Return of Gannondorf Part VIII
The F-Zero Race
In Gannondorf's castle:
"See, Krystal, it's easy" said Zelda "All they have to do, is enter a race and win"
"Yeah, I know" said Krystal
"And from what I can tell, Fox is pretty fast" said Zelda
"Yes, but is he fast enough?" asked Gannondorf
"You bet he is" said Zelda
"Oh. But he must face more than racers" said Gannondorf "He must face something else, too"
"What does he mean by that?" asked Zelda
Krystal ducked her head down; she was really worried about Fox. But he was on his way and didn't know what's coming, and there's nothing she could do to warn him.
Meanwhile:
Fox, Link, and Kirby landed the arwing in Mute city on F-planet. There they saw Samus Aran, Samus Erik, and Captain Falcon.
Fox hopped out of the arwing and said "Hey, guys, what are you doing here?"
"Flk Team" said Samus Aran "You're here for the race? Why?"
"Because we need to enter it for something" said Fox
"What is it?" asked Samus Erik
"It's the last clue to finding Gannondorf" said Kirby "He captured Krystal and Zelda, and stole my memory"
"I've heard" said Aran
"What are you doing here?" asked Fox
"We're looking for a loose creature that was spotted here, earlier" said Erik "It was a swiflactor. A swiflactor is a very fast creature and can run at incredible speeds; this one was one of the fastest I've seen"
"Captain Falcon was a witness" said Aran
"It tore up my machine, man" said Captain Falcon "When I was racing, I was winning! I had the lead! I could have won! But it came out of nowhere, raced past me like a blur and tore up my machine!"
"How fast were you going, Captain?" asked Link
"About 600 mph! I was scorching the streets! The ladies couldn't keep off me" said Captain Falcon
"Whatever" said Fox "We've got to enter that race, we could help you"
"No team race, Fox" said Aran "One of you must race alone, and it could enter that race, because it's entered the past few races before"
"Then it is Fox who will go" said Link "For he is the fastest one of us. He is known to run as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog"
"Sonic the Hedgehog?" asked Captain Falcon
"A friend of ours" said Samus Aran
"Just be careful, you guys" said Samus Erik "We haven't seen what that thing looks like, it runs 24/7 for its prey. Swiflactors run against anything that it sees going fast. And that's probably why it was in those races. If it beats its opponent in a race, it eats them. Most of their prey are cheetahs"
"Okay, I can run faster than 600 mph" said Fox
"Yeah, you wish!" said Captain Falcon
"I don't wish, CF, I can!" said Fox
"Whatever"
"Watch me" said Fox
"When does the race start, anyway?" asked Kirby
"In 1 hour" said Samus Aran
"Okay, we'll get there in half that time, sign up, and have time for a break" said Fox
"I'm with you, Fox" said Aran
"Me, too" said Erik
"Okay" said Fox
Everybody clinged onto Fox
"Hey, CF, you coming with us?" asked Erik
"Naw, I'll get there on my ship" said Captain Falcon
Then, he was lifted by a tractor beam by his ship in the air.
"Hang on" said Fox.
Then, Fox burst into speed and they went to the race stadium.
When they got there, the line was half as long as it usually was.
"Wow, we got here early" said Fox
"Nope" said Erik "The lines have gotten shorter because either racers are scared to enter because of the swiflactor or because the swiflactor already destroyed their machines"
"Wow, that's harsh" said Kirby
"I'll sign up, you guys wait in the audience" said Fox
"Okay, best of luck, Fox" said Link "May God be with you"
"Later, Fox" said Kirby
"We'll be cheering you on" said Erik "Ooo! Tacos!"
Erik raced to the taco stand
"Be careful, Fox, that creature could be here, and it is vicious" said Aran
They all left for the stands, except Erik, he stayed at the taco stand. Fox waited in line and finally got in front and signed in.
"Newbie, eh?" asked the guy at the table
"Not really, I'm just entering this one race" said Fox
"Where's you machine?" asked the guy
"I don't have one" said Fox
The guy gave Fox an awkward look on his face. Fox walked away before he could say anything. He walked into the racers dock where all the racers were getting their machines ready. Everyone looked at Fox walk in without a machine.
"Well, so far no creature…that doesn't look fast on foot" Fox thought to himself "I wonder how tough the competition is"
Then, after a while, there was a booming voice that said "Racers! Get your machines ready!"
Everyone hopped in their machines and started racing off out of a giant door and to the track. Fox was almost blown off the ground; then he started walking to the race track.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" said the announcer "We bring you are racers"
The crowd started cheering loudly.
"What's this?" asked the announcer "Why there's someone out there who doesn't seem to have a machine! He's on foot! How in the world does he think that he can win on foot?"
Then, the announcer turned off the microphone and said "Who is that guy? Is he crazy?"
"Um… he's Fox McCloud of Corneria" said a worker "A part of Starfox"
"Starfox?" asked the announcer turning on the microphone "Attention people, machine or no machine, he's qualified to enter. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new racer who seems to be on foot, Fox McCloud of Corneria and a member of Starfox!"
Then out of nowhere a streak came by and was heading for the track.
"What is this?" asked the announcer "I thought that was all the racers but I guess there's one more. And it's on foot, too. It's…Holy smoke! It's the creature that interrupted the other races from before! We're in for an interesting match!"
The swiflactor stopped right next to Fox, and it was indeed ugly. It had four legs, a cheetah-like appearance, razor sharp teeth and claws, green, and piercing red eyes. It looked at Fox and growled. Fox took a deep breath and got ready.
"Racers, start you machines!" said the announcer "3, 2, 1, GO!"
