Chapter 12
Of
Similar Paths Taken
Chapter -12- "Turn of Events"
Farrel and Fox "Mac" McCloud sat on a support beam up in the rafters, high above a private museum-looking area. They exchanged glances and Mac shook his head slowly. "This is going to be difficult," he whispered to the male version of Fara, frowning just slightly. "You know if we're caught and arrested… It's going to be difficult to explain to the cops and to the team."
"I can image," Farrel muttered in soft reply. "How can we see where the laser beams are? You know all these fancy places use'em. Any private investor would do the same thing," he concluded aloud in a soft voice.
"Yeah," Fox agreed, tapping his chin slightly. "Maybe we can just blow this place up, grab the spell stone and run…?"
"While it might come down to that," Farrel said, putting a paw to his chin, "I think we can manage to be a little more graceful if we use our brains. No matter how good or how bad this thing goes, we have a sterling escape plan, so I think we'll be fine."
"Yeah, that was pretty clever thinking," Fox agreed. Farrel's escape plan sounded solid. There were barrels stacked up, two stories high, outside of the collector's private warehouse. Farrel suggested using a tractor beam and refractive cloaking technology with an Arwing to move the center section of that stack, place them on the roof, then land inside the donut-like center. Then, when they were fleeing from the scene, they run out the door, board their ships, lift straight up and fly away. No matter what went wrong, they were less than 30 feet from their escape.
Oddly, there were now barrels sitting up on the roof of the warehouse but the two foxes surmised that it wouldn't attract attention until daybreak; by then they'd be long gone. Farrel reached into a gear bag on his hip and pulled out a small white square.
"What's that?" Fox whispered.
"Rosen used by pitchers in the major league. My paws sweat when I'm nervous and… I get nervous around women," Farrel replied. "Watch this," he added, giving the little white pouch a shake. White powder fluttered down from above; red and green criss-crossed bars became visible down near the floor. Fox grinned, patting the fennec on his shoulder. "Thanks," Farrel chuckled slightly. "Where is the spell stone kept?"
"There," Mac replied, pointing down at a strange looking object that was stone with a glassy looking, rectangular panel at its center. It rested in a glass dome approximately ten feet from the exit door. Farrel grinned impishly. He'd never stolen anything in his life but he was up to date on why these stones were needed and the fennec wanted to help.
Phoenix rubbed the base of his neck, much the way Fox often did. "Maybe one of us could shoot the dome, the other one could swipe the stone and we could make a break for it?"
"If Krystal was here, I'd ask her to scan the area for guards," Fox chuckled softly. "Anyway, paper-rock-scissors to see who grabs the thing?"
"No," Farrel replied. "I'll… I'll do it. I've never done something like this before and for some reason, I feel compelled to prove myself, more than I feel compelled to be law abiding. Besides, saving the universe takes precedence over abiding the law… for some reason."
"Yeah," Fox agreed, "I can't imagine why saving the world, let alone several words, is more important than preserving the law but for some reason, I don't think this thing belongs here, anyhow. It belongs on a planet that no longer exists in this system."
"Make sure you tell Fox that I kicked ass," Farrel said, referring to the vixen he was so very fond of. McCloud chuckled with a nod then gave him a shove. Phoenix nodded and clutched the rafter bar in his paws, dropping from it. He dangled for a moment then released the bar, landing on a stack of crates, down below. His light weight body allowed for him to land without making hardly any noise.
"So far so good," He whispered so softly that Fox couldn't hear from up above. Farrel shook the Rosen bag again, waiting for the dust to settle. The chalky powder covered his paws but it also covered the floor around the bottom of the crates, allowing for him to see where the alarm lasers were located. The fennec dropped down to the floor and used the Rosen as he crept along, heading towards the Spell Stone's display case.
Without warning, a door at the far end of the warehouse opened and a guard stepped in, stopping to stretch. Neither Phoenix nor McCloud had expected there to be patrolling guards as they'd not seen any up to this point but Farrel now froze, staying low. McCloud, up in the rafters, was the one to be spotted, however. The guard gasped in surprise, snatching the radio off of his belt and called for backup.
"Crap," Fox grumbled. The guard ran in, setting off one of the laser alarms, drawing his gun from a hip holster. Fox dropped from the ceiling and pounced the lupine guard from high above, bringing the man to the ground, hard. Farrel ran over to the display case for the spell stone and pulled out his own blaster, trying to shoot a hole into the glass case. However, it was designed to take the brute force and withstood the assault. Farrel, trying not to grow frustrated, pulled out a wad of explosives and applied it to the glass casing.
Fox was busy brawling with the guard, keeping the man busy. Farrel Phoenix backed away from the display case and cranked the detonator but it only cracked the case, very slightly. The fennec was now growing somewhat anxious, looking about for something he could use. Despite logic, his eyes landed on a spiked mace on the nearby wall. It was part of an ancient history display and his frustrations subconsciously made the weapon a desirable tool to obtain. Dashing over to the wall, Phoenix snatched it off the hook and grunted at its sheer weight.
He hefted the archaic weapon over his shoulder and reproached the cracked display case. He was out of explosives; the likes of which were meant to take a door off its hinges, not destroy a display case designed to stop small arms projectiles… This was his last resort, for sure. He took the handle in both paws and let his mind drift back to his fight with Wolf O'Donnell. The pace of his heart quickened and his body tensed in anger at the memory. He clinched his eyes shut and locked his jaw, picturing O'Donnell's face.
