Chapter two of Side B, and this one is very different than the first story! Hopefully, if you're a fan of Fox, you'll like this story. And you don't even need to have read The New Challengers at all to understand it. Everyone wins!

Setting: Corneria, in the past.
Tone: Serious.
Character: Fox McCloud.

The Torch Passes

Fox McCloud sat slumped at the sleek table in the middle of the plaza, his back leaning against the side of a railing which fenced in an enormous solitary tree in the otherwise industrialized area. It was a bright day, but the thick leaves of the tree caused the area where Fox was sitting to be thrown in to shadow.

Fox glanced idly around the plaza, taking in the stalls, tables and chairs, as well as people sitting talking and laughing, or strolling around the area casually.

The plaza he was in was surrounded by tall skyscrapers on all sides-huge, white, smooth buildings which spoke of the incredible technology of his home planet Corneria. He was sitting in the heart of Corneria City, the capital city of the planet and the site of the Cornerian Flight Academy building, which he was currently a student of.

Sighing, Fox leaned forward to take a sip of the sweet tea he had been drinking, which now tasted bitter and flat to him, as if his taste buds were reflecting how he currently felt inside.

A distance roaring noise made him look up, and through the leaves of the giant tree he watched as a passenger ship coasted past the plaza, above the roofs of the skyscrapers. The sight of the ship redoubled his feelings of worry and stress. Spaceships always made him think of his father. James McCloud, the founder and leader of the Star Fox team.

His mind went back unavoidably to the day when General Pepper, the Commander-in-chief of the Cornerian Defence Forces, visited him and his father while they were in his room at the Flight Academy.

The general, a dog-like being with a perpetually drawn face, had appeared suddenly in the door-way leading to Fox's room, and his father had immediately snapped to attention, offering the general a seat at a low table in the room.

"General. A pleasure to see you." James McCloud had said formally yet friendly, while Fox hovered in the background, wondering what could be so urgent to make General Pepper himself visit.

"Likewise, James. And it's good to see you as well, Fox." The general said, nodding at him. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you. How old are you now, son?"

"I'm seventeen…sir," Fox said, nervously.

"Ah. Quite an age. And I trust you'll be graduating from the Flight Academy soon?" The general asked politely.

"Yes sir. As soon as I complete the last of my exams." Fox answered, feeling a touch of pride.

"That's great. I knew you would make an excellent pilot-it's in your genes, after all," the general said, smiling and nodding at James McCloud, who was sitting opposite him.

"While I appreciate the flattery, sir, I wouldn't mind knowing the reason behind this visit," James said, leaning forward and pricking up his ears.

"Always thinking of the next mission, eh James?" The general chuckled, and then his face grew quite serious. "Very well. I have come here today to ask for your help in a matter of great concern. Do you remember Andross?"

Fox saw his father scowl and nod. "How could I forget? That crack-pot monkey scientist that you exiled to the planet Venom after he began conducting dangerous experiments! Of course you know that he and I don't exactly have a happy history."

Fox's own ears pricked up at this. Andross was an infamous figure whom General Pepper had exiled shortly after taking office, so what this had to do with his father he had no idea.

"That's right." General Pepper said, nodding grimly. "Exiling Andross seemed like the safest and most humane thing to do at the time, but…we've had reports that Andross has started building up forces on Venom, and may plan on launching an attack on Corneria, or on any number of other planets."
James shrugged. "Why don't you send a fleet to stop him, then?"

The war dog shook his head. "Can't do that. That would be an act of war, and as of right now we are still unsure of Andross' intensions. That's why I want to send Star Fox to investigate in secret."

"So we get to the point at last," James said, chuckling. "Sending in a small team would make more sense, I suppose…"

"So you'll do it?" General Pepper asked, and Fox was impressed with how the general spoke to his father-not as a figure of authority, but as a friend.

"Yes." James McCloud said, without hesitation. "Andross might pose a serious threat, and he's probably harboring a grudge against Corneria."

"Excellent. So, your team will be…?" the general asked, letting the sentence hang.

"The usual: myself, Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar." James responded.

