Author's note:

Who missed the Star Fox Assault reference from the last chapter?

Chapter 33: Message in a Bottle

Ever since they located Fox on Purgatory, life had changed aboard the Great Fox. For Falco, he rolled out of bed a little easier. His head felt clearer throughout the working day. He could now walk past Fox's room without the wind leaving his lungs like he'd been punched in the gut by an elephant. Overall, Falco felt lighter than he ever had over the last two years. The black feelings he wrestled with weren't gone, but he felt further from their reach. He could finally breathe.

Falco also noticed positive changes in the crew. Vixy, foremost, smiled more often around the others. She spent each day pouring over the satellite footage of Purgatory with a mug of tea at her side. Tunes from 30 years ago played on her laptop's background. A stylus twirled in her fingertips without her notice. Whenever Falco walked past her, Vixy bombarded him with the latest discoveries that she found. Falco didn't think he'd seen her so upbeat the whole time she'd been on the team.

Slippy took to whistling again around the ship. He did it while he was tuning the starfighters; while cooking pancakes; and even while showering. In fact, Slippy seemed to whistle all the time now. Falco hadn't realised how much he'd missed that racket. It was a shame that Slippy had no musical talent whatsoever.

Like Vixy, Peppy showed more energy throughout the day. He didn't make a fuss about Lucy sticking around after the satellite was put in place. Falco dared to test the old hare's new joviality and challenged Lucy to a race in their starships. Peppy didn't so much as scowl when he found out. He even asked how well Lucy did! That became the shocker of the century.

In contrast, the change in Dash's behaviour was a little more subtle. He didn't act too differently over the last couple of weeks, though Falco did notice that Dash kept less distance from Vixy than he used to. Perhaps the way she instigated more conversation with him had some influence over that. For one thing, they both took interest in some strange structures on Purgatory that didn't match the rest of the planet's architecture. Falco was curious about this new friendliness between them. However, they were all in too good a mood for him to ask questions that might rock the boat.

When it came to Katt, it wasn't her that really changed much. It was more how Falco saw her that shifted recently. Spending less time stuck in his thoughts enabled Falco to see how brightly Katt shone around the ship. There was always a wiggle in her tail and a smile on her face. Her feet would bounce as she listened to her hot-red headphones while doing laundry. Falco started sharing Katt's chores just so he could be around her more. Her positivity boosted his own.

Back home, people's spirits soared with the news they delivered. Every media outlet in Lylat broadcasted the snapshot taken of Fox. Everyone was talking about it. On one end of the spectrum, talk show hosts gossiped about Fox and his new girlfriend. On the other, greying scientists scavenged on Vixy's discoveries to try and make themselves look like experts on Purgatory. And with all the fresh attention, donations came flooding into the Bring Home Fox McCloud Foundation. It amassed nearly $1 million in a single week.

Now that Falco and the team had confirmed that Fox was alive and well, people across the system all wanted to help rescue him. Even folks from Balven were contributing to the cause. It was mostly the system's governments and think-tanks though, wanting to invest in Star Fox's Purgatory-proof surveillance technology. Technically, it was Andross's; but since he was officially dead, and the Cornerian Army hadn't yet found him, Peppy negotiated for the royalties to go to Dash's family instead. A lot of it eventually flowed back into the rescue effort.

With their newfound income, Falco and the team purchased a supply capsule. The two-metre-long container was equipped with a custom-built mechanical timer hooked to a parachute. Once the clock ran out, the parachute would deploy, allowing the capsule to float gently down to Purgatory's surface. If they dropped it in the right place from orbit, the thing would hopefully land somewhere close enough for Fox to find.

At the final hour, the team mounted the capsule onto a launch rail in the Great Fox's hangar. Its compartment was already filled with a few essentials: first-aid supplies; spare ammo; as well as clothes and blankets to make surviving the elements a little more comfortable. Since Fox managed to last this long already, they forewent water bottles and only included a few processed snacks to lift his spirits. Falco considered adding a radio too, though that could wait until after Slippy tweaked the P-POS to send and receive signals.

For the final touch, the team placed handwritten letters to Fox into the capsule. Lucy rubbed her eyes as she laid her message alongside her father's and Slippy's. Vixy looked closer to crying over the envelope clutched in her hands. Falco felt for her. The letter he had spent three days trying to write shook terribly in his hand. With Katt's tender touch upon his shoulder, Falco placed the message in with the others.

"Is that everything?" he asked, feeling his throat grow tight.

