Welcome to anyone who is gracious enough to give this story notice. This is the prologue to my Year of the Fox saga, an epic tale of betrayal, love, and vengeance. R&R is more than welcome, and I hope you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you.
Star Fox: Year of the Fox
Prologue: Loss
The stars had never shone brighter than that night. Like spirits of warriors undying, they forever stood vigil against the darkness in which they dwelt, twinkling in the eyes of the beholder as if to say, "Glory lies here. Come seek it." However, as the stars lit the depths of space, an ominous circular shadow blotted out a portion of them, smothering their luminescence. The shadow seemed to be solid, as asteroids would hit its surface and break apart, unable to divert it from its path.
Perhaps the stars shone so brightly for the large ship navigating the asteroids in order to intercept the shadowy planet. The ship resembled an overweight goose, with wide wings shaped like an "X", and the neck and head of the ship reaching outwards above the docking bay door and forward laser cannons. Emblazoned across the side of the ship was the name that thousands of people in the Lylat System recognized and revered: Starfox, the team of mercenaries that had defeated the maniacal mastermind Andross and brought peace to the galaxy many times over.
As the ship approached the dark orb, the docking bay opened and a small flying ship shaped like a sharpened "Y" blasted out into space, its heading the foreboding shadow that was coming so close to the ship. The pilot of the Y-shaped ship was Fox McCloud, hero of the people and leader of Starfox. In his lap was a blue-furred vixen named Krystal, a telepath and the newest member of the team.
"Be careful, Fox. We don't know what kind of defenses that thing can put up!" An aged voice blared via the communication computer.
"Don't worry, Peppy. With Slippy's improvements to the plating and shields, we could fly through a laser storm!" Fox replied with confidence.
Aboard the bridge of the large ship, Peppy, Slippy and Falco all gathered around a single monitor, which was the only thing casting light throughout the room.
"I still don't see why we had to stay on the Great Fox." Slippy replied, kicking his short, toady legs as he sat watching the screen.
Falco smoothed back his head feathers. "He probably didn't want to save your hide...again."
Slippy was about to snap back, but an incoming message from Fox cut the squabbling short.
"We're entering the atmosphere of the planet now. Man...it's pitch black! Switching to night vision.
As Fox pressed a few keys on a small aquamarine panel, the window of the cockpit turned a bright green. Through the green window, Fox and Krystal could make out ancient ruins and temples, as far as the eye could see.
"So many buildings...the planet's population must have been billions!" Krystal observed.
The others aboard the Great Fox also saw the image.
"Judging by the buildings, there must've been a technologically advanced civilization here." Fox spoke over the intercom. "I'm going in to investigate more."
Fox accelerated down towards the planet, leveling off near ground level and blazing through the city. He then slowed the ship down, scanning the building for life-signs. During his scan, he flew under a group of columns. Suddenly, With a great rumbling noise, one of the columns began to fall.
"Fox, look out!" Krystal cried.
Instinctively, Fox accelerated all the way forward, barely escaping the impending doom of being crushed as the column crashed and crumbled. However, the falling pillar had caused a domino-effect, shaking the foundations of the other columns in line. Surprisingly, Fox didn't flinch. He simply grinned and gripped the control stick tightly. Deftly, he flew under the first pillar, then arced over the second. The third was trickier, but Fox managed to squeeze the ship in sideways. The rest of the pillars began to fall in front of the ship, drawing ever nearer. Fox waited. Four rows away. He still waited. Two rows away. He waited still. He was under the last of the pillars. Pulling back as hard as he could on the stick, Fox flipped the ship around and over the last two pillars as they fell to the earth and fragmented.
"Fox! Fox, are you okay?"
Fox gave a quick nonchalant laugh as a rather frazzled Krystal retied her ocean-blue hair.
"We're just fine, Peppy...Although I'd like to have a word with the local architect."
"Is the Arwing okay?"
"Yeah, it's–"
Fox could only stare as a colossal monument made of dark stone reached above the starry skyline. Hundreds of flights of stairs led up to dark doorways, and ebony bells hung drearily inside foreboding cathedral towers.
Back on the Great Fox, the team gaped as the sinister castle loomed onto the screen.
"Wow." Falco said quietly, the only one able to speak.
"This thing is huge!" Fox exclaimed as he flew around the towering behemoth.
"This," Krystal deduced. "Must be the capital building of the city."
"Then it's there we'll find our answers. Guys, I'm going to land, and gain entry."
"Careful, Fox. I have a bad feeling about this." Peppy frowned.
"You have a bad feeling when your shirts are inside-out." Falco retorted. "Go on, Fox. We're rooting for you!"
As the Arwing landed on the roof of the building, dust scattered invisibly in the dark. The cockpit opened, and Fox and Krystal leapt out. They both drew their blasters, Fox flicked on his pocket flashlight, and they headed for the nearest doorway.
Making their way through the dark corridor, the pocket light shot forth into the blackness, dimly illuminating the wall and revealing a series of arcane symbols that surrounded several murals. Each of the murals depicted scenes of violence and pure brutality; people were severing the heads of enemies, and bodies were thrown to burning pyres. In the center of each mural was vaguely humanoid figure, its arms grasping at every living thing. Each of the murals were very realistic, and looked as though they would come alive at any second.