Planting his heels in the ground, Farrel put all of his weight on his right foot, with his left one staying firm to the floor. The fennec spun hard, the way a right-handed batter would swing for the fences until a satisfying connection was made between the spiked mace and the cracked glass case. Rather than decimating the case, the entire dome was knocked free of the base, landing on the ground with a thud. The weight of the mace carried him beyond the follow-through swing until he had no choice but to pivot awkwardly on his left heel.
The mace connected with the floor, leaving a gash in the tiles. When his eyes flickered open once more, he was doubled over, arms extended, with the mace on the ground. His tail was drooped straight to the ground, his ears were laid back, nearly flat upon the top of his head, and he was panting softly. Suddenly, Fox McCloud's voice rang out in the room. "A little help, kid!" Cried Mac, urgency dripping from his tone.
"Damn!" Farrel gasped, sucking breath back into his lungs. He then lifted the mace again and charged the guard that Fox was brawling with. Fox glanced over, seeing the charging todd with a spiked melee weapon and his eyes widened. The guard snatched McCloud by the neck and lifted him off the floor but Fox knew that Farrel wouldn't have any control with the mace.
"Holy crap," Fox grunted, placing his feet against the wolf's chest. He bent his knees then kicked his legs outwards, prying his body from the guard's paw. Fox went flying and landed unceremoniously upon his backside, just as Farrel approached the guard, swinging the mace with clumsy abandon. The timber wolf was clobbered across the side of his head, with Farrel treating the guard just as he would treat another wolf, going by the surname of O'Donnell. The hired soldier was toppled with ease, felled by the smaller pilot, wielding a massive, spiked mace.
Once more, Farrel found himself carried over by the weight of the mace, which crashed to the ground. One of the spikes was lodged in the floor tiles and he found that he couldn't pull it free. The guard was already down and yet Farrel continued to tug at the weapon. "FORGET IT," Fox shouted, sitting up quickly. "Get the stone! That dude called for backup; we've got to hurry!"
Farrel blinked rapidly, coming to his senses. After a split-second reverie, Phoenix nodded, adding, "Right, Fox!" He then turned about and ran back towards the empty pedestal, quickly searching the area with his eyes. The empty dome was on the floor and the pedestal was empty. "Where the hell did it go?" He shouted, throwing his paws outwards. "It's gone, Fox!"
"Dammit," McCloud said, pounding the floor with his paw. "There is someone else here; this is a bust mission; let's get back to the ship!"
"They can't be far!" Farrel retorted.
"Sure they can," Fox rebutted, shaking his head. "We don't know if they came by land or air but they're gone and the guards are coming. We don't have any time, let's go! We'll do a quick sweep by Arwing but we've got to get out of here now!" The two made a break for the door and began to scale the side of the scoured looking barrels. Once they were at the top, they hopped downwards into the hollow center, where the two-seater Arwing was located.
To Fox's surprise, the communication computer was illuminated and a small indicator light was blinking in alert. The canopy slid open and both pilots took their positions with McCloud booting the computer quickly. The Mercenary squad leader simply said, "We've missed an emergency communiqué from GreatFox. You check it out while I get us the hell out of here."
"It's from … one of the Falco's; I'm not sure which," Farrel reported, drawing a headset over his ears to listen to the message. "Oh hell," he muttered. The Arwing began a vertical ascent, with Fox scanning the sensors for any fleeing vessels in the immediate area. "Fox, he's reporting that his instruments don't work on his Arwing and that he and both versions of Slippy Toad have received an emergency message from Peppy, on Corneria. He says something about an attack on Lylat…!"
"This day is just getting better and better," Fox muttered, pulling back on the control stick. "Open a channel to either Peppy so we can find out what's going on here. Also, I don't detect any other ships fleeing the area. This thief might be lying low, but it's too risky to stay around to find out. We can't do very much in prison."
Farrel did as he was told, opening a communications patch to Peppy Hare; whichever one cared to respond. The military version, from Fox Junior's crew, was quick to answer the channel. His wife, Vivian Andromeda Hare, was standing in the background, chatting with the old Mercenary doppelganger; she had a cup of tea in her right paw, cupping beneath the cup with her left paw. She seemed classy in stature and her stance was one that immediately showed her fondness for etiquette.
"This is Farrel Phoenix; I don't have a lot of time to explain who I am or how I came into this picture but I'm here with Mister 'Mac' McCloud, having just gotten some information from Falco, saying we should contact you." The overly-drawn out run-on sentence made it obvious to Peppy that the boy's nerves were rattled.
"I need both of you to remain calm about this," Peppy began. He took a deep breath, as Farrel patched the channel into the fighter's interior public announcement speakers so that McCloud could hear, as well. Hare continued, telling them, "Some sort of strange anomaly has been sighted and engaged by military forces. It's using powerful energy attacks, aggressively spreading through Lylat. Falco has broken from his mission to join the Lylat Military in fighting this menace and they would like your help, gentleman. So far, we're not deterring it and Peppy and myself… we're sitting here trying to put our heads together to see if we need those spell stones to combat this thing. Regardless, see if you guys can help the military strike force out in the far quadrant, beyond Sector Y."