The general nodded, and stood up to leave. He saluted James McCloud, and said, "I want your team to leave as soon as possible; tomorrow, if you don't mind. Drop by headquarters tomorrow and I'll go over the mission in more detail with you."

After the general had gone, Fox had pleaded with his father to take him along for the mission, even as a passenger, but as usual James smiled and shook his head.
"No, Fox. It's too dangerous, and while you might be an excellent flyer, you're still not trained for this sort of work." His father said.

He laid a hand on Fox's shoulder when he saw the dejected look on his face. "I only want you to be safe, Fox. Stay here and concentrate on graduating from the Flight Academy, and then you and I will be able to fly side by side between the many planets. Though perhaps we'll be doing something safer then the work I'm doing now." James added with a smile.

Fox shrugged his shoulders, still feeling unfairly disciplined. His father ruffled the fur on the top of Fox's head lovingly.

"You'll get your chance to shine soon, son. You and I both know that you're destined for great things. Anyway, this mission shouldn't take more than a day or two, so I'll be back soon." James McCloud said.

Fox's mind snapped back to the present, and he stared stupidly at his drink on the table, trying to keep his emotions under control.

The Star Fox team had been gone for around a week now, and Fox still hadn't heard from his father. Something had gone wrong, he knew, but, apart from torturing himself by wondering vainly what could have happened, there was nothing he could do about it.

He had been in contact with General Pepper every day, but the general was as clueless as he was, as the base had lost contact with the team days ago. Another team had already been sent out to investigate the whereabouts of Star Fox.

Meanwhile, he had dropped his studies for the week, unable to concentrate on something like exams, which now seemed trivial and meaningless to him. He just wanted his father to come home safe.

He noticed a figure approaching his table out of the corner of his eye, and he looked up to see Bill Grey standing there, his good friend who was also enrolled in the Flight Academy.

Fox blinked his green eyes, and forced a smile. "Oh hi Bill. Taking a break from your studies as well?" He said, trying to act casual and not reveal the distress he was feeling.

Bill, a grey-furred, dog-like being, shook his head. "Actually, I came down to see how you were coping." He revealed.

Fox sighed inwardly. It was nice that Bill felt worried about him, but having other people treat him as if he was about to break just made the situation worse.

"I told you, Bill, I'm fine." He said not unkindly. "I'm actually coming back up now, so, uh, I'll see you back at our room, okay?"

Bill hesitated, and then nodded decisively. "Okay Fox. See you up there."

As his friend made his way back across the plaza, Fox almost felt like screaming. The truth of course was that he was not fine, and he felt that if he had to wait much longer for news of his father and his team, he would be tempted to fly out of Corneria and investigate the disappearance himself.

He stood up and began making his way slowly through the plaza, navigating around chairs and people distractedly, his mind a million miles away.

He was in the process of side-stepping around yet another Cornerian, when suddenly he felt himself be grabbed by the shoulders, and he looked up, startled, into the red eyes of a grey-furred rabbit dressed in an old jacket and long grey pants.

He gasped, feeling shocked and in a state of disbelief, hardly believing his eyes.

"Peppy!" He blurted out finally, grabbing onto the hare as if fearing he would vanish. "You're back! But…what's happened? You look terrible!"

His father's good friend did indeed look on the verge of collapse, his warm eyes hazarded and his cheeks more flushed than normal.

"I'm fine," Peppy Hare wheezed, his expression urgent. "Fox, I need to tell you something. I…" He began, but faltered, hesitating.

"It's about my dad, isn't it?" Fox demanded, his heart hammering in his chest. "What's happened?"

"Let's go up to your room, okay? It's too noisy out here…"Peppy mumbled, looking tired and depressed.

"No." Fox said quickly. He looked around him, and, spotting a vacant table next to him, sat down stubbornly on a chair. "I want you to tell me now."

Peppy sat next to Fox, still looking frail and weak.

"Okay Fox. I just got back to Corneria half an hour ago. I reported in to General Pepper, and then I told him that I needed to see you. I wanted to be the one to tell you…your father always made me promise that if anything ever happened to him, I would be the one to…oh my. I'm sorry, I should be stronger than this…" Peppy muttered, his head bowed.