"Fox," Krystal gripped Fox's arm tightly. "Im scared..."
Fox didn't reply. His face was grim as they continued their journey.
The hallway ended into a large circular room. There was no roof to the room...or so it seemed. All Fox and Krystal could see was a shaft leading up into nothingness. Fox was the first to see the red glyph glowing on the side of the wall– which he could swear wasn't glowing when they first entered the room. He stared at it for what seemed to Krystal as an eternity. Then, slowly, with his eyes closed, he extended a finger and touched it. Suddenly, the floor rumbled and began to lift. As standard procedure, The two hit opposite sides of the wall and remained flat against it as the elevator lifted them ever higher, emanating an odd, echoing hum.
On the Great Fox, Peppy impatiently paced the bridge, while Slippy spun around in his chair. Falco stood by the window, staring at the spherical blot in space. They had lost contact with the away party as soon as they had entered the ruins, but they were confident in Fox's abilities to get through safely. Even so, Slippy was starting to get worried.
"I'm going to try to contact them again." He said, slipping on the headset and pressing on the panels. Still radio silence. He resumed spinning around in the chair.
"Will you stop that?" Falco growled, whipping his head around and leering at Slippy.
"Why don't you make me?" Slippy snapped back, still spinning.
"Don't tempt me!"
"Too late. What'cha going to do about it?"
"Plenty!"
"Enough, you two!" Peppy stopped pacing to point threateningly at them. "We have men on the surface, so we still have a job to do– and that job doesn't including ripping each other apart!"
The glared at each other, then returned to their respective corners. Peppy turned towards the chair which Fox usually sat in and was so fond of. It was in this seat that Fox first felt the burden of command, and felt the rush of victory. It was also the seat that James McCloud, Fox's father took when he was the leader of Starfox. James was a good friend of Peppy's, and it hurt him everyday to know that he was gone. It would hurt him even more if Fox were to disappear, too– more than Slippy and Falco would ever know.
"Hurry, Fox." he whispered. For the first time in his life, he didn't have a bad feeling. He had a horrible one.
The lift finally stopped, and Fox and Krystal stepped out. Peering through the doorway, they could deduce that the next room was donut-shaped, with a large column lined with doors in the middle. As they exited the lift, it closed with a thunderous clamor and descended. After regaining their nerves, they circled around the outside of the room, assessing the situation. Near one of the doors. Fox found another red glyph and pressed his hand against it without hesitation.
With a deafening grinding sound, sections of the walls slid back, allowing entrance into the center of the room.
Inside the room was a wondrous site: A raw, crimson colored gemstone the size of three or four medium-size houses. The center of the gem seemed to capture the darkness around it, absorb it, then release it ten-fold.
Suddenly, Krystal grabbed her ears, pain wracking her mind.
"Fox!" She managed to cry as she fell to her knees. Fox rushed over to her just in time to catch her as she slumped to the floor, barely conscious.
"Fox...what's happening to me?"
"I don't know," Fox looked into her eyes hoping she would know, but her eyes were slowly being drained of life."I don't know!"
Fox whipped his head around, frantically looking for the source of the ailment. Then, his eyes narrowed as he focused on the gemstone. That was it...that had to be it.
"Hang on...I'll save you." Fox said quietly as he jumped to his feet and bull-rushed the crystal.
Gaining momentum, Fox leapt on top of the crystal, brandishing a knife. He turned the knife downward, found what he thought was a weak point, and reared back to strike.
Krystal's mind suddenly flared as an image of a grotesque shadow appeared before her in the crystal. Bearing teeth of pure flame, it smiled as it looked up at fox.
"Fox, NO!" Krystal shouted, but it was too late. As Fox struck the gem, he screamed as a deep red aura surrounded him. The dark shadow swirled within, faster and faster until finally the crystal shattered, sending jagged shards of the cursed gem hurtling everywhere. Krystal dropped to the ground barely avoiding a volley of the shards. As she looked up, she saw a dark man that looked a lot like Fox, but was covered in solid black fur.
"F-fox...is that you?" Krystal stuttered.
Before she could react, the man reached his strong fingers around her neck and squeezed tightly. He then commenced to lift her into the air as she gasped and whimpered.
"Yes, Krystal, it's me." The voice was Fox's, but someone else's as well; the voices spoke in unison, one kind and the other quite malicious. "Everything's going to be alright...just relax, and let the darkness take you."
The last thing Krystal remembered was looking into the man's glaring yellow eyes. All traces of the carefree and courageous Lylatian she had fallen in love with were gone, replaced by an incarnation of the purest evil. And she couldn't stop it, she thought, the lack of oxygen taking it's toll as she blacked out. She couldn't do anything.
Peppy stared out the window of the bridge, focusing on nothing in particular but keeping a sharp eye on everything. Therefore, he was the first to see a lone light shining from the planet.
"Slippy! Falco! Look!"