"Understood," Farrel said, mimicked by McCloud in the same firm tones of comprehension. Once the communication patch was closed, McCloud sighed, grumbling to himself that this detour was going to eat into their time; the merger between the two dimensions would happen soon but part of him had to go and see this thing for himself. He had to know if this was the merger happening and remembered the energy attacks that he experienced, first hand, in his dimension, when searching for the engagement ring for Krystal.
The Arwing still had plenty of fuel and a very short trip by the base on Corneria would give Farrel an Arwing of his own. As it stood now, they would probably need every available pilot and having Farrel in the navigator seat would be annoyingly useless. Things were just starting to heat up, Fox simply had no idea what to expect at this point.
GreatFox sat in the midst of the strange adaptation of Alpha Lylat Universe which was home to Fara Phoenix and Fox McCloud Junior, the son of Fox Senior and known military hero. Once Fara, Krystal and a female doppelganger of Fox McCloud returned to the GreatFox, they found that the ship was autonomous at the hands of ROB64.
The group landed their fighters and escorted Wolf O'Donnell to the brig. Once he was properly incarcerated, the three women headed for the bridge. Fox made her way to the seat typically used by the Mercenary version of herself from Krystal's dimension. She slumped down into the seat and snuggled her weight back into the cushions with a sigh.
Fara sank into another chair directly in front of the communication's terminal. Krystal, on the other hand, went across the deck and asked for a report from ROB. His head rotated while his body continued to face a navigation control terminal and his eyes brightened in illumination. His report, as always, was made in a fairly monotone voice.
"All is well, thus far, on all fronts. However, there was an energy-pattern discrepancy very similar to the one recorded upon the arrival of Miss Fox McCloud, Mister Farrel Phoenix and their version of Wolf O'Donnell. It is, however, slightly smaller in size."
"Where?" Krystal asked her question then glanced back at Fara and Fox to ensure their eyes were on Rob. As she had hoped, the attention of the entire room was now on the robotic pilot.
"There is a jettisoned escape pod in sector "Y", part of a fighter cockpit. It's homing beacon signal is transmitting in a Cornerian language but its frequency and operating identification number do not match any in-use number from this system or any number in my archives from our Lylat."
"Dammit," McCloud groused softly. "Just when you're ready to kick back and watch how the boys are doing, more cooks get added to the kitchen. This is getting confusing. Why does this keep happening; we've got to figure that out, before we wind up having everyone from every system wind up in another system."
"Agreed," Fara replied.
"We should investigate," Krystal suggested almost immediately. "An escape pod doesn't hold an infinite amount of breathing air. I'll transmit a communiqué to the other teams to let them know that we're taking GreatFox into the Sector 'Y' region of this system. Rob, set an interception course and make best possible time."
ROB's head turned back to his primary station and he began to type quickly. "ETA in 17 minutes, Cornerian Standard time. Stand by for jump-sequence."
The floating box rotated silently in the obsidian void of space. Through the polarized canopy glass, the occupant could see the 'Y' shaped nebula and a school of what appeared to be ocean-like creatures swimming through the void. A paw was pressed to the glass, cutting through the thin film of condensation that further tinted the clear shielding.
A few short moments later, the escape pod was bathed in a shimmering glow as GreatFox emerged from the gloomy void. A warm, emerald glow encased the jettisoned cockpit, adding inertia and simulated kinetic energy to the object. It was drawn inwards, growing closer to the GreatFox and its cargo bay. The main doors parted and an energy-based atmospheric force field covered the gap with a very slight orange tint. The cockpit passed through the field then settled against the flight deck with a metallic grunt.
Three vixens approached it slowly, remaining cautious. Of those three, the lithe bodied azure furred one immediately grew alarmed, consumed with worry once she was in proximity of the object. "Get it open!" She cried, rushing towards the box. She and Fara searched for a lever to open the canopy while Fox took a blaster from the wall for security purposes. The cockpit was lying on its side, so the canopy opened horizontally with a grunt. A hiss of atmospheric air was quick to eek from the ejection pod as the canopy glass parted from the metallic siding, breaking the pressurized seal.
"Put that down and help us," Krystal said to McCloud. Fox thought for a moment then she narrowed her eyes, lowering the weapon. Finally, it found a temporary home in the waistband of her pants. She approached the other two and pulled a metal tool from the side of the ejection pod used to dig emergency fox holes in the field. It was then wedged beneath the sideways ejection pod and she used the leverage to roll the metallic case onto its belly with the canopy window facing upwards. It took Fara's help to wedge it over but once it was upright, Krystal was quick to lean over and peer inside of it.
Two women were unconscious inside. The first was an aristocratic looking feline with a thin tuft of fur at the tip of her ears and a fluffy-haired poodle-like canine who was wedged into the contraption as well. Phoenix approached Krystal, looking in at the two pilots. "Let's get'em out of there," Fara said, reaching in and cradling her paws beneath the poodle-mixed spaniel who was draped over the other.
The fennec pushed her soft palms beneath the woman's arms and lifted her from the cockpit ejection seat with Krystal's help. Laying the pilot on the flight deck, they worked to pull the lynx from the ejection unit the same way but found that her muscular density was a great deal more; she was heavy to lift and it required the help of Fox to get the woman out without injuring her. Once both pilots were laid out on the floor, Krystal set herself to the task of searching for identification.