A woeful silence gripped the room. "I reckon so," Peppy replied.

Falco sighed. "Then let's seal this baby up and send it off."

They closed the capsule's hatch and stood back. Katt wove her fingers around Falco's. "This will get to Fox, right?" she asked anxiously.

"I've used the P-POS data to calibrate ROB's targeting system," Slippy answered. "As soon as we launch the package out of here, it'll shoot straight to Fox's location."

"We did our best to account for wind speeds based on the planet's weather patterns. There's not much else we can do," Vixy added quietly.

Through the hangar's hard-light safety barrier, they watched the Great Fox's rear align with Purgatory. "System checks are complete," ROB announced from the bridge. "Stand clear for launch."

Falco squeezed Katt's hand as ROB ran the countdown. At the call of zero, the capsule sped down the rail, through the barrier, and out into space. It soared towards Purgatory until it at last disappeared. All the while, Falco prayed for God to carry the capsule safely. The rest was out of his hands.

On a calm, clear day atop a hill outside Kezamat, a circle of foxes sat near the old storehouse that Andross converted into his laboratory many years prior. Busy hands wove golden threads into one lengthening strand. Tightly they twisted until it was certain that the lines were joined. Throats sung folksongs as the people worked in steady harmony.

Frankly, this wasn't how Fox imagined he'd help build the rocket. The thought of lifting heavy parts from here to there instead excited him no better, yet that would have been less tedious than twisting wires all day. The only reason that Fox agreed to this was so he could gain some control over how soon he could go home. That didn't mean he didn't wish to be anywhere else but here.

Just over 30 Cerinians worked alongside Fox. Some were of Fox's age and thought Andross's project was something exciting to be a part of. Another third of the group were tired elders seeking fresh air and gentle activity after a long winter. The rest were children who Andross somehow conned into thinking that weaving gold was a fun pastime. Regardless of the reason, they at least had sufficient hands to produce large quantities of wire at a swift pace.

Fox set his work down for a moment. He stretched the tension out of his back and shoulders. They had been at this for three hours already. Craning his neck as well, Fox glanced at the coil of wire they had completed so far. It looked like a lot, yet they had so much left to do. Apparently, rocket circuits could stretch great distances if you arranged it all in a single line.

He was just about to wrap up his short break when a voice barged into his head. "Fox!"

Fox recognised Krystal immediately, as well as the urgency in her tone. "What is it? Has something happened?"

"I don't know for certain. We just received word that something strange fell from the sky! The garrison saw it land south outside the city!"

Fox's ears stood tall. "Do you mean like a starship?" he asked aloud, startling the Cerinians around him.

"We don't know," Krystal answered sadly. "The other masters and I are on our way to investigate. I just thought you should know."

He channelled his appreciation through their link. "I'll head over right now. If it's from space, I might be able to tell what it is."

"Okay. I'll give you the exact location once I'm there. Love you."

"Love you too," Fox smiled. He stood up and hurried into the lab. There, Andross and Thene poured over plans for making liquid fuel. They looked up to Fox in surprise. "Krystal just called me. Something's fallen out of the sky south of the city."

Andross straightened. "Did she specify what it was?"

Fox shook his head. "She's on her way with the Jad to check it out. I'm heading over now."

"We will join you." Andross abandoned his work to quickly throw bits and bobs into a pack.

It finally dawned on Fox, and surprised him, that his first instinct after receiving Krystal's news was to tell Andross about it. Fox even waited for him and Thene to organise themselves. A couple of years ago, Fox would have simply run off without a care. Yet something in him knew that bringing Andross along might come in handy.

As they cut through the city, Krystal reached out to Fox again. Her eyes saw a short cliff that he recognised. He couldn't spend much more attention to her message than that as he, Andross, and Thene weaved through the streets as fast as their feet could carry them. All else that Fox knew was that he saw the vision third hand from someone else closer to the scene.

Another one soon reached him, this one sighted from Krystal herself. A metal box embedded the dirt. Threads fed from its top to a tousled heap of canvas. A feral fox, winged and white, marked its side. Fox nearly stumbled. Was it real or had one of them made a mistake? It couldn't be! It had to be! Fox sprinted harder, leaving Andross and Thene behind. Krystal guided his reckless flight. Her presence became his beacon. Smoke plumed from her position.