The three stared on in silent wonder as the single light grew larger and larger, eventually accompanied by other lights from all over the planet. Looking intently into the light, the three gasped. It was an armada; thousands of identical black ships adorned with crimson runes rested within what was quite possibly a docking bay. Peppy and the others watched as, one by one, runes on the ships glowed, and the ships themselves lifted upwards and floated towards space.
Two words instantly sprang into Peppy's head.
"BATTLE STATIONS!"
Slippy ran over to his station, booted up the sensors and ship data, and began analysis of the alien vessels. Falco flipped over a handrail in the center of the bridge, landing safely behind the ship control console and punching in standard battle maneuvers. Peppy took the captain's seat, flipping open a small compartment on the armrest, revealing a weapons array panel. By the time they had reached their positions the alien ships had engaged their propulsion systems and made a beeline towards the Great Fox.
"Peppy, aim for the innermost part of their wings." Slippy reported, his fingers gliding, over the panel's commands. "The armor's the weakest there."
Falco pressed a few commands himself, then turned to their acting captain. "Peppy, I'm tilting the ship on a 35-degree angle. That should give you optimal targeting range."
Peppy gripped his seat as the ship began to tilt. Meanwhile, the enemy craft had reached firing range, and were volleying the great vessel with spiraling red beams. A slew of the beams grazed the ship, giving the heroic trio a jolt.
"Hull integrity down 15! Those beams pack a wallop! I'll try to compensate." Slippy cried frantically. Slowly the Great fox continued to tilt, more and more of the large laser cannons on the front of the ship aligning with their prospective targets. Peppy's finger hovered over the 'fire' command.
"Optimal firing in 3...2...1...Now! Whale on 'em!"
Peppy slammed his finger into the panel. The cannons drew energy for a second, their massive barrels emanating a green glow before unleashing a chain of enormous energy rays. The rays hit a majority of the enemy ships head on, either disintegrating them or ripping them apart. The remnants of the attack force turned tail and headed back toward the black planet. The trio whooped in victory.
"Yeah! We showed them!"
"No alien scum's gonna get the best of us!"
"Just goes to show you we don't need Fox every time a problem arises!"
The celebration was ended abruptly as the crew catches sight of a new threat: Sections of the planet folded away as a gigantic cylindrical device protruded from the planet core. The cylinder split apart and commenced drawing a massive amount of energy. A few of the alien vessels that wandered to close to the charging device were sucked in and set ablaze. Joy instantaneously turned to fear. Once again each crew member scrambled to his post. Falco attempted to move the ship out of the weapon's trajectory. Slippy started a deep analytical scan of the weapon, hoping to find a weakness. Peppy hopped into the chair again and started blasting away at the cannon with every part of the Great Fox's arsenal. Their frenzy was in vain, however, as the weapon finally finished its charging, the energy slowly floating into the back of the cannon just before a beam easily as large as the Great Fox launched, streaking through the eternal night of space until it hit its mark: The top-left wing of the great spaceship.
The beam seared through part of the ship's inner hull, completely tearing off the wing and crippling the back fin as well. The impact from the blast violently forced the ship away from the planetary weapon, the lack of gravity allowing the ship to do turns and barrel rolls as it now floats through the depths of space.
As the vessel rolled and tossed, so did Peppy and his crew. Finally, after a few minutes of becoming painfully acquainted with the walls, ceiling, and floor, Falco finally managed to grab onto the control panel and tried to set the ship aright again. Fortunately, the back-up systems were not damaged, so Falco set all stabilizers on max, an the craft slowly righted itself. Slippy took one look at the damage report and flew into a sobbing fit.
"Main engines...offline. Weapons array...offline. Secondary engines and life support...barely. The way things look right now, we can't take another blast like that!"
"There won't be another blast." Falco and Slippy both looked a Peppy, who was gazing out of the window again. "The planet's gone."
Indeed, while they had been trying to regain control of the situation, the planet had disappeared. All that could be seen now was stars.
"But...if the planet's gone...what about Fox? And Krystal?"
The three stood in shock, unable to cope with the inevitable truth that their friends were gone. They were too worked up to even cry...they just looked at each other, with no idea of what to say.
Suddenly, A blip from the monitor caught all of their attentions. Slippy rushed to the panel, and shouted with glee,
"It's Krystal! She's in the Arwing...but it's adrift!"
Falco didn't wait for Peppy's next order. He was already scrambling to the hangar. He initialized the engines, and shot through the bay doors. A few minutes later he returned, towing the disable Arwing behind him. Both Peppy and Falco pried the cockpit open, and barely caught Krystal as she slipped from her seat.
Falco checked her life signs. "She's alive...barely. Her pulse is regular, but slow. It's as though she's in some sort of coma."
"If she's knocked out, how are we supposed to find out what happened to Fox?"
Falco looked at the worried Slippy and frowned. "We don't."
Peppy thought again of the captain's chair. No one could fill that chair...not now. He couldn't lead Star Fox on his own– he just didn't have the energy or instinct. A lone tear fell down his cheek as he looked at his fellow shipmates seeing to the unconscious blue fox.
The ship felt emptier already.