They both wore dog tags about their necks which caused Krystal's eyes to widen. "This is getting weirder by the minute; you've both got to see this!"
"What is it?" Fara asked.
"They're members of StarFox!" Krystal exclaimed. This intrigued the vixen version of Fox McCloud as well, who dropped the metallic shovel to the deck. It clattered noisily but was forgotten by McCloud who was curious about having these two startlingly beautiful women on a team. Not only that, she'd never seen them before in her life and apparently neither had Fara or Krystal.
Upon closer inspection, the dog tags identified the women as Fay and Miyu but no last names were printed on the metallic tags. Krystal turned to Fara and said, "Call ROB down here; maybe he can access the Cornerian public database and identify them in this dimension."
"Right," Fara said with a confirming nod. She turned about and headed across the flight deck, disappearing through the door. Fox watched her leave then turned back to Krystal, tilting her head.
"You're something else," Krystal said, shaking her head slowly.
"Hate to see'er go, but I love to watch'er leave," McCloud said with an indifferent shrug. "Is that what you expected me to say? I'm a bit more on the professional side than that, you know."
"If anyone can empathize with you, it's me," Krystal said, adding, "Not because we feel the same way, but because I feel…"
"…what your subject feels," Fox added in a cold tone. "Yes, I know. That's why I feel awkward towards you. I don't especially know a whole race of Telepaths or anything. Sensing intentions is one thing but reading minds is a little weird for me, no offence."
Krystal paused then knelt back down to the two pilots, checking their pockets for any other forms of Identification. "None taken," She replied softly. Krystal managed to locate a wallet in Miyu's front pocket and pulled it out slowly. She flipped the leather object open and scanned the driver's license within, adjacent to a piloting license. "It reads Miyu Lynx but it's…" Krystal paused again, nearly gasping air. She backed away from the bobcat-looking female and said, "She's awake and she's confused."
"Her eyes are shut, she's not moving and her breathing rate is maintained," Fox replied, sniffing at the woman for a moment.
"No, she's alive and awake; she's trained to assess the situation before acting…" Krystal raised her voice then said, "You're safe, Miyu. My name is Krystal and this, here, is Fox Mc… eh, it's going to be a convoluted explanation at best… perhaps you should just open your eyes, please?"
Miyu furrowed her brow, opening her eyes to narrow horizontal slits. Within, her pupils were vertical slits which reverse-dilated just slightly upon contact with the powerful lighting in the flight deck's ceiling. "How did you know," She growled softly, sitting up and reaching her paw for her thigh. However, her blaster was missing and Krystal could sense the stifled panic in her chest. It seemed that the woman was quite apt to suppress her anger and alarm, remaining calm, cool and collected on the outside.
"I'm Fox McCloud," The other woman said to Miyu, adding, "You are from a different, parallel universe where a few of the details had a butterfly ripple effect and now everything you know is all mixed up and different. Face it, pilot, you're in the twilight zone, sweetheart. But with Luck's Paw, we'll get out of this if you want to help us."
Miyu's eyes opened a bit more and she turned to look Fox over. Mild surprise could be sensed by Krystal but Miss Lynx kept things cool and collected. She was mostly muscle with well placed deposits of body fat on her tail, her thighs and her bosom. While it was only a first impression, Fox decided that she was just damn attractive. She thrust her paw in Miyu's face and the feline reached up to take the offering. McCloud pulled her to her feet and watched as the aristocratic looking woman dusted herself off.
"We were ambushed by that asshat monkey, Andross Bowman." Miyu shook her head slowly then turned to Fay and nudged the canine in the side with her toe. "Get up, pookie."
"Pookie?" Krystal asked, blinking somewhat.
"She calls me Goober sometimes," Miyu explained. "So I started calling her that in return. C'mon," She said, directing the last word towards her friend. "You okay, Fay?" Miyu then knelt down by her friend, cupping the woman's head into her paw. Fay's lids fluttered open slowly, gazing up at her pal with a somewhat-drunken sigh and lopsided smile.
"I feel high," Fay said in a scratchy voice. She cleared her throat then repeated herself. "I feel high; where the heck are we?"
"GreatFox," Krystal replied. "What happened that sent you two here?"
"Heck if I know," Miyu said. "We were following after Algy and lost his path. We came face to face with Andross Bowman, cornered him and called for backup. He got the drop on us and Algy attacked Fay from behind. I popped him in the mouth when that worm, Andrew Oikonny showed up and I beat the stuffing out of that one. Andross pressed a button on his computer panel and I was nabbed by a force field. I couldn't breathe and soon passed out. Next thing I know, I'm reaching up and putting my palm on the glass of my cockpit ejection seat, looking out at the void, but I could hardly breathe. I hung in for another few seconds but then… nothing. And now I'm here."
"Sounds like hell," Fox sighed softly. "Let's get you two to the infirmary. The facilities of the Sanofirmary meet even my high standards; let's get you two on your feet. Can you both walk?"
"Sanofirmary?" Miyu asked, tilting her head.