When he reached the cliff, Fox slid down its steep slope. Small stones scratched his back and arms. He landed hard at the base, where exhaustion finally struck him. His chest heaved for breath. Worried arms wrapped around it, helping Fox to rise to his knees slowly. His linked mind recognised Krystal sooner than his clearing sight.

"Breathe," she told him. "Breathe." Fox felt his heart pounding inside his throat. The taste of milk soured the back of his tongue. "Gods among us, Fox! What possessed you to jump that?"

"Sorry," he wheezed. "Wasn't thinking."

"Clearly." Fox didn't have a reply to that. He could barely utter one if he tried anyway. Krystal's frown softened. Her touch never left his back. Fox lifted his head forward and found the object that had stirred so much fuss with his own eyes.

"Is that it?"

Krystal helped Fox to his feet. He scarcely noticed the other lythans and guards standing around them. All Fox cared about was the container half-buried in front of him. A smoke tank continued to release a signal into the air. The entire box looked like one of those care packages that military starships dropped to their allies on the battlefield. The design was unmistakably modern. Fox reached out to touch its pink-dusted hull, but Krystal snatched his wrist.

"Careful. It's hot," she warned. Yet Fox caught sight on the winged fox over the hatch. Caution fled from him in an instant. That mark… It was his! His team's! There was no mistake! He reached again for the latch.

Pain suddenly seized him. It stole control over Fox's limbs and reeled him backwards. "Don't be stupid, McCloud!"

Fox tripped into Krystal's arms. His mind swam from someone else's conquest. It had been Thene's work. She and Andross arrived at last. Krystal planted herself between them and Fox, snarling with her staff and hackles both raised. Thene ignored her to scowl at Fox.

"Do you not know how much heat an object generates when it falls from orbit? Or are you simply keen to sear your fingers off?!" she snapped. Her glare turned towards Krystal. "Oh, give it a rest, Sharrde! If you had done a better job at keeping your mate in check, I wouldn't have had to resort to what I did."

Krystal's lips peeled further from her fangs. "Why you wretched, little bitch…!"

"Leave it, Krystal!" Fox intervened. "She's right." He got too ahead of himself. Reluctantly, Krystal lowered her staff. She continued to drill holes through Thene with her sharp glare though.

"Finally starting to use your brain, I see," Andross scoffed. He pushed past the foxes to inspect the capsule closely. "Cool it down with ice and water magic," he instructed the lythans.

They looked to each other with a mix of confused and narked expressions. "Do as he says," Krystal told them. A circle of spellcasters then began to hose the capsule's shell with their staffs. As they worked, Andross turned to Fox.

"I understand your earnest, but you would do well to think before you act," he admonished. "There's nothing inside that capsule that's going to up and leave anytime soon, so wait a few minutes first."

Fox tried to muster all the dignity he could in that moment. "Did you see that mark on the side?"

"Yes. I remember that emblem from the many headaches I suffered during my first life." Andross relaxed his frown. He rubbed at his chin in a pensive manner. "If Star Fox dropped a supply capsule this close to Kezamat, that could mean one of two things."

Fox almost couldn't believe the words that then came out of his mouth. "They know where we are."

"That, or they've been dropping capsules all over the planet and simply got lucky this time." Fox sorely hoped that wasn't the case.

Andross gave the lythans two minutes to work. He then donned a thick, leather glove and tested the hull's temperature with it. Testing again with his bare hand, he nodded in satisfaction. He stepped to one side and gestured for Fox. "If you would like to do the honours…"

Learning from the first few times, Fox approached the capsule with more caution. No one stopped him from grabbing hold of the latch. It retained some warmth. Barely more than a stone's after being left in the springtime sun. Fox pulled back on the hatch. Its hinges complained as they moved. With a final, mighty heave, Fox cleared the hatch to one side and stuck his head into the capsule.

Sights he thought he'd never get to see again greeted Fox. Potato chip packets; candy bars; cans of soda; other things he'd never find on Cerinia. Fox's eyes turned to the new first-aid kit, parts of a rifle complete with bullets, as well as spare power cells for his blaster. Also in the pile, he discovered a bundle of envelopes inside a zip-lock bag. Fox tore it open and drove his claw through the first one's folds. His hands shook as he retrieved a sheet of paper from inside.

"Fox," it read.

"I hope this gets to you. It took us a while, but we finally found you a couple of weeks ago. Used some tech that we nicked from Andross's labs to see through the dust clouds. You have no idea what it took for us to get our hands on it.

"I've tried so many times to write this stupid thing. Nothing in my head is coming out right, so I'll just dump what's in here as best as I can.