Everybody went so fast, they disappeared. Fox got ahead of the other racers and the swiflactor was nowhere to be found, but then, it came, scorching through all the other racers and caught up with Fox. Fox raced as fast as he could to get past, but it stayed neck in neck with him. Then, a racer from behind got out a bazooka and blasted Fox.
"AGH!" said Fox falling to the ground "Official rules, please, is there any rules"
Fox then slid on a pink panel and his wounds were healed, he was back in shape and burst into speed to catch up with the creature. Then, the creature looked at Fox as he got along side it and swung at him. Fox jumped up and said "Whoa! Is that even legal? Well, if you're going to play it the hard way, then I'll play along!"
Fox started rolling into a spin dash and ran into the creature. The creature bounced back and pushed Fox on the bumpers. As Fox skidded along the bumpers, he spinned into another spin attack to get it off. Then, the creature bit at him. Fox then burst into speed to get away from the bite and raced to the finish line.
Fox was on his 2 lap. Fox looked back and saw nothing but the creature and the road. Then Fox went up the giant loop and the creature caught up to him.
"Man, you don't give up, do you?" asked Fox
The creature got ahead of Fox
"Not much of a talker, eh?" said Fox "Sorry, I can't let you win"
Fox burst into speed and got ahead of the creature. Then, he spun around and kicked the creature.
"That's what you get when you mess with the Starfox" said Fox.
He passed the finish line again and was on the 3 lap. Then, the other racers caught up to him, they tried their best to get ahead of Fox. Fox tried to shake them off, then, he ran into a giant jump. Fox went full speed and jumped right off the edge of the ramp. Fox went flying high in the sky; some of the racers fell of the edge. Then, he landed on the ground and raced off, leaving the others in the dirt.
Then, the machines behind Fox, got torn to shreds, it was the swiflactor again and it was mad! It raced past Fox at an incredible speed. Fox looked at the racers stats on a sign that passed by. The creature was going 720 mph: the speed of sound! Fox thought all was lost.
"I failed!" Fox thought to himself "I failed everyone! I failed Zelda, I failed Link, I failed getting Kirby's memory back, I failed Smash planet. But most importantly, I failed you, Krystal. I'm sorry"
Then, Fox went into a flash back of a mission he did with Sonic:
He was at a base on Katina, traps were everywhere. And there was Fox, Link, Kirby, and Sonic the Hedgehog.
"Are you sure you can do this, Sonic?" asked Fox
"Positive" said Sonic
"I have used my Hylean senses, Sonic" said Link "The only way you can pull through, is if you go faster than the speed of sound"
"Exactly" said Sonic "My name is Sonic for a reason. I've accelerated faster than the speed of sound many times"
"Yeah right" said Kirby
"No really" said Sonic "And Fox, know this: If you're ever in a speedy situation, you can move faster than the speed of sound, too"
"Can I?" asked Fox
"Go ahead" said Sonic "see if you can't keep up with me"
Sonic burst into speed and there was a loud BOOM! He made it though. Fox decided to give it a try. Fox got his feet ready, and then he ran as fast as he can, BOOM! Fox made it!
"How fast did I go?" asked Fox
"Faster than the speed of sound" said Sonic
Then, Fox snapped out of the flashback and saw he was on the final stretch, and there was the creature, halfway down.
"If I couldn't go that fast, I would never have made it" Fox said to himself "This is my one and only shot"
Then, Fox ran faster. Very fast. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! He passed the swiflactor so hard; it was sent flying off the track. Then, Fox zipped across the finish line and screeched to a stop.
"I don't believe it, folks! Fox McCloud, the one on foot, has won the race and beat the creature!" said the announcer "This is amazing! This is going down in history!"
Fox looked at the racer stats board and saw how fast he went. 800 mph! Link, Kirby, Samus Aran, and Erik came running down to him.
"Fox you did it!" said Kirby "You won!"
"I don't believe it!" said Erik "You beat a swiflactor, the fastest one, in a race on foot!"
"I'm impressed, Fox" said Aran
"Congratulations" said Link "I am honored to be best friends with such a fast person"
"Here's you trophy, Fox McCloud" said the referee "That was an awesome race"
The referee handed Fox the trophy. Then, inside it, was a note: The last clue!
Fox opened it up and read it "It says 'Excellent! Very Excellent! You have won the race. Now you have all five clues, I will show you the castle (See map on back). Now, hurry, time is short, I am waiting, and Krystal is, too. –Oxox Gannondorf' Oxox? That is wrong!"
"Finally, our quest is just about over" said Link
"I can finally get my memory back" said Kirby
"Fox, are you not looking forward to see Krystal, again?" asked Link
"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I hope she's okay" said Fox
"Yeah, me, too" said Kirby "and I don't even remember her!"
"Let's get to the arwing" said Fox "Later, guys"
"Bye, Fox, Link, Kirby" said Aran
"Whoa" said Captain Falcon "I look forward to racing him someday"
Fox, Link, and Kirby headed to the arwing to get to Smash Planet.
Meanwhile at Gannondorf's castle:
"Well, Gannondorf, they're on their way" said Zelda
"Yes, very" said Gannondorf
"Hey, Krystal, Fox is coming" said Zelda
"I know" said Krystal
"Worried about the trap are we?" asked Gannondorf
"I just hope they save us unharmed" said Krystal
"Oh, no, Krystal" said Gannondorf with a smirk "I have something special in store for you boyfriend"
What does Gannondorf have in store for them? Is Krystal going to keep hope that Fox will save her safely? Will Fox, Link, and Kirby save her and Zelda successfully? And are you still with us, and will remain with us as the story draws to a close?
To be continued…