Fox, his whole body shaking now with dread, placed a hand on Peppy's shoulder.

"Please Peppy, just tell me…" Fox said, struggling to get the words out. "Where's my father? Did…something happen to him?"

Peppy was silent for a long time before answering, but Fox didn't need to hear his words to know what had happened: the tears running down the hare's face told him everything.

Fox's mind seemed to pulse, and he felt nauseated.

"James…he's dead, Fox. I'm so sorry." Peppy whispered, and to Fox it seemed like his voice was coming from under water, as it sounded distorted and unreal to his ears.

His nightmare had come true. He stood up quickly on shaky legs, suddenly wanting to get to his room and out of sight of the public, in case he broke down out in the open. He found it funny that he still cared about the thoughts of other people, when the one thing in the world that had been holding him together was now gone.

He moved away from the table, walking determinedly toward the Flight Academy building, the tears now coming to his eyes. Peppy shouted something after him, but he couldn't hear and hardly cared anyway. He reached the glass doors of the building, which slid open at his approach, and walked stiffly across the foyer and into the waiting elevator which would take him up to his room.

He pressed the button to go up to his floor, but before the doors of the elevator could slide shut, Peppy sprang inside, gasping and wheezing.

"Fox," he pleaded. "Listen to me. I know how you're feeling right now…the same as I'm feeling, but much worse. We need to be strong to pull through…"

"Stop it!" He shouted at Peppy, who reeled back as if struck. "I don't care! My father's dead!" He cried, choking emotionally. "You were meant to watch over him, Peppy!"

Peppy winced with real pain, and Fox, even through the red mist that had descended over his eyes, saw that he had gone too far: Peppy would have done everything in his power to make sure his father remained safe. It wasn't fair that he blame this on him.

Fox sank to the floor of the elevator, sobbing quietly.

"I know it's not your fault, Peppy. I'm sorry." He managed to say.
Peppy squatted next to him, an understanding look in his eyes. "It's okay, I understand if you want to blame me. I blame myself for what happened as well."

Fox made himself get back to his feet. "Peppy, you have to tell me what happened out there." He said, taking a deep breath.

A musical chime sounded as the doors of the elevator slid open; they had reached their floor, on the 49th level of the building.

"I'll explain as we walk to your room," Peppy sighed, stepping out of the elevator. Fox followed him, trying to compose himself.

"Our team reached planet Venom without incident. We snooped around, keeping a safe distance, and discovered that Andross was indeed amassing forces, and seemed to be planning an offensive against Corneria. We decided that we had seen enough to reach a conclusion and report back to General Pepper, so we prepared to leave the atmosphere of the planet. Only…we suddenly found our way out blocked by a force of Andross' ships. Over the intercom, James told me and Pigma to keep cool, but he sounded shocked. James and I were probably thinking the same thing: there was no way Andross could have known our position…unless someone had tipped him off." Peppy said dully, as Fox led him through the carpeted, white-walled corridors that led to his room.

They reached Fox's room, which he shared with Bill Grey, and Fox unlocked the door and went in. Seeing that Bill hadn't returned to the room yet, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in the middle of the small lounge room with Peppy. He didn't want to have to explain what had happened to Bill, especially not before Peppy finished telling him what happened to his father.

The lounge room was a simple square room, with Fox and Bill's separate bedrooms leading out from it. The most remarkable thing about the room was that, instead of there being a normal wall opposite the front door, there was a pane of glass that offered a remarkable view of Corneria City, its startling white buildings and crystal lakes stretching out into the distance.

"What happened then?" Fox asked, indicating that Peppy should finish his tale. Outside, he felt he looked more composed, but inside, his thoughts tormented him.

My father's dead. How can this be? I'll never see him again. We'll never fly together. How could I have let this happen? I should have pushed him more to take me along for the mission…maybe then it would be different. I can't cope. This is the end for me.

He tried to concentrate on what Peppy was saying.