"I fucked up, man. This whole bloody mess is my fault. I saw you take that hit and couldn't catch you before my Arwing shut down on me. I wasn't there when you needed me. Now you're stuck down there, and everyone up here's been worried sick about you for ages. It's the biggest screw up I've ever made in my whole damned life.

"I'm sorry. There isn't enough paper in the universe for the number of times I need to say it. I should have been better. I should have been faster. But I wasn't. The best I can do right now is everything I can to get you out of there. We're not sure how we're going to do that yet, but we'll figure something out as soon as we can.

"Everyone back home knows you're alive now, so they're all pitching in to help. Heads up though, the best photo we could get was the one with you and that blue girl on the grass. The media's going nuts over it, so be glad you don't have to deal with that right now.

"If you did get this message, make some kind of signal to let us know. We've got a satellite hanging over your location 24/7, so we'll see it. Imagine that. Our own satellite! Built it from mostly scrap parts. Now the Balvenish are offering us millions for the blueprints.

"Once we've tinkered with the tech a little more, we'll send down a radio so we can talk. It'll be great to hear your voice again, Fox. It's been fucking rough here without you.

"Watch yourself until then. – Falco"

Fox read the letter a second time. His heart shattered at Falco's words, putting blame on himself for things that neither of them could have helped. Fox then turned his attention to two photographs stuffed in with the letter. The first one was a shot of him lying out in the fields with Krystal. Fox remembered that day. He had no idea that someone was watching them at the time.

The second photo showed the bridge aboard the Great Fox. More people stood in it than just the old team. Fox was shocked to see his mother in the shot. He could scarcely tear his eyes away from her smile and notice Lucy standing beside her with ROB. Katt was also there. She had her arms wrapped around Falco. It surprised Fox that Falco's held her by the waist. And finally, Slippy stood in front. He held up a banner with a monkey who Fox didn't recognise. On it read a single sentence:

"We're coming to get you."

Fox's hand shook. The rest of his body soon joined it. Salty droplets fell upon their smiling faces. Fox's chest grew tight. A sob choked him. It broke through as Krystal knelt to hold him. Fox could hold his tears in no longer.

Two years. It had been nearly two years since he had last seen his family. Yet they found him after all this time. They couldn't fly through Cerinia's atmosphere, yet they never stopped searching for him. They never gave up.

They never forgot about him.

Fox reached for the next envelope. It bared his name in Papetoonish characters. He knew that his mother had written it before he even pulled the letter out. Fox stopped and glanced to Krystal. Sympathy filled her gaze. She held him tighter and nuzzled his cheek. Steeling himself, Fox began to read.

"Dear Fox,

"My sweet boy. I can't thank God enough that you're alive and well. I've been so scared and worried about you for so long. I cried so hard when we finally found you with our new satellite camera. My only wish now is that we could fly down this instant and rescue you. Unfortunately, the best that I'm able to do is share my feelings through this letter.

"I'm so incredibly proud of you for surviving all this time. And I'm so glad that you are safe. You're as resilient as your father was. He would be proud of you too.

"For the past two years, I've done what I could to help Peppy and your friends find you. Now I spend most of my days living on the Great Fox. Your father would be stunned by that. I never imagined it would be this way; but being on the ship has made me feel closer to you both. I feel that I'm starting to understand what flying with Star Fox meant to you and your father.

"As I write this, I can see Slippy scribbling on enough paper to draft a thesis. I'm sure he wants to tell you everything about the satellite we built and what we plan to do with it next, so I won't bore you with the details. In short, we're going to try our best to communicate with you more directly. I would love to hear your voice again soon. I miss you so much."

Fox needed to stop there to dry his tears. Causing his mother such misery was the deepest pain he'd ever experienced. To know that she knew that he was okay… that he wasn't dead… Krystal's embrace anchored Fox against the surge of relief that would have floored him. He took a deep breath and continued.

"If you don't mind me nerding out for a moment, the surface world on Purgatory is absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe that the planet is so full of life and is home to intelligent foxes like the people who you're living amongst. It's a shame that I can't go down there to learn about it all up close. Well, I suppose there is a way to do that. But as it stands, it would be a one-way trip. I now wonder if that would truly be such a bad thing though. At least I could see you again.

"But since I can't fly down there, could you do your mother a huge favour? Please learn as much as you can about the world you are in. Everything you can think of. Write it all down. Bring it home with you. I'd love nothing more than to be able to hear what Purgatory is like from you. I'm sure that there's so much that you've learned already.

