Chapter 9: Awkward
Swallowed by apathy; perhaps it was her best way of handling the situation. This man was telling her that he was Fox McCloud, but dressed up like a woman? She narrowed her gaze, hating to be mocked. "Fine, whatever. So you're Fox McCloud, you think that's funny?"
"No, you don't understand," Junior said with a sigh, "There are now three of us; we're all from a parallel reality. I didn't believe it either, but we've done DNA testing. Apparently you're just a double-X chromosome version," he explained, trying not to get frustrated. "If you let me prove it, I will. But right now, we need your help and tonight's the only night we have to get this granite rune out of this museum."
"And besides roleplaying as me, you're a kleptomaniac?" Snapped the vixen in reply. Fox Junior balked at her terse response, his muzzle parting just a bit. He didn't really think about the possibility of her being insulted because she's a chick and he was dressed like one. His mind had been focused on how important getting that stupid spell stone out of the museum was, at this point.
"Look, I don't want to be dressed like this," Junior said, sternly, "But the fact of the matter is, we've all been brought together because apparently just one Fox McCloud wasn't going to be enough. If you think I'm a thief, fine. But, I am not role playing as Fox McCloud, I don't pretend to be you by dressing up as a woman and maybe, if anything, you're just in shock because I'm telling you that not one, but two Fox McClouds are men. I don't know, maybe you just don't understand the concept of what roleplaying really is."
The vixen gaped. Fox, the feminine one, just swung her left paw. She sought to gain purchase on his muzzle, but with equally sharp piloting reflexes, he snatched her by the wrist, just as her palm touched his jaw. They stood there, their gaze locked upon one another, at a stand off. He could never understand the 'role playing' she was subject to as a child, trying to be the 'son' of James McCloud, just so she could get through the academy. Then, later, finding James alive, involved with F-Zero Racing, it was simply too much to think about right now. She had to role play every little mood at one point, it was an insult for her to be told she didn't understand it.
"Listen, you can either get out of my way," She said, drawing her paw out, across the bathroom, pointing towards the door, "Or I can remove you from it."
Junior narrowed his gaze for a moment. "Where're you going? I doubt you even know where you are, or how you got here? C'mon, explain it," He said in challenge. Junior grinned then added, "You can't. You were somewhere else, one minute, and here the next. Where you found that dress, I have no idea, but you're here now and you're confused. Where're you going to go? All of Papetoon, and there's not one Arwing. Tell me, Fox McCloud, are you going to walk your vixen-tail outside and get yourself lost? Going to split up from the only people who can provide answers?"
The vixen folded her arms across the black dress she'd secured to blend into the situation. "You aren't the only furres capable of communicating. I have other means of finding answers than listening to arrogant dumb-asses just because they look like me, talk like me, but actually have a dick. If it's so important that I be here, and this thing called 'fate' brought me here, then fate'll make sure I am where I need to be when everything happens. So unless you cool -both- your heads, I AM walking out that door to figure this out without ignorant input by cocky 'so-called' versions of me."
Fox Junior was exasperated. He didn't want to dress up as a female in the first place. He wasn't comfortable in this stupid gown. He was on a time line and was told that there's a very real possibility that his way of life would be decimated by some sort of reality loophole. Now he had another Fox McCloud here and she wasn't being as easy to work with as his Mercenary Doppelganger. He was simply frustrated beyond belief.
"What's the last thing you remember before appearing here?" Junior asked, biting his tone back to something more pleasant.
"I was on Fortuna. Now I'm at some black tie event," She said, her gaze still somewhat narrow. "Now if you'll excuse me," She added, heading for the bathroom door. Junior, on the other paw, glanced at his watch and shook his head. There was no time for any of this. He had to act now. Having another Fox McCloud at the same place at the same time would have made things indefinitely easier.
Suddenly, the woman's bathroom door swung open and a male coatimundi stepped in, carrying a portable radio in his left paw and a security badge in his right. "Ladies, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, the party's over."