"When we saw all of Andross' fleet, we knew it was useless to try and fight our way past them, and we were quickly surrounded by all sides. James told us that we had no choice but to surrender, so we did. He said that Andross might be forced to let us go anyway, as killing the team would be an open act of war." Peppy said, his face dark and miserable.
"So we were captured, separated, and put into cells. I sat alone in my cell for what must have been days, trying to work out in my head who could have told Andross that we would arrive on Venom, as only a few people knew about the mission. I admit that the thought that it had been Pigma crossed my mind a couple of times, but he had known James and I for some time, and I saw him as a friend." Peppy paused, his eyes growing distant.

"And then, as I sat in my cell, I suddenly saw Pigma walking toward the bars, being escorted by two of Andross' guards. At first I thought that he was being led away for torture or worse, but then he stopped right in front of the bars and sneered at me. To my horror, he then told me that it had been him that had revealed our position, plans and all of our movements to Andross!"

Fox clenched his teeth, the revelation causing him to feel fury and disgust like he had never felt before.

"Why did he do it?" He cried, balling his hands into fists. "I mean, he's always been kind of greedy, but he practically sentenced you and my father to death!"

Inside, Fox felt a grim sense of purpose. Now he knew who had ultimately been responsible for his father's death. Not Andross, but Pigma, who had always been a close friend to his family. The deceit and betrayal infuriated him.

Peppy's eyes narrowed, and Fox had never seen him look so livid. "The only thing that Pigma was after by betraying the team-and Corneria, for that matter-was money. I had no idea that his greed was so consuming."
"My father always defended him," Fox muttered, shaking his head sadly.

"Your father chose to always see the best in people. Still, you can't blame your father for not seeing past Pigma's façade, as I too was blind-sided." Peppy sighed.
"Anyway…after Pigma's confession, the swine actually helped Andross' men interrogate me-and your father as well, I'd imagine, but of course I never saw him. I endured further days of torture and severe discomfort. But then, just as I felt that I couldn't take much more questioning, something odd happened: the fortress that we were in was struck by some kind of missile, and it just so happened to strike at the side of my cell, making a way out for me.
"I swear to you that I suspect the missile hit my cell wall on purpose, but I can't imagine how. Maybe it was your father. I say this because, after I escaped from my cell and made my way to the hanger where I had last seen our Arwings, I discovered that James' Arwing was missing. He must have somehow escaped the base." Peppy said.

Fox gulped, gripping the sides of his chair in preparation for the moment Peppy would reveal how his father died. It almost seemed less real to him if he did not know exactly how his father passed away.

"So since I suspected that James had already escaped, and also since I did not want to explore the fortress like a blind man and simply get captured again, I boarded my Arwing and took off from the fortress. Once I got outside and up to the planet's surface however, I found my way blocked by Andross' ships. They shot at me immediately, and I would have died right then if an answering missile had not come from behind me, to destroy a lot of the enemy ships. I looked behind me and thought I saw an Arwing disappearing around the fortress, but I can't be certain. I tried to patch into James' channel, but I got no answer." Peppy explained, his voice growing deader with every word.

"I had to leave the atmosphere of the planet then, or else be shot down. Once I was in space, I still had a multitude of Andross' ships to contend with. They were everywhere! But I swear I kept spotting James' Arwing in amongst the fray. And then it happened…a huge explosion rocked my ship, and I looked back to see the Arwing and a group of the enemy ships disappear in a blinding flash. Fearing the worst, I quickly jacked in to the enemy's channel, and I heard the squad leader message back to the fortress with the words 'James McCloud is dead'." Peppy finished, fresh tears escaping from his eyes.

Fox bowed his head, holding his hands to his temples in an effort to control himself. Rage and sorrow engulfed him, and suddenly he was sure that he could not go on living.

In his mind's eye, images of his father swept by quickly, one after another. He remembered his father, as a young man, teaching him to fly a toy spaceship when he was young, and laughing with mirth as he flew it right into the wall of their house. His father, looking so gallant and noble as he took off in his Arwing for a mission, flashing Fox a thumbs-up. His father, smiling with tearful pride as he told him he had been accepted into the Cornerian Flight Academy. His father, now dead and gone, thanks to stupidity and greed.