"I don't know how long it will be until we can speak to each other, but I want you to know that I'll be counting the days until then. Be safe. Stay healthy. Make sure to eat right and stay warm when it's cold. I look forward to holding you in my arms again. I'm also looking forward to perhaps meeting your young vixen friend. She is quite beautiful.

"I love you to the ends of the universe and back. – Mom."

A tear-streaked smile plastered Fox's muzzle. A deep and painful hiccup racked his chest. He wanted to see her so badly too. He missed her so much. A blush soon burned his face at the thought of introducing Krystal to his mother. Fox turned to his love and hugged her.

"They found me," he whispered.

"I'm glad." Krystal kissed his cheek. "You see? They'd never leave you behind." Fox nodded, unable to breathe another word.

He decided to save the remaining letters for later. Fox pulled out a pack of barbeque flavoured chips and tore it open. His eyes closed upon crunching the crinkled crisp. Warm, salty flavour washed over his tongue. Fox then offered the bag to Krystal. "Try one."

Tentatively, Krystal plucked out a single crisp. She inspected its strange shape and texture. Sniffing it briefly, Krystal eased it into her mouth. Her eyes shot wide open. She chewed in earnest. "It's delicious! What are they?"

"Potato chips." Fox ate another and then held the bag to another Cerinian. A curious line began to form in front of him. "You slice up vegetables, like potatoes, really thin and fry them up. You can also season them to make all kinds of different flavours."

"They're not quite the rations I'd have in mind for a supply package. I suppose your team has already assessed that we're not desperate for food and water." Andross hopped down from where he perched atop the capsule. His hands clutched some odd piece of machinery.

"What's that doohickie?" Fox pointed.

"The parachute was rigged with a mechanical timer. I can reuse this for the distress beacon." Another ponderous look clouded Andross's eyes. "I'm going to adjust our plans slightly. Instead of sending a generic call for help, I'm going to design the beacon to specifically communicate with Star Fox."

"My friends say that they've built a satellite that can see us." Fox waved the bundle of letters. "They're going to try and make it transmit radio signals through the dust layer."

"That's easier for us. If we can talk to them freely, we could potentially find a way to build the rocket in half the time. We still need to determine whether it's possible to fly through the arethansphere though, so we'll continue with the beacon project for now." Andross peered down to the little wind-up mechanism. "I'm curious to learn how they managed to build a satellite that can see through arethanite dust."

"Falco's letter touched on that. Apparently, he and the team stole some of your old tech to make it work."

"Bastards," Andross muttered under his breath. He stuck his head inside the capsule to inspect its contents. "I don't have any use for these supplies, but I'll certainly be able to recycle the capsule itself. Thene and I will return later to disassemble it. We'll discuss how this impacts our plans once we've taken time to process everything."

Fox glanced briefly to Krystal then back to Andross. "Do you still need me at the lab today?"

Andross waved him off. "Go home. Read your letters. Lament on them if you need to. You'll be distracted all day otherwise, so you'd be next to useless."

That was likely the nicest way that the doc could have given him the day off. Krystal ordered a few of her subordinates to help Fox carry the supplies home. The Cerinians might think that it was all senseless junk, but to Fox, these supplies carried the hearts of his friends among the stars. Simply holding them made him feel connected to his loved ones again. He nearly started crying all over again.

"Fox?" Krystal reached out to him privately. "Are you okay?"

He smiled to her. "Yeah. I feel better than I have been in a long time."

Krystal's tail wagged. "I'm happy for you. You've been waiting for something like this for so long."

"I know. It's just too bad I can't talk to them right now." An idea struck Fox. "Do you think you can reach them with your telepathy?"

Krystal drew away for a moment. She stopped and tilted her head towards the sky. After a minute, she sighed dejectedly. "I'm sorry. They must be too far away."

"It's fine. It was worth a shot." Fox took her hand and squeezed it. "We'll just wait for Falco and the others to find a way to talk to us first."

"Hopefully, that won't be too long." Krystal nuzzled him. Aware that they had an audience, Fox pulled away. There'd be time for that once they got home.

However, the word 'home' now applied temporarily to the house that awaited them in Kezamat. A bridge started to form towards Fox's true home: aboard his father's ship, with the friends he had fought and flown alongside. This care package was the first brick laid to make that crossing. And with the help of his friends high above him, Fox knew that the day they'd see each other again would come sooner than he expected.