Fox remembered the blaster in her pants, removed it and tossed it to Krystal, saying, "Sano: an old language word, meaning 'to heal'… infirmary, being the medical center; their sickbay is a modern marvel, let's get you two a full physical to make sure he didn't do anything to you before throwing you out with the trash."
"You've got a doctor onboard?" Miyu asked, looking around at what appeared to be a military or mercenary flight deck.
"Yeah," Fox replied. "Sort of; I'm in pharmaceutical but I think I can figure my way around a facility like that one; let's have a look at you both. It's just a safety and security precaution. It couldn't hurt to take some blood and make sure he's not done anything to you two."
Fay sat up, placing a paw on Miyu's shoulder to help herself sit tall. She then nodded to Fox and said, "Fair enough, he is a bio-weapon engineer and chemist, after all. It's probably best to make sure that he didn't experiment before tossing us. Where in the heck is the StarFox team?"
"You're looking at part of it," Krystal replied. "There are different team members from different dimensions and it's… very… confusing. Let's get you girls to the sickbay." Krystal then turned to Fox and frowned. "If you're familiar with medical things then why did you let me stitch up Farrel?"
"Because I thought he should tough it out like a man," Fox explained, shaking her head. "I don't know what else to tell you, Krystal; I wouldn't have let him get the cuts infected but I thought that he should handle his wounds like a grown man. It would have earned more respect than whining like a sissy. I'm not trying to be hard on him or call him a pansy but I want to know he's able to walk away from a fight like that with his chin up and his chest out."
"He fought off Wolf O'Donnell by himself," Krystal reminded the vixen. "It took all three of us to do what he did."
"He got lucky," Fox said, shaking her head. She helped Fay up then guided the two women across the flight deck, walking alongside Krystal. "Believe me, the kid gets respect for standing up to Wolf and doing as well as he did. He's still flying with us, isn't he? If I thought he was a complete waste of time and talent, I'd have grounded him to ensure he doesn't need rescuing. If he wants to continue trying to prove himself, that's his decision. It's not that I can't be bothered with something like that, I just don't think coddling him will help the situation."
"It's hardly coddling," Krystal said, growing a bit defensive. "He's a good pilot and a male version of Fara. She's earned her respect and clout as a fighter pilot and he's capable of all the same things."
"But she fought harder as a woman to be at the top of her field," Fox argued politely. "Farrel fought to prove he's not a richboy pansy but lost his focus of proving himself as a damn good pilot. She worked her way up the ranks to what she became and Farrel is still thought of as a richboy pansy because he forgot to prove what counts the most… his piloting abilities. It's just…"
"Complicated?" Krystal asked, patting Fox's shoulder. For some reason, McCloud didn't seem to mind the physical contact so much this time around. She let it slide and gave Krystal a slight smile.
"Yeah," replied McCloud. "Complicated is what it is. I suppose it's just really strange; why would he give a damn about trying to prove himself to me? I'm a screwed up 'genderbender' pilot. Everyone sees me as the freak-show. Why would he give a crap? I mean, I don't even know him and he follows me like a lovesick puppy. I can't be with someone who is that clingy."
"All right, all right Fox," Krystal said, shaking her head slowly. The two walked down the hallway with Miyu and Fay who appeared to be metaphorically licking their wounds. Krystal then added, "His doppelganger and your doppelganger are lovers, convinced that they're soul mates. They're betrothed and planning a wedding, Fox. Maybe Farrel feels that same connection to you."
McCloud shrugged apathetically and said, "Well, it's a shame, I don't feel it for him. Just like your Fox McCloud loves you and not Fara Phoenix from your universe."
"I'm not even sure that they met before she died in combat," Krystal explained with a frown. "If he had, they might have fallen in love. He and I are compatible as mates and perhaps fate caused our paths to cross so that he wouldn't be lonely."
"I don't buy it," Fox replied. "If that was so and Soul Mates were real, your boyfriend would have been panting over Fara Phoenix, the minute you met them. He seems pretty damn satisfied with you at his side. And hell, who knows…! Maybe there is a male or female version of you in my universe, Krystal. Maybe he or she is my future mate but… it won't be Farrel Phoenix, no matter how much he or anyone else wants that to happen. He's not my style, it's not my thing. He's a pilot and if he's good, I'll let him fly for me. If he's really good and we all make it back to our homes in one piece, I might let him fly for StarFox. But that is an elite mercenary team and I don't clean up after anyone because that kinda stuff gets pilots killed. Slippy flies for us because he makes up for his flying with his technical abilities, his ship and by accessing shield display readouts against enemies. Peppy makes up for his age with his professionalism and his wisdom. Falco makes up for his cockiness with his skills as a pilot. And what's sad is… we've not been an actual team in a long time."
Krystal frowned, nodding her head slowly. The little blue vixen was learning a lot about Fox who had a very different history than her masculine replicas. "You've had a tough life and I can feel that you're locking something deep inside of you. It's pent up and you stifle it like a grape in your fist but instead of finding a therapeutic release, you just struggle with it."
"I don't hide it," Fox snapped, opening the door for Fay and Miyu. "I just deal with it differently than someone else might deal with it." The poodle and lynx remained quiet, listening to the girls who were on the verge of actual bickering.
"What happened, Fox?" Krystal asked.