He was about to scream with rage and grief and sorrow when he remembered something that his father had repeated so often to him that it had became his motto.

"Never give up. Trust your instincts."

Tears fell down Fox's cheeks, but the maddening rage and the hopeless sorrow lessened within him as he remembered James' words. His father would want him to get on with his life as best he could, like how they had helped each other live on after his mother had died. And suddenly Fox knew with a wonderful, liberating clarity exactly what he was going to do with his life.

He stood up, and leaving the lounge room quickly, he entered his room, and began searching among the clutter of his personal items noisily.

"Um…Fox?" He heard Peppy call uncertainly from the lounge. "Are you okay? I'm going to help you get through this somehow, I promise! So maybe you could stop throwing things around?"

Fox emerged from his room, dragging an empty suitcase behind him and duping it on the couch. He wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"What are you doing?" Peppy asked, eyeing the suitcase with apprehension.

"I'm leaving."

"Fox…please be rational. Throwing away your future isn't what James would want. Stay here and finish your course." Peppy urged him.

Fox actually managed to laugh. "I'm not throwing away my future. It's true that I'm going to drop out of the Flight Academy, but…I don't belong here. I should be doing what I've always wanted: to follow in my father's footsteps. I want to join the Star Fox team." He said decisively.

"But you're going to graduate in a few weeks!" Peppy stammered. "And besides, there isn't a Star Fox team anymore-not when I'm the only member left, and I can assure you that I won't be sticking around by myself!"

Fox shrugged, already packing items into the suitcase. "So we'll make a new team. A better one. You worked alongside my father for ages, Peppy. I'm sure you could teach me everything I'd ever need to know. And besides, my father didn't have much training before he founded Star Fox, and he helped save countless numbers of lives!"

The middle-aged hare opened and shut his mouth in disbelief. "Fox! This is crazy! I could teach you, I suppose, but you're too young! And I'm getting too old for flying…I'm already thirty-nine."

Fox turned to face his friend. "Peppy…you know I'm going to do this either way, with your help or not. I know how much you loved working in Star Fox. So what do you say? Will you train me?"

Fox held out his hand to Peppy, who sighed and closed his eyes wearily. When he opened them he had a proud smile on his lips.

"I have a feeling you'll do your father proud, Fox. Very well, I will train you! Although General Pepper won't like it." He said warmly, grasping Fox's hand in his.

Fox smiled, the excitement he was feeling helping keep his grief down.

I'm going to avenge your death, father. He thought. I know that's not what you'd want me to do, but I can't let Pigma-or Andross-get away with this. They took you away from me. I just hope they're ready for the consequences.

Fox woke with a start, staring up at the strange roof of the room in Princess Zelda's castle. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, feeling groggy. He must have been dreaming of the day he had found out about his father's death, although he couldn't remember the dream very well. He remembered that he had been thinking of his father before he fell asleep.

I wasn't even eighteen then, he thought sleepily. What a way to start my career…

He was twenty seven now, and had had many adventures since that day. He tried not to think of the past however, as he felt he needed to get some sleep for the start of the tournament tomorrow. But as he drifted back to sleep, his mind was tugged willingly back to that day when he had decided to follow his father to the stars, and a small smile framed Fox McCloud's lips.

I wanted to do a more meaningful story this time around then Pikachu getting molded into a pillow (although I admit I laughed a lot picturing that!). I did a lot of research for this one as well, since I haven't played all of the Star Fox games. The story followed the actual history of Fox closely, and I was able to find out the actual ages of characters like Fox and Peppy, but I still had to fill in a lot of blanks, and elaborate on certain details.
Oh, and I never got the chance to describe what Pigma actually looks like, but he's basically a walking pig. Thus the name, I guess. Oh, and all the characters in this story are from Star Fox; I didn't have to make anyone up. So obviously I don't own any of these characters either.
This is meant to be a one-shot, but I wouldn't mind writing more of Fox's adventures and his past either. I hope that, for those of you who don't know the character Fox very well, that this story filled in some blanks for you, and that you enjoyed it.

Reviews are very much appreciated, and, once again, the next chapter of Side B will be something very different. Until then!