Junior blinked "Excuse me?" Now what the heck was happening? He didn't need this and this wig was getting unbearable. Everything was turning sour today.
"We had people getting attacked and it had happened in the bathrooms," Explained the gray-furred man. "For your safety, we're evacuating the party, right away. You two sisters have it in your best interest to leave with the rest of the crowd," he explained. Fox junior and the female version exchanged glances at being called 'sisters'.
"Suites me just fine," claimed the vixen, heading for the door. Junior wanted to stop her but now everything was ruined. She passed the security man, who held the door for her, then disappeared into the crowd outside, that was leaving the ship.
Junior clinched his eyes shut for a moment and sighed. He approached the guard, stared right in his face, then smacked him across his muzzle. "That's for not knocking first," He said in a feminine voice and continued out, through the doorway and into the crowd to find Falco. This whole mission was a bust and now he was really pissed off.
"Please tell me you're Junior," came a voice from behind. It was Falco and he'd obviously just had a quick run in with the vixen McCloud, who shut him down with a cold shoulder.
"Yes, dammit," McCloud hissed, waving his paw for Falco to follow. "The mission is a bust, we'll have to raid this ship after it leaves Papetoon. C'mon," He added. The two of them followed the crowd through the security checkpoints and left in silence, same as everyone else.
This sure was Papetoon, all right. The vixen made her way out of the town and headed for home. She remembered the old oak tree, that was a start. Without a ship, she needed to pull a favor or two. There may have been some sort of gap in her memory between the time on Fortuna and now. She just couldn't recall anything more than a fluid transition from then until now.
She did remember one thing, though. An Arwing crashed into the facility and now she was somewhere else. If she really did get teleported elsewhere, maybe it was because the explosion caused some sort of tear in the temporal fabric of... whatever. She was no quantum mechanics engineer, this was pretty weird stuff to think about.
Arriving at the Oak Tree after a two hour walk, she forced the front door open and went down into the subterranean apartment. In her old room, she started looking through stuff that might answer questions or possibly even validate his claim, if not debunk it completely.
She lifted a photograph from the dresser and frowned. There was no memory of that photograph being taken. A very young Fox McCloud, maybe just two or three years old, in a blue blanket, held by Vixy, standing next to James. She tightened her grip on the picture frame, seeing James but there was nothing she could do. Her eyes returned to the baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
She only began the lie of gender when it came time to get into the flight academy. Sure, they accepted women nowadays, but back then, they didn't. That picture should have been a pink blanket, or at the very least, she should have seen that photograph before. It didn't mean the other guy was right, though.
She knelt down over a box on the floor. It had a twin, sitting a few feet away, on the floor of a closet that was wide open. Inside there was a single coat hanger. It was empty. The tag on the hanger rod claimed to be from a woman's dress store, according to the logo and store name.
Her attention returned to the two boxes full of photographs and academy papers. Valedictorian Fox McCloud. One picture portrayed Fox in a sports jersey, making a diving catch for a blurry brown object. There was a lump in the pants, in that picture, where sports protection could be identified. She'd never played sports like that and she surly didn't need to wear a jock strap.
Another photograph was uncovered. In this one, Fox McCloud was standing in a tux, next to some squirrel in a prom gown. McCloud had never seen this girl in her life. In fact, she didn't remember this photograph ever being taken. Another piece of paper was beneath that, lifted and brought into the dim lighting. This next one caused her heart to stop. A certified birth identification card. The date and time were right, the parents were right, but the gender blatantly claimed 'Male' and the personal security number was off by one digit. Hers didn't end in a '2', this one did.
She felt more confused than ever and at the same time, she felt mocked by her past. This was turning into a very bad day. Suddenly, her ears perked up, hearing a noise at the front door. The box of belongings was forgotten and she moved out into the kitchen, staying concealed.
A male fennec, obviously injured, limped into the main hallway, favoring his left arm with his right paw. He had blood matted into his fur and looked like hell. His limp showed that he was favoring his left ankle and when Fox could make out his face, she gaped. It was the rich kid, who's father owned all that stuff. What in the world was he doing here?