"Another time, okay?" She said, hooking a thumb at Fay and Miyu. "It's complicated and this isn't the time or place for it, all right? Alright, let's get these two some fluids and then, after the physical, we'll get them fed."
Fay smiled, trying to brush aside the awkward backstory going on between the two women she'd never met before. "Sounds good to me!" The canine said with a boisterous smile. Krystal could feel that the half-poodle was a little put off by the conversation between herself and Fox but she could also sense that Fay was polite enough to simply push it all aside. The four girls made their way to the medical bay beds where Miyu and Fay both sat upon them without being asked.
Just then, Fara came into the room with ROB and said, "You guys weren't on the flight deck so I figured this to be the next most obvious place. ROB has some startling news on the boys and I brought him to see the new pilots."
"Fara?" Fay asked, blinking rapidly. "Miyu, it's Fox's friend from the Cornerian Air Guard, Fara Phoenix."
"Damn, it sure enough is," Miyu replied. "What're you doing here, Fara?"
The fennec blinked rapidly, looking from the canine to the feline. She finally just blurted out, "Fox is my fiancé."
"Whoa!" Fay exclaimed. "This is another universe! Where we come from, Fox wants a relationship with Fara Phoenix but she won't give it, at least not yet, because she's worried he wants some sort of strange psychological replacement for his mother and due to the physical similarities between Fara and Vixy, Fara won't commit to a relationship yet."
The female version of Fox turned to Krystal with a smirk and simply said, "So much for your soul-mate theory."
"It isn't my theory," Krystal whispered in rebuttal. "I sense that it is their theory about each other."
Fox simply shrugged and said, "Maybe we all have our own soul, even though we have alternative versions of ourselves. Either that or the whole 'soul' thing is just a metaphor that gave the religious types some sort of perverted hope for salvation."
"Enough," Krystal whispered back, turning to Fara. She then said, "So we've established that we're all very different but bring ROB in here and let's see if he can cross reference Fay and Miyu in my dimension or possibly access the archives for this Lylat system. Also, let's hear about the boys' progress, shall we?"
ROB approached the two women and looked them over. He then said, "Stand by while I access the archives for this Lylat." A moment went by then, in a monotone voice, he stated, "They're both dead in both dimensions. Their fates were met the very same way, both times."
"Great," Fay muttered in a flat voice, far from her normal bouncy personality. "Now we're dead in our universe… at least that's what the team thinks."
"Maybe that's why we're considered dead in their worlds," Miyu concluded. "Each time we wind up in a different universe and we're assumed to be killed in action."
"Incorrect," ROB replied. "You're both given open casket funerals; you were both killed in a military incursion on Corneria during the Lylat Wars. A Plasma canon was fired, sending a round into a military hotel which collapsed. You were both asphyxiated under the debris, unable to climb out in time."
"Enough," Miyu said, holding up her paw. "That happened to us, just the way you said but Slippy Toad was shot down over the city and his Arwing crashed into the remains of our hotel. The rubble shifted and we climbed out then we rescued him. I took him over to the base and all three of us got ships and rejoined the fight. We joined StarFox six months after Andross retreated."
"Then," Krystal's muzzle tugged into a grin. "Slippy Toad saved your lives, ladies. All right, now that everyone knows who everyone is and formalities, however strange they were, are out of the way… let's find out how our men are doing. ROB?"
ROB turned to the wall and put his right index finger into a small circle socket that was built into the bulkhead. A nearby monitor lit up and showed a miasma of light at the edge of the sector. He then told them, "StarFox was divided into multiple groups. They withdrew their missions and formed up into two new groups. Each Fox McCloud paired up with their original team members. Everyone flew into the strange light…"
Fox blinked, placing her paws upon her hips. "Why weren't we told about the change in plan?" Her paws slid down, dropping to her sides. She was irritated that they not only deviated from their plans but they didn't even tell the girls what was going on or why they were following a new course of action. "I thought we were all in this together? They didn't say a word about it."
ROB turned to face her and simply said, "Subspace communication buoys are down in several quadrants."
"Dammit," Fox groused, closing her paws into fists. "Do we know their status? When did they engage?"
"Six minutes ago," the robot answered. "Their signal was lost shortly after entering the field."
"What are we supposed to do about the spell stones?" Krystal asked. "Do you think we should finish that mission or set up a search party?"
"What good are these spell stones, anyhow?" Fox asked, folding her arms. "It's something you wanted to take back to your dimension, right?"
"It's complicated," Krystal said, half wincing that they were back to square one, where they were on the flight deck, earlier, in their conversation. She shook her head and sighed, running her left paw up through the blue strands of headfur between her ears. "We were under the impression that it would fix everything somehow. This dimension was somehow trying to merge with my dimension and it was creating some sort of flux or paradox or whatever. I'm no quantum mechanics expert but somehow having double the spell stones should somehow repel the shift by protecting the subordinate universe from being mended which should begin any time now."
Fara nodded, adding, "From what we were told, the universe is trying to heal itself by making everything perfect and normal. The more that changes, the more the universe tries to heal itself by causing catastrophic changes, until both sides are similar. If a planet doesn't exist in one universe, then the planet is destroyed in the other so that both dimensions match. If that happens, everyone on that planet is killed. We can't let that happen."
