb who totalled Katt's ship?" Falco questioned, but the fact that his leader didn't bring it up in the first place brought about a hint of doubt.
"I couldn't catch him… I lost him in the really cloudy skies." his captain admitted, sounding very disappointed. "But, we'll figure it out. I bet it's StarWolf, though."
"We'll see about it. Meet 'cha back at base."
The transmission ended, and Falco heaved another sigh once he had enough of Katt prodding against the back of his seat.
"Ugh, alright, Katt. Looks like I'll have to take you back to the Great Fox. Do you seriously gotta kick my chair back and forth, though?"
Katt had giggled, but kindly complied to the bird's complaints. "I'm sowwy, wittle birdie. What I wanna know is how you're gonna get my ship outta the water; that thing is expensive, you know."
The sound of Falco's nickname being used felt like someone was scratching a fork on a plate. "Listen, we'll get it as soon as possible, when we can. What's most important is your safety. So, you know, don't make things any harder than it needs to be."
"That's fine with me, but that means you need to meet my demands."
"Demands?" the avian sputtered bewilderedly, finally getting the Arwing up in the air. "What demands"?
"Weell… I think you'll find out soon enough, Falco." Katt sang, changing her position so she could put her paws on the border of Falco's metal-rimmed seat. "Anyway, how's things been without me. I bet you missed me loads, hmm?"
Falco looked left and right, before blasting off toward the skies. "Umm… since we floored Andross, we've just been running the petty jobs for the Cornerian military for the cash. What about you?"
"Nuh-uh, birdie, I wasn't done with my questions." immaturely retorted the cat. "Next, have you found yourself a bird of your own since then, birdie?"
A small blush ran across the avian's face, contrasting against his blue feathers. "What k-kinda question is that? I don't know what game you're trying to play at, Katt, but I don't find it funny."
"Hey, I'm not playing any games at all! I'm being honest. I just wanna catch up with one of my closest friends in the entire system…"
Now that she had put it like that, Falco felt a little bit guilty. As the Arwing travelled at Zoness' escape velocity to exit its atmosphere, the avian felt a little bit more inclined to answer the feline's question.
"Umm… Well, whatever. The answer you're looking for is no - I haven't hooked up with anyone since. I don't have my eye on anyone either."
Unbeknownst to Falco, Katt was donning the largest grin known to man, while the Arwing became a transit against the massive background of Zoness.
"Interesting to know, Falco. I'm glad we finally got to meet again. It gets boring out there on your own."
"Heard…" huffed the blue falcon, looking out at the stars. "By the way, what's this money laundering thing you've been associated with? StarWolf are dangerous people."
"I know that, birdie. Ya see, to put it in simple terms, a couple of my guys and I had been in talks with StarWolf; they'd ask us to do certain stuff, like grab some cash for 'em, and we'd get a good percentage for it." admitted Katt, making Falco shoot up in his seat.
"Are you serious, Katt?!"
"I never claimed to be a good person." sneered the feline cheekily, making Falco pout. "Anyway, once they found out we started giving them fake money, they were after our heads."
"No way… I don't believe it. You know, this doesn't put you in the best position, Katt."
Despite Falco's concern, Katt scoffed sarcastically. "That doesn't scare me, birdie. It's StarWolf after my pretty tail that does."
"Well, I guess that means we'll have to protect you for the time being, at least while you're still a bounty target for StarWolf." sighed Falco, making Katt smile indefinitely.
"Gosh, Falco, I could kiss you for that. In fact - come here, birdie!" playfully yipped Katt, putting her paws on the bird's shoulders and pretending to move about to give him a peck.
"Hey Katt, quit it alre- HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! KATT, STOP!"
The Arwing swivelled about in erratic nonsensical directions as Katt and Falco had a miniature tussle of their own. Next stop, the Great Fox… and this day still wasn't over for the avian.
Alright, that's number six done, and I really hope for you guys to have enjoyed it. Writing fanfics is fun, but soooo tiring. Thanks to every single one of my Patrons. I love everyone who reads my stories. Join the server, also! I reckon that you'd have a great time there, if you did.
L-uanOTP