There she was, standing in a black ballroom gown. Perfect b-cups in perfectly rounded definition. The boy froze, staring at her as if he'd been approached by a Valkyrie, come to sooth his war-weary wounds. His jaw parted slightly, standing other-wise still.
"How did you get in here?" Fox asked, following his eyes then lifting her right paw and snapping in front of her nose, to get his attention guided back to her face.
"The... door was open," The boy said, frowning slightly. "I've been walking in the direction of town for over 3 hours now. I came across this place to rest, it seems as though I've still got a ways to go."
"You look like hell," She mused, returning the favor by looking him over. The poor bastard look battered to Kingdom Come.
"I.. Don't exactly know where I am. This is Fortuna right?" Asked Farrel, stealing a glance to a kitchen chair and slumping into it with a partial sigh of relief. His feet hurt but his ankle was absolutely screaming in pain from walking for the last three hours.
"No. Papetoon. You thought you were on Fortuna?" She asked quietly. It may have just been a coincidence.
Farrel nodded politely from his seated position. "I entered the atmosphere, seeing someone in a dog fight with a Wolfen. Then something went wrong and I remember crashing into some old facility. Next thing I know, I wake up, in my trashed fighter with the wings ripped off, in the middle of a dirt stretch, as far as the eye could see."
"A Wolfen... and an Arwing with A Nightwing Engine?" she asked pensively.
"...Yeah, how did you know?" Farrel replied, looking somewhat surprised. Fox swallowed a lump in her throat, tucking her paw against the fabric of the gown between her thighs and sitting down so that she didn't step on the hem of the fabric.
"I'm Fox McCloud," She told him, looking away for a moment. She didn't want to see his expression. She didn't care about his reaction, she just wanted to get through the introductions because they were the most awkward parts of a conversation anymore.
Farrel knew everything that he'd seen on the news in the past few years. The entire circus event known as the Gender Bender Pilot, the whole death faking situation, all of it. He felt sorry for her but didn't want to show it, so he simply nodded. "Farrel Phoenix. Look, I'll get out of your fur in a moment. I'm just going to head into town and call dispatch to come pick me up."
"I have a feeling they won't be coming," McCloud said, shaking her head. "I'm not so sure things are as they seem. What's your rank?"
Farrel stuck his right paw up beneath his uniform collar, thumbing the lapel upwards. Fox simply nodded in reply at first. She then frowned inwardly and folded her arms, leaning back in the chair she was using. "Then here's an order: You're going to stay put right now. I need to figure some things out and I don't need a spoiled rich boy fucking everything up for me, right now. So, if you can stay put, we'll get along just fine."
Farrel nodded, looking a bit awkward. "I'm not a rich boy. Yeah, my father has cash, but I went through the academy and earned my wings, same as you. Do you mind?"
"Shit, be sensitive about it, then," Fox snapped, shifting her weight. Her tail fluttered in annoyance. At least he didn't challenge her order. If he did, she really could care less, but the fact of the matter was, if this guy was involved in however they got here then she had a whole new list of things to consider.
First of all, there was the possibility that either Wolf was somewhere around here, with them, or he was killed in the blast. Second of all, assembling all the pieces of information might better help her to solve this, so she can get back to her normal life. And finally, she was no squadron leader without a team. If what she'd heard was even remotely true, he was the only current link she had to her home.
He was a good lookin' guy. Probably too attractive for your average man. Rich boy, pretty boy, he was hit with all those things and the sad little fool really wanted to try and prove himself by earning respect and shedding those names. Personally, Fox felt she'd rather have the nick name "pretty boy" and "rich kid" over "freak show" and "gender bender pilot" but both of them didn't have it very easy in the military.
"It's not that I feel sorry for you, but you might be one of the few people that remotely understand my situation," Fox mused, to put him at ease for a moment. He was a great deal easier to talk to than that guy claiming to be her. "So you're an E-4 huh? O-4, myself. So, why did you follow our dogfight?"
"I was given orders to do a patrol after something happened over Fortuna. What about you?" He asked.