"It sounds like bullshit to me," McCloud snapped. "Look at Fay and Miyu, here. Their dimension is even more radically different and no one is being sent there to save anything."
Miyu then added, "And Fox in our… uh, universe… has blue eyes."
The vixen McCloud turned about and said, "Now that is an interesting difference. So," She turned back to ROB and said, "I'm not as interested in these spell stones as my twins are. I'm interested in finding out what's going on and trying to stop this strange chain of events where every single version of an infinite number of alternatives show up in this freakin' system, needing a baby sitter."
"Right now, I agree," Fara said. "We have loved ones and a team… our families in that thing. We should research it, investigate it then plan a mission accordingly. The Spell stones can wait if that's what we need to find."
"But," Krystal interjected. "We were also told that this merger happens soon. We can't dilly dally if it turns out to be the real thing."
"Can't you sense something about it?" Fox asked. "Someone from your world says go get the spell stones from another dimension and bring them back; can't you sense an ulterior motive involved?"
"No, it was a computer program that demanded this," Krystal explained. "I couldn't sense anything from it and it's been doing the math on this for a long time. We stumbled upon this guy on Sauria. In our world, there have been strange occurrences where plasmatic bolts of energy come from out of nowhere and strike things. The Artificial Intelligence involved told us that it's the first symptom of an apocalyptic merger."
"One of the team members has been located!" ROB told them. Everyone turned to face him, the suspense sort of building in a way. ROB then announced, "Farrel's Arwing has returned from the anomaly. Following behind him is both Fox McClouds." To his words, both Krystal and Fara immediately began to radiate with relief. They exchanged glances between one another, offering a strange sort of half-stare where both subconsciously acknowledged that it was damn strange loving a variation of the same man but it was not spoken… at least not for now.
Fox began pacing. "What about the rest of the team?"
"Stand by," ROB replied. "Their status is unknown; the three Arwings on long range sensors appear to be in desperate need of repair."
"Set a course, make absolute best possible speed," Fox said. It felt good to give an important order and she suddenly felt in her element. It wasn't that she was coming to their rescue; she was doing the right thing and doing it without hesitation. Who knows what they faced in that strange glowing thing; she couldn't judge them with all three having sustained damage. Obviously this thing was quite the enemy.
"Affirmative," ROB said. Having access to the ship's computer via his access to the socket in the wall, the GreatFox changed course and began to head on an intercept course to pick up the pilots whose Arwings were damaged. Miyu and Fay were given a full physical by McCloud to ensure that they were completly safe and healthy. Once they checked out, the entire group of women, five in all, headed for the bridge.
"Has anyone else reported clear of the strange nebula?" Fox asked, assuming the chair at the center of the bridge.
"Negative; communications are still down," ROB reported. "We'll be within tractor range in three minutes."
"All right," Fox said, turning to the rest of the women on the bridge. "It's possible that these men are injured. It takes a lot to whip an Arwing and if they've been thrown around a lot, they're going to need help. Miyu, Fay, welcome to this StarFox team. Everyone, head down to the flight deck and be ready to help get them out of their cockpits. I'm going to stay here and try to use the sensors and a reverse polarity tow-beam to push the illuminated cloud back. Then I'm going to shoot a probe in there and see what we learn. I'll be down if I find out anything."
"Sounds like a plan," Fara said.
"Works for me," Miyu added, heading for the door. Krystal, Fay, Fara and Miyu headed off the bridge, leaving Fox and ROB.
Meanwhile, Fox groused softly in ROB's direction. "We've got to find both Falco, both Slippy and then we've got to head back to Corneria and contact each Peppy. Let's hope this isn't serious; I don't want to see dead pilots."
"Might I make a suggestion?" ROB asked.
"Why the hell not," Fox said, sighing to alleviate some measure of frustration. "What's your suggestion, Rob?"
"Check on the prisoner; it would be a very bad thing for him to escape right now. I'll perform the probe search and other options. I'll contact you by Public Announcement system, if anything is found."
"Ran some computations, huh?" Fox asked. "Sounds like Wolf escaping would be bad news. Yeah, I'll make sure he's still in his pen."
"Affirmative. If Wolf O'Donnell escaped, his likelihood to cause trouble would be…"
"… really likely as a percentage; I get it, I'm going." Fox shook her head and walked off the bridge, leaving ROB alone.
"That is correct," ROB said to the walls. "98 percent, rounded down for an attempt at satire." He then turned back to the viewscreen and began punching in commands in the keyboard to launch a probe into the strange nexus.
Meanwhile, Fox made her way down to the brig. She stepped directly in front of Wolf's cell, glad to see that he was still inside of it. "Hey, loser."
"I'm really disappointed in you," Wolf told her, shaking his head slowly. "You could have joined my Mercenary squadron, Fox. You could have gone back to your own. You chose to fulfill your obligation to the damn Military. What was that all about?"
"Listen," McCloud said with a sigh. "Our past? That is over, Wolf. It was a short flit; a fling, if you will. It was me confusing respect for another pilot with lust and what happened was brief. You don't own me; you'll never have me again."