"First new mission from Pepper since he got his job back," Fox said, narrowing her eyes to look him over. Was someone sending recon to try and screw her over, or was she just being paranoid? Apparently, the guy knew pretty much nothing except how to fly and how to keep his appearance up, present moment not included. "Your uniform is a disgrace, pilot." She said this, to try and ensure that she remained emotionally detached. If she was going to be a team leader again, then this was going to be a good place to start.
"Another Fox McCloud?" Mac's voice was stern, but his eyes were wide. The Mercenary leader drummed his fingers on the chair arm rest, glancing around the bridge for a moment, before looking back to the assembled skeleton crew. "So we lost the spell stone, this was our best chance to get it, without drawing attention to ourselves," He mused aloud. A bad situation was only growing worse at this point.
"Not only that," Added the Falco Lombardi native to this side of the wormhole, "But she was a real bitch to Fox," he said, speaking of how she treated Junior.
The military vulpine was quick to interject, "No. We don't know her situation. She could come from a world where she'd been tortured as a prisoner of war, for all we know. Let's not jump to conclusions," said the squadron leader, hailing from this Lylat. The Military boy paused then added, "this is a stressful situation for us, who knows what she's come across since landing here, as well. Thing is, now I see a much bigger picture where there is probably a million different dimensions and they are either all messed up and we're screwed or each one is parallel with another and these pairs all have to match, who knows."
"Stop while you're ahead," Falco grumbled. "It's making my head hurt," he said, walking across the bridge. Right now, the team was split for mission functionality. The Mercenary Falco, native to Mac's universe, was flying with both Slippy Toads and Krystal. Fara was here on the GreatFox and Peppy had taken his own doppelganger to meet 'the wife', Annie.
Falco, Krystal and the Toad twins were looking into two spell stones that were supposedly rumored to be sitting in a Venom base on the nearly-hollow MacBeth of this system. Internet leads turned up bragging from one of the Lieutenant Generals in charge of that base, claiming to have some sort of rune collection from all parts of Lylat. It was assumed that at least one of them could be embedded in an asteroid, somewhere in Meteo, still.
Once they found at least one of the stone tablets, Slippy could design some sort of tracker to find the same type of stone elements found in the tablets, so they could do a patrol sweep of the asteroid belt. It would be the only way; checking every asteroid would take decades if not longer.
Fara sighed softly, glancing back to her mate with a soft frown. She'd spent over an hour to help him get 'pretty' for this event and the mission turned into a failure. It was disappointing, to say the least. Disconcerting at best. "We're going to have to break the law, I can see it now." If this was all a huge hoax, she was going to be pissed.
The thing was, that Krazooa thing, whoever it was that Fox and his twin talked to, gave them the ability to get home. If he make things like that happen, she was ready to try and believe him. She was surprised, needless to say. Her only regret was, they didn't have enough time to properly say their farewells to the father of Fara Phoenix back in the other reality. She had to settle for a phone call and she could tell he looked fairly sad about it.
Falco shook his head and finally cut back into the dying conversation again. "I really wonder how that moron knew that setting off a Nova Bomb at a certain frequency of blast power, while passing through the wormhole, would get us here."
"Let's not worry about something we don't have power over," Mac said, starting to pace the deck. "We've gotta figure out how we're going to get that stupid spell stone off of that flying museum, because it's a retired display piece that goes into the paws of a private collector who's identity is unknown."
"How long do we have?" Fara asked, coming to stand besides her mate.
The Mercenary gave a shrug. "I'm not sure; Junior?" Fox's military twin shook his head vigorously. They certainly didn't have long and all the information they could get on the Cornerian Wide Web wasn't helping all that much. They were on the verge of despair at this point.
"I wonder how the rest of the team is making out," Falco said, thoughtfully. Most likely, they were under just as much stress, at this point of time. He could only hope they were slightly more fortunate, right now.
A/N: Hey, finally got this up. It's been sitting, unedited for a while. MY BAD!
Tell me you love me:)
Thanks for reading!
-k