"That's not even what I'm talking about," Wolf said, blowing off her topic change and reverting to the first one. "I'm upset that you let Jumper screw you, force you to sign a military contract after revoking your piloting license, then he puts you in a room with a bunch of goddamn pills, hoping you'd swallow them and off yourself. You could have told him where to shove it, stole an Arwing and operated far away from Corneria. He's finally out and you're still in the military, waiting for your tour to end! What in the hell? You should have told them all where the hell to stuff it!"
"Wolf!" Fox barked, narrowing her eyes. "Shut the hell up. You don't even know me, so stop trying to read me like a book. I'm in another language all together, O'Donnell."
"Maybe I do and maybe I don't," Wolf said. "I thought you'd have told the military and Jumper where they could stuff it but I was wrong. You had the balls to break the rules and sneak into the all-male flight academy. You had the balls to take down Andross. You had the balls to let the people of Corneria think that you actually have balls. You didn't care what they thought, you only wanted to become a fighter pilot and do what you had to do. Now you're thinking about everyone except yourself. What the hell is that all about!"
"Do I have to come in there and smack you upside the head?" Fox turned her back on him, folding her arms. Part of him was right and part of her still had a subconscious attraction to him but a lot of things changed between them. "You're still a complete and total asshole, Wolf. You were a jerk back in the old Nuclear facility on Fortuna and you were a scumbag a few years ago; I was just too mixed up in my head at the time."
"What the hell," Wolf groaned. "You wear pants instead of a skirt and suddenly you're mixed up? That sounds like a lame excuse, McCloud. Come at me with a better one."
Fox turned around, leveling her narrow gaze at him. "Do you know what military POWs endure? They're dragged into their cell, kicking and screaming. They're stripped down, naked, and bathed with a fire hose. Guess what the reaction was when they found out I wasn't a male?"
Wolf scrunched up his brows and approached the bars, looking her over for a moment. "You were raped during the Lylat War?"
"Screw you," Fox muttered. "I am not going to answer that. I've had a few hard times thrown at me but our little fling is hardly life shattering. There's no way I could have even attempted a relationship, let alone lasted in one with Falco; do you even realize how ridiculously phucked up my head was after that sort of trauma? I couldn't stay with you, I couldn't work things out with him; I didn't have a good set of memories when I became a venom POW. I've heard a ton of conflicting stories about how my father died. Was it in a black hole? Was he a prisoner to Andross and Pigma Dengar? No, he disappeared to start a new life over without my mother. Men are pretty sleazy, sometimes. I don't have much of an opinion on them, O'Donnell. And how I choose to live now, whether I'm some 'gender bender' pilot, or whatever the hell you want to call me, that's up to me …and you can go to hell. I make my own decisions, despite what you may think. Also, what happened to me on Venom isn't any of your personal affairs; but yes, I was treated a little differently than the average inmate. Again, it's not your business, so don't try nosing into it."
"So, Venom thought they could take Fox McCloud down a notch or two on the floor of a dirty cell," O'Donnell mused. "Did they run a train on you? Put a gun to your head and make you beg for your own death while they did it? Did they force you down and make you take it like a dogged vixen in heat during a summer rain?"
Fox approached the cell, reached between the high voltage laser bars, snatched him by the collar and pulled him directly into the glowing beams. The intense shock stunned him into silence. She gave his body a shove, throwing him to the floor, where he laid there, twitching slightly.
"I can't wait until we're both in a cockpit again," Fox said. "It's going to be a true pleasure, next time you're in my targeting reticule."
Wolf wheezed ever so slightly. "Only I can tan your hide, Fox McCloud."
"Maybe you'll rot in that cell, first," Fox told him, shaking her head with a smirk. "And before your ego gets too large you should probably know something… you were lousy. Falco wasn't only better, Wolf… he lasted twice as long as you did. No, I'm not saying this to get the last laugh, it's honestly true. I just figured someone with a huge, inflated ego like yourself, should know the truth: You're not perfect and you're not the best at everything you do. You're a scuzzball with a half-decent kill score. Sure, I respected you as a pilot once… but then I saw what real piloting was. Stay in your cell, O'Donnell. If you try to escape, I'll beat you senseless."
Wolf reached for his throat, trying to wheeze out another reply but he nearly had the wind knocked out of him from the zap he'd received from the bars. Fox was wearing gloves on her paws and had held onto his collar when she pulled him into the field. She threateningly reached through the bars for him, once more. He rolled away from the laser bars, glaring up at her. In reply to cringing, she simply smiled then turned to head back down the hallway. "Enjoy your new apartment, O'Donnell! You deserve it!" She continued down the hall until she was gone.
"We'll see," Wolf muttered softly under his breath.
A/N:
This is a strange story; I started on it two years ago and it grew into a strange monster. I have original characters, family members of fox mccloud, all that stuff from my other old stories (see Family Affairs, finally posted!) and all I can say is… I'm not the writer for this story anymore. HOWEVER… people like it. It's really popular, considering. I'm really surprised people read it and it's the most popular of my least read stories… It's almost triple the 'hits' that THE CURSE has gotten and that one I actually TRY on. Lol
Am I going to end this story? NO. Of course not, I just need to figure out how to end it and re-read it so I can keep it together, so there are no more freakin' loopholes, like that one escape-pod thing that someone mentioned to me, lol.
It was for a reader that I started on this chapter. The more feedback I receive, the more inclined I am to keep going. The readers inspire me to continue. :)
